Get your FREE Buttons at Disneyland

 Did you ever go to Disneyland or Walt Disney World and wonder "where everyone got those buttons?" It's easy! Go to Guest Relations and get your FREE Celebration buttons for whatever events or occasion you are celebrating. Here are a few you might ask for ...

Guest Relations Hours and Locations

 

Guest Relations and Information Centers are open during normal theme park operating hours at these locations:

Disneyland Park on Main Street, U.S.A.

• City Hall
• Central Plaza Information Board (closes before Firework Spectacular)

Disney California Adventure Park on Buena Vista Street

• Guest Relations Lobby
• Information Station (closes approximately 1 hour before park closing)

Disneyland Resort Esplanade

• Guest Relations Window

Getting ready for my runDisney weekend:Park Hours

 WHO'S GETTING READY? I AM... I AM!

* Bookmark this website for your race certificate after the race

http://mydisneymarathon.com/disneyland

One week from today I will boarding a airplane and flying across the country to "The Happiest Place in the World" and I can't wait!
Meeting new friends, the sights of Disneyland and California Adventure, and of course the fun and excitement of the runDisney races are on my horizon.

Yesterday I posted some of the things going on during that weekend, today we get prepared for the parks.
Whether you are getting there a day or two before the races/expo or staying just for the race weekend then you will want to know the park hours and activities for the day.
 

Park Hours: 
Thursday:
Disneyland 9:00- 10:00pm
California Adventure 9:00 - 10pm
Magic Morning  DL 8:00- 9:00

Friday:
Disneyland 9:00- 12:00 am
California Adventure 9:00 - 10pm
 Magic Morning: CA 8:00- 9:00am

Saturday:
 Disneyland 9:00- 11:00pm 
California Adventure 9:00 - 10pm
 Magic Morning  CA 8:00- 9:00am

Sunday 
Disneyland 9:00- 11:00pm

California Adventure 9:00 - 10pm
 Magic Morning DL 8:00- 9:00am

Monday 
Disneyland 8:00- 11:00pm
California Adventure 8:00 - 10pm
 Magic Morning CA 7:00- 8:00am

Nighttime Fireworks Spectacular Daily at 9:30 pm
Mickey's Soundsational Parade: Daily at 4:00pm and 6:30pm
Fantasmic Daily at 9:00pm and 10:30pm

World of Color Daily at 9:00 and 10:15pm
Pixar Parade Daily 2:00pm and 5:00pm

Events, Refurbishments, and more during Disneyland Half Marathon weekend

Here are some of the events and happenings going on around Disneyland and the resorts during the Disneyland Half Marathon weekend.

Disneyland and California Adventure Park Hours

http://media.disneywebcontent.com/StaticFiles/DTA-Domestic/pdf/ParkHours/DLROpCal_Aug.pdf

Summer Pool Parties

August 19 - September 30, 2013

The hotels of the Disneyland Resort will be hosting one hour long pool parties each afternoon for their guests.  The parties will feature games, music and dancing.

2:00pm Grand California (near the Fountain Pool)

3:30pm Disneyland Hotel (near the Monorail Pool)

5:00pm Paradise Pier Hotel (near the California Streamin' Slide)

 Refurbishments:

 Now-Aug. 29, 2013: Big Thunder Trail will be closed.

 Now - Aug. 29, 2013: Mad Tea Party will be closed for refurbishment.

 Now-Aug. 30, 2013: Disney’s Pin Trader will be closed.

 Now-Oct. 30, 2013: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will be closed for refurbishment.

 Now-To Be Determined: Market House/Disneyana will be down until further notice

 Aug. 26-29, 2013: Matterhorn Bobsleds will be closed for maintenance.

 Aug. 26-Sept. 12, 2013: Haunted Mansion will be closed for refurbishment.

 Sept. 3-4, 2013: Rafts to Tom Sawyer’s Island will be closed for refurbishment.

 Sept. 3-5, 2013: Matterhorn Bobsleds will be closed for maintenance.

 Sept. 3-12, 2013: Big Thunder Ranch Petting Farm will be closed for refurbishment.

 Sept. 3-26, 2013: Mickey’s House will be closed for refurbishment.

 Sept. 3-27, 2013: Downtown Disney Poppy Fountain will be closed.

 Sept. 3-Oct. 10, 2013: King Arthur’s Carrousel will be closed for refurbishment.

Disney California Adventure Park

 Now-Jan. 1, 2014: Tower of Terror will operate at reduced capacity during routine maintenance.

 Sept. 9-12, 2013: Muppet Vision 3D will be partially closed for maintenance.

 Sept. 16-19, 2013: Toy Story Midway Mania! will be closed for maintenance.

 Sept. 30-Nov. 12, 2013: Disney Animation will be partially closed for maintenance.

Hotels of Disneyland ResortPlease note due to a possible defect in refrigerators in some of the Guest rooms at the Disneyland Resort, Resort Hotels at these locations have removed or temporarily disconnected Guest room refrigerators until the issue can be resolved.
Guests staying at the affected Resort hotels will be notified of the refrigerator removal via a letter in their room

Dining Reservations:

http://media.disneywebcontent.com/StaticFiles/DTA-Domestic/pdf/DLR/Dining_at_DLR.pdf


The Disneyland Resort offers reservations at select restaurants. To make reservations, call Disney Dining at:
(714) 781-DINE (3463)
Guests under age 18 must have parent or guardian permission to call.

Guests may now email their dining reservation requests to dine@disneyland.com.

• Requests will be reviewed the same day, when received during the hours of 7 a.m. - 9 p.m., 7 days a week. Requests received after hours will be reviewed the next day.
• Email requests should include the following information:
• Name of the restaurant or experience Guest would like to book.
• Requested reservation date and meal period. (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner)
• Total number of Guests in the party.
• Guest name and phone number.
• The request is not confirmed until the Guest has received a confirmation number.

Celebrating my birthday with an Energybits giveaway

One week from today on Sunday, August 25th, I will be celebrating my birthday. On that day I am going to be giving away a prize bag of Energybits. to one lucky Travel Girl on the run follower.

The ONLY rule to this giveaway is that you must be a follower on Facebook, this blog, and on Twitter  

(yes I will be checking).

You will have all week to enter, share, and tweet about this giveaway.

 Then on Sunday August 25th, I will choose the lucky winner.. 

If you are going to the Disneyland Half Marathon weekend I can arrange to meet you and give them to you at the expo or if you are not going I can mail them to you. 

 

I'd like to thank Tracy Burwell, a Energybits ambassador, for donating this prize. 

She has also given us a special savings code for anyone who would like to order Energybits online. 

When you checkout enter the code: TURTLE for 30% off your order.

 For more information on Energybits:

On Twitter :  https://twitter.com/ENERGYbits 

On Online: http://www.energybits.com/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Are you up to date on the RunDisney meet up clues?

Starting on Monday the runDisney meet up fever began.. These tweets were sent and the fans went crazy! 

To keep you up to date here are some of the tweets that were seen ! 

Happy Birthday to my husband!

On August 13, 1968,in Providence, RI someone who would later become my husband, was born. His name is David, but to us he holds alot of other names.

• Son
• Dad
• Brother
• (Pain in the ass)
• and yes, my Davey

Growing up as a kid he was rambunctious and always on the move. His mom  always tells the story that they had to buy him steel toed shoes because he would wear the hell out of them playing outside on his bike going way too fast, so they tried heavy duty shoes...but that didn't keep him from slowing down either.

Later, as a late teen he worked in a dance club where he earned the name Diamond Dave for his flashy 80's jewelry (which he still wore when we met-lol)  He and his friends were always up to something. There were no cell phones or cable TV to sit home and watch, just the outdoors where they gallivanted for hours into the night with always 2 things in mind....fun and food!

In 1993, I moved to Florida from New Jersey and there I met Dave. He had been in Florida for just a few years before that. It wasn't a romantic meeting in any way, in fact probably the opposite. Think about this, what does an Italian guy from Providence and an Italian girl from Jersey make? YUP! You guessed it...2 BIG ATTITUDES :-D but somehow it worked.

Maybe it was because we were the only 2 (it seemed) normal people in our town? Maybe it was because we were both Italian with the same values and upbringing, or maybe it was because God had a plan all along to put us in this God forsaken place called Charlotte County for a reason?

In 1995, Dave opened up a hair salon called David Michaels', which is still open today. I was on maternity, resting at home, and 9 months pregnant with our first child, Gina. Yes, when he asked me to go to work I went. That was not what I wanted to do but I did it. It paid the bills and it gave us some flexibility with raising our family. 2 and a half years later I had had our son, Christian, and we deciding to move into a new home soon.

In 2002 we started to build our dream house that ended up to be anything but a dream house. You see, it took us 19 months to build that house because of numerous delays and a storm called Hurricane Charley.
Hurricane Charley came in on August 13, 2004 yes, Dave's birthday! What was supposed to be a great birthday with family coming into town but it ended up to being barricaded in the bathroom together and watching the town, our dream home under construction, and our family business of 11yrs be blown away. But we survived, rebuilt, and became closer as a family because of it.

Every year since then my poor husband has to hear on the radio and relive videos of that horrible day on is his birthday. so this year he is goin to be celebrating back in RI at Patriots stadium watching the New England Patriots play the Tampa Bay Bucs in a scrimmage. Ironic that he had to to go RI to see Tampa play??

So far in the past few days Dave has sent me numerous picks of him and my son on his birthday vacation. Most of them are of food, food, and more food from bagels to lobster to subs that we don't get here. I am glad that he can enjoy himself on his birthday this year because your birthday should be all about you... not a bad remembrance day. I think on your birthday you should be be able to take off from work and do whatever you feel like doing not what everyone else wants to do. Your birthday was the day that God decided to bring you into the world. That alone should be a reason to celebrate your past, your present, and to dream about your future.

 On this day I would like to send out a special birthday wish to my Davey...

 I love ya & I wouldn't of had it any other way! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

MY Disneyland 1/2 marathon expo shopping list

With 18 days left until the Disneyland 1/2 marathon weekend expo opens I started to make my shopping list.  

Disneyland® Health & Fitness Expo

Friday, August 30 - 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 pm  
Saturday, August 31 - 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 pm
Location: Disneyland® Hotel Exhibit Hall
*For a list of vendors and activities that weekend check out the 2013 Disneyland Half marathon weekend program (click here)

I am never prepared for the shopping at the expos. I always say to myself  "Let's get in, get my bib & race bag, do my shopping, and get out!"  Yeah.... That never happens! Somehow I start looking and the hours run away from me.

 I am hoping to be focused when I get there this time but I am a wanderer & I can't make a decision to save my life. When it comes to choosing a certain color, or having to choose between putting something back or buying it.. Forget it! I will take forever. I sometimes stand there for minutes, walk away, come back to buy something I think I want, and still walk away empty- handed. Why? 'Cuz I'm a practical and cheap Virgo! (Boooo!) 

This year I am thinking that with a smaller expo in Disneyland I may actually be able to do this IF I make a list.

A few vendors are on my "MUST BUY" list and a few vendors are on my "I WANT" list.

 "MUST BUY"

• Fond Memories Graphics medal shadowbox
• Lasting Commemoratives
• BeeCause Charms
• Clif Bar
•  runDisney booth
• SWEATY BANDS
• Sparkle Athletic (aka Team Sparkle)
• Glam Headbands
• KT Tape

 "I WANT"

• Nite Beams
• yurbuds Sport Earphones
• Women’s Running St. Pete
• SportHooks
• One More Mile
• Divas Half Marathon® & 5K Series
• New Balance
• Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series

  What is on your list?

An invitation to tour the Disney Fantasy this month

 On August 24, 2013 I will be amongst a selected number of travel agents invited to your the newest Disney ship the Disney Fantasy. I am so excited I can hardly wait! 

My day will consist of a walking tour upon the ship inspecting very little nook and crannie from the different staterooms, public areas such as the lobby, the theaters, the pools, the children/teen areas, the spa, and yes all the way to the many restaurants they have onboard. I will also be treated to lunch onboard. I am not sure if it will be in the lavish buffett or at one the fine restaurants ... but I'm sure it will be delicious an have Disney touches! 

A few years ago I cruised for Thanksgiving with my family on the Disney Wonder and it was certainly wonder-ful! The food was fabulous, the ships decor was spectacular, and the staterooms were heavenly.  It was my BEST cruise ever.

On this tour I am sure it will hold even more magical touches being it is the newest and largest ship to date for Disney. 

Here are some fun facts about the Fantasy:

I have cruised many times before but there is something magical about Disney ships. The beauty from the outside is nothing compared to the inside.

To see videos, pictures, itineraries, and learn more about Disney ships you can go to my personalized Disney website. (click here)

If there is something that you would like me to take a picture of please email me or comment below and I will try to fill those requests. If you don't know me- I am known for being the last one in the rooms taking pictures and the last one off of the ship trying not to leave :)

If I could be a stow away, I would! 

The Breakfast of Champions

So when it comes to breakfast on race day what do you choose to eat? 

A banana
A granola bar
Peanut butter on a bagel
Gatorade
Coffee
Nuun tabs in your water
Deli sandwich
Applesauce
Oatmeal

I have heard of a lot of runners mixing it up with some of these foods/drinks. I have recently been diagnosed with Chrohns and that has become a big obstacle for me since my diet has had to change. I used to eat a cinnamon raisin bagel dry & Gatorade or a honey/nut granola bar for my morning ritual, but not anymore. 

Now I am searching for my perfect breakfast to keep me sane and tummy-issue free. I recently tried the peanut butter on a 1/2 of bagel with some water and I did ok.

What do you go to for your breakfast? Post your comments below - 

I'm in running heaven to OH! NO YOU'RE NOT!!

Last week I didn't have such a great run week and quite frankly I was a little cranky too for some reason so I decided to rest for a few days.

Yesterday was my day off from work and with less than 4 weeks to my next race I decided to go school shopping with my daughter and then head to the gym once she went to work at night (the boys could fend for themselves that night).

I hopped on the ARC for a little bit but then I felt like running instead... 

I hadn't done intervals since the Princess half marathon. I'm really not a fan of them but since I had not done a lot of long running I figured that might actually get me to the finish line a little happier. I saw some runner use 30/30 and he looked pretty happy at he finish line?? I have always used 1:1 or 2:1 but that wasn't going to happen! I can not run that long since m surgery so I decided to try 30/30 like he did. It was good but way to short for me so I changed it to 40/40 & I think that was the magic number for me!

If you follow me on Twitter : @TRVLGRL25 you'll sometimes see some funny posts while I am at the gym. This night was full of funny tweets and Facebook posts!

You see, my husband has a chemical sensitivity- which means he can't be around chemicals, fragrances, and can not wear or be around cologne or perfumes. Last night as I was on the treadmill 2,younger than me, men decided to run along side of me. One on either side. As I was running and I had my music blaring in my ears the smell of cologne quickly hypnotized me!! OMG this was more than fabulous- these guys smelled goooooood! :)

Of course, I picked up my phone, tweeting and posting this on Facebook! 

These two guys never ran... Thy just kept walking and walking but I did not care because as long as they were next to me I was running fast! No really! 

With awesome music in my ears and the lovely smell of cologne surrounding me I looked to my right...one guy stopped and walked away!!!  Oh no! Man down ~man down! That's ok! As long as this other one stayed I'd be happy! 

Somehow with all this excitement I realized that my interval timer stopped working. Ah! That's ok too! I was still making great time!

Then it happened!! 

Every time that I want a certain treadmill in the gym it has no cable, no power, or stops on me. I have been known to be the "cable girl", getting on my hands and knees to connect the cables back together so I could run. 

When I looked to my right there were too kids that work there connecting and disconnecting cables and fixing treadmills. I had stopped watching... Until they came over to my treadmill along side of cologne man. Still in my glory and running at a speed I had never run at before they touched one of my treadmill buttons! 

Have you ever seen an angry Italian woman? Well, they did! 

All of a sudden, I ripped out my ear buds and yelled "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY MACHINE!" Then pointing at the last mile counting down of my 10k I "waved the finger" ☝ and said with my Jersey/Italian attitude "There is no way in hell that you are getting me off of this machine until I am ready and I have run this last mile out! I am having the best run today and I am not getting off until I am done- you will have to wait!" I kind of felt bad after because I did go a little ape shit on them... But in a nice way I tell ya! 

The kids looked at me with eyes wide opened and said "We just wanted to check if you had volume" to that I replying psychotically "Oh! Is that all you want? Sure! Let me check it for ya!" 

LOL!!

With less than a mile for me to go on my 10k I plugged back in and finished the race, I mean the run :) The timer stopped and it was time to see how I did. I was so  ecstatic! This was my best time ever! 

 Not only did I kick ass on that treadmill, I felt like I kicked Chrohn's ass that day too! It was the first time in a while I had not gotten sick before or during a run and it was the first time since my surgery that I could run like that! YAY!

Cologne boy got off of his treadmill after I left mine, but some how he sparked a question in my head...

"What if every runner you followed behind wore your favorite cologne or perfume~ Would it make you run faster?" :)

Sole Sunday and Sole Friends

On Thursday, both my husband and I had a slow day at job #1 so we left work early, went to grab some sandwiches for lunch, and headed off to the gym for a bit.

 We were going to make it a short day. I posted a tweet about being indecisive of what I should do at the gym that day to some of my "tweeps" wondering if they would get the message for a response. They all told me to run except for Ashley who told me to do both. Maybe I would? But I decided to first run on the ARC (I don't know what it stands for???) I just call it a glider. 

At first, I wasn't feeling it but then my protein, carbs, and I don't know what else must have kicked in because I had a really good workout going! Then he did it... My husband walked over to me and wanted to go. He was tired. So I got off and went home wishing I had my own car that day so I could have stayed on. I was having such a good day :(  but I know that if I wasn't feeling it that I would want him to leave too.

Yesterday we went again... But I just wasn't feeling it this time. There wasn't any joy of running in me. I had to take a few bathroom breaks because of this damn thing called Chrohns, I tried the new Spotify app. for new music (hated iiiiit!), and then ended up getting off of the treadmill to go do some weight training after  mile 4 of mostly walking and little running-  It wasn't a fun day!

This morning as I was laying in bed and I turned to Twitter and Facebook. I scrolled through my news feeds and tweets as my house was still quiet and drama-free of teenagers. I love hearing the race day jitters, post race news, and pictures. Even though you may not be there with your friends, you can still support & cheer them from afar. No matter what their time... they started and finished!

There are so many of these wonderful people that do just that! Tweeting encouragement, posting positive messages, and looking out for each other is what makes me feel blessed to know these people. 

While I have only one SOLE SISTER, Kim,  I know I have many SOLE FRIENDS!

Thank you to my Tweeps that keep always it real! 
If you don't follow these blogs already I encourage you check them out. They are always filled with inspiration, fun, and will put a smile on your face reading them 

Kim http://kimrunsdisney.blogspot.com/

Tracey

Pam www.werundisney.com

Christine www.werundisney.com

Lena www.thebeginnersrunner.blogspot.com

Ashley www.thepavementprincess.com

Jen C www.hellofitnesswemeetagain.blogspot.com

Jill  www.MRScrashmattb.blogspot.com

Liz www.disneydashnov2012.blogspot.com

Marcia www.travelruneat.blogspot.com

Jen P

Andrea www.onceuponarunfairytale.blogspot.com

Brandi www.girlontherun365.blogspot.com

Melissa www.13GoingonCrazy.com.

Erin www.lovedisneyrunning.blogspot.com

Candy

Katie P

Dawnley 

Angela www.theamicks-angela.blogspot.com

And let's not forget the gentlemen too :

Joe R

Linzie www.seesharprun.blogspot.com

Justin www.alwaysrunningforward.com

Marc A

Matt  www.dadrunsdisney.com

Paul 

SUPER SATURDAY! 5 weeks from today it ALL kicks off & ends with a meet up

It's Saturday and the countdown has begun for the runDisney Disneyland Half marathoners, 10k'ers, 5k'ers, and yes the Dumbo Double Dare Challengers in Disneyland, California!

5 weeks from today we will all be running on this day to kick off what will be an AWESOME weekend!! 

New friendships will be made and memories that will last a lifetime will happen. 

After the race on Sunday Sept.1,2013 come on over to Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar on the property of the Disneyland Hotel for a tiki bar meet up & pool party to relax for a little bit. Food and drinks will be pay for your own but the stories and laughter will be shared by everyone!

You can RSVP and find out more about the meet up event at 

https://www.facebook.com/events/487237144678148/ 

See ya real soon! 

Surprise! You've Got Mickey Mail!!

  
I'VE GOT MICKEY MAIL!!





I just got home from an early day of work and the gym and my husband said "Look what we've got!" 
Of course, I was like the picture below of Mickey jumping up and down and a HUGE smile appeared on my face ~ Wahooooooo!
When we were at Walt Disney World in July we converted our tickets from our vacation package into WDW Seasonal Passes! Now when I go to the races I don't have to buy sports tickets (that was my excuse...but what I really was thinking was "Oh good we can go to Disney whenever I want this year" ). 

Well, Mickey surprised me with this special magnet for my car but I can't take the chance that it will be stolen so i will just keep in on my fridge where it can make me smile throughout the year ;-D 
 

A MUST stop at Goofy's Candy Shop!

Whenever my race weekend or family vacation is over, Oh heck! Whenever I go past Downtown Disney in Florida, there is only ONE thing left to do before I have to get in the car and come home....

GO TO GOOFY"S CANDY SHOP FOR MY APPLE!

 

If you have not eaten these...

 you are missing out on some OMG happiness!

No really, you don't understand how awesome these are. You can pick them out from the cases or you can make a custom one of your own.They are the HUGE Granny smith apples, covered in caramel,then dipped in white chocolate (my favorite) or milk chocolate, then decorated with whatever you'd like. Sprinkles, nuts, and sugar crystals are just some of the items they use to decorate the apples with. The last time I was there they decorated the apples as Goofy, Chestire Cat, Mike from Monsters Inc, Mickey and Minnie.

The most awesome part is now there is a Bakery in the new Fantasyland's Big Top Souvenirs so now I can be in love twice!

The price of the apples vary but they usually average about $9.99. Unfortunately, the apples are not considered a snack under the  snack options if you have the dining plan, but the mostly of the other items in the bakery do. So if you have any snack points left...use them there.

Recently, I found out that there is a bakery in Downtown Disney, Disneyland....yes you guessed it! I WILL BE STOPPING THERE for my celebration apple ;-)


Not only does the bakery have apples, they have Rice Crispy treats, fudge, cake pops, marshmallows on a stick, pretzels,cupcakes, and lots of more yummy stuff. 
If you are looking for a take home gift... trust me something from the bakery (especially the apples) will be better than a t-shirt that doesn't fit or a antenna topper that will fly away on your first trip- lol.