TR - Running for my Disney II: Let's Make it a Half

[zanzibar138]

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!

Congratulation on a marathon run and finishing in a super awesome time. Did I mention that you were awesome???

That's one heck of a way to run the marathon. Shame that you weren't feeling the best but it looks like you managed to push past the pain and icky-ness.
Love that medal!

Thanks PIO

Yep, couldn't really believe it when my tummy wasn't feeling right just standing around in the corrals, and was really hoping that it would be fine once we got going. Pretty frustrating to have had so many great training runs and never had any problems with it, then have issues like that on the day. But I wasn't going to let that stop me!

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 7 - The Last Full Disney Day

Today was our last full day in the parks, but DH was keen on hanging around the condo in the morning. My parents and I decided to go without him, and we made arrangements to meet for lunch. Now, being the Monday of the long weekend, I was expecting to notice a difference in the crowds. No such luck – it was still madness! It was the hottest day so far as well, with a forecast top around 35.

We headed straight to DCA, where Dad and I decided to try single rider for RSR. It was one of the longest waits I’ve had, but still only 15 minutes or so. As always, it was an enjoyable ride. Next we decided to try Screamin'. I definitely don't recommend the single rider line here! We were waiting out in the full sun, didn't even get on the same train, AND waited slightly longer than 2 other people I noticed get in the stand-by line about the same time as we got in the single rider one. Lesson learned. With long waits all over the park, we decided to head to DL. It wasn’t any better (not that we were expecting it to be). However, we did get lucky with Indy and notice only a 15 minute wait as we passed by. The only possible explanation I could think of is that it had just been down. The line had certainly grown by the time we were finished!











By the time we headed back to our designated meeting spot to wait for DH, we were all well and truly over the crowds and the heat. No one was keen on heading back to Hungry Bear after the lacklustre meal we’d had there. French Market looked like a madhouse. No one liked the look of Riverbelle. I suggested we try DTD, thinking that we’d easily find something there with a minimal wait. I suggested we take the monorail to Rainforest Café. After weaving our way through the crowds from Adventureland, we found that the monorail was down. So we walked.





Unfortunately I was very mistaken about DTD. Everyone must have been enjoying a last Disney meal there before leaving for the day! We were quoted about a 50 minute wait at Rainforest. We decided to try Tortilla Jo’s – that was 40. By that time, we were so desperate to just sit somewhere and cool off (physically and psychologically!), we couldn’t bear the thought of any more than half an hour wait. We could see that House of Blues had some spare tables out the front, so we thought we’d try there. They also quoted us a 40 minute wait, but when we said we were happy to sit outside, they were able to seat us straight away. It occurred to me that I should have asked about the patio at Rainforest Café.

We had to shuffle the tables, chairs and umbrellas to get a suitably shady configuration, but once we sat down and started to relax with cool beverages, the ambient temperature suddenly became a lot more bearable. After an enjoyable lunch, Mum and Dad headed back to the condo while DH and I went via the Lego shop to pick up some bits and pieces for SIL. On the way back, we saw what could only be described as a stretch limo ute! We all collapsed in a heap when we got back, and before enjoying a well earned rest, I had the bright idea to book dinner for us so we wouldn’t have to go through that again!





Of course, there wasn’t much available for dinner by that stage. Pretty much all of the park and DTD restaurants were full. There was still limited availability at the hotels, so I booked us in at Storytellers. My parents and I had been to Storytellers before for a character breakfast. Dinner was a whole different experience, but just as nice and laid back (and expensive!). My parents decided to make this my birthday dinner, since we would be in different parts of the US for my actual birthday. Given the special occasion, Mum and I splurged on glowing cocktails. None of us were really that hungry, given our table service lunch and the heat of the day, but we did all enjoy what we had.





We decided to end our last night with a ‘bang’ by seeing the awesome fireworks show again. None of us were at all interested in dealing with any crowds, so we planned to go back to our little viewing place by IASW from the other night. We still had a bit of time, so we stopped by the Disney Gallery on the way through. Amazingly, the crowds actually started to thin out a little, and we actually got a slightly better view of the parade.





Now knowing the best spots for the fireworks, our plan was to head down as soon as the parade passed, to get right at the fence in front of IASW. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t like our plans, and that area was roped off due to wind. So then there was a rush to find a good clear spot along the path. We managed to find a pretty good spot that had a good view of the projections on one half of the façade, plus a fairly uninterrupted view of the fireworks. There was one light fitting to the side that was difficult not to get in photos, but it didn’t really bother us at the time. The lights in the little gazebo thing across the road were slightly distracting, but nothing too major. In the end, we were pretty happy.





























We took our time leaving the park, knowing that would be the last time we saw it after dark. Plus we’d actually had a sleep in that morning so we weren’t completely exhausted! Our last stop was the Emporium for a spot of last minute shopping before calling it a night.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Sounds like one hot day!

Your wait times are great, considering how busy it was.
Lovely pics of the fireworks.

 

[zanzibar138]

Sounds like one hot day!

Your wait times are great, considering how busy it was.
Lovely pics of the fireworks.

We only did the rides with the short wait times. There were plenty that were up around the hour or more wait!

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 8 - The Very Last Disney Day

Today was our last day in Anaheim. Mum and Dad left in the morning, so we said our goodbyes, then DH and I headed off to get one last dose of Disney magic. We had asked the previous day at the DLH, and the CM there said he would be happy to keep our luggage for us while we were in the parks. He was as good as his word, so we were free to enjoy our day without having to worry about lockers. I’m guessing it would depend on the CM you got as to whether you could do this or not. And before anyone jumps on the moral bandwagon, we made it clear that we weren’t staying at the hotel.

First stop was DCA to grab some FPs for RSR. We immediately noticed a huge difference in the crowd levels. Despite it being the hottest day so far, maxing out close to 40, it was our most enjoyable day in the parks. We practically walked on the Grizzly River Rapids. Unfortunately TOT still had a bit of a wait, so we decided to give it a miss. I can only ride TOT if I don’t have time to think about it! We caught the end of the Newsies as we exited the park.



We crossed the esplanade and walked right into DL – no lines to get in today! Some Halloween décor had appeared overnight, including the giant pumpkin Mickey. We thought now would be a great time to ride Splash, but there was still about half an hour wait. After dealing with the crowds over the weekend, both of us were keen to take advantage of the shorter queues. In hindsight, we should have picked up a FP – rookie mistake! We rode BTM instead. We still had plenty of shopping to do, and it was hot. We took the opportunity to wander around some of the air-conditioned shops in New Orleans Square, then checked out what we could see of HMH before heading to Bengal BBQ for a light lunch.

















DH headed back into the Emporium on our way out. While I was waiting for him, I managed to catch Goofy and the Firehouse Band, and saw Cruella de Vil wandering through Town Square! She just wandered around for a bit, photobombed a couple of photos in front of the pumpkin Mickey (I was so jealous of those people!), and headed back to where she came from.









Back in DCA, we used our RSR FPs, grabbed an ice-cream (or in my case, a frozen banana), then went back to DL to finish our shopping. One of the girls at work had requested an Eeyore themed souvenir, so I bought her a mug at Pooh Corner. The line for Splash was still long, and by that time the FP return time was too late, so we gave up and rode Pirates instead. The CM at the shop suggested we head to Off the Page for our shopping, so we headed back to DCA – good thing we had park hoppers today!





We spent a pretty long time at Off the Page, picking out some prints and looking for a suitable gift for DH’s aunty. As we were checking out, I was recognised by one of the other CMs behind the counter – she turned out to be one of the regulars on the half marathon thread too! We then spent even longer having a good chat to her.

Eventually of course, it was time to head back to the DLH to gather our belongings and catch our lift to the airport. DH needed a quick bathroom stop on the way out, so I sat on one of the little brick walls waiting for him. Imagine my surprise when Mickey, Minnie and Oswald suddenly appeared right in front of me! They must have been taking promotional photos or something, because all three of them stopped and posed for one of the PP CMs! Unfortunately by the time I fumbled around in my bag for my camera, they had broken their pose, but I managed to get a few candid shots of them heading off to their respective areas. Luckily they were still hamming it up as they left! What a great little last bit of Disney magic for me to take away!





Back at the DLH, we got our luggage back with no issues, and sat in some of the comfy chairs out the front waiting for our SuperShuttle to arrive. Annoyingly, it turned up about 5 minutes past the end of the window they’d given us. So we’d just been sitting around waiting for 25 minutes. We could have been enjoying a last adult beverage at Trader Sam’s!

We were the last stop, so it was straight to the airport from there. The two seats left in the van weren’t anywhere near each other, so the ride to the airport was pretty quiet and boring. Nonetheless, we arrived there safely and in plenty of time for our red eye flight to Boston.

Unfortunately flying first class within the US does not give you lounge access, so we were left to find a public eatery and pay for our own food! We found a decent little place and enjoyed sharing a pizza with a side of fries.

The flight was pretty ordinary. The first class seats were nothing special (as DH had prepared me for), and we didn’t get much in the way of food due to the timing of the flight – we were pretty happy we’d splurged on the pizza. We did get free entertainment, which was very well used. I think I briefly fell asleep during one of the movies and maybe got an hour. DH didn’t get much at all. Still, the flight went relatively quickly, and soon we were landing in Boston.

 

[PrincessInOz]

anyone jumps on the moral bandwagon,

On the Dis? Never!!

Mickey, Minnie and Oswald suddenly appeared right in front of me!

How awesome is that? Great timing!

The first class seats were nothing special

Shame about this.

we were landing in Boston.

Looking forward to seeing Boston!




Great update. Looks like a fantastic last day at DLR. Always nice to have an emptier park with shorter queues.

 

[zanzibar138]

Looking forward to seeing Boston!

Great update. Looks like a fantastic last day at DLR. Always nice to have an emptier park with shorter queues.

It was heaven after the awful crowded weekend. Was very hot though - it maxed out at around 40c that day.

Sorry to tell you but you won't be seeing much of Boston... In fact, I don't think I even bothered to get my camera out again until we got to Fort Niagara!

After that flight, I would never bother to fly first class within the US unless the price difference was very minimal. No lounge and pretty ordinary seats would make it pretty poor value if you were paying (which we weren't - it was the same amount of points to book to LA as it was to Boston).

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Another interesting tale and some great pics. I like the candid shots at the end. Fresh from Singapore and HK those 35-40C days fill me with horror. I think I prefer Disney in the cold like Paris! I can't believe we still haven't seen Carsland yet as it wasn't open in our 2011 visit! and we've been tripping to other parks since as you know. No pics of Boston - darn - did you like it? I am still mixed about putting it on a "must-visit-soon" list or "maybe if I get time one day" list.

 

[zanzibar138]

Another interesting tale and some great pics. I like the candid shots at the end. Fresh from Singapore and HK those 35-40C days fill me with horror. I think I prefer Disney in the cold like Paris! I can't believe we still haven't seen Carsland yet as it wasn't open in our 2011 visit! and we've been tripping to other parks since as you know. No pics of Boston - darn - did you like it? I am still mixed about putting it on a "must-visit-soon" list or "maybe if I get time one day" list.

I am definitely a cool weather tourer as well. If it wasn't for the half marathon, I would never consider visiting Disney during summer, regardless of the crowd levels (well, maybe I would if we had the park to ourselves ).

You've done well visiting all the other parks. Because we've kept going back to DLR, we still have yet to get to TDL and WDW. One day.

We just had a few hours in Boston so we didn't bother to leave the airport. It was about 5am when we landed, and we were absolutely wrecked. So no, we didn't really enjoy our time in Boston Would have loved to spend a couple of days there on the way through, but we just didn't have the time. Clearly it's not on my 'must-visit' list

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 9 - The Road Trip Begins

After landing at Boston airport at about 5am, we spent the next few hours trying to fill in time before our next flight to Buffalo. This was where we really needed our lounge access, but we made do with overpriced coffee and pastries, and a wifi connection that made us log back in and look at an every 15 minutes. Despite this, the time went reasonably quickly, and we were soon boarding our little plane to Buffalo. To give you an idea of exactly how little it was, we had to gate check our very reasonable sized carry on luggage because it wouldn't fit in the overhead lockers.

We had a lovely view of Boston as we took off, although this was short lived with the low cloud clover that morning. As soon as the views disappeared, we pretty much fell straight to sleep, and woke up with the announcement that we were starting our descent to Buffalo. The cloud cover here was even worse, and as we landed we realised that it was absolutely pelting down with rain. Luckily the path to the rental cars, and the rental car garage itself, was all undercover. We set off towards Buffalo as it was getting towards lunch time then, and we thought that might be our best opportunity to find somewhere reasonable to eat. DH was also on the lookout for a Lowe's, where he was planning to buy some tools.

As we kept driving, we saw no signs of either a restaurant or a Lowe's. However, the rain did start to subside, and eventually cleared altogether! We didn't feel the need to drive all the way into Buffalo city, so we decided to take a freeway exit and see what happened. We actually happened to find the zoo, and across the road was a nice little café. We enjoyed our lunch and were glad for the little rest - we were both still pretty tired! We decided to give up on the Lowe's and just make our way to the next stop on the itinerary - Fort Niagara.

Fort Niagara is located right at the entrance to Niagara River, where it meets Lake Ontario. It was a nice drive from Buffalo, and we were kept entertained looking at all the beautiful traditional American style houses (the big two storey ones with an attic and a basement that you see in movies). I didn't really know what to expect from the Fort, and was thinking that it would mainly be a historic park, with maybe a few bits of wall or something where the fort used to be. I thought it would be a nice place to stretch our legs for half an hour. Turns out that it was a large fully in tact and restored fort and lighthouse, and we spent upwards of two hours there walking around! We were both pleasantly surprised.

We decided to visit the lighthouse first, where we could climb the stairs to the top. There was a gruff old man in the lighthouse, who gave us a bit of information and had us sign disclaimers before we went up to the top.





The views were great! A nice overview of the fort with the beautiful lake in the background.



It was pretty cramped in there, and only took a few couples to feel quite crowded. There was only room on the staircase to go one at a time, so we had to stand on the landing until the others had gone past. The steps were steep, and I understood why they wanted people to sign disclaimers.

To be continued...

 

[PrincessInOz]

we were soon boarding our little plane to Buffalo. To give you an idea of exactly how little it was, we had to gate check our very reasonable sized carry on luggage because it wouldn't fit in the overhead lockers.

It sounds exactly like the plane we boarded from Durango to Dallas! In our case, when we checked in, the check-in person looked at our reasonably sized carry-on bags and said nothing. The same person that checked us in then turned up on the tarmac. They were the ground staff that moved the 'ladder' to the plane and then checked our boarding passes as we climbed on-board. At that stage, they then said that our carry-on was too large and that we would need to surrender them for loading in the cargo hold.
That same person then had to 'load' those bags into the cargo hold!!! Go figure!!

The views were great!

They are indeed! That's a great looking fort and lighthouse.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Love it when you discover something different to what you expect! Lake Ontario looks like the sea!

 

[zanzibar138]

It sounds exactly like the plane we boarded from Durango to Dallas! In our case, when we checked in, the check-in person looked at our reasonably sized carry-on bags and said nothing. The same person that checked us in then turned up on the tarmac. They were the ground staff that moved the 'ladder' to the plane and then checked our boarding passes as we climbed on-board. At that stage, they then said that our carry-on was too large and that we would need to surrender them for loading in the cargo hold.
That same person then had to 'load' those bags into the cargo hold!!! Go figure!!

Ours were taken as we boarded too. Crazily enough, we still had a jetbridge.

Love it when you discover something different to what you expect! Lake Ontario looks like the sea!

It sure does! I could just make out Toronto on the other side using all the zoom on my camera (will upload a photo in the next post). Other than that, you could very easily be tricked into believing you were at the seaside!

 

[zanzibar138]

After the lighthouse, we moved on the fort itself. The path to the entrance was lined with spiky log fencing.



The entrance itself was a cool draw-bridge over a moat!







Through the entrance were a few old buildings. All the buildings were fully accessible (including the higher floors). Some were furnished as they would have been at the time, and some had been turned into information centres. There were very nice views all around. The scenery and photographic opportunities kept me well entertained, while DH read all about the history.



















We decided to take a break from checking out the buildings to take in the musket demonstration. This was held right on the edge of the lake and was quite entertaining. Even I learned heaps!







We could just make out the city of Toronto on the other side of the lake with the full zoom on my camera. I imagine it would be slightly easier to make out on a clear day.



Back to the buildings...





This main house was great fun to check out! It was so detailed.

















We finished off with a tour through the tunnels.







We even saw this little critter on our way out!



We had a quick look at the gift shop, which had quite a few nice things. We didn't buy anything though, we were very disciplined with the budget on this trip. One last shot of the lighthouse on the way out - the lighting was a lot better for it by then!

 

[zanzibar138]

From that point on, the road was very boring - just a two lane highway the whole time. We were hugging the lake all the way, but we couldn't even see it through the trees. We didn't go through any towns or pass any kind of café or anywhere else to break up the rest of the trip, and were very glad to get to Rochester! We did a quick detour of the city looking for somewhere for dinner, but we seemed to be at the business end of town and there really wasn't anything suitable. We ended up finding a big shopping centre surrounded by chain restaurants just up the road from our hotel, and settled on the steakhouse.

We had a nice dinner and enjoyed the country and western style theming around the restaurant before heading to the hotel for an early night.









Interestingly, the check in assistant at the hotel mentioned that we were the first Aussies she'd met!

 

[PrincessInOz]

That fort and lighthouse is an absolute hidden treasure. The pictures and vista back to the water are stunning!

Is that a beaver??? WOW!

Interestingly, the check in assistant at the hotel mentioned that we were the first Aussies she'd met!

You're definitely off the beaten track! LOL.

 

[zanzibar138]

That fort and lighthouse is an absolute hidden treasure. The pictures and vista back to the water are stunning!

I would definitely recommend it as a side trip for people visiting the Niagara Falls area - would only be an hour or so from there.

Is that a beaver??? WOW!

Sure looks like it to me Was definitely a major highlight!

You're definitely off the beaten track! LOL.

Yes, we were once again in 'Why on earth did you choose to come *here*?' territory

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 10 - The Border Crossing

We allowed ourselves to have a relatively leisurely morning - just had to get down to breakfast area in time! We made it just before the end of the breakfast time, and I headed straight for the waffle machine. After breakfast, we hung out in our room for a bit more. DH had some work to catch up on (yick!), and I took the opportunity to catch up on facebook before running out of patience and looking longingly out the window. Eventually DH was ready and we headed off. He searched the GPS for a post office along the way, so that we could send home a box of stuff we didn't need to lug around with us for the next week. After spending far too long at the post office (like, I'm thinking nearly an hour), we were finally really on our way. Of course by that time it was lunch time lol!

Given the rather isolated nature of our drive the day before, we figured we should probably stop for lunch before we got too far. We found a cute little town with a couple of restaurants to choose from. In hindsight, I would probably have preferred one of the other ones, but it did the job.



We didn't really have any stops planned for this journey, but the roads were a lot more interesting. We enjoyed seeing hanging traffic lights and 'watch out for snowmobiles/cross country skiers' signs.





We passed one major town on our way through, Oswego. As we drove along, we noticed signs pointing to a historic fort. Based on our experience at Fort Niagara, we thought we'd give it a go. Fort Ontario was much smaller than Fort Niagara, with only a few house style buildings within the walls of the fort. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant stop, with some more nice scenery. We enjoyed exploring the buildings and walls, and we ended up having a great chat with the docents there. They asked we were from 'now', assuming that we were clearly Australian, but must live somewhere in the local area now to be bothering to visit Oswego.

































Unfortunately we had to push on, as I was pretty keen to get to our next destination before dark. DH got briefly distracted by a Lowe's on the way out of town, and from there it was a fairly quick and easy run to the Canadian border, back on 2 lane highway.

Our excitement grew as we saw the signs for 'Canada' getting closer and closer. Soon, we had paid our toll fees and were starting our drive across the long Thousand Islands Bridge.



The Thousand Islands Bridge is in three sections, linking both sides of the river via two small islands. The first part of the bridge is still in the US, with border control on the first island. The national border is actually between the first and second islands, on the second section of bridge, but they decided to use the island for the official border crossing for the sake of logistics. I was actually slightly disappointed in the border crossing. It was just a few small brown boxes and gates, and no 'Welcome to Canada' sign or anything. As soon as the officer saw our passports were Australian, he waved us straight through! There was a small 'Entering Ontario' sign, but the best thing was going back to metric measurements! It almost made me homesick lol! The speed signs on the bridge were in both metric and imperial, as were a lot of the signs around the area.



We finished our drive along the bridge, via the other island. Unfortunately the railings were slightly in the way of the views, but it was an exciting taste of what was to come!







To be continued

 

[Zosha]

Those Fort's look amazing! And OMG, a beaver!!

 

[zanzibar138]

Those Fort's look amazing! And OMG, a beaver!!

I know right? Wildlife was really the last thing on our minds at the fort. I think we were the only ones to see it too. We were standing on top of one of the fort walls and there it was - didn't see anyone else around. Right place, right time