First half of the Pink Coast to Coast challenge has been completed!! Although I've spent a few hours (literally, hours) in Disneyland squished into work trips and destination wedding trips, this was my first ACTUAL Disneyland Trip. I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, which was AWESOME. It's not as themed as most of the WDW resorts, but it was certainly a luxury hotel with just enough Disney touch to make sure you remember where you are. I arrived on Thursday and took the Disneyland Resort Express from the airport. Couldn't have been easier! I checked in at the perfect time, as the characters from Goofy's Kitchen were wandering the lobby, so I got quite a few spontaneous character meet and greets!! After dumping my luggage, I headed to the Expo. I was about an hour early, but the lines were LOOOOONNNNGGGG already. I hopped into the line for the official race merch, having read that official race stuff sells out immediately on the west coast. In typical Disney fashion, they queued us up and had us marching back and forth for that hour, but once I got in, the merch booth was really well organized and I got everything I wanted, including a finisher's shirt (is it bad luck to buy a finisher's shirt before the race?? Might have been in this case!). Got my packet and wandered around the Expo waiting for my time slot to visit the New Balance booth to pick up the official race shoes (I actually had mine already - my friends found my size in the Cinderella shoes the week before at the Marathon Weekend, but there sizes were sold out, so I was on the hunt for Minnie shoes for them). Unfortunately, by the time my number was called, they were sold out, so off to the parks!!
Fireworks in the headboard....
I hit up DL first. My impression is that its....cute. You definitely get that Disney feeling, but when you stand looking at Sleeping Beauty's castle, it's so SMALL compared to Cinderella's. But it's still Disney and I loved it. First order of business was FOOD. I hadn't eaten since breakfast on the other side of the country!! I found Rancho de Zocalo and the CM greeting guests was from Williamsburg, VA, so we had a long chat about Virginia. I was so hungry, there are no pictures of the food, but DANG, that is some good CS food!! The crowds were pretty light, so I ran around doing my "must dos" (POTC) and all of the stuff that is not at WDW (Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Matterhorn, Alice in Wonderland, and a few others that are escaping me right now). HM and BTMRR were both closed. Hunted for some Dole Whip, but the CM I asked informed me that it closed early that night and I should try back. Did some shopping on Main Street then headed back through Downtown Disney District (DTDD) to my hotel. The plan was to hit up Trader Sam's Tiki Bar, but it was PACKED (not hard b/c it's really SMALL), so I had a beer at the Steakhouse 55 lounge. Since I was denied a Dole Whip I got a Mickey Ice Cream sandwich from the gift shop on my way back to the room. My this time, I was pooped, my body still on east coast time, and I was out like a light.
Hotel waterslides!
I woke up early Friday, not really by choice, but it worked out well, as it was EMH at DCA!! Woohoo!!! Up and dressed and standing in line at the park a little after 7. Met a wonderful woman who I ended up riding a few rides with (and we've since become facebook friends!!) and we passed the time chatting about runDisney. Finally let us into the park and we were OFF behind Lightning McQueen and 'Mater to Carsland. I'm telling you, so worth the extra expense of staying at DLH over the Hampton Inn!! Rode it 3x in about 40 minutes. After my 3rd ride, I wandered around Carsland taking pictures, rode 'Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, and got some of the mini churros for breakfast from the Cozy Cone Motel. They were super YUM and I wish I had some right NOW! As I was sitting at a table enjoying my fried sugar and chocolate, the park opened to the public and in came the masses, led again by Lightning McQueen and 'Mater. Lightning turned into the Cozy Cone and parked there. There were 2 photo pass photographers standing there and no line, so I jumped in and got my pic taken!!
After breakfast, I headed around to get my World of Color FP (which I sadly didn't end up using) and hit the Grizzly River Run. I think you definitely get much more wet on this ride compared to Kali River Rapids. Continued wondering around the park, towards the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, which is the same ride that is now in Fantasyland at MK. I still love it though. Bought a Dinglehopper at the gift shop, which tickled me to no end! Headed down Paradise Pier and hit up California Screamin', King Triton's Carousel, Goofy's flight school, Jumpin' Jelly Fishand Mickey's Wheel of Fun, using the single rider line as much as possible. By this time, I saw the Corn Dog Castle and decided it was a must to get the Corn-Cheese-Dog (I don't eat hot dogs, so the cheese stick in the middle was perfect). I was hoping to pair it up with a local craft beer, but Bayside Brews wasn't open yet. After my snack, I wandered a bit more, getting a FP for ToT and doing the Boudin bakery tour (which is a really RANDOM attraction, btw). I wanted a Mickey face sourdough loaf, but the line for the cafe was LONG and in typical ride queue fashion so I moved on. As I was wandering over to find the Monster's Inc ride (which is really well done!), I saw a sign for a private character greeting for Disney Visa holders, so I hopped in line. I had no idea who we were meeting, but it was Stitch!! Woohoo, I love him!! It was finally time for my FP, so I rode the ToT. VERY VERY VERY different than the one at DHS and I was totally surprised. Headed over for Soarin', which is the exact same ride as is in Epcot, again using the single rider line, which cut the wait time down by a LOT. By this time, I was starting to get that feeling that I've been on too many upside down/spinny rides for one day and headed back to the hotel, where I hung out by the pool for a bit. Dinner was at Tortilla Joe's that night, and I'd highly recommend it. After dinner, I headed back to Disneyland. You could certainly tell that it was the start of a long race weekend, as the lines were getting very long. Rode HM, hunted again in vain for Dole Whip, wandered around a bit, then headed back to the hotel.
Cheese on a stick!! Notice the apples, that makes this a healthy meal....
We were originally planning to do Disneyland this year but then the super amazing DVC annual pass deal happened and well, DL has been relegated to next year (hopefully--unless DH "drags" me on a Disney Cruise 
).
Such an enabler....
. I'm really hoping that the Pixar coastal CA cruise comes back. I didn't see it until it was too late, but it looked wicked cool. 
. Glad it held off until the run was over!!
