Star Wars 2015 Report

[Texas84]

Meant to get this out sooner but Dopey+Rebel caught up to me and I'm getting over a bug. Happens when I get worn out.

Flew in to Orange County Thursday and took the Disneyland Express bus to the Disneyland Hotel for packet pickup about 1400. No problems, in and out quickly. Walked the 15 minutes to the Holiday Inn Suites to drop off the luggage then headed to DCA for some food. Roast beef sandwich at Flo’s was awful. Chewy and full of gristle. Slaw was really good though. Got some pretzel bites at Cozy Cone and rode RSR twice. My car lost both times. Watched Radiator Springs lights come on to Shaboom and went home.

 

[Texas84]

Friday

0330 wake-up for Star Wars 5K. Only a 15 minute walk but wanted to see if anything special happened pre-race. Perfect weather, about 50 and no wind. Clear skies. California’s 50 was warmer than Florida’s 50 for some reason. MCs were dressed in SW garb. Storm Troopers tried to take Rudy away at Vader’s orders and a Jedi saved him. “This is not the announcer you are looking for.” R2 and 3PO showed up to start the 5K. Rudy said something about bling that offended 3PO. Funny bit.

Started on corral A. I always get better corrals at DLR. Determined to enjoy the 5K and 10K and be serious on the half. Stopped for pics 4-5 times and finished with a 40. Saw two Troopers who were telling everyone to move along, keep running. Sprinted to the pictures. Got one with Vader and Troopers. CM took two pics with my phone and official photographer took two. CMs were setting up tape switchbacks when I got there, anticipating the later corrals. Didn’t see any other bad guys.

Showered and went to DL for a few hours. BTMRR refurb is amazing. Didn’t know Small World had a Christmas overlay. Not bad. Park was empty until about 1100 then got real busy. Several attractions closed. HM, Critter Country, Matterhorn, Splash. Star Tours rebel spy photo wasn’t working. Can we re-do WDW’s Buzz to match DL?

Wanted to eat at French Market but it was slammed. No tables. Found some really bad chicken nuggets that came with really amazing fries. Mexican place had plenty of tables but decided that wouldn’t be a good idea with two races left. Hopped on the monorail to get some stuff at the expo then went back to the hotel. From the monorail saw the destruction going on at Condor Flats in DCA. Got a 19.3 magnet, pins, the last large 19.3 t-shirt, and a C2C shirt. The ladies' 19.3 jackets looked really nice.

 

[Texas84]

Me and Vader

 

[Texas84]

Saturday

0330 wakeup for the 10K. Storm Troopers out taking pictures. Vader after Rudy again and the Jedi got the crowd to use the Force push to get rid of him. Walked to the start and Vader finally was able to grab Rudy. Noticed Vader was using the Academy recorded lines. Carissa said she would take over with a diabolical laugh and the crowd cheered. Rudy started to walk back on stage before his cue and everyone cracked up. When he finally came back after the Jedi ‘saved’ him, he said he saw a guy backstage that looked just like him. Funny stuff. R2 and 3PO sent the runners off again. I stopped three times and ended up just over an hour. Didn’t eat very well yesterday and struggled late.

Great costumes. Elsa Fett was the best. Everyone was getting pictures with her. One girl dressed as Vader’s TIE fighter. Wings on the arms. Saw a few Spaceballs characters. A couple did Joan Rivers’ and John Candy’s characters and there was a guy with a running shirt that said “Ludicrous Speed, Go!”

Today had Boba Fett, Chewie, Vader, and Ezra and Sabine from Star Wars Rebels. And a bunch of Jedi.

And special thanks to the ART drivers. They started at 0300 and then did a normal shift.

Got the awesome 10K Trooper medal, cleaned up, then went back to DL and had breakfast at River Belle Terrace. Love that place. Can you say cinnamon roll French toast? DL was slammed today. Got a paper FP for Indy and rode it twice. Stood in line for a Dole Whip Float. Counter chicken sandwich in Tomorrowland for lunch. Not bad. Had an avocado salsa dressing that was tasty.

 

[Texas84]

Elsa Fett

Source: http://www.adventuresbydaddy.com/2015/01/20/rundisney-star-wars-half-marathon-recap/
Some good pics there.

 

[Texas84]

Sunday

Wake-up at 0300 for a bite to eat before the Half. Vader tried to grab Rudy again. Walk to corral A to watch R2 and 3PO start the half. Decided I was going for the PR. Corral A spread out nicely and got the heck through the parks in good time. Same Star Wars characters were out but this time there were extra Stormtroopers. Some were at outdoor attractions acting like they were guarding them. Got into the streets and really liked this course better than the regular half. Fast and flat. Went south to Garden Grove. At mile 11 the course looped back north onto Harbor at about 5.5 miles south and the parade of runners and walkers shocked me. A solid crowd still at mile 5. Thought I heard 12,000. There were also a ton of amazing characters on the streets. All kinds of Fetts, Troopers, and other characters. Wondering if they were from the 501st. I saw a few Orange County 501st shirts and vests in the parks. Did a quick calculation and figured the PR was mine. Went into cruise and finished at 2:04, about 4 minutes better than my previous PR. Saw Darth Goofy and Princess Minnie at the finish. High fived a few other fellow Dopeys. Got my Rebel Challenge and C2C medals. Really good live band on stage. Watched until they took a break then trudged back to the hotel clinking away.

Had a bite in the room, soak in the tub, shower up and took ART to the parks to go to DCA. The traffic was terrible with all the runners leaving the parking garage. Got to Flo’s about 1130 and tried the ribs. Fall off the bone delicious. DCA was a madhouse. I bet DL was worse. Hit the RSR single rider line and it broke down right when I got to load. They had to do and evac on the cars that were still out but I stayed in line. When I entered, the regular standby was 120. Got to see the reset procedure which was interesting. Then went to see Aladdin. This is the best thing going in Disney Parks, period. Someone asked me where they could buy my C2C medal. Grabbed a hot dog and watched the Radiator Springs lights go on at sundown to Shaboom. Then headed home and got stuck in the Pixar parade. Crowd control nightmare. Grabbed the ART bus back to the hotel for some sleep and my last night in Anaheim.

 

[Texas84]

Bottom line: runDisney hit a home run with this one. More characters in the parks would have been nice but the cosplayers outside of the parks made up for it. And this is a really fast half course if you can get in corral A. Straight and flat.

 

[JillC LI]

Went into cruise and finished at 3:04, about 4 minutes better than my previous PR.
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Someone asked me where they could buy my C2C medal.

Congrats on the PR. Love the comment about buying the medal! You've been a VERY busy runner lately. Kudos to you, you lucky dog. (Now, what's a Fett? - clearly, I'm not a Star Wars fan here - only saw the original movie when I was a pre-teen)

Btw, I saw your other post with your PR - you might want to edit/correct the 3:04 typo! LOL

 

[Texas84]

Congrats on the PR. Love the comment about buying the medal! You've been a VERY busy runner lately. Kudos to you, you lucky dog. (Now, what's a Fett? - clearly, I'm not a Star Wars fan here - only saw the original movie when I was a pre-teen)

Btw, I saw your other post with your PR - you might want to edit/correct the 3:04 typo! LOL

Ha! Thanks for the correction!

Boba Fett was a bounty hunter who captured Han Solo.

 

[Kristia]

Great report! Dan and I are hoping to do this one next year as a Coast to Coast. We want to do the Star Wars and then a W&D redo! I originally wanted to do the Goofy and then the DL Half but Dan wanted to do Star Wars. I am not sure how many more Disney race we will do since it looks like the DL half is up to $200! Its getting crazy.

 

[Texas84]

Vader trying to kidnap Rudy.

 

[Chasin' Tail]

Congrats!