Who’s in with me?
This Fall, I’m running Dumbo Double Dare, which also happens to be my first Coast to Coast, and I am SO excited!!
If you are a runDisney enthusiast, I’m sure you’ve heard the buzz about this race - but if not, let me enlighten you. Dumbo Double Dare is a 10K on Saturday followed by a Half Marathon on Sunday and will take place at the Disneyland Resort in California this Fall. It’s a 2 day experience, similar to Goofy’s Challenge (minus the insane distances). Not only is the Double Dare an inaugural race, so is the 10k that will be held on Saturday! So many people were excited about this race, it sold out within 2 hours of being open to the masses! Crazy!!
I completed our travel plans for Dumbo last night and I couldn’t be more excited! (I get excited a lot if you didn’t notice – it doesn’t take much, especially when Disney is involved!)
First off, we decided to travel to California the week before the race. Walking for days prior to a race might not sound like a good idea to you, but I’m not terribly worried. At home, I can’t sit still – in my head, this translates to the fact that I would be walking every day anyway, out of town or not. Makes sense, right? (I say I’m not worried now – hope I still feel that way in August!)
Here’s our plans:
Fly into San Diego and (possibly) rent a car.
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Our San Diego resort: Paradise Point – we will be here for 3 nights. The pictures of this resort reminded me SO much of Hawaii, I couldn’t resist!
To visit while in San Diego:
- San Diego Zoo
- Sea World
- Old Town
If anyone has anything to add or must-do places to eat, PLEASE let me know!! We’d love to see/do as much in 3 days as possible! Sadly, the Padres will be on the road during this time. :0(
Once our time in San Diego is complete, we will drive the car to Anaheim for drop off at Downtown Disney. We decided not to keep the car while in Disney, we really don’t need it since everything is in walking distance. (I’m hoping to score a rental deal through Alamo – again, if you know of anything, please let me know!)
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Our Disneyland Resort: The Grand Californian – we will be here for four nights.
To visit while in Disneyland:
- Disneyland Park
- Paradise Pier
- Downtown Disney
- runDisney Expo
- Dumbo Double Dare, of course!
Since we’ve already spent an entire week at Disneyland with a tour of LA/Hollywood, we decided to focus most of our “travel/touristy” time in San Diego.
Last but not least - to end this trip, we will fly out of LAX to home.
San Diego is completely new territory to me which makes me a bit nervous, so I’m asking for your help!
Have you ever been to San Diego? Any tips/advice? Anything exciting we just HAVE to see? Any great places to eat?
I love Disneyland...probably more than Disneyworld! It has an old school feel to it, which I adore. The California vibe is awesome too. Ya'll will have a wonderful time...and yes, I am very jealous! :)
ReplyDeleteI feel the same exact way about Disneyland. There's just something about it that makes it special. I love the atmosphere on Main Street....makes me smile when I think that Walt once walked there, too!
DeleteI was in California last year while my sister had a conference in San Diego. It is SERIOUSLY beautiful! If you get a chance, go to Coronado Beach! It was my first time touching the West Coast. Can't wait to hear about your trip and challenge :)
ReplyDeleteOh good!! Thanks for the tip-we will be sure to look into that one!
DeleteGo to La Jolla and see the sea lions! It's so pretty there! :) We also loved the amazing views at Torrey Pines State Reserve. You are going to have SO MUCH FUN!!! :)
ReplyDeleteLa Jolla to see the sea lions, and Torrey Pines State Reserve for the amazing views! :)You are going to have a great time! I LOVED socal- I want to move there so bad lol.
ReplyDeleteOoh good idea!! Thanks RB!!
DeleteThis is going to be so much fun! My sister and her new husband are going to California for two weeks for their honeymoon soon, and throwing in a trip to Disneyland (of course) in there, and I'm so jealous! I just LOVE the Grand Californian. Beautiful resort.
ReplyDeleteNow that sounds like an amazing trip!! How cool! We stayed at Paradise Pier last time so I'm interested to check out the Grand!
DeleteSounds like a great plan! Can't wait to hear what you think of the 10K and the Dumbo Challenge! It's been a while since we've been to SD, so I can't offer much advice, but I remember LOVING the zoo. I seem to remember that we visited a wild animal park while we were there, too...?
ReplyDeleteI've heard so much about the zoo! That's what we are most excited about! :0)
DeleteBe sure to visit Coronado Island and have a drink at the Hotel del Coronado....looks just like Grand Floridian (or rather GF copied Hotel Del) See you at DDD! We can't wait, it is also Christine's first C2C!
ReplyDeleteI did look into that resort...it was a tad bit out of our price range, but we definitely plan on visiting!! :0) Can't wait to see you ladies there!
DeleteKaren, you are right....that resort is crazy expensive. We were there for a business trip so we got to enjoy it immensely! :)
DeleteOoooh how nice!! I love it when things work out that way!
DeleteTOTALLY JEALOUS!
ReplyDeleteI wish I was running the Dumbo Double Dare!
I just did a week at Disneyland this past January and had a marvelous time!
How fun!! Was it for Tink?
DeleteSounds fun! I thought about doing it. My husband will be in California then, but when I looked it was sold out. I can't wait to see pictures.
ReplyDeleteBummer..sorry that happened! The race sold out like crazy fast! I couldn't believe it!
DeleteI can't wait to do double dare dumbo.. I'm nervous as all get out, but I'm thrilled at the adventure!
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be so much fun!! Don't be nervous - you'll do great!
DeleteWe went to Sea World last June and honestly I wouldn't bother, I would reccommend the zoo over that for sure. I was expecting more animals and found that Sea World is more of an amusement park unless you're going to pay extra to do the up close animal encounters. Looks like a fabulous trip otherwise! The SD resort looks heavenly :)
ReplyDeleteGood to know!! Thank you! :0)
DeleteSan Diego is a great place to visit. In addition to what you've planned, Coronado is an absolute must visit. If y'all are into military history, you should check into a tour of the U.S.S. Midway (also,if you're looking for a fun place for a run, the park around the Midway is a great place to run). If you can, the Gaslamp District downtown can be really fun at night. The Padres may not be in town while you're here, but they do offer a tour of their ballpark. PETCO is a great, unique ballpark. So, that may be fun.
ReplyDeleteWhen you and your husband are driving up the coast to the OC, take a little time and stop in Carlsbad. My wife and I LOVE Carlsbad. They have a great beach that's not too far off the freeway. Also, look up this place called "The Chocolate Bar." They have some very unique chocolate desserts (plus other food as well) and the staff could even help in pairing various wines with their chocolate offerings. My wife and I love this place. We usually get something at The Chocolate Bar and walk to the beach and enjoy our desert by the water.
I hope you enjoy your time in Southern California. As a local resident, I love living here. Disneyland is my absolute favorite Disney theme park probably because it's the one that Walt built and the one I grew up going to. I'm looking forward to the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend as I'll be running in the 10K and Half as well. Have fun planning!
Oh my goodness THANK YOU so much for all of the valuable information!! I really really appreciate it! I'm adding your suggestions to my list! The chocolate bar sounds AMAZING! YAY for another Dumbo participant! This is going to be so much fun!!
DeleteSo jealous. I want to do this race. It sounds like so much fun. Plus, I hear San Diego is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm excited, too! Can't wait!
DeleteThis looks so exciting! And the Coast to Coast Challenge sounds great!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to Disneyland (just Disney World), so I'll definitely look forward to your pictures and race recap. :)
I'm super excited, can't wait! If you are a Disney fan, you must go to Disneyland one day! I love it!!
DeleteYay!! I've only been to San Diego once but I really enjoyed it - the zoo is a must!! And if you can make it out to Hotel del Coronado, do it. It is so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Will definitely include all of that in my list! :0)
DeleteI LOVE the Gaslamp district for food. Plus there are some cute boutique shops. I've been a few times for work and we've always been in that area. Have fun!! :) -Christine
ReplyDeleteGood to know! Thanks so much, Christine!!
DeleteI have nothing to offer (Dumbo Double Dare will be my very first Disneyland/CA trip), but your itinerary sounds like a BLAST! I'm so excited! :-D
ReplyDeleteSO exciting!!! Yay!
DeleteSounds like it will be an awesome trip, I stayed in the Grand Californian last October.
ReplyDeleteI have never been to San Diego but have always wanted to go, I was hoping to go there in July to Comic Con, but couldnt get tickets.
One day I will do a Disney race!
Sorry about tickets! That's a bummer! Can't wait to stay in the Grand...it will be my first time!
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