 Earlier in the week it was announced that Disney was cancelling all RunDisney races on the west coast for the foreseeable future. This was kind of known since none of the races for 2018 had gone on sale yet, and the first one of the year was in January. So as of today, the Super Hero Half Marathon in November may be the last race on the west coast for some time. Written by Gregg Condon The reasons for this are as extensive as the excuses flying around. Everything from Star Wars Land construction to Disney trying to "stick it" to the Anaheim City Council for them dragging their feet approving the Eastern Gateway and Harbor Bridge. Never mind that Disney dragged their feet for more than a decade while they had a very favorable city council in Anaheim. So what does this mean for you, the consumer? Because the ramifications of this go FAR beyond race weekends.  First off, if you think the Eastern Gateway and Harbor Bridge is going to be completed by the time Star Wars Land opens, I've got some bad news for you. And it's going to make traffic around the resort during the 24 hour Disney parties look pale in comparison. There simply aren't enough roads, parking spaces, access points, freeway exits and ways to get people to the park. The Eastern Gateway wasn't going to fully address this problem, but it's better than them adding 400 parking spots in the Toy Story Lot.  And who is going to feel the brunt of all this? The Disneyland front-line Cast Members and park visitors. Disney is still going to get their money, the city of Anaheim is still going to get their tax revenue. People are still going to descend on the parks to be "first" to visit Star Wars Land. They are still going to complain on Twitter on how big of a nightmare it is, how Star Wars doesn't fit at Disneyland and how everything is now ruined ... all while waiting 10 hours to get into the new land.  So with all of this, WHY did Disney cancel RunDisney races? Is it because of Star Wars Land construction? Possibly. But as you can see, we got pretty close to it last year during the Super Hero Half.   It also can't be because it wouldn't allow enough distance running through the park, because during the Super Hero race in 2014 there was just over 2 miles of running through the parks and backstage ... during a 13.1 mile race.
It can't be because Anaheim doesn't like the revenue they get for the police, traffic officers, permits and other things.  This is about 2 sides wanting different things, one side (Disney) dragging their feet and one side (Anaheim) not wanting to bow down to the mighty mouse. Sure, them cancelling these races may not impact you right now, in fact, many of you will probably enjoy not having runners descend on "your" park 3-4 times per year. What makes you think the relationship between Disney and Anaheim will somehow improve by them doing this? If anything, it's going to make it worse. And the next time Disney wants to expand their parks or resort or build a hotel ... good luck. Related Updates:
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 A couple of weekends ago we made our first trip to Disneyland since 2014. We were very excited (obviously) to visit our old stomping grounds (we were AP's from 1998-2012) and of course to try out the new attractions. We also decided to use the all new MaxPass to get the most out of our day. Read on to see how it went. We have lots of pics and videos to share. Written by Gregg Condon First let's take a look at Star Wars Land ...   Soon we'll only see the backs of buildings  We first headed into Disneyland. We wanted to spend our morning in Fantasyland and it's always fun to do a whole bunch of rides in a row when the park is slow in the morning. We also set up our MaxPass and while we were walking to Fantasyland and got to get FastPasses for Space Mountain.  Hey Walt, long time no see ...   We skipped Peter Pan because, well, that line is just crazy and headed first to my favorite Fantasyland ride ... Mr Toad.   Video of this classic!! Snow White's Scary Abrupt Ending Adventure's  Snow White has her Adventure ... Pinnochio has a Journey  Oooh, Matterhorn  Some fun on Ghost Galaxy ... one of the cool things about MaxPass is the free photos  While in line for Space Mtn we got some fastpasses for Star Tours, and then for Buzz ... Maxpass was working great so far. After getting FastPasses for Haunted Mansion Holiday, it was time for a happy cruise  Headed to New Orleans Square, we had to check out the new stuff   Star Wars Land ... we'll see it in 2029 or something. Honestly, even though we are Southern California Locals I'm placing bets that we visit Star Wars Land in FL before we visit it here.  Love the changes to the RR  While waiting for our HMH fastpasses, we took a Pooh  And grabbed some Splash Mtn fastpasses ... we got soaked.  While I personally think they should keep the regular Mansion open through Halloween (haven't done the normal mansion since 2011 because all our visits have come during Holidays) I can't deny how fun this is.  LOVE the updates to the Railroad While on the Railroad the parks got crazy busy ... seriously, between 11 and 1145 fastpasses for Soarin' went from 1:00pm to 9:00pm, Guardians fastpasses sold out (due to Monsters after dark) and the parks just seemed a lot busier.  Mermaids!!! The longest line of the day ... we didn't wait for it. This is the AP problem in a nutshell ...  The Halloween decorations in CarsLand are AMAZING!!     I have to admit, this ride is growing on me     Love these posters ... wish they sold them As close as we'd get to riding this ... sigh. So, unknown to us, they cut off FastPasses for Guardians because Monsters After Dark was set to begin at 5:00. They closed Guardians at 4. Yes, their brand new ride, closed for an hour. We tried to get Fastpasses for Monsters after dark at 3:00 when those were available ... which broke the MaxPass/FastPass system because so was everybody else. I'm not sure if they've fixed this since (apparently everything was fine last Saturday), but the system was down for hours, which kind of messed us up fore the rest of the day. What they SHOULD have done was made FastPasses available for both all day. And people could pick one or the other. For us, as infrequent visitors we would have picked Guardians in a second. While I have to believe most AP's would have picked Monsters After Dark. By trying to "reset" FastPasses at 3:00 for this one ride, it messed up EVERYBODY. Both MaxPass and FastPass users.  We did totally love the decorations at DCA  Hi Mickey!!  Hi Heady!! (No, Headley)  So we left DCA without being able to ride Guardians or Soarin' Over The World. We had planned on just doing Single Rider on Soarin', but they don't offer it anymore for some reason. We'll catch them in 3 more years I guess.  Because it was snack time we figured we'd enjoy a dole whip in the quiet courtyard of the Tiki Room ... boy, we missed the news of the huge queue in there now. No more quiet courtyard. :(  Pure Disney Magic    Luckily the FP system came up so we got to get some FP's for Indy and Big Thunder ... Side Note: We had totally forgotten they had made the updates to Indy ... loved them!! We always love the Halloween Tree   LOVE they still do the swing dancing on Saturday Night!!  Jungle Cruise at night is the best!!  After Jungle Cruise and Pirates we exited just in time to catch the fireworks. We didn't know they did projections on the river now, they are awesome and we enjoyed it more than in front of the castle (less stress too). We enjoyed a perfect unexpected family moment thus there are no pictures. Sorry. =) So how did the MaxPass work for us? Watch the video below to find out. We had a truly memorable day at Disneyland. We all agreed that we miss visiting Disneyland more often ... we don't miss the oppressive crowds however. Because we are planning on making a few trips to FL over the next 18 months we may spring for the Premiere Pass next year to squeeze in a few DL visits, but we'll see. Hope you all enjoyed our trip report and all of the videos!! Related Updates:
 Today's update takes us to one of our most favorite Halloween events of the year, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom. Tricks, Treats, Boo's to You's, Hallowishes and so much more ... Written by Renée Girard Let's head to Magic Kingdom for one of my favorite events, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!  Time to pick up our bags and start getting some candy.   Pumpkin cheesecake dome at Gaston's Tavern? Yes please!
Happy Halloween from Oswald the Lucky Rabbit!  More Halloween treats in Fantasyland.  This year's MNSSHP Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom card features the Country Bears.  Trick or treat! There are so many amazing snacks and desserts at MNSSHP. I wish there was more time to try them all!     The headless horseman riding through the streets before the parade is something I always look forward to.  Mickey's Boo to You parade is still a favorite of mine, featuring all of your favorite Disney characters, especially the villains.     Being a huge Haunted Mansion fan, that section of the parade is awesome, especially the dancing grave diggers.   Loved the view of HalloWishes from the train station on Main Street   Plenty of Oogie Boogie popcorn buckets available at MNSSHP at Magic Kingdom.  Exhausted and full of candy after a fun night at MNSSHP. Thanks WDW for an always amazing event!  Related Updates:
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