Tips & News — News

What's better than one baby giraffe? Two baby giraffes.

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge announced the birth of two new adorable members coming to its savanna. They are scheduled to make their debut by the end of the year.

Rori gave birth to Gemma, at roughly 160 pounds and 6 feet tall...wow. Also, last month Azizi gave birth to a boy named Griffon.

I found this extra exciting and wanted to share with you all for two reasons. First, who doesn't want to hear about or see pictures of baby giraffes. And second, for a long time Janey and I have been wanting to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge with a room facing the savanna. I think now the possibility of waking up to baby giraffes right outside our window may be the extra motivation we need to book this trip. We'll keep you posted.

Rori & Gemma pictured below.

Source: @Disney

The Disneyland Half Marathon weekend is quickly approaching. It's shaping up to be an incredible weekend filled with all of our favorite Pixar friends. The races will take place at the Disneyland Resort from August 31st to September 3rd. For those of you participating in the event you are most likely starting to shorten your training runs and focusing more on race day. Let's take a look at some event details and the awesome commemorative merchandise.

The weekend gets kicked off with the runDisney Health and Fitness Expo. This is a must stop for participants as you'll need to pick up your race number bibs, shirt and gEAR bag.   You can also shop all the official runDisney merchandise as well as other participating exhibitors. The expo will be located in the Disneyland Hotel Exhibit Hall.

Thursday, August 31, 2017 - 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Friday, September 1, 2017 - Noon - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 2, 2017 - 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

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The 5k is hosted by The Incredibles and gets started bright and early at 5am on Friday morning September 1st. Its a 3.1 mile run that starts on Disneyland Drive and ends in the Limo parking lot.

Saturday September 2nd plays host to both the Kids races and the 10k. The 10k will be very similar to the 5k as it starts at 5am, begins on Disneyland Drive and ends in the Limo parking lot. This race is hosted by Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc. and will span 6.2 miles. The route will include both Disney California Adventure Park and Disneyland Park. The kids races get going at 9am in the Stitch parking lot.

Sunday is reserved for the half marathon and will be all about Toy Story. You'll be going 13.1 miles with Woody, Buzz, Jesse and the rest of the gang through the Disneyland Resort and some of Anaheim. It too gets started on Disneyland Drive and ends up in the Lilo parking lot.

The Disneyland Double-Dare will be celebrating its 5th anniversary this year. It is for you all who are crazy enough to take on the 10k and half marathon on back-to-back days. Completing this challenge earns you a special Double Dare medal in addition to your 10k and half marathon medal. It also earns you some sore legs and a lot of sleep on Sunday evening.

Last, let's take a look and some of the amazing Pixar inspired merchandise you'll be able to grab. This year you'll find a lot of the traditional favorites as well as a few new options.

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We'd love to hear your stories.

Are you running at this years event? If you've ran a runDisney event previously, what was your favorite memory?

*photos from Disney Parks Blog

Grab your passports. The 2017 Epcot Food and Wine Festival will be a record setting 75 days long. This is super exciting news as it is definitely one of the best events Disney hosts. There's no better way to spend an autumn day than at Epcot eating and drinking your way around the world.

The event begins on August 31st and will conclude on November 13th.

We will be updating you as the event draws closer and more information becomes available on highlighted marketplaces, dining options and overall news.

Who's going this year?

Today, Disneyland celebrated its 62nd birthday and we couldn't be happier! For those of you that don't know or are still getting to know us here on the blog, Disneyland holds a special place in our hearts. Disneyland left a mark on our lives. Before settling into our current home here in Chicago, Janey and I first met out west in Scottsdale. What happens when two dis-nerds come together a short drive from Anaheim? You guessed it, they fall in love over the course of many Disneyland trips and the rest is history.

So, Happy Birthday Disneyland and thank you for being such a special place and leaving a mark our lives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SBZ90ge81I

Whoa!  What a weekend for the house of mouse and its fans. As the D23 Expo comes to a close, we want to share some of the biggest updates and announcements. There were bombshells and a few more obvious confirmations, but all in all it was an exciting and historic weekend. 

Here's a list of the biggest announcements:

Parks and Resorts

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge – These new Star Wars lands will open in 2019 at both Disneyland and Hollywood Studios! Chapek said, “The scale of this attraction is unlike anything that we’ve ever done before.”

Epcot News – Two new attractions! The France Pavilion will be gaining a Ratatouille ride and a Guardians of the Galaxy attraction will open up, as well. There will also be a new restaurant next to Mission: SPACE.

TRON Lightcycle Power Run – This new attraction will be opening up in Tomorrowland before Magic Kingdom’s 50^th anniversary. The attraction is already running at Shanghai Disneyland.

Disney’s Hotel New York, The Art of Marvel – This new resort will be opening in Disneyland Paris.

Star Wars Resort – This completely immersive resort will be every Star Wars fan’s dream. (I think it’s time I finally watch these movies.)

Disney Skyliner – This gondola transportation system will link Disney’s Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, Art of Animation resorts and others with Epcot and Hollywood Studios!

Disney Riviera Resort – A brand new resort near Epcot!

Disney Cruise Line – This thing is growing big time! Two new ships are in the works and a third was just announced, as well.

Toy Story Land – Opening at Hollywood Studios next summer!!!

Pixar Pier – Paradise Pier in California Adventure will make the switch to a Pixar themed boardwalk. A new Pixar parade will move to Disneyland.

Paint the Night Parade – IS COMING BACK, this time to California Adventure!!!

Super Hero Attractions – Spider-Man and Avengers will be coming to California Adventure.

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway – This new ride will take you through Mickey’s story. It also will replace the iconic Great Movie Ride so I’m very upset by this one.

Upcoming Films!

• Olaf’s Frozen Adventure (November 2017)
• Frozen 2 (November 2019(
• Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck It Ralph 2
• Edna Mode
• Toy Story 4
• Coco
• Untitled Movie by Dan Scanlon
• Avengers
• A Wrinkle In Time
• Lion King Live Action
• Dumbo Live Action
• Aladdin Live Action
• Mary Poppins Returns
• + more

There are so many amazing things coming soon! I am most excited for all of the Pixar announcements and obviously Paint the Night Parade, my favorite show of all time! Let us know your thoughts and what you’re most looking forward to!

*All pictures from d23.com