Okay, that was a rather long title for this post. However it fits. The day after the Los Angeles Marathon, I headed off to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure with my wife, youngest niece, and sister-in-law for a fun-filled day!

After finishing my first full marathon, Brooke and I went to the Magic Kingdom to celebrate. So, when I thought of what I should do after the Los Angeles Marathon, I thought I should go to Disneyland. After all, it worked out pretty well for me after the first marathon. Why not? Isn’t that what everyone does after finishing a marathon? In February, we found out that my youngest niece would be coming out to California that week. Since she had never been to a Disney theme park, it seemed like a great fit.

Like a lot of kids, my niece is a huge fan of Frozen. So, I knew we needed to start the day off at Disney California Adventure to take in all the Frozen themed things. We started off by getting FastPasses for the For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing Along Celebration and Anna and Elsa’s Royal Welcome. That would frame the rest of the day. Once we got the FastPasses, we headed to Olaf’s Snow Fest.

The theming of this place is everything that makes Disney magical!

See what I mean? It’s like stepping into Arendale.

While my niece and sister-in-law took off for the toboggan. Brooke and walked around. Yep. I wore the LA Marathon medal! Those runDisney races have trained me well!

At one point, it snowed! From the extreme heat of the LA Marathon to the fake snow. Talk about extremes!

I think this could be a Christmas card picture. Don’t you think?

After playing in the snow for a bit, it was time to head off to catch For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing Along Celebration. This is such a fun show! Brooke and I hadn’t seen this show yet.

The show features one of the main storytellers of Arendale who tells the story we have known from the movie Frozen. She’s got an apprentice who she’s “training” to tell the story. Along the way, we are visited by Anna, Elsa, and Kristof.

As the story is told, when they get to the songs, a sing along version of the animation is shown on the screen and everyone sings along. The words are on the screen. So, if you don’t know them, there is no excuse not to sing. What was fun about this show is that they added extra animation effects in the theater to add to the magic. If you’re ever at DCA and they still have this show, I highly recommend take in the show. Although, you’ll want to get FastPasses.

After the show, Brooke and my niece hopped in line to meet Olaf. The way the meet and greet with Olaf worked is that you wait outside to get a pager. Once you get the pager, you have around an hour before you are buzzed to get inside to get in a line to meet Olaf. While Brooke and my niece were in line, my sister-in-law and I went off to Disneyland to get a FastPass for Space Mountain. When we returned, Brooke and my niece were about to go learn how to draw Olaf in the Art of Animation Building.

Not too long after they learned to draw Olaf, we were buzzed and it was time to actually go meet Olaf. I love being at the parks with a child. Their reactions to everything can be so much fun. I could tell my niece was pretty happy to meet Olaf.

Not too long after meeting Olaf, it was time to hop in line to meet Elsa and Anna. My niece was beyond excited to see them and meet them! I’ve got to say that the Anna was phenomenal!

With the Frozen fun accomplished, we had a quick lunch. Then, it was off to my wife’s favorite ride at DCA…The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure.

After bidding Ariel adieu, it was time head to Disneyland.

Before leaving, I needed a quick picture with Mickey’s Fun Wheel in the background!

The LA Marathon finisher’s medal tour continued into Disneyland. The first attraction we took on was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters!

Buzz was happy to see my medal!

He saluted my efforts from the day before! It was fun riding and playing the Astro Blasters!

After the Astro Blasters, I wanted to make sure to get a picture at Sleeping Beauty’s Castle with my new marathon medal before the sun went down.

We all got pictures with the castle! Then, we headed off to Fantasyland. My wife, sister-in-law, and niece rode King Arthur’s Carousel while I took pictures. Then, my niece and wife went on the Tea Cups. With not much time left, we all rode Alice in Wonderland. Then, my niece and sister-in-law headed off to ride Space Mountain.

Brooke and I took off to finish our day with my favorite attraction at Disneyland…Pirates of the Caribbean.

I tempted Jack with my bling. He couldn’t get this treasure! You may be wondering why I didn’t hop on Space Mountain with my niece and sister-in-law. Well, after watching my wife and niece ride my wife’s favorite Disneyland attraction…the Tea Cups…it was time for me to get my favorite attraction in. The goal was to leave the park by 7:30. We made it out around 8pm.

It was a shorter day than what my wife and I had at the Magic Kingdom. However, it was still tons of fun. If you ever have the chance to be at a Disney theme park with a child who is experiencing it for the first time, do it. These days, you see completely what Walt must have envisioned when he came up with the idea for Disneyland. I feel very privileged to live so close to Disneyland because it means I don’t have to do everything every time I go to the Disneyland Resort. On this visit, I was more than happy to sacrifice some of the attractions I love to give my niece a fun experience. What an awesome way to celebrate my second marathon finish! I don’t know what I’ll do if I finish a marathon and can’t go to a Disney theme park on the day after.