:: Giddy Girlie ::: CHOC Walk

This past Sunday was the Childrens Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) annual fundraiser - the CHOC Walk in the Park, so named because it's a 5k walk through Disneyland and California Adventure. It's a wonderful cause that I have supported for many years (7, I think!) not just because it's a charity to benefit children, but the entire CHOC philosophy of care.

So I proudly helped raise money (donations still being accepted on my personal fundraising page through 10/29!) and joined the walk.

filling in the park, waiting for the start

More than 14,000 walkers were in attendance, and many were there representing children who had been helped by CHOC.

At the official starting line, Donald and Mickey were there to cheer us on. The announcer (red shirt) would also call out the various teams and organizations as they passed.

All along the route, the Disney characters were out and waving and cheering everyone on. Because of this, it's a slow walk. It's a 5k, but it takes more than an hour (probably about 90 minutes) to complete. I tried to snap pictures as we walked by, so we didn't slow down the people behind us. But as you can see, the castle was a popular spot for team photos.

Flora, Fauna, Merriweather on the castle

Over at California Adventure, there were more characters waiting to cheer us along, including the Incredibles family.

After the walk, we were pretty hungry, so we went and had breakfast at the Whitewater Cafe inside the Grand Californian Hotel. It was surprisingly good for mass-produced theme park food. I especially liked the Halloween cups, with the Disney characters dressed as various villians. I was surprised to see Goofy as Chernabog, who isn't represented much inside the theme parks.

After breakfast, we went back to the parks which were now open for general admission, and decided to check out the pumpkin carvers and their interesting creations.