Princess Half Marathon Expo 2020

Have you ever been to a runDisney Expo on day one of opening at opening time? Well, I'm here to tell you that it was definitely one of the most interesting experiences of my life! I'm getting ahead of myself, though...let me back up...

For the Princes Half Marathon this year, we arrived the week before race weekend. Our usual plans include race weekend followed by the week after, but due to our annual pass expiration, we had to choose the week before. This worked out in our favor though, because I was able to attend the Expo on day one of the opening, that morning! Prior to this experience, I'd only ever done that at one other expo and it was for one of the Disneyland races. 

So, my plans were to wake up that morning, run the Derby Dash at Saratoga Springs, then shower and get in line for a bus to the Expo.

With coffee in hand, I was ready to go for exactly 9:15 a.m. The Expo was set to open at 10 a.m. and I wanted to be on the first bus out of our resort.

The line of people once I arrived at the bus stop should have been my first clue that this was not going to be an easy walk in the park...

The bus arrived a little late, but we were still at the Expo just a few minutes before 10 a.m.

I decided to first stop in the runDisney official merchandise area before moving over to pick up my bib. Walking up to this building was a bit deceiving because I didn't see any lines! I thought I happened to be lucky!

To my surprise, we were allowed inside the building (I thought they had opened the Expo early), but instead of being shown to the merchandise area, we were ushered into a "queue" room where we were asked to wait.....check out the people!

In true Disney fashion, this room had tape all over the floor, signaling the way for us to walk and the path for us to follow. The room was filled with people! I couldn't believe it!

After 40 minutes in the merchandise queue room, it was finally my turn to go shopping! :)

To be honest, it was interesting being at the Expo on the very first day and seeing all of the fully stocked shelves. I was able to snag a spirit jersey for myself and pins for all of the races I was running. (I was bummed at the Wine & Dine Expo  that all of the pins were sold out by the time we made it inside.) Also, the frenzy of people grabbing items, tossing others to their friends, and stuffing their baskets was quite comical. It felt like Black Friday but at a runDisney Expo!

After selecting my items, I joined yet another line to check out. By the time I finished my purchases, I decided I was done with lines forever. :)

Outside of the merchandise area were several photo opportunities, character stops, and a food/beverage area.

My next stop on the Expo journey was to pick up my packet. I was literally standing at the bus stop back at Saratoga Springs when I realized I left my race waiver back in my room (but I wasn't about to leave my spot in line). For those of you who are absent minded like me (sometimes), you can always print your waiver at the expo. Usually though, there's a bit of a (you guessed it)...line...to get to the computers. Oy.

Somehow, I missed the big race banners altogether. They were moved over to the far side and I didn't see them. Instead, in their old spot were these decals on the concrete!

Once inside the bib pickup area, I waited in a semi short line to print my waiver, then picked up my race bib. The shirts were located inside the Visa Center (another completely separate building) which also houses the main expo floor.

I also loved these number photo ops. I could have/should have waited to take a picture with them but...you guessed it...another line!

The Visa Center was buzzing with activity and people by the time I made it over there. My main focus in this building was to pick up my race shirts and find a shirt from Raw Threads to wear for the 10K!

It didn't take long before I found what I needed, and I was done!

In total, I spent three and a half hours (including travel time) navigating the Expo. In theory, I could have spent more time exploring, but about an hour and a half of that time was spent waiting in lines and I was ready to go! I am SO glad I didn't bring Brayden to the Expo with me. I never felt rushed but I know if he had been with us, that would have been a different story. Instead, Jason and Brayden spent the morning at the pool since the weather was beautiful! (This was of course before the weather turned and it froze for the 5K the following day!)

So, would I be tempted to visit a race Expo on opening day at the time it opens? Unless there's an item I absolutely HAVE to have and I'm worried it's going to be a hot ticket item, or unless I'm with a group of friends, probably not. :) 

Now you know my thoughts and experiences from the Princess Half Marathon Expo! If you want to see more, I do have a coordinating video linked below. Have a fabulous day! 

Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend Expo 2019

 

Earlier this month, my friends and I participated in the Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World. We visited the Expo on the second day of its opening to pick up our bibs, packets, and do a little shopping!

Something I love about runDisney is there's never a lack of signage or cast members to ask directions from. It makes everything super easy to navigate!

With this being the 10th year for the Wine & Dine Half, runDisney had the Expo all decked out with signage and celebrations!

I loved how they paid homage to the themes of all of the different Wine & Dine races since 2010!

I might have worn my "I did it" shirt from the very first Wine & Dine Half! I know this is going to sound silly, but this is a race I ran on the inaugural year, the 5th year, and now the 10th year. I kind of like that pattern and want to keep it up!

Our first stop after picking up our bibs was the runDisnney merchandise area!

Speaking of merchandise - visiting on the second day was interesting and always a little nerve racking because you never know what the hot ticket item will be and what will be sold out. This year, it was definitely the pins. I have a pin from every single runDisney race I've run and I never pre-purchase them. Well, I guess I will need to now because the only pins that remained for sale at the Expo were from the 5K. I also missed going to the after party at Epcot but I know they had a special edition pin there. Oh well.

The passholder merchandise also seemed to go pretty quickly but other than that, I can't think of anything else I saw that was missing or seemed to be out of stock. (If you know of something else that sold out quickly, please let me know!)
After navigating through the runDisney official merchandise area, we walked over to the Visa center to pick up our race shirts and browse through the rest of the expo. Since runDisney has moved out of this building, it's created a lot of extra room! I like it!

I loved all of the photo opportunities at the expo!

We quickly glanced through several booths but didn't purchase anything. I came super close to getting a travel sized BFF but decided against it. Maybe one day!

Our friends were waiting on us at Animal Kingdom (so was lunch), so we said goodbye the Expo for now...

...but not without a few pictures, first!
 

I mean, we just had to!

My little kids racer wasn't feeling it at all. He was tired and just wanted a nap!

Bye, Wide World of Sports! Until we meet again!

This race is on the smaller side when in comparison to Marathon Weekend and I love that about it! If you're looking at running your first runDisney event and are leery about the crowds, this would be a great race to start with! Don't get me wrong, it's still crowded but it's not marathon weekend level of crowds! 

Up next: The 10K! 

 

Wine and Dine Expo 

Wine and Dine 10K 

Wine and Dine Kids Races  

Wine and Dine Half Marathon

Vlog: runDisney Marathon Weekend Expo

Yesterday, I shared with you a recap of the 2018 runDisney Marathon Weekend Expo and as promised, here's a video recap of our time spent at the Expo at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex! There's also a brief rundown of the purchases we made at the expo, so stay tuned at the end of the video for that!

This video is part 1 of several video recaps to come so be sure to keep checking back each week as I share bits and pieces of our Dopey Challenge and Marathon Weekend experience with all of you! 

We are enjoying another "frozen day" in the south today - I hope it's warm(er) wherever you are! Have a great day and thanks for following along with our journey! :)

For a full recap of our WDW Marathon Weekend experience, check out these links below:

• Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Expo & Vlog
• Walt Disney World 5K & Vlog
• Walt Disney World 10K & Vlog
• Kids Races (100 m Dash) & Vlog
• Walt Disney World Half Marathon & Vlog
• Walt Disney World Full Marathon & Vlog

2018 runDisney Marathon Weekend Expo

Our Marathon Weekend began right after we landed at the airport. We took Magical Express to the resort, then headed straight for Disney's Wide World of Sports where the Expo was being held. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the Expo until around 5 p.m., so it was super chaotic and lots of Dopey merchandise was sold out. Sad times.

Race weekend Expo's are seriously my favorite! I've said it before, but I love the excitement in the air and the feeling of a new beginning...a new race...a new possibility...anything can happen!

For a full recap of our WDW Marathon Weekend experience, check out these links below:

• Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Expo & Vlog
• Walt Disney World 5K & Vlog
• Walt Disney World 10K & Vlog
• Kids Races (100 m Dash) & Vlog
• Walt Disney World Half Marathon & Vlog
• Walt Disney World Full Marathon & Vlog

The sun was beginning to set as we arrived and it made for a beautiful evening. Orlando was way colder than we expected, but it didn't phase us...we had some shopping to do! Well, and a few bibs to pick up. But mostly shopping.

 
First, we stopped by Champion Stadium to pick up Brayden's bib for the Kids Races.

I was shocked to see bib pick up for the kids races as well as several vendors in the alcove of Champion Stadium which meant they were OUTSIDE! I seriously felt bad for the ladies of Sparkle Athletic and Endure Jewelry but they were holding it up like champs!

The next stop was in the HP Field house for my Dopey Challenge bib!

This process was SUPER easy and smooth with zero lines which I was really happy about! In all, we had all of our bibs and shirts collected in under 15 minutes!

Up next was the runDisney merchandise floor. When we stepped out of the upper level of the Field House, I was VERY shocked to see the insanely long line just to enter the runDisney merchandise area! I honestly did not like the fact that the runDisney merchandise was split from the rest of the expo. Yes, it gave them plenty of room but I still didn't like it.

The line to get in here was about 30 minutes long, so we waited....

Once we arrived inside, we discovered that 90% of the Dopey merchandise was sold out. The next day, I went online to see what was available on Ebay and sure enough, I found the car magnet I wanted as well as a Dopey jacket for about a 50-75% markup. No thank you.

Despite the lack of Dopey merchandise, I was still able to purchase the Marathon Weekend Dooney I'd been eyeing as well as a Dopey Challenge "I Did It" shirt and a Marathon Weekend coffee mug. Thankfully, the Expo wasn't all a bust. Also, after the races were all said and done, shopDisney offered all of the marathon weekend jackets on their website with the word "Finisher" added to the bottom! You bet I jumped right on ordering a Dopey Finisher jacket! I was so excited to see these available as a Dopey jacket was one of the items on my "must have" list!

By the time we finished shopping and going through yet another long line to check out, it was really late and we needed to get back to Brayden and our friends.

On Friday morning after Brayden's kids race, I managed to wander into the Josten's Center to view the remainder of the Expo. Sadly, I only had about 5 minutes there, so I snapped these pictures then headed out.

Had I remembered the magnitude of this Expo, I would have scheduled our flight to arrive earlier in the day on Wednesday. Oh well. 

 

Another fun thing to note is the weather advisory we were greeted with for this marathon weekend!  You know what's funny? The last time I ran Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World (5 years ago for the 20th Anniversary of the Marathon), we also had a weather advisory but it was definitely on the far opposite end of the spectrum! That weekend (2013) was so beyond hot, it's not even funny!

After snagging a quick picture with the Dopey Challenge medal banner, it was time to say goodbye to the Expo!

We had a lot of fun but again, I wish we'd had more time to wander around and explore! Definitely next time!

Here's a look at the items I was able to purchase at the Expo....

The Disney Marathon Dooney was high on my list as well as a Marathon Weekend mug! I love this mug as it has all of the races listed on the back of it as well as each race distance!

A Dopey Challenge "I Did It" shirt was another item that was high on my list so I was happy to see these available and in a decent range of sizes, too!
 

Here's all of the race shirts from the weekend. I ordered "Ladies Large" and I love how all of the shirts fit except the 5K. Sadly, the 5K shirt is a generic unisex cotton t-shirt which I usually wear a medium. Had I realized while I was still at the Expo, I would have attempted to trade it out. Oh well! I'm still happy with them overall and I love how Mickey was on each medal/shirt this year because of the 25th Anniversary! So fun!!

Stay tuned for continued recaps and vlogs of our fun times at the 2018 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend!

Spring Training at ESPN Wide World of Sports

Did you know that among Walt Disney World's multitude of activities, you can also attend a Major League Baseball Spring Training Game during the early spring months? 

I'm a huge baseball fan (if you haven't already figured that out), I live within driving distance of Houston, Texas, and I have followed the Astros my entire life. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the Braves would be hosting the Astros at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on the Sunday of the Princess Half Marathon! Say what?! 

It was pretty much a no-brainer - we didn't even think twice before we purchased tickets!

Sunday's game was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and we arrived a few minutes early to take pictures and enjoy the stadium.

Let's go Astros! :)

Of course we had to have a picture with the Mickey statue. I remembered the Braves Mickey being there but I guess they moved him or repainted him.

Fun fact: The Astros Mickey still remains at Minute Maid Park in Houston! These Mickey Statues were a gift to all of the Major League Baseball Teams when the All-Star game was hosted at the LA Angels Stadium back in 2010!

This was also my first time to ever attend a Spring Training game! I learned a neat fact - the 15 MLB teams that are hosted in Florida are a part of the "Grapefruit League" and the 15 MLB teams that are hosted in Arizona are a part of the "Cactus League"!

 

Jeff Galloway threw out the first pitch for the game along with his friend, Donald Duck! 

Great job, Jeff!

Our seats were located behind home plate. Ticket prices for this game were comparable to the price I would pay to see a game back in Houston....although in Houston, we don't have to deal with the scorching sun. :)

I LOVED the little between inning side shows and videos that would play on the big screen, some even included Disney elements! The atmosphere here was so laid back...I seriously loved it! Baseball and Disney...nothing better in my book!

(As you can see in the photo above, lawn seating was also available for the game.)

Another fun fact: One of the current Braves (Jace Peterson) is from my home town, grew up in my church, and even attended the same small private school I graduated from!

...and we had a chance to see him play! How fun is that?! Small World!

My child (who is a boy) might have even gone home from our church nursery one Sunday with Jace's little girl's bow. Whoops.

Anyway, back to the game...

After sitting in the crazy sun for a little while, we realized that part of the first base line seats were shaded and they were mostly empty. Even though I was lathering on the sunscreen, I still worried about my son's skin, so we moved to the 1st base seats. Honestly, I actually preferred these seats more and felt as if I could see the game better from there.

 

The Astros ended up winning the game which made our little group very happy!  I also loved wearing my Princess Half Marathon medal to the ball park! Princesses were everywhere!

As I mentioned earlier, I loved having the opportunity to watch a Spring Training game and really hope I have the chance to visit again in the future!

If you're staying on Disney property and wondering how to get to ESPN, there IS a way! It might take you a bit longer, but it's definitely doable! 

Buses travel from Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, and the All Star Resorts every half hour.

So, if you're at a park, you would take a bus to one of these resorts, then from the resort to ESPN.

If you're at a resort that's not listed on these signs, you would take a bus from your resort to a park, then take a bus from that park to one of the resorts listed, then take a bus from that resort to ESPN.

...or you could just call a taxi, Uber, or Lyft...whatever works! :)

Have you ever visited ESPN Wide World of Sports for anything other than a runDisney event/Expo?