Happy Monday, y'all! It's hard to believe that at this time last week, our Princess Half Marathon weekend races were over and we were off for our week of park adventures! Coming home from Disney is always a sad occasion, especially when parts of your travel party become sick (aka me)! Whomp whomp. This time, I came home with the lovely "Florida crud" as I like to call it. Thankfully, I had all Saturday to rest and recuperate which was nice. I'm still feeling bad, but not near as bad as Saturday!
For a full recap of the weekend, check out the additional links below:
Anyway, kicking off my Princess Half Marathon Weekend recaps is one of the Expo itself!
Our plane landed around 9 a.m. on Friday, which afforded us the opportunity to take Magical Express to our resort, check in, then make our way to the Expo. Bonus, our room was ready not long after we arrived, so we were able to drop off our bags there, too!
Our first stop after arriving at ESPN was to pick up our race packets and shirts. I love Disney's system as it all flows smoothly and (usually) avoids giant crowds. (I was not there on opening day, so I can't vouch for those crowds!)
I also had to stop for a photo with the backdrop, too!
After picking up our bibs, we headed into the main expo floor for our shirts and to browse the vendors merchandise.
Although it looks massive, this expo was definitely smaller than 2018's
Marathon Weekend expo.
I also loved the photo opportunities that were setup throughout the Expo. The Pandora booth had a really neat one, but I didn't stand in line to wait for it. You can see the pink tape on the floor all the way to the bottom left of this picture - that was the line for the Pandora picture!
I did snag this picture really quick, though!
After a short time of walking around the Expo, our little guy was OUT! Our early morning and the excitement of riding an
air-pah-lane did him in!
After leaving the main expo floor, my dad agreed to wait with Brayden so he could rest and we could shop!
My mom, Jason, and I headed over to the runDisney merchandise building. Last time I was here for a race, this building was still under construction and I have to say that I love the new merchandise setup! No more waiting in a super long line to get in, the merchandise was evenly spread throughout the room, and I felt as if Disney provided plenty of merchandise for each race. The only things they were sold out of by the time I made it there was the Princess spirit jersey and one of the styles of Dooney purses.
I spent way too much money at the Expo (and was thankful for a DVC discount)! Sadly, I didn't get any pictures inside the Expo floor, but I did take lots of video so stay tuned for a recap coming up on my
YT channel here soon!
Our next stop after the Expo was at Disney Springs for a late lunch/early dinner! We all wanted to eat at Earl of Sandwich as it had been several years since we'd been there!
This sandwich did NOT disappoint, y'all! Although they've taken the All American off the menu, you can still order it which made me happy for sure!
After our meal, we took a little time to browse the stores in Disney Springs. I always collect Disney ornaments from runDisney races I've run. I remembered the Days of Christmas store had a rack of pre-personalized ornaments for purchase in the past, but I wasn't prepared for what I found! It was Christmas ornament heaven, y'all! This section was filled with a variety of princess themed ornaments ranging from the 5K all the way through the Fairy Tale Challenge! I. Was. So. Excited!!!
After a fun-filled day at the Expo and Disney Springs, we returned to our resort so Brayden could play in the splash pad (which he LOVED)!
Stay tuned for more recaps from our Princess Half Marathon Weekend coming up throughout the next couple of weeks! Thanks for following along in our adventure!
