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! 

Disney Dream Day 3: Nassau & Pirate Night

Picking up where I left off on our most recent Disney Dream cruise is our day at Nassau which also included Pirate Night. We were not used to a "backwards" itinerary of Castaway Cay as the first stop, so this day felt a little off to us. Nonetheless, we still had a great one!

If you missed any posts from our recent cruise on the Disney Dream, check out these links below:

Disney Travel Day: Wine and Dine Expo & Animal Kingdom
Disney Day 2: Wine and Dine 10K & Kids Races & Hollywood Studios/Epcot
Disney Day 3: Wine and Dine Half Marathon & Magic Kingdom
Disney Day 4: Boarding the Disney Dream
Disney Day 5: Castaway Cay
Disney Day 6: Nassau
Disney Day 7: At Sea Day
Disney Day 8: Disney Springs and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Initially, we didn't plan any excursions for Nassau and we weren't even sure we would get off of the ship. A couple of our travel buddies told us they had never been to Nassau, so instead of staying on the ship all day, we decided to disembark and walk around the port area to explore the town a little bit.

For starters, we began the day with breakfast...which included Mickey waffles, of course!

We literally had zero plans for Nassau, so we disembarked the ship and began to wander. The straw market that I remember encountering directly off the ship was under construction, so I'm interested to see what that looks like once we return next time!

We shopped around a bit and I found a some "authentic" cadbury chocolate to take back home with me. (It's so much better than the stuff made in the states.) I also purchased an Alex and Ani bracelet with the Bahamas logo on it.

We really didn't spend much time in Nassau (maybe a couple of hours), and our final stop was at a Starubucks!

We couldn't pass a Starbucks and not stop!

I've never had a chance to "wander" around Nassau and although we didn't go very far, we still enjoyed seeing a little more of the island!

Right outside of the parliament area was a few park benches where we sat and enjoyed the gorgeous day!

Of course, we had to take a few pictures on our way back to the ship.

A HUGE plus for us with cruising Disney is the hospitality when returning to the ship. We were met with ice cold towels as well as fruit infused water and juice!

This was so refreshing on such a warm day!

That afternoon, we enjoyed lunch, took a couple of rides on the aqua duck, swam in the pool, and had a nap! It really was a productive vacation day in my books!

For Pirate Night that evening, we all dressed in (somewhat) matching shirts and Brayden was our little pirate!

I love how our shirts turned out!

The Pirate Night meal on Disney Cruise Line is one of my favorite menus and offers so many delicious choices. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I'm sad for the loss of the pot-stickers (dumplings) off this menu, but there are so many other delicious choices to choose from!

After dinner, we walked up to deck 12 to catch the fireworks. There was a huge crowd and we were quite late, but we still managed to snag a decent spot to see the show!

My sunglasses were the star of the show for the towel animal display that evening!

See those gold coins? I have a funny story to tell about them in the next cruise blog post - we still laugh about it when we talk about it today!

I love the Disney cruise ships all the time, but especially at night! It all just feels so magical!

Oh yes, and one other funny story that happened that day - so as I was walking around passing out fish extender gifts, I happened across this cabin where he was asking for funny jokes. Jason helped me think of one, so I sent it and this was my response....

Isn't that too funny? I wonder if he received any other jokes the rest of the cruise? :)

Stay tuned for our final day on board the Disney Dream - our at sea day with brunch at Palo!! :)