Finally! The posts I promised!
I first learned about runDisney about 10 years ago. At the time, it was just a pipedream. I don’t run, and I had never even participated in a run before. In 2013, I decided to make it a goal to go to at least one Disney race in my lifetime.
Fast forward to 2017, and I finally got up the nerve to register for my first runDisney race! My sister-in-law (we’ll call her A) registered as well so that we could run the Disney Princess 5k together. (She’s an awesome Disney Parks buddy, by the way.)
Before we get too far, this post will cover the registration process and our first day of the race weekend.
Ok… Now on to what you came here for…
Registration
I started researching the RunDisney races before I signed up for anything. RunDisney.com is the main resource for everything race related. I knew I wanted to do the Princess 5k race as my first Disney race. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to dress up and meet a bunch of princesses!
On the RunDisney website, I went to the page for the Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend and signed up for updates. This way I got emails with the registration info. I also joined their Facebook page to get updates. Once you know the registration date and time, set an alarm. Registration is first come, first served, and the shorter races can sell out incredibly quickly.
While I waited for the day to come I continued to dig for sources on what to expect. Surprisingly, aside from a handful of vlogs and blogs, there’s not too much great info out there if you’re a detail person like me.
Registration was on May 2, 2017 for the 2018 Princess races. I logged into the registration site a little early and just kept refreshing the page until registration opened. I impatiently waited for my turn to start the registration process. Let me tell you… It’s NERVE-RACKING! Then, I started the process: picked the race I wanted to do, waived the opportunity to pre-purchase merch, entered my info (including shirt size), and checked out. I did not enter a proof of time because I was hoping to be in one of the last corrals. Registration opened at noon, and I had a confirmation in my inbox at 2:39pm.
Sidenote: 2017 was the last year that Disney used Active for the registration, but the new portal is still a free-for-all, in my opinion.
It was an amazing feeling to know that I was finally going to do something I had dreamed about!
Between registration and race day, I took care of other details, like booking the resort (Pop Century for the win!), deciding the itinerary, and figuring out what I was going to wear for the race. While staying off site would have been cheaper, we stayed on site to take advantage of the bus service on race morning. I’m not creative so I wore leggings/a tank top, and a headband that had the stained glass from Beauty and the Beast — I just said I was the stained glass window. 😂 We also found out that the 5k was Rapunzel themed!
Day 1
Because the 5k was on a Friday, we left for Disney at dawn on Thursday morning. It was the first time my SIL and I had spent any time alone together, and we were going to be in the car together for over 9 hours. It turned out to be a lot of fun! We had a lot of good conversation, I handled the Florida part of the drive, and we learned that we both avoid driving beside trucks as much as possible.
Obligatory Florida Sign Picture
We got to Disney by the afternoon, and due to some traffic pattern changes that put us in the wrong lane, we decided to check in for the race before going to the resort. Not knowing what to expect, I’m so glad that we decided to do this!
Race check-in is at ESPN Wide World of Sports. This was our first time visiting the complex, and it was almost intimidating! In true Disney fashion, there were plenty of people and signs directing us where to park. If you’re staying at a Disney resort, there are also buses to take you to the complex.
We parked and stretched our legs a bit and then ON TO CHECK-IN!
ESPN Wide World of Sports Sign
I was expecting a couple of buildings and some fields, but WWOS exceeded my expectations! It’s humongous!
We made our way up the hill to the check-in building: HP Field House. (Ignore the building with Cinderella’s coach — you will get to that later.) Cast members and volunteers will directed us through the building. (If you’ve just gotten in from a long trip like we did, this is also a great place for a bathroom break.) We were directed upstairs to the next level to sign the race waiver. If you have done this ahead of time, you can skip this part. If you can’t remember, you will be able to check there. Print out the waiver and take it with you to check-in. Follow the signs to go into the central part of the building.
Inside HP Field House
Check-in booths are sectioned off according to race and then divided by last name. This process is simple and quick as they just check that you’re you and check your name off in a notebook. They will then give you a large bag filled with race info and your bib. If you will be needing Disney to hold stuff during your race, you will use this bag. Thankfully I haven’t had to do that for either race I’ve done… Because I broke both bags on the first day. Sigh. Clutz life.
Inside and outside the building, there are props for pictures. It’s a great time to take a picture with your bib!
We then left the field house, went up a long flight of stairs outside, and made our to our next stop to pick up our shirts: Visa Athletic Center. This location is also home to the non-RunDisney vendors. As you make your way to the entrance, make sure to have a photoshoot on the red carpet! I honestly don’t remember the interior of this building quite so much, except that we had to go downstairs to get into the expo space. This area is much busier and more overwhelming than check-in. The room is full of vendors, with t-shirt pick-up strategically placed on the far end. We made our way to shirt pick-up before taking time to look around.
Inside Visa Athletic Center
If you are looking for race-related gear that isn’t sold by Disney, this is the place to be. There are vendors selling clothes, shoes, massages, tape, displays…more than I can remember! There are booths selling food and drinks. Celebratory glass of champagne? This is where you get it. You can even meet runDisney trainer and former Olympian Jeff Galloway. A and I both ended up buying workout headbands. At this point we had been there a while, and I was honestly feeling disappointed that I didn’t see much runDisney merch at all. So, we went upstairs to leave to go back to the resort. We passed an area that was doing running related talks/classes during the weekend and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill. That’s when we realized we had already been there a couple hours, and we were hungry!
On our way back down the hill, I suggested we go check out what the Cinderella coach photo spot was at the first building we had passed, “and then we’ll go back to the resort.” We took the shortcut sidewalk and did a mini photoshoot in front of the runDisney 5k signs.
Say cheese!! Shirt: Lone Cactus Shop
Once we got to the building, we learned why we were disappointed in the merch. Turns out, The Arena at ESPN Wide World of World of Sports Complex is THE REAL LOCATION FOR RUNDISNEY MERCHANDISE!
We skipped the photo spot and just went straight inside. We were directed down the long hallway that circles the arena until we got to a large room. There is a limit to the number of people allowed in the main room, so there is a large room with a queue to wait your turn to enter. We didn’t wait long at all, so we were in the arena within minutes. THIS PLACE WAS THE MOTHERLOAD!!! Wall to wall runDisney merchandise!
I don’t even know how long we stayed here, but damage was done to both of our wallets. You can get both runDisney and race-specific merchandise, including clothes, magnets, pins, water bottles, and Dooney & Bourke. After we spent forever and a day shopping, we headed to check-out. That was the longest checkout line I have ever been in, but it was still faster than Taco Bell at dinner time. We spent the time in line deciding whether we really needed everything, and saying that “after this we’ll go back to the resort.”
After we checked out, we made our way to the exit… Only to realize that beyond the temporary wall, you could meet princesses! We ended up meeting Tiana, Snow White, and Princess Minnie! Such a great surprise! This also had a small area with food and drinks to buy on the way out, but we decided to wait until we got to the resort.
Tiana!
Princess Minnie!
Snow White!
There are also large banners with the race course if you want to know where you’ll be running.
5k Course
We finally made it back to car after about 5 hours at ESPN Wide World of Sports. WHEW! I also managed to get blisters from my shoes — thank goodness that Pop Century sells moleskin! Thankfully, the road to Pop Century is across the street from the WWOS entrance, so we didn’t have a long drive. We made it to Pop, checked in and went straight to dinner in the food court. We bought reusable mugs for the weekend (I survive Disney with Coca-Cola). This was my sis-in-law’s first time at a Disney resort, so I got to teach her the ways of the food court. I ended up getting the fried chicken, and A got the jerk chicken. Both meals were delicious and filling! Also, yes, I know I like unhealthy foods.
After dinner, we took the car to the correct parking lot and brought our stuff to the room. By this time it was almost 8, and we both needed to get to bed. We had to be up by 2 AM! We needed to be on a bus before 3:30 AM for the race that started at 5 AM. On our way to our room, we discovered that we had a view of fireworks! What?! That was a magical surprise for sure. We also got a brand new remodeled room. The remote hadn’t even been paired with the TV! 😂 We prepped our clothes for the morning, including pinning on the bibs. Trust me, I do NOT need to be handling sharp objects when I’m half asleep.
While A showered, I decided to go swimming… Only to discover that the pools closed at 8. Oops. Instead, I took a walk around the resort, called my family to let them know I was in, talked to my boyfriend, and walked across the bridge to check out Art of Animation.
By the time I got back, I was finally tired and my muscles were loosened up from the drive. I took a quick shower, put my wet hair up, and went to sleep around 11.
Stay tuned for Day 2!!
Gloriously Tacky Girl 