Disney’s Princess Half Marathon

Everyone should experience a Disney run at least once. The energy is infectious and while you’re sleep deprived from getting up at 3am to put on a costume and shiver for an hour before running your butt off, it’s truly a great event! Disney is so systematic about packet (and gear) pickup, pre-​run corrals, start line fireworks for every wave, post run snack boxes, mylar heat sheets (take one, you’ll thank me when you stop to relax) and medals. In fact, take a mylar sheet on the 10k day to use the morning of the half! The only con was that there weren’t a lot of good photos opps, I figured since it was the PRINCESS run, there would be princesses galore… No such luck, just a bunch of supporting characters. Meh. After doing it once, I don’t think I would do it again but I’m glad to have had the experience!

February 2016’s Princess Half marathon was my first time at this event but 4^th runDisney weekend. I ran this race as the second leg of the Glass Slipper Challenge (that also included the Enchanted 10k on Saturday). I absolutely love this course, and it’s by far my favorite. (It’s the exact same course as the Walt Disney World Half Marathon each January.) You start at Epcot, run up to the transportation hub and through Magic Kingdom before heading back to Epcot past the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, and Disney Raceway. My favorite aspect of this race was that my husband could follow me through Disney World on the monorail. After seeing me at the start line, he boarded the monorail at Epcot and took it to the transportation hub. He got there with 15 minutes to spare, then took the Magic Kingdom monorail and saw me again on Main Street. He walked over to the Polynesian, where he saw me a final time before heading to the finish line. The corrals, course-​lighting, music, and voluntEARs/​water stations were all fantastic, but my only disappointment were the quality of characters along the race course. Unlike the 10k that had many «rare» characters, the Half Marathon featured characters like Buzz Lightyear, Woody, and the wicked stepsisters from Cinderella, all of whom you can see any day at the Magic Kingdom. I was hoping for a whole swarm of villains like I had seen from photos of past races! I did stop for a photo with the heroes, which was fun! I definitely recommend this race for all Disney enthusiasts!

For my first Run Disney race, I had to pick the Princess Half Marathon weekend. What could be better than a race themed around tiaras, tutus and princesses? The Princess Half is one of Run Disney’s biggest races, second only to the Disney World Marathon held in January. It is held in the second or third weekend of February, providing beautiful weather to runners traveling from cold winter climates (me!).
Run Disney has organization down to a science. Everything for this race was well communicated. Registration sells out fast (under an hour for the Glass Slipper Challenge), so Disney posts the time and date when registration opens well in advance. All information about package pick-​up, the expo and the course is available before the race, and the driving instructions provided for people staying at a non-​Disney resort were more than adequate. The expo is fun, and the merchandise is so good, especially the New Balance Run Disney sneakers.
Because ~20,000 people run the half marathon, be prepared for lines. I went the morning of the expo, and waited in lines to get my bib, lines to take photos, lines to buy shirts, etc. This didn’t bother me (I’m on vacation!) but might be a deterrent to some. On race morning you have to be at the starting area around 4 am, and the walk to the corrals from the start area is ~20−25 minutes. The corrals start off in 3 minute intervals, and being about a third of the way back I started 15 minutes after the leaders. The course itself is very flat, with water stops almost every mile. There are characters about every mile, and running through Magic Kingdom is an incredible experience. When not in the parks, the course is mostly on highways between the parks, and for a while between Magic Kingdom and Epcot, the highway stretch is pretty devoid of entertainment, music or people cheering, and it was a tough four kilometers. The finish line is full of food and vendors, and wonderful volunteers waiting with medals and pixie dust. The course was busy but I didn’t find it too crowded, nor did I find I had to weave significantly.
My experience doing Run Disney was really positive, and makes me want to do more Disney races. If anyone is considering the Race Retreat, I did so and found it well worth the money. There was ample pre– and post-​race food, medical support, and a comfortable heated area to relax before and after the race. Pro tip: bring cash to take advantage of the 5 minute on site medal engraving after the race. They look up your time for you and engrave it on your medal with your name, with extra medals on hand if there is a mistake. After the race everyone wears their medals to the parks and it’s awesome to be congratulated and to congratulate others. This was my third half marathon, and definitely the most fun.

If you are a runner looking to run for time, DO NOT RUN ANY DISNEY RACE EVER! Disney races are crowded and there are a lot of inexperienced racers/​runners participating. If you are going for the Disney experience, this is for you.
The course starts outside of Epcot, which is kind of a hike away from where the buses drop you off. There were characters at the pre-​party that you could get photos with. Once we got to our corral, we headed towards the front and realized that we could no longer see the TV that was showing the hosts/​entertainment, which kinda sucked.
One of the best thing about Disney runs is that (almost) everyone is friendly. You are all exhausted because you got up at 3am or earlier to catch a bus and you walked all the way to the corrals and there’s definitely someone to talk to. It was awesome to be able to cheer on the first time ½ runners and listen to the stories of veteran Disney ½ runners.
While the ½ takes you through Magic Kingdom, it doesn’t last very long. There were opportunities to take photos with several characters along the way and some DJs/​marching bands to entertain. The volunteers were AHMAZING! There was no shortage of water/​powerade cups being handed to you when we would run through the water stations.
The highlight for us was being able to take photos at the castle. We weren’t in a hurry, so when traffic bottlenecked, we just slowed down and took it easy rather than getting frustrated at everyone slowing down or walkers being on the left. Some runners would use hand signals to move through the crowds or tell other runners if they were on your left/​right trying to pass, others wouldn’t.
After running through MK, you head back towards Epcot, which was mostly street running, like before going into MK. Assuming the course stays the same year after year, I’m not sure I’d be willing to pay the Disney price to run it again. It was fun, but more of a one and done experience than doing it year after year.
That said, now we’re definitely looking into going to Disneyworld this year to get our Coast to Coast medals!

Completed the Glass Slipper Challenge and now just need to knock out the Tinkerbell Half Marathon to get my PINK Coast to Coast medal! Woot woot!
Now that I’ve run half marathons at both parks (Disneyland Half Marathon in 2013), I can safely say that I preferred the one at Disneyland. I know, I know, blasphemy, but let me explain why.
Course: Both Orlando and Anaheim are pretty flat so there is little in the way of any hills. Everyone complains that you barely run through Disneyland, but I found the same to be true at WDW. Over half the race was on the road between Magic Kingdom and Epcot which brings me to…
Crowd Support: So much better at Disneyland! Because you run through the city of Anaheim, there are people literally lined up all along the streets with signs and ice and cheers. Local businesses and schools have bands and cheerleaders and there was a mile lined with classic cars. At WDW you can really only spectate at the parks so that road I mentioned before is basically deserted. Don’t get me wrong, the park employees and volunteers do an amazing job though!
Organization: Run Disney has some of the best organized races. At Disney Princess, I was placed in Coral J (out of P) and it only took about 30 minutes to get to the start line, compared to nearly an hour at Disneyland (granted, I was in the last corral here). I was surprised at the end though that there was such a long line to get your finisher’s photo taken when there was barely anyone at DL. Oh and WDW gets a slight edge here because parking was FREE!
Expo: About the same. I just wish the expo stayed open later. I flew in on Friday, landed around 5 PM and had to pick up the rental car and high tail it to the expo to get my packet before they closed at 7. I was starting to sweat it a little! If you wore your medal to Downtown Disney after the race some stores gave you discounts which was pretty cool.
Despite my gripes about the expense, super early start time and streets jammed with tu-​tus, I still like Run Disney because let’s face it, it’s fun and their medals can’t be beat!

This was my first runDisney event and I believe that I ended up with a unique perspective of the experience.
The Expo was very busy at the start on Thursday. I ended up there earlier than it opened at about 9:30. At that point, there was already a lot of merchandise sold and a huge crowd trying to make purchases. I believe that I waited in line about an hour to pay for the Dooney and Bourke purse and about the same amount of time in the line for clothing merchandise. Other than that, everything seemed to be well organized. I was able to get my race number quickly as well as my shirt once I entered the other building. Some of the vendors were really great to see and I enjoyed learning more from the speakers. I returned on Friday to get a pair of New Balance shoes and because I went early both days, I do feel like I missed some of the excitement as far as pictures with characters, etc.
Race Day was well organized in my opinion. The ride to get to the drop off area at Epcot took about 45 minutes from my hotel, Caribbean Beach then about 20 minutes to get to the corral once inside. While there were a huge amount of people there, there were restrooms to use by most of the corrals, so we did not have to get stuck in the front where the line looked super long. (Maybe 30 minutes?). Throughout the start, there was entertainment from announcers to fireworks. I was in corral N, so I actually started about an hour later than A, but was not bored. The only complaint I would have here is that the announcer messed up at some point, calling N corral O, which messed both myself and my family watching up.
Along the race path, there were tons of exciting things to see. I chose not to stop for pictures as the lines were super long, but enjoyed getting to see princesses, villains, heros, pirate ships and other entertainment along the way. Overall, the areas were pretty packed, but the castle was the worst. We spent about 8 minutes trying to get through and had to stop from the running we were doing. Granted this is the spot where Frozen characters appeared, but it was too tight to be such an exciting spot. There were also a lot of photographers on the way out of the castle, which made for great pictures, but added to the congestion.
There were numerous water stops and powerade stations along the way, including a cliff gel spot at Mile 8. This was really helpful so that we did not have to carry anything unnecessary with us throughout the way.
My unique experience came in at just past mile 10. It turns out I must have had a stress fracture prior to running in the Disney Princess Half, which I obviously had no idea of, and it turned into a full fracture in two places during the race. I have to say that Disney medics are absolutely on top of their game. Another runner alerted the medical tent, which were every few miles, to my condition and I received help within a matter of minutes. It probably would have been even sooner if the road was not filled with traffic from the race shutting down a few extra roads. They were able to carry me to a van and to the full station medical tent at the finish of the race. There were a number of empty beds and a very helpful staff. They got me the medical attention I needed right away and my family, which made all the difference to me. Even though I was not able to finish due to the injury, they applauded my efforts and did what was needed to make sure I was cared for as quickly as possible.
I think that the runDisney group did a great job putting this together in a lot of aspects, from making sure there are fun surprises along the way, to making sure runners are taken care of in all aspects. I plan to return next year and finish. I would highly recommend this half marathon for a runner looking for a fun race to participate in.

Daughters first ½ marathon. Mom had done a full Marathon and was her coach. The park did this right. Buses to the park and back. We had cheer section seats, closed circuit TV to watch the race and private bleachers for finish line. Lots of help, very positive event! If you’ve never done a ½, this would be my recommendation. 20,000 entrants! Very happy and very proud. They will have a ½ marathon in Disney Europe in Fall of 2016.

I LOVE this race weekend! I have completed the glass slipper challenge and have down the Half Marathon alone. I highly recommend this race! It’s so fun and great to do with a group of friends. All the costumes are so creative and there are endless possibilities. For my first time (2013) I dressed as one of the newly added Princesses… Princess Leia! Hahahah Disney had recently purchased Lucas-​films rights and so she is technically now a Disney Princess hahahah! And last year I did the Glass Slipper Challenge (10k Saturday and Half Marathon Sunday) I dresses as Village Belle for the 10K and Princess Belle for the Half Marathon. It was a blast!
The course was pretty easy (Minus the humidity!!) and the water stations were perfect!
RunDisney is pretty great at setting up enough water and electrolyte stations!

Running this race is definitely one of the best life experiences I’ve had. It was so exciting and a great accomplishment. I’ve run more races then I care to remember and this was by far the most crowded. Usually things are crowded in the beginning and then as the distance goes on it’ll begin to thin out. Not here! It was crowded all the way to 13.1! Most of the roads you ran on were sloped so my feet and ankles were killing me the next day. I would recommend it to anyone! It was a great experience!

I ran this race as part of my coast to coast challenge! It was the first year that Disney was going to provide a pink coast to coast challenge medal so I definitely could not say no! I love Disney and love taking part of the Disney Half Marathons and this was my third Disney race but I will have to say that this one was had the worst course out of the three. I was barely in Magic Kingdom and when I was, it was so crammed that I couldn’t run at all. I had to walk for most of the time I was in the park because there was absolutely no space. Also, there was a little time when I was in Epcot but it wasn’t anything magical. Then the majority of the race was outside on the highways and I dont know who thought it was a good idea to place a ramp in between mile 9 and 10 but it was HORRIBLE! I was running slanted to my right and I was so scared that I was going to roll my ankle! Also, throughout the course, you go for miles and miles without having any sort of entertainment. The worst part of the race was that I had to walk almost a mile to get from my car to the starting line. It was a great experience running in Orlando but I think this race has a lot of upgrading to do.
I guess one perk about this race was that I didn’t have to pay for parking! It was free!

I love Disney. I’ve wanted to do this race for a couple of years now. Any bib that will add «Princess» to the front of my name = a must do.
Expo: I thought it was a decent size. Things were split between buildings of the ESPN Sports Complex, which was a good and bad thing. Good because there is no way everything could fit into 1 building, but bad if you needed to go back and forth to get your bib or your shirt or go back and get that 1 running shirt you decided last minute you can’t live without (not that this happened to me. Cough). The building with all the vendors was PACKED. Small aisles + tons of runners = not a pleasant combo. There was A LOT of cute running gear though, but be prepared to drop mad money if you want the official merchandise. $ 80 for a Champion-​branded zip-up…that doesn’t even have thumb holes! Sigh. The price we pay.
Run: Parking was super organized with attendants telling you where to park. Bag check also wasn’t bad at all. If you’re in a later corral, be prepared to wait an hour (or two) before you actually get released. Kind of ridiculous, but at least they send every corral off with their own fireworks. I’m pretty sure only 1 – 2 miles of this whole half marathon was actually though the Disney parks. The rest of the race was running the highways that connect the different parks. There weren’t many spectators on the course, but in lieu of that, they had DISNEY CHARACTERS every mile that you could take pictures with. The concept = really fun. The lines to take pictures with the characters = not so fun.
Post race festivities: After you finish, they had wet, cold towels (which was a god-​send considering the humidity that day) and pre-​packaged boxes of food. This year, they also gave you drawstring bags to put all your stuff in, which I loved. There are also princesses to take pictures with while you’re waiting for the rest of your people to finish.
Medal: I think this is my favorite half marathon medal. I mean, look at all the pictures people have posted. It’s beautiful!!!

This was my first rundisney event… and I really just signed up on a whim… like, it was 98% full, and I was like eh, sure, why not. I was very skeptical about the entire thing. I mean… I feel like run disney events are not exactly … what you call COMPETITIVE races. Honestly? It’s a lot of overweight people who just want to cross something on their bucket list or to put at 13.1 sticker on their car.
But as for the race itself, it was PURE. FUN. It took me the longest I’ve ever run a half — simply because I did stop for many of the character stops — which probably added a good 30 – 45 minutes to my clock time haha — but when I decided to run for the experience rather than for a competitive time, even though it took me over 3 hours to complete, it felt like the shortest race I’ve run. I probably could have PR’d if I didn’t stop along the way, but I am so glad I took time to enjoy the EXPERIENCE of all the characters. I can save my PR for another day :-)
It wasn’t just one character stop per mile. There were SEVERAL things you could stop for per mile. The princes (Aladdin, Eric, Hercules), men in tuxes where you could pose with the glass slipper, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear, Mickey and Minnie, Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins, the evil queens, Genie of the lamp, green army dudes, and of course, THE FAIRY GODMOTHER… just to name a few. They also had music groups performing and motivational posters along the way.
A few tips for people thinking about running it. These are all tips given to me by someone who had run the Disney World Half Marathon… and they all held true:
— Don’t bother bringing sunglasses. The race starts at 5:30 and you will most likely be done before it gets too sunny.
— If you are stopping for Captain Jack, the line is extremely long. But HE IS ALSO ON THE WAY BACK around mile 11 or so… and a much shorter line.
— When you run through the castle, stay to the left because that’s where all the camera men are lined up.
— The course is mostly flat with the exception of a few highway on/​off ramps. A lot of the course bottle necks and it can be difficult to get around walkers.
— Don’t bring anything with you to the race if you don’t have to. There is a security check point where they searched bags. This is before you even get to the bag drop-​off area. Much easier to just walk through the no-​bag line if you don’t have to bring anything.
— There are portapotties when you first arrive in the waiting area, but there are MORE when you get to the start corrals. They also have plenty on the course as well as people using the actual park bathrooms once you run through magic kingdom.
— Wear your medal to the park! You will get many congratulations and if you see any of the princesses they all make fun little comments. Princess Jasmine said she wanted to run, but they didn’t allow Magic Carpets (aw) :-)
I didn’t think I would want to do this race again, but the experience of it was so fun, I would do it again. If I were a rich princess.

Glass Slipper Challenge 2014
This was our 3^rd Disney Race weekend and Disney totally redeemed themselves after some of the magic was lost on the Tinker Bell Half.
Starting at the expo, we took a bus from All Star Sports where we were staying. A bit hectic, but we easily got our packets, shirts and took some photos. They also had a shirt exchange which I didn’t use, but thought it was an awesome feature since I can never figure out which size of women’s cut shirts to order. They also had 2 merchandise booths set up (one in each building). I only bought a tiny medal for my Vinylmation that I already had at home, but it seemed like most things were still in stock as of Friday morning.
You can see my separate review for the Enchanted 10k.
As for the Princess Half, on race morning we took one of the first buses out of All Star Sports. The entrance to the race was significantly more crowded on Sunday than it was for the 10k. We did what we learned the hard way last year and instead of hanging around before the gear check, we walked through to the corrals right away. They have a bank of port-​o-​potties right before you enter your individual corrals so we used those instead and then got in B corral to wait for the start. I really hate the rule that men have to start in B (it is just plain dangerous to put faster runners behind slower runners), but they made a VAST improvement over Tinker Bell. They had an elite wave and then the A corral was very small. The husband had a lot fewer issues getting around the slow people in A here than he did at Tinker Bell, so it made it a more fun race for him. I fit in well with the B corral pace and was glad I chose to wait with him in B instead of starting in A where I was placed.
On course entertainment was great. I wish the weather hadn’t been SO humid. I was drenched almost before the race even started. I had no problems with crowding on the race, but I know in the further back corrals that can be a problem. If you are running for time, this is not a race for your first half marathon. You will want to run another race first, get a qualifying time and submit that to Run Disney so that you can get into an earlier corral. There are TONS of walkers in the back corrals and despite a lot of rude comments from pretentious jerks, those walkers do train for these races and often do these races for greater reasons than to just get in your way and slow you down because you didn’t bother submitting a qualifying time. End rant.
The only disappointment in this race for me was that a lot of the characters on the course were repeats from the Disney Donald Half and Mickey Marathon in 2013. Mary Poppins, Lilo & Stitch, Genie… I basically knew what I was going to see before I saw a lot of them. I hope they start switching out characters so they are different in the future.
One really nice perk that I liked is that at the finish line they gave us a mesh drawstring backpack. This was great for holding my water, snack box and towel instead of trying to juggle all of it and take pictures with my medal. An awesome touch!
Since we did the Glass Slipper Challenge and Coast to Coast, we had wristbands to collect these medals at the end. I do wish that we didn’t have to wear the wristbands all weekend, but it did make it very quick and easy to pick up our extra medals at the end.
I also really really liked that they had Ariel, Belle, Rapunzel and Cinderella in the parking lot at the finish to take photos. The husband runs a lot faster than me and I like having the opportunity to take photos with him and characters at the end since we are not on the course together.
I also really liked that the entertainment was spread out throughout the entire course. At Tinker Bell, all of the entertainment was stacked in the first 5 miles which left the rest of the race dragging on. For this reason (and the lack of characters AFTER the finish line), I don’t think I will return to Disney Land for anymore Run Disney races. I will return to Disney World for Run Disney in a heartbeat. I love these races and yes, they cost a fortune, but you get a LOT more for your buck than you get in a typical race. It takes a ton of work, logistics, volunteers and crew to put on these races that your local race just doesn’t require.

My fourth half marathon and my second runDisney event (first was Tinkerbell 2014).
WOW, the difference between a DL CA race and a WDW FL race is striking. WDW definitely was a much better experience.
One disadvantage of WDW is that because Disney owns 80,000 acres, you will be consigned to taking busses all weekend to do anything. At least at the Disneyland resorts, you can walk some places.
The expo was at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. Similar to Tinkerbell, the bib pickup was in one area, and the expo and shirt pickup was in another. This time, I went to the expo on Friday. The expo space was also a lot larger than at DL, so it was not as crowded/​hectic. I also thought the selection of vendors was better here at WDW than at DL.
We took the bus Sunday morning at 3:45 AM (YIKES) to head over to the start area. Be warned, you will walk a couple of miles from the bus drop off to your corral (no exaggeration). Corral placement is strictly enforced and you cannot move up. However, if you are racing with someone, they can move back.
My race partner was in B and I was in J, so he came back with me. We spent the first 3 miles evading walkers before we caught up to people that were closer to my current pace. (This is not a ding… just giving awareness). The good news is, the passageways throughout this race are MUCH wider than at Disneyland, so passing isn’t too hard, where at Tinkerbell, it was near impossible at times.
Compared to Tinkerbell, this race spends far less time in the park (maybe 1.5−2 miles versus 5 at Tinkerbell), BUT the non-​park entertainment is much more consistent here. You will continually find new things to see or photograph on the roads. At Tinkerbell, you left the parks and basically had a half of a race that was not super interesting.
Crowd support was GREAT. In the park, it was so loud, and people were fabulous about cheering us on. The 10K went past my hotel the day before, and my race partner and I spent some time cheering on those runners, too.
Disney voluntEARS and cast members were similarly great. Everything was well organized. Because it was so humid (so shwetty), they actually had Powerade at every water stop, not just every other. I appreciate that they adjusted for the weather.
The race finished back at the Epcot parking lot (after a quick run through the Epcot resort). The finish area was much bigger and better organized than Tinkerbell. My only nit on this one is that you could not take personal pictures at the Step and Repeat… at Tinkerbell, MarathonFoto would take a pic, but you were also welcome to let someone snap one with your phone/​camera, too.
The finish line festival had a DJ, and it was at a good volume (the band at Tinkerbell was so loud you couldn’t speak). They also had vendors there with other food/​drinks beyond the complimentary snack pack – even alcohol. I loved that there were lounge chairs, too, for people who needed to rest, and picnic tables for snacking.
Definitely a great experience. My only complaint is that once you are on Disney property, if you don’t have a car, you are basically stuck, and can’t easily get to simple amenities like a grocery store or Starbucks for race supplies. The runDisney crew at Walt Disney World definitely have their act together and I had a fantastic race experience… seriously thinking about Wine and Dine for 2015!

And it was love.
I traveled across the country for the Disney Princess experience and I loved every moment of it… until afterward, and before (the time zones really sneak up on you even though you’re excited.) I may have had gripes about it 9 months ago but today, I cannot wait to sign up again!
The expo was a zoo but it was my first runDisney event and I didn’t care. My bib said PRINCESS SIMONE so nothing could stop me. In retrospect, we should have spent more time there and stopped through more booths, though we waited long enough to get in and maneuver around that I doubt I would have stayed much longer.
Parking was OK considering the event is so large. Definitely could have been worse but we got there early enough that I could stretch, use the portapotty, and my boyfriend could collect himself (he had to wait with the cheer squad while I made my way through 13.1 miles…) There were lots of photo ops and lots of early morning motivation/​stretching/​cheering. I wasn’t used to the humidity so that was a good and a bad thing while starting out.
The later corrals of course start much later. This was my first ½ in several years so I said I was going to be slow and end up near the back… but the excitement of the fireworks and the characters and everyone dressed up was a solid distraction.
Every mile marker has something going on and something to look forward to. I wish I had stopped to take photos and see characters but I was so convinced I would get carted off if I didn’t make time that I didn’t. The humidity really got to me around mile 7 but there was a nice woman with what I thought was hand sanitizer at the first aid station… turns out it was a form of icy hot and my enthusiasm was renewed! Then mile 8 played this girl is on fire and I felt pretty great about myself.
Back track a few miles to RUNNING THROUGH THE CASTLE. Talk about an experience! The downside is the bottleneck afterward but running around Disneyworld (especially as my first time setting foot in the place) was pure elation. My inner 5 year old was making a list of all the rides and places I needed to go the next day.
Water and gatorade was along the way and there was always enough. I had my own shot blocks but I believe those were somewhere as well…
Looping into the finish was tough. Not only was the humidity getting the best of me (even at 7am) but there were some hills — incredibly rude, runDisney! Coming through Epcot made up for it. Again, experiences I was having for the first time.
When you cross the finish there is so much excitement and princess dust and the medal. You walk through the refreshment area then you’re guided over near a photo op and where you can meet your family. It was pretty crowded but manageable and my boyfriend had a great seat from the cheer squad — he said that was worthwhile since you have an actual seat, snacks, and can upgrade to the warm tent with cocoa. The clappers were great too, he brings those to all my other races now so I can find him and he can cheer loudly (:
My princess experience is one I’ll always treasure and look forward to having again. It inspired me to coast to coast in 2014 and got me back into running!
«If you can dream it, you can do it.»

I have been running Disney races for a while now and this one is by far my favorite. It is smaller than other half marathons like the princess or Disney half in January, but still with more than enough people to make it fun.
The course is similar to the second half of the Disney full marathon — you go through animal kingdom and MGM. The best part of the race is running through the Christmas lights in MGM. So pretty!
Your motivation to finish the race is the «finish line party» at Epcot. Rides and food kiosks stay open and you can go on the year’s smelliest version of Soar’n with your fellow runners.
Wine and Dine is expensive but that’s is almost expected at a Disney race. Here are tips:
Staying at a Disney hotel is nice but not necessary. Driving and parking is simple and quick.
You do not need to get there too early. The busses run efficiently even with long lines. Either be stuck in line or stuck forever in the staging are. Your choice.
Use the bathroom on the bus to avoid long lines for the portopotties.
You will be waiting at the staging area for a while. Bring a blanket or clothes you don’t want anymore (they donate whatever you leave behind) and something to do.
Dress up! Almost half the runners do so you won’t feel silly at all.
Don’t worry about time. You are not Ryan Hall. Enjoy yourself and the experience but don’t expect a PR on such a crowded night course.
I really like this race. For the sake of finances I have limited myself to the Wine and Dine and Disney Marathon Dopey Challenge for this year. But if I could only chooses one it would definitely be Wine and Dine.

Out of all the Disney events I’ve run, this was the worst one yet. I’ve run the Disney Half Marathon, Tinkerbell (
) and this past weekend, completed the Princess Half Marathon for my 2013 Coast-​to-​Coast challenge that earned me some extra bling once I crossed the finish line
).
EXPO:
I thought the expo was run pretty well. We were there as they opened their doors Friday morning. This was a good call because by noon, lines for everything were really long. I had a little hiccup with my registration, which really delayed our plan to get through everything quickly. They didn’t have me down for the Coast-​to-​Coast challenge so I had to jump through hoops to show them my Tinkerbell race results. This was not at all very convenient. Once checked in, I had to wait in «Runner Assistance» long line only to be told that I had to go clear across the expo to wait in another line to print out results from Tinkerbell. Once that was complete, I had to go back to the longer line found at Runner Asssitance to get my bracelet that showed I was eligible for the coast to coast challenge. It doesn’t seem like much by it literally took me 1.5 hours to do this. All because they didn’t have computers or a laptop at the Runner Assistance station to look me up in the system. Doesn’t it seem logical for them to have resources like this in place?
Additionally, lines for the t-​shirt lines were really long. Because I was held up trying to prove my completion of Tinkerbell, by the time we got into the shirt line, it was literally wrapping around the perimeter of the expo and then zig-​zagging through the room. The same could be said for the official race day merchandise which turned out to be a complete waste of time because the merchandise was not all that great and most of the merchandise was already gone by 1pm on the first day they opened.
The one good thing about the expo was the vendors were much better than the Tinkerbell expo. Loved the headband vendor (picked up lots of those) and the physical therapy section ($ 25 for 20 min. did wonders) and last but not least, the Champion booth which had a great selection of running jackets at great prices.
RACE & COURSE:
According to Disney, there were 26k people competing in this event. That’s a whole lot of people! Our shuttle dropped us off at 4AM and it took about 30 min to get to our corral. Race materials said it would take 20 min but it was so packed, a brisk walk or warm up was next to impossible. I was in corral C and they were really strict with making sure that you were getting into the right one. Once you got into your corral though, there was not really a lot of room for you to warm up so warm up before you get in and prepared to sit and stretch only.
Once the race got under way, the streets had participants running/​walking shoulder to shoulder. There are a lot of walkers right out of the gate so you had to constantly dart around them. It was very difficult to get a really good pace going. I thought it would thin out but that NEVER happened. There were lots of areas of the race where you were literally just standing there waiting to get through the section. The castle was one of those sections as well as a few other areas where it narrowed through the park.
I just didn’t enjoy the run at all and would highly recommend that Disney rethink the course and the number of people who are allowed to run. Yes, they had lots of picture opportunities for fans but putting that aside, the course was really boring and if you think you’re going to have this amazing experience running through DisneyWorld… think again. Most of it is highway running and you run no more than 2 miles through the park and most of that is in the back alleys. And because there are so many «runners», forget about running through the castle — talk about a traffic jam! You came to a screeching halt. I mean screeching!
The FINISH:
Conditions on race day were hot and humid. We got really lucky with the cloud cover because it kept the sun away, however, with the amount of money Disney made with this race, it would’ve been nice if they handed out cold towels to cool people down once they crossed the finish line.
They handed out little post race meals; banana, warm water (wish it was chilled) and a to-​go box filled with random goodies. It would’ve been nice if they provided a small bag to carry everything with.
In the end, I don’t think I’d ever be inclined to do this race again with the existing course and the number of people. I came for my Coast-​to-​Coast medal and conquered but they’ll never see me back for a repeat. There are far more enjoyable races than this… sorry, Disney!

It literally hurts me that I can’t, at least, give this event a 4 star, simply because this isn’t an event I’d would voluntarily do ever again. It just wasn’t the same experience as the Tinkerbell Halfs that I’ve done.
Bus pick-​up at a designated hotel is was really early. Like 3:30am early. There’s a line for that. Bus shuttles us to Epcot Center. Another line for that. Trying to just get to your corral? Line. Oh, and then there’s the corral itself, while you’re waiting for it to start. Another line. Let’s not forget the shuttle ride back. Yep. Line.
The run itself was from Epcot to Magic Kingdom and back. Honestly, I didn’t even realize that I ran through MK. I ran into the park, blinked and realized I was out of the park and back out on the freeway, heading towards Epcot. That’s it?
There were bottlenecks in the run, where there wasn’t much running room. At times, I was literally stuck jogging in place unable to manouver around. But, that’s to be expected, even if it does suck to have to wait for an opening.
The one thing that I did like were the various cast of characters out there for runners to see. They had the evil queens and witches, the princes and, of course, all the princesses and more. They even had a pirate ship which was pretty darn cool.
If the weather wasn’t 85+ and humid, maybe this would have been a better experience. But, I can’t really blame the heat on Disney, now can I? It’s fun to do once, but for me… never more. I got what I came for, my Disney Princess Medal and my Coast-​to-​Coast.
As one sign holder wrote it, «Only Disney can make you get up at 2am and spend $ 140+ to run 13.1 miles in this heat.» Too true. LOL.

It was the only thing that could convince me to run 13.1 miles.
And the only thing that could convince hubby to join me in Disney World.
…a princess-​themed race…
All said and done, we had a great time. Disney sends out training plans and tips, staying engaged with racers in the months before the big day. They organized a pretty great Expo with drool-​worthy shoes and gear for women, plus yummy Luna bar samples and other goodies. Bib and packet pick-​up was smooth. Shuttling to and from the Downtown Disney to the conference center was easy to figure out.
Day of, we arrived at 4:15 and had parking pretty close to the finish line area. There’s a DJ, plenty of porta-​potties, and bag check at that point. As you’re ready, you start the 10-​minute walk to the start line. Don’t stop at the short row of porta-​potties that you first happen upon… there are dozens more just a short walk further. They tell you to be in your corral by 5am, or you can’t race; but honestly, there were people filtering in long beyond that. And once you’re in your corral, you just have to play the waiting game. Signs and volunteers will herd you towards your corral. I recommend running a 10K or longer before the race and logging your time when you register, or at Runner Relations, in order to get the earliest corral possible. They’re spaced about 10 minutes apart… friends of ours were placed in the final corral and had to wait an hour-​and-​a-​half after the first firing of the gun in order to start the race. By the time they were on the course, it was so clogged up with walkers, they couldn’t even run portions of it… particularly once inside the Cinderella castle and into Magic Kingdom. My husband and I were in Corral D (I think that’s the earliest corral men are placed in, since this is a Princess race, and ladies-​first!). So we had a pretty good start, although there was still congestion through many of the earlier parts of the race which required weaving.
The entertainment in the first half is great — live band, giant Pirates ship, lots of characters (lines were long), running through Disney. The second half, as you run on service roads, really dulls down. They could really use some more music or something placed after Mile 7 to re-​energize folks. I remember looking around and noticing we were all sluggish at that point.
The water and Poweraid placement, about every 2 miles, was perfect. And I was pleasantly surprised at the number of spectators (since Disney charges). After the race, water and Poweraid was aplenty and we got a lunch box with a really nice assortment in it. The after-​race party was high-​energy with a DJ, celebratory beer and champagne for sell. I did think they should have had more water beyond the finish line of the race, which is not all that close to the after-​party. So grab two when you finish, or keep one in your checked bag, so you have when you pick-​up the bag.
I’d had RunKeeper going, and it clocked me at a 9.50 pace; but my chip time told me 10.02. RunKeeper also told me I ran beyond 13.1. I don’t know if there are course inaccuracies (I guess RunKeeper isn’t all that accurate), but that was kind of a bummer! The high points? High-​fiving Minnie Mouse at the finish, and hearing hubby’s and my names called out by the announcer as we crossed the line!
Price-​wise — this race is EXPENSIVE. And they still push you to stay in Disney resorts (which, by the way, we didn’t. And getting to and from the race was totally easy and hassle-​free). You don’t even get into the park for free — and the runner ‘discount’ is paltry — c’mon! The goodie bags don’t have many goodies, considering the buy-​in. And no percentage of the race goes to charity! They partnered with a non-​profit for disease awareness, and encouraged donations; but dang, with 26,000 runners, they’re making a killing. I’d like to see some of that go back to the community!
The costumes from fellow runners were awesome, and I enjoyed spotting different characters amongst my fellow racers… especially the one Sally I saw. And a really cool homemade Jasmine. Hubby and I went as Mr. & Mrs. Incredible and got a lot of shout-​outs from passers-​by, just because, I think, we were not a traditional prince/​princess. Those cheers really motivated us on! I’d recommend this race; just be aware of the high number of casual runners — and enjoy. It’s Disney World after all!

What a delightful experience! I decided I wanted to participate in this race because well, it’s Disney. Nothing like fireworks, music, and characters to encourage you as you complete this run.
This was my first Disney race, and I loved it! There were some parts of the the course, however, that were super narrow and made actual running impossible. The goody bag was disappointing, as I expected more.
With 19,000 plus people participating in this race, however, I feel the event ran very smoothly.
To read the full details about my race, visit