My runDisney Experience:Disney Princess Half Race Recap

The Run Disney experience is set apart by all other race events by one thing: the runDisney family. Go on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc and you will find tons of #runDisney photos as well as a large amount of support. The runDisney races range from 5K events to the Dopey Challenge which is 48.6 miles over 4 days. Yes you read that right. There are people who love to run so much, they run a 5k, 10k, half and full marathon earning themselves 6 medals and immense pride along the way.

My runDisney experience is a 100% positive one. I began training for the 2015 Disney Princess Half the week after the 2014 Princess Half weekend. I saw some posts on social media and thought "That looks like fun!" I had never ever once before then thought about running being fun or even entertained the idea of running a race let alone a half marathon. As I did more research on the race I encountered the sweetest, most encouraging and inspirational people. This helped me gain steam on creating a game plan. I signed up for the gym, set a reminder for registration and I started running!

Signing for event was stressful! The site was crashing and it took multiple times for me to get all the way through registration but when I did there was no turning back! As I continued to train, I signed up for smaller events to track my pace and see how my body held up to long distance running. Throughout the year, I posted to twitter and instagram and received so much awesome advice, both in general about running as well as how things work at a runDisney event. Being part of the runDisney family helped me stay positive and accountable for the half marathon.

Finally, after a year of training, it was time! We flew down to Orlando Friday night landing just after midnight. After picking up our rental car we headed to our hotel, Grande Villas Resorts (read my review here). Saturday morning we were headed to the Race Expo at ESPN World Wide of Sports!!! I was just too excited to go past those Welcome to Disney World signs!!! The expo was packed and was held in two different areas. One of the indoor areas was for packet pickup, chEAR squad pickup and some minor souvenir items as well as a couple of character meet and greets. The next building was where you picked up your clear runDisney bag for race day bag check as well as your race shirt and there were TONS of vendors. This area was packed and I was only interested in a few of the Disney licensed merchandise so we skipped most of the vendors. Unfortunately, being that we arrived on day 3 of the expo most of the items were picked through already. After the expo we ran some errands, got some groceries, dinner and went to Downtown Disney. DTD was packed so we didn't do much but I had an early bed time so that was fine with me.

 

Welcome to Walt Disney World!

 

Expo craziness

After going to bed decently early (read before dark), I ended up waking up around 1 am and getting ready for RACE DAY. It was finally here, I just couldn't believe it. We left our hotel around 3 to head to the starting area. I am glad we left early, we had ZERO traffic but I did speak to others in my corral who had a lot of traffic so runDisney tip: LEAVE EARLY! They had some areas to buy drinks, some leftover merchandise, a DJ and some character meet and greets. The lines for these were soooooo long, I wish I had realized earlier. I was in line for Cinderella but she was done with her time frame and in came Merida. Brave has a cool story but I was too old when it came out, had never seen the whole thing and really love Cinderelly so I was a bit disappointed. I stayed in line because who doesn't love a character meet and greet, especially when  you have nothing better to do! It was a bit chilly this morning but not as cold as for the 5K and 10K thank goodness. runDisney tip #2 bring a throwaway hoodie to keep you warm until your corral starts. The jackets thrown to the side of the road are collected and donated to a good cause!

 

Meeting Merida from Brave before the race

As it got closer to race time I started to get a bit nervous! I said goodbye to my sister and BF who were there to cheer me on and headed through bag check (didn't use it) to the porta potty line. I must say there were a ton but they were disgusting, as in the worst that I had ever seen in my life. After that episode I headed to Corral I. I was pleasantly surprised that I was up so high (corrals are assigned based on previous races). Once in my corral I stretched, watched the screen of the announcers and met with some fun ladies I would be running with! While waiting, I noticed a woman in our corral holding a balloon with a time of 2:45 on it. Intrigued, I learned that she was a pace leader for people who wanted to finish around 2 hours and 45 minutes.


runDisney tip #3 join a pace group. This group saved my life, seriously. The pace leader used a run 5 minute, walk 1 minute pace and watched the time to ensure we were right where we needed to be. Once the fireworks go off(yes, for every corral!) you walk through the starting area and it is very congested off and on until you get to the Magic Kindgdom entrance around mile 3 or 3.5. Being that the beginning of the race is entirely on the highway and you have to share on ramps with thousands of runners, it gets a little cramped. Once you make it to MK it gets much better. I kept pace with the leader most of the time until I realized I would need to tinkle soon. At this point the porta potties were out of the question for me so I headed to Tomorrowland (I think) by the Buzz Lightyear area so that I could use a real potty. The ladies line was a little long so runDisney tip #4 use the mens room! I wish I would have done this. There were seriously such a small number of men running you most likely would have only run into 2 or 3. While waiting in line my pace group passed me so I tried to catch up as best I could.

 

Map of the Disney Princess Half course

Soon I was running through the castle! This part was so amazing and pretty emotional! By the way, be sure to have your camera out as you first approach the castle. Many Princesses were taking selfies with the castle! Around the 10K marker I saw @pinkcupcakegirl which was exciting. After this area I needed to regain my focus since I had lost my pace group. I kept my eyes out for her balloons and finally spotted the group around mile 8 or so. The girls in my group were awesome so I was happy to get back and gain motivation from them. Ending up back on the highway was rough, again getting kind of congested. From here on it never really thinned out but it was pretty easy to maneuver around people. Once you get to mile 10, 11 the overpasses really start to get you although there is really only one large one.

Passing now to mile 12 you start to head into Epcot passing Spaceship Earth which was almost as exciting as seeing the Castle! Here you really start to get excited that you are going to make it and I deviated from my pace group to head around to the finish line. As I am going around who do I see but @bamagirlruns and Carrie Burrows! Pause for me to tell you that these runDisney runners are AMAZING, so very inspiring (remember that 48.6 challenge I was telling you about? Yeah, they do that). Once my fangirl moment was over, I was racing as fast as I could to the finish. So fast and focused that I didn't even realize there was a Prince Mickey at the finish line to take photos with. I didn't stop for any of the character stops at each mile since I was focused on my time but I would have gone back for Prince Mickey.

Once you finish (which was a bit emotional again for me) you head through this never ending area of people. There are race finishers as well as the amazing volunteers who give you your medal, some Gatorade, your snack box, Mylar blanket etc. I finally met up with my sister and BF and mistakenly ate what was in my snack box, fast. I felt sick around mile 9 which never really went away and unfortunately eating made it worse. I embarrassingly got sick with tons of people around but who cares I just ran a HALF MARATHON!!!! My time was 2:42:58 seconds. I was thrilled! I dreamed of being around 3 hours so the pace group was amazing.

 

Running past Prince Mickey to the finish

 

Crossing the Disney Princess Half finish line

 

My medal and race shirt (both beautiful)

The race was just an amazing experience and I couldn't have asked to run my first half marathon in a more magical place. runDisney tip #5 if you arent worried about a PR, do the character meet and greets. There were some really neat ones like the Army soldier from Toy Story who was making people do push ups, you can see all the Villains, or all the Princes. runDisney tip #6 DO STOP at the water stations, some had snack areas, some had cliff bars and gels. This is a very important need for runners and runDisney provides tons of stations like this as well as first aid areas. I already have some race plans in mind for the rest of 2015 and 2016 but I will be back to runDisney again!

runDisney tip #7 find a runDisney event for you! There are tons events throughout the year at both Disney World and Disneyland as well as a inaugural Half Marathon at Disneyland Paris next September!  Go to www.rundisney.com to check out the race schedule, see when registration opens for your event and for great training guides.

Are you signed up for an event, runDisney or otherwise? Get on social media for great motivation and tips from fellow runners!  Read @bamagirlruns blog http://bamagirlruns.blogspot.com/ to follow her training for the 2016 Dopey Challenge. Another favorite running blog of mine is WeRunDisney! Follow Mom & Daughter duo Pam & Christine as they run Disney as well as other major races like the Boston Marathon!

ORLANDO: Universal IOA Hogsmeade

We opted out of Disney while in Orlando for the Disney Princess Half and instead took in a day at each Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We purchased the buy 2 day Park Hopper get a 3rd day free option but just spent 2 days at the parks. I had never been to Universal Studios but I had visited IOA about 8 years ago, before the Harry Potter World addition.

Harry Potter World was the center of our visit so we headed to Hogsmeade when we first arrived at IOA. It was a Monday so the park wasn't too crowded but it was definitely busier in the HPW sections of both parks. We went to the Three Broomsticks to eat and of course to try a Butter Beer! The Butter Beer reminded me a lot of cream soda. It was good but not something I wanted more than one of.

Next stop was Olivanders, my boyfriend wanted to get one of the interactive wands that could be used to perform spells throughout HPW. They only let a small number of people into the shop at a time, about 15-20. They go through a small skit and then you are taken to the shop to choose from souvenirs and of course wands. A non interactive wand cost about $40 while an interactive one cost $50.How do you tell the difference in the shop? Wands with the gold label (see below) are interactive wands. You can select from a variety of characters wands, each coming in interactive and non interactive. Each interactive wand comes with a map showing the spell locations throughout both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley.

 

Follow the map to areas on the ground (mostly in front of shop windows) with gold letters and numbers as seen below. You wave your wand following the spell and usually something in the window moves. For what it is worth, some (read most) of the spell areas were congested. It takes more than once and sometimes about 10 times before the spell you "cast" works. You have to be in just the right spot and follow the spell to the T. There were HPW cast members at most of these areas to help out with your technique but it was somewhat frustrating getting it exactly right. None of the spots do anything spectacular except for one in Diagon Alley in which your spell makes rain come out of an umbrella.

Wanting to get in line for the rides before the lines got really long we headed to the Forbidden Journey ride. Once you enter the castle there is an area for you to rent a locker for free until an extended period of time(these can be found throughout the park and were extremely beneficial). Once all bags and loose belongings are locked up you can proceed to the line area which weaves around the back of the castle and then into the castle. Once inside the castle, the line moves throughout different areas which are sections you would recognize from the book, including the famous moving/ talking portraits in the hallways. The way Universal does their themes for both parks is very well thought out and makes standing in line much more enjoyable.

The Forbidden Journey is a 4D experience which starts as soon as you hop on the moving sidewalk of sorts to hurriedly get to your seat (4 people per car). The ride whisks you along inside and along the outside of the castle as you follow the characters through different adventures.  I do have to mention that some portions of the ride had me a little jumpy so keep that in mind if you have younger kids and maybe consider an alternative ride if you think it may freak them out. If alternate reality is hard for you to enjoy, I would also recommend skipping the ride. With that being said, it was one of my favorite rides in both parks as I prefer these type of rides to actual roller coasters.

After walking around the stores and doing some spells, we headed to the Dragon Challenge. This ride is not new to the park and used to be called the Dueling Dragons. I had rode this on my last visit and enjoyed it so we rode it again. The ride no longer races the red and blue dragon against each other. The ride was still fun, a little fast and a little high for me but I am no roller coaster fanatic.

We moved on throughout IOA later coming back to take the Hogswarts Express over to Diagon Alley. Overall I liked Hogsmeade but it is very congested. There are some areas with carts, lots of people practicing their spells in front of shops and a lot of people stopping to take plenty of photos (like me). The decor is amazing and as mentioned early Universal does a great job of making the different park themes come to life.

Orlando: Grande Villas Resort

While in Orlando for the Disney Princess Half Marathon last month, we stayed at the Grande Villas Resort. This resort is part of the Diamond Resort International Properties and is a time share type hotel. We booked through a 3rd party site and did not feel pressured by the staff to go to any time share presentations.

We stayed on the 5th floor (the top) in a renovated unit. As described on their site, the resort is under going renovations to update all of the units. The site warns of construction noise but we did not encounter this at all.  In fact, the resort was very quiet the entire duration of our stay. 

Our room was a 1 bedroom suite with a pull out couch in the living area as well as a kitchenette. The suite area was large and the bed/ pillows were very very comfy! There was a decent sized dresser for a couple, though too small for a family as well as a closet in the bathroom.The bathroom is connected to the bedroom with both a bath and shower with a large 2 sink vanity area. Through the suite was also the screened in porch which was very nice. My sister stayed in the living area and opted to just sleep on the couch instead of pulling it out and putting it together everyday. She said that this was comfortable for the duration of our stay.

Suite (separated from living area with pocket doors)

The property is beautiful and well maintained. We spent 3 nights at one of the hot tub areas (the resort has two pools) and enjoyed that very much. While staying at the resort you also have access to the property across the street. This resort has a 3rd pool/ hot tubs as well a mini golf course! We did not use this facility but it seems to be a great option for families. The hotel office/ lobby also had a schedule of family friendly events including a movie on a blow up screen at the pool, very nice touch!

Pool area behind Building B

The convenience factor may have been my favorite thing about staying at the Grande Villas Resort. We were a short 10-15 minutes to all Disney has to offer, 20-25 minutes to the Universal Parks, a quarter mile to the Winn-Dixie and 5 minutes from tons of dining options. Also on the property was a convenience store with everything from coffee & snacks to playing cards and souvenirs. The Food Mart also delivers food, the lobby gives you a menu at check in.

 The Food Mart

The room, property, location and price were all winning points of our stay and I have no complaints. For future trips to Orlando, we will definitely consider staying at Grande Villas again. I also will consider Diamond Resorts International properties in all my travels. To book a stay at Grande Villas Resort or for more information on additional DRI properties, please visit their website .

 

 

Pool Towels (under sink)

Extra bath towels, TP and Tissue (under sink)

Orlando Hotels?

I am reaching out today to get feed back from fellow travelers on hotels in the Orlando area for my Disney Princes Half Marathon in February. As we approach the 5 month mark, I would like to start my search for accommodations. I am not particular right now as to how nice the hotel is etc, just want honest recommendations!

We still have not decided how long we will be staying. I am going to do packet pick up on Saturday, Feb 21 and the race is bright and early Sunday, February 22. I am narrowing down some choices for a cruise to take immediately after (either leaving Sunday or Monday).  We will most likely be sailing out of Port Canaveral unless we find an awesome deal from Tampa, JAX, etc.


Please leave a comment below or let me know on Twitter!

Aurora or Cinderella?

EEK! I signed up for my first half marathon. I first heard about the Disney races at the end of February and thought it was a great idea to get healthier. In March, I signed up for a gym membership and began training for the Disney Princess Half Marathon at Disney World! Over the last couple of months I have amazed myself at what I can do! Since then, I have completed 2 5Ks (3.1 miles) and a 4 miler with a 10K (6.2 miles) in queue for September.

While I continue to train, I am getting into the planning mode of this mini vaca! I believe we will drive down for a couple of days but need to pick a hotel. This will be the tricky part as I am not sure if we will stay at a Disney Resort. While convenient, they are also more expensive but driving to the Park on race day may be more of a hassle than it is worth. Stay tuned for updates there!

The 13.1 course will take place through both Magic Kingdom & Epcot as well as in between. There are stops at each mile for photo ops with your favorite Disney characters as well as a run through Cinderella's castle just before mile 6!!!

 What good is a race with out some free stuff?  With your registration comes a official Disney Princess Half Marathon technical shirt and a MEDAL. Yes you read that right, a Disney Princess MEDAL. Which I have to admit, is what first sold me on this challenge.

The race registration opened Tuesday and sold out within 6 HOURS!!! CRAZY. There are more than 20,000 runners so it will certainly be very different than what I am used to. They place you in different starting corrals based on an estimated finish time. You must be able to provide a finish time for a 10K or better to be placed in a corral other than the last. You must also be able to keep a 16:00/mile pace or they will unfortunately "sweep" you and take you to the finish line.

Although I am very excited for the race, I am a little disappointed that the registration fee does not include a ticket into the park. $170 per person is pretty steep but the experience is supposed to be well worth it, park entry afterwards or not.


My only question now is which character will I be dressing up as? Aurora or Cinderella?  Do you have some Run Disney Tips? Want to recommend an Orlando hotel? Have questions about the race? Leave a comment or send me an email! Don't forget to subscribe so you can follow along!!