Month: March 2023

Want to Wine & Dine? It’s Registration Time!

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If you want to run in this year’s Wine & Dine races, grab your lucky registration shirt because the menu has been set!

General registration is this coming Tuesday, March 21 at 10:00 a.m. ET

This year’s themes all focus around dining, and I think they really nailed it!

5K – The Mad Tea Party

This Alice in Wonderland theme set off a bit of a frenzy at my house!

November 3, 2023 at 5 a.m.

$108

10K – Be Our Guest

This Beauty and the Beast theme feels slightly redundant since Belle was featured at Princess weekend, but hey I can get some more milage (pun intended) out of my Belle costume.

November 4, 2023 at 5 a.m.

$151

Half Marathon – Encanto

“Isabella, your boyfriend’s here! Time for dinner!” Who can forget the incredibly awkward dinner scene from Encanto? We’ll have 13.1 miles of Encanto-themed fun that is guaranteed to have us talking about Bruno all day.

November 5, 2023 at 5 a.m.

$235

Two-Course Challenge – Figment

I’m not going to lie, the Challenge might sell out faster than the virtual queue for Cosmic Rewind. Everyone will be clamoring for the medal featuring Epcot’s own “Figment and his topsy turvy kitchen”

November 4-5, 2023 at 5 a.m.

$389

Afterparty

Don’t forget that Wine & Dine weekend features the afterparty on Sunday night. The afterparty is a private event at Epcot that hypothetically offers short wait times for attractions and rare character meet and greets. Half marathon and challenge participants get free tickets to the afterparty, and you can purchase tickets for friends and family during registration for $105 each. Last year, the party sold out and tickets were hard to come by.

Virtual Races

Virtual races will be offered as well, registration for these starts on March 24. Prices are slightly less expensive. But please don’t ask me why the longer distances are more expensive than the shorter ones. It’s not like runDisney needs to close roads and find volunteers!

  • 5K – $85
  • 10K – $106
  • Half Marathon – $126
  • Two Course Challenge – $270

I’m not planning on missing a minute of the weekend events! Drop a comment and let me know which ones you’re excited for. If you need help with registration, you can prep by reading this post. Good luck!

#Medal Monday! Basking in the Afterglow of Princess Weekend

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There is a newly-minted batch of Disney Princesses in town! Congratulations to everyone who participated in the 2023 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend!

The weather was fantastic and it was a picture perfect race weekend. Well, not all of my pictures were perfect, but they are, at least, entertaining.

I hit the expo early on Thurdsay to try to beat most of the chaos. I was lucky I was able to do that because for some folks, it was a long, drawn-out day. I spoke with someone who joined the Virtual Queue when it opened at 8:30, but she did not get a shopping window for about 4 hours.

There was lots to do and see at the expo, including Cinderella’s coach! I was excited to get a pic, but slightly bummed that I missed out on getting the pic with her footmen and the glass slipper, which got there a little later. Oh well, c’est la vie.

Since I was “only” doing the 10K this time around, I had some time to enjoy Disney and had a day at Disney Springs followed by an incredible dinner and fireworks from the California Grill at the Contemporary Resort. I spent Friday at Epcot. This time I was the one getting shut out of the virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy, but got incredibly lucky with a last minute lunch reservation at Space 220, so I was all smiles. (And really, really stuffed!)

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Saturday was race day for me, and I completely lucked out and got a placement in corral C. First time for everything, I guess, and now I know that it’s actually possible to get so lucky! Also lucky was my running buddy Stacia, also starting in corral C. I usually end up in the back with the Balloon Ladies and scared formy life, but this time I was able to take it a bit more relaxed. Before the race I was able to snag a selfie with runDisney legend Jogging Jack Sparrow, and Stacia was interviewed by Riley right before we launched. I was surrounded by celebrity!

Stacia and I were really in sync on pacing and intervals, and it felt like a match made in heaven! It was definitely Belle’s day and I was in good company in my yellow ballgown. At some point I was intercepted by another runDisney celebrity, The Trooper Dude, also dressed as Belle. He was in the middle of a livestream and interviewed me while we were running on the topic of “Who wore it better?” I think I won on the technicality that I don’t have facial hair.

I’m used to doing full challenge weekends, so running just the 10K felt like a breeze. I was sorry it was over so soon.

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So I am still trying to get a good jump shot. I have not yet perfected it. What I did perfect is the art of “Mike Wazowski-ing” myself. This one was just too good not to share.

So after the miles and the smiles there wasn’t much left to do but say goodby and bolt to the airport for my same-day flight, but I did manage to grab a pic of THREE runDisney celebrities in the same place – The Trooper Dude, Jogging Jack Sparrow, and THe Muscle Mouse. Proof that they are not the same person!

The Trooper Dude, Jogging Jack Sparrow, The Muscle Mouse

A Princess Wears the Crown

Sadly, I had to miss the Half Marathon, but a huge shout out to the overall winner, Neely Gracey of Denver, Colorado. She beat the entire field (including the boys!) to finish in 1:15:55. That’s an astounding accomplishment, and only the third time a woman was the overall winner. You rock the kingdom, Neely!

Photo Credit: Elisa White, runDisney

I’m sad it’s over, but so glad I got to take part in the 2023 Princess Half Marathon Weekend! Were you there? Drop a comment and tell me how much fun you had!