2019 Princess Half Marathon Weekend

[Eeyores#1Fan]

Morn all! Got a question for you. I'm thinking about getting the chear squad for my husband but wanted to find out if anyone could tell me how hard it is to get to MK. IF I do this I have to tell him exactly when to leave AoA and where to go step by step lol. TIA!

 

[Livelovedance]

So I currently have the Swan booked because I wanted the convenience of staying as close to the start of the race as possible. (I’m not a morning person and am perpetually running late.)
However, I just found a deal at Pop Century for less than half the price. Will staying at Swan save me any significant time getting to the race versus staying at Pop? Anyone want to weigh in and help me decide on a hotel?

I really don't have much to weigh in, but I just want to mention that I stayed at Pop Century for the last Princess run with no issues and would not hesitate to stay there again. However, I was paranoid and made sure to be on one of the first buses. I was pleasantly surprised by how close the expo was, but that doesn't help for your concerns! Hopefully someone with experience at the Swan for a race weekend will chime in with more helpful information, but I just wanted to share my two cents!

 

[Bree]

So I currently have the Swan booked because I wanted the convenience of staying as close to the start of the race as possible. (I’m not a morning person and am perpetually running late.)
However, I just found a deal at Pop Century for less than half the price. Will staying at Swan save me any significant time getting to the race versus staying at Pop? Anyone want to weigh in and help me decide on a hotel?

I stayed at Swan for Star Wars Dark Side & Dolphin for Wine & Dine. Even though the race starts in Epcot you still need to use the bus to get there. In the morning Swan & Dolphin will each have their own bus to the race start. The bus back from the race shares with Yacht Club, Beach Club & Boardwalk. The drop off order is supposed to be Swan, Dolphin, YC, BC then BW. You cannot walk back to your resort unless Epcot is open and you have a valid park ticket. Personally I prefer the Epcot resorts for their dining options and being able to enter into Epcot at the International Gateway. You will probably save yourself 5 minutes of bus time if you stay at the swan. 5 minutes versus a room at the half the cost?

 

[CassieRuns]

So I currently have the Swan booked because I wanted the convenience of staying as close to the start of the race as possible. (I’m not a morning person and am perpetually running late.)
However, I just found a deal at Pop Century for less than half the price. Will staying at Swan save me any significant time getting to the race versus staying at Pop? Anyone want to weigh in and help me decide on a hotel?

I know I will probably be hated on for this but... we recently stayed at POP because everyone RAVES about it. It was awful. The rooms are beautiful but it stops there. It was so busy, we had so many problems - our check in was horrific and we had to go the front desk (for an hour) EVERY DAY in order to sort things out. The cast members were not apologetic and they were not Disney in ANY way. I worked in customer service for a large portion of my life so I get that people have bad days... but I gave this place so many chances and honestly; I'd stay offsite in a Motel 6 before I EVER stayed at POP Century again. AND - I'm a DVC and Annual Passholder.

Don't switch!

 

[KathyM2]

If you want something just a bit more than a purple top, KawaiianPizzaApparel has some amazing Rapunzel tops. I personally haven't ordered from them (it's a little on the pricey side), but have seen a lot of runners use them.

Thanks!! I will check that out!! Also looking at some boxing day sales at shops this week!

 

[Livelovedance]

I was browsing the Buy Products page on the runDisney website and noticed they updated some of the product images again. The runner bundles now show the magnets and the 3 pins (logo, medal replica, and I did it). I want a magnet and one pin for each race, so I'm hoping they'll be readily available at the expo!

 

[bumbershoot]

Morn all! Got a question for you. I'm thinking about getting the chear squad for my husband but wanted to find out if anyone could tell me how hard it is to get to MK. IF I do this I have to tell him exactly when to leave AoA and where to go step by step lol. TIA!

He'll really need to leave around the same time you do, go with you, then head over to MK. There will be instructions for spectators on the Princess website.

But FYI you don't need Chear squad to watch from MK! Anyone can go! No ticket needed, either. You're in and out of the park before it opens. Chear just gives you a specific place to watch from.

Even though the race starts in Epcot you still need to use the bus to get there. In the morning Swan & Dolphin will each have their own bus to the race start.

Yep. The only thing staying there will save you is a bit of time on the road.

You cannot walk back to your resort unless Epcot is open and you have a valid park ticket.

Yep. But if you have non-Epcot park plans for later that day, you'll have to make sure you have a park hopper to go through Epcot after the race.

 

[CassieRuns]

I was browsing the Buy Products page on the runDisney website and noticed they updated some of the product images again. The runner bundles now show the magnets and the 3 pins (logo, medal replica, and I did it). I want a magnet and one pin for each race, so I'm hoping they'll be readily available at the expo!

Me too! The medal replica pins were not available for wine & Dine so I keep going back and forth about buying the bundle in advance.... I really only want that one pin from each race!

 

[AZMermaid]

Me too! The medal replica pins were not available for wine & Dine so I keep going back and forth about buying the bundle in advance.... I really only want that one pin from each race!

We pre-bought the bundles for the 10K/Half and Challenge and now I am sort of meh about the pins and magnet design! I do think one (thinking it is the I did it one?) opens, so that is cool. We live in AZ, have elementary aged kids, this is right at the start of the Little League season and I am a teacher so vacation days are tight. So- this is probably a one time thing to run in WDW (don't hold me to it, haha). So, we said we want all the pins- haha!

 

[Livelovedance]

Me too! The medal replica pins were not available for wine & Dine so I keep going back and forth about buying the bundle in advance.... I really only want that one pin from each race!

We pre-bought the bundles for the 10K/Half and Challenge and now I am sort of meh about the pins and magnet design! I do think one (thinking it is the I did it one?) opens, so that is cool. We live in AZ, have elementary aged kids, this is right at the start of the Little League season and I am a teacher so vacation days are tight. So- this is probably a one time thing to run in WDW (don't hold me to it, haha). So, we said we want all the pins- haha!

I'm so torn because of these exact 3 reasons:
1. I want one pin and one magnet for each race.
2. I want to use my AP discount.
3. I don't want to be disappointed if pins aren't available like what happened at Wine & Dine!

I think I'm getting even more crazed about it because I've been following the marathon weekend thread and that weekend's almost here which means we're getting closer to princess weekend! I've admittedly been rewatching YouTube videos from last year's runs because I can't wait!

 

[epcotgirl22]

Morn all! Got a question for you. I'm thinking about getting the chear squad for my husband but wanted to find out if anyone could tell me how hard it is to get to MK. IF I do this I have to tell him exactly when to leave AoA and where to go step by step lol. TIA!

So, my husband has done cheer squad for the Princess Half many times. How clear the directions to MK were really varied every time. Some years the monorail was running, some years they shut it down at various times (but cast members would claim it was running). Accurate information has been vary hard to find the morning of the race. He still does cheer squad, but we decided a few races ago, lyft/uber was better than disney's transportation for spectating. There are usually others around looking to do the same and share the cost. However, you probably need a fair amount of familiarity with the property to know where to go/where you can go and when.

 

[CassieRuns]

I'm so torn because of these exact 3 reasons:
1. I want one pin and one magnet for each race.
2. I want to use my AP discount.
3. I don't want to be disappointed if pins aren't available like what happened at Wine & Dine!

I think I'm getting even more crazed about it because I've been following the marathon weekend thread and that weekend's almost here which means we're getting closer to princess weekend! I've admittedly been rewatching YouTube videos from last year's runs because I can't wait!

I know!!! I want to use my AP and/or DVC discount too! It really does make a difference! However I bit the bullet and bought the half bundle because that race is very important to me. I've already reached out to someone on here that bought the challenge package and agreed to buy her replica pin. If you buy a 10K or 5K package I will buy the replica medal pin (for both) from you...so then you would just need to sell one more and then you get one pin and one magnet?

Just throwing that out there to you (and everyone reading) this because I know how disappointing it was at Wine & Dine when none of the pre-order merch was available... If anyone out there has bought a package but doesn't want the replica medal pin (5K & 10K) please inbox me. Maybe if we work together we can help each other out..?

 

[lisatav]

Does anyone know if you can combine two separate tickets to create an annual pass? I have a 5-day ticket for the princess weekend and I'm going to star wars weekend too. Going to upgrade my 5-day ticket to an AP but I want to book fast-passes for Starwars at the 60-day mark. Or can I call Disney and upgrade my 5-day ticket now even though it's with a package?

 

[NicoleLarson]

Does anyone know if you can combine two separate tickets to create an annual pass? I have a 5-day ticket for the princess weekend and I'm going to star wars weekend too. Going to upgrade my 5-day ticket to an AP but I want to book fast-passes for Starwars at the 60-day mark. Or can I call Disney and upgrade my 5-day ticket now even though it's with a package?

I'm not sure I completely understand your question but if you are asking can you use the value of more than 1 ticket to upgrade to an AP, the answer is no. So in your case you can only use 1 of your 5 day tickets (not clear if you have 1 or 2 of these) to upgrade to an AP. If you want further clarification @Robo is a great ticket question resource, he runs the ticket FAQ sticky over on the theme parks page.

 

[jockey]

Hello Princess runners! Would anyone here be able to recommend a good quality pair of mermaid-print athletic leggings?

I have these in Leggings bra and shorts they are compression and really amazing. They have a pocket in the back too for your phone. Its a UK website but they deliver to the US ..remember sizing is UK too

https://www.tikiboo.co.uk/collections/capris/products/mermaid-scales-capri

 

[PrincessofAlderaan]

Thanks for the link and the note about sizing!

 

[lisatav]

I'm not sure I completely understand your question but if you are asking can you use the value of more than 1 ticket to upgrade to an AP, the answer is no. So in your case you can only use 1 of your 5 day tickets (not clear if you have 1 or 2 of these) to upgrade to an AP. If you want further clarification @Robo is a great ticket question resource, he runs the ticket FAQ sticky over on the theme parks page.

Thank answers my question. I have one 5 day ticket. Guess I'll just have to make my Star Wars weekend FP as soon as I upgrade in February.

 

[DizfanMA]

Has anyone stayed at Wildnerness Lodge for the races? My parents will be there and spectating and was just wondering how easy it would be to get to the Magic Kingdom from there.

 

[Livelovedance]

I know!!! I want to use my AP and/or DVC discount too! It really does make a difference! However I bit the bullet and bought the half bundle because that race is very important to me. I've already reached out to someone on here that bought the challenge package and agreed to buy her replica pin. If you buy a 10K or 5K package I will buy the replica medal pin (for both) from you...so then you would just need to sell one more and then you get one pin and one magnet?

Just throwing that out there to you (and everyone reading) this because I know how disappointing it was at Wine & Dine when none of the pre-order merch was available... If anyone out there has bought a package but doesn't want the replica medal pin (5K & 10K) please inbox me. Maybe if we work together we can help each other out..?

That is my exact fear! My paranoia started when I sent an email to runDisney back in August to find out if there was any way to know which items were preorder only and which would be available for purchase at the expo. This was the response I got:

"All of the commemorative items available for preorder are only available online in a preorder capacity. There will be additional merchandise available at the runDisney Health & Fitness Expo, possibly in different designs, but those items are not guaranteed. Please know that all items available at the expo are subject to availability."

If I do preorder a bundle I'd be ordering either the challenge or the half marathon, but I truly appreciate the offer! If they'd just offer the AP/DVC discounts online it would make these decisions so much easier lol.

 

[ErinC]

Question for previous runners, a friend of mine that previously ran wine and dine said that on Sunday evening they closed Epcot at 7:00 and it was only open to race runners. Do they do anything like this for princess? Trying to make some fastpass decisions and need to make up my mind.