Official Wine & Dine 2014

[KristinU]

Hi All,

Does anyone know if the International Gateway is open during and after the W&D after party so that folks staying in the Epcot resorts can just walk back?

Many thanks!

 

[cewait]

Hi All,

Does anyone know if the International Gateway is open during and after the W&D after party so that folks staying in the Epcot resorts can just walk back?

Many thanks!

Yes, it is

 

[SRUAlmn]

To whomever was asking about them....

I have my voucher linked in MDX and I went into the Passholder section to try to register for the race. It asked me to re-enter (re-link) my pass and when I put in all the info again it said it was invalid, so it looks like you can't pre-register with an AP voucher.

As for using it for room discounts. You CAN book with an AP discount if you have a voucher. You will just have to go to a park and activate it (exchange it for a real AP) before you check into your resort since you'll need to show the AP upon check in to confirm you're eligible for the discount

 

[PrincessV]

All registered - 30 seconds after it opened to AP holders, lol! I'm a little excited to try a new-to-me Disney race It's going to be a loooong wait...

 

[KristinU]

Yes, it is

Great, thanks!

 

[cme37]

I just called RunDisney to book our hotel for the wine & dine and was told that I can't do that until March 4th. Has anyone already booked their hotel yet? I thought I saw on here that some had done this already.

And it was just the hotel that I wanted to book. I know I can't book the race until March 4th.

 

[StarGirl11]

Okay so this race might still be in the works. But a) I have to to see if my trainer will okay me double backing a race. And b) we have to see if I can even do that. I would abandon my plans for a July half if I end up running this race. Still up in the air. Right now Avengers has priority for a variety of reasons (we all ready booked the hotel for the weekend, I really like Marvel as in to the point I camped out overnight at Comic Con overnight for a good spot for their panel and will do it again this year, among other things) but if I can swing it I might run both races. Haven't tried running two races back to back since Fall of 2011 that was a success by a margin only because the other race had a really large time limit on it (I decided to do the turn around at the last minute, whoops).

 

[Castle2Castle]

I just called RunDisney to book our hotel for the wine & dine and was told that I can't do that until March 4th. Has anyone already booked their hotel yet? I thought I saw on here that some had done this already.

And it was just the hotel that I wanted to book. I know I can't book the race until March 4th.

RunDisney offers hotel packages that they probably aren't doing until March 4th. If you want to do a room-only reservation for a hotel, you'll want to call Disney Resorts or work through the website; you don't need to go through RunDisney unless you're looking for a race package.

 

[cme37]

RunDisney offers hotel packages that they probably aren't doing until March 4th. If you want to do a room-only reservation for a hotel, you'll want to call Disney Resorts or work through the website; you don't need to go through RunDisney unless you're looking for a race package.

What are race packages? I'm guessing that is probably what we want so I will wait until the 4th.

 

[DVCMAUREEN]

Yay! I'm registered and I was able to use the DVC discount code. I can't wait!

 

[littlesparkler]

Does the 5k go through Animal Kingdom? And, more importantly, does anyone know if is it logistically possible to do both the 5k (7 am at AK) and a kids race (10 am at New Balance Track -- I'm not sure where that is)?

 

[Twingle]

All registered - super excited! It'll be my first Wine and Dine and my second Disney race, Princess weekend was my first

 

[LuzzBightyear]

First time Wine and Dine 1/2 marathoner here, but did Marathon weekend last year.

Is the finish exactly the same location and setup as the January races?

Also, I have relatives who will likely finish at least an hour after me if not more . Is there any way I can go into the after party, but return to the finish area later to greet them as they come in? Or once you leave the finish area you can't get back in?

Thanks

 

[TxRunnerMom]

Hi everyone! I'm so excited to run the wine and dine half for the first time! I've done other races locally and did the princess half the past two years. My husband and I are going to run this one together then have a blast at the after party. We are DVC members so I went a head and registered today.

Look forward to following along with you all in training.

 

[LuvENDisney]

First time Wine and Dine 1/2 marathoner here, but did Marathon weekend last year. Is the finish exactly the same location and setup as the January races? Also, I have relatives who will likely finish at least an hour after me if not more . Is there any way I can go into the after party, but return to the finish area later to greet them as they come in? Or once you leave the finish area you can't get back in? Thanks

Sorry I cannot reply whether or not it is the same finish location as in Jan for sure. I did the W&D last year and was at WDW the week after the Jan marathon and it looked like it was the same parking lot. The CMs were pretty aggressive and getting us moving out of the finish area. My DH finished over an hour after me and my sister so we just met him inside EPCOT since they were pushing us through. We were able to sit to the side for a bit near the changing tent, but probably no more than 30-45 min. Once we cleared the finish area, that was it. No turning back for us.

I kinda wish we went straight into EPCOT so that I could get a running pic of him through the park. There was a point where you could cheer the runners going through the land and spaceship earth.

Happy running!

 

[LuvENDisney]

Does the 5k go through Animal Kingdom? And, more importantly, does anyone know if is it logistically possible to do both the 5k (7 am at AK) and a kids race (10 am at New Balance Track -- I'm not sure where that is)?

I assume that the New Balance Track is the name of the track at ESPN. I cannot confirm from experience, but when my kids did the kids race at ESPN last year, there were a few kids who also did the 5K.

 

[littlesparkler]

I assume that the New Balance Track is the name of the track at ESPN. I cannot confirm from experience, but when my kids did the kids race at ESPN last year, there were a few kids who also did the 5K.

Thanks!

 

[Rose&Mike]

First time Wine and Dine 1/2 marathoner here, but did Marathon weekend last year.

Is the finish exactly the same location and setup as the January races?

Also, I have relatives who will likely finish at least an hour after me if not more . Is there any way I can go into the after party, but return to the finish area later to greet them as they come in? Or once you leave the finish area you can't get back in?

Thanks

I think it would really be like swimming upstream to get back out, but you could cheer for them as they run through epcot.

The finish of this race and the area afterwards feels very cramped and crazy to me, I think cause it is dark.

I finished about 30 minutes behind Mike last year and he got his food and waited for me outside, didn't go in, but after you get your food you go through this area where they hand out the beer/wine and I think it would be hard to come back through that area.

He didn't actually see me finish, but another wisher was tracking me on their phone, so they knew when I was close to look for me as I came through the food area.

Does that make any sense at all?

Obviously there are people who wait at the finish, so maybe someone else will have a better idea. I have always felt on stimulus overload at the end of this race and wanted to get as far away from the finish as possible.

 

[Figment1990]

I think it would really be like swimming upstream to get back out, but you could cheer for them as they run through epcot.

The finish of this race and the area afterwards feels very cramped and crazy to me, I think cause it is dark.

I finished about 30 minutes behind Mike last year and he got his food and waited for me outside, didn't go in, but after you get your food you go through this area where they hand out the beer/wine and I think it would be hard to come back through that area.

He didn't actually see me finish, but another wisher was tracking me on their phone, so they knew when I was close to look for me as I came through the food area.

Does that make any sense at all?

Obviously there are people who wait at the finish, so maybe someone else will have a better idea. I have always felt on stimulus overload at the end of this race and wanted to get as far away from the finish as possible.

I totally agree with rose here. I would plan to see them as they run through Epcot and then pick a meeting place inside the party. On the park entrance side of spaceship earth if u think they will want to see u as soon as possible. If there is one thing I hate about this race it's the course crossing you have to do as a spectator or finished runner around spaceship earth. It can take forever for them to let you cross but that's the nature of the course. I wouldn't go back to the finish area because it would take forever and it's a huge sea of people. I agree with rose, I feel more crowded after this race than any other Disney ones. Probably because its night and because its a smaller race so the finish area is not as large as at princess.

 

[DCbride]

Both years we did the 5k it started in AK parking lot, ran through front gate around tree, behind tree, past EE, Dinoland and out a side gate to parking lot. We ran when it was decorated for Halloween and a then when it moved to Nov Christmas. There were at least 3 character stops and even live animals. It is a nice experience. We did have a car and drove back to hotel to pick up DD for her race (she was with relatives) and had enough time. Not sure if you are going directly to ESPN by bus or car if that makes a difference.

I did a 5 k and the half with kids races during the day. That was a packed day. I had to stop and stretch a lot during the half.