Official Wine & Dine 2014

Earlier today I said "the Disneyland Half was too expensive, I don't think I'm doing any more Disney runs after that one".

And then the Wine&Dine popped into my head.

I wonder how it differs from the TOT? Can anyone sell me on it? Maybe I'd be willing to do this one. :rolleyes1

Hmmm, I don't know about sell you on it, other than I have done the last couple of Tower of Terror's, and last year's Wine & Dine, and I intend to do each every year for the foreseeable future. Being an evening person and therefore preferring evening races, I actually think Wine & Dine is my favorite of all the WDW races.

Here is the list of similarities and differences I can think of off the top of my head, hopefully others can add anything else relevant:

Similarities:
- both are evening races starting at 10 PM
- both have post-race parties in a theme park until 3-4 AM

Differences:
- Tower of Terror is a 10-mile race, Wine & Dine is a half-marathon
- post-race party for Tower of Terror is at Hollywood Studios, party for Wine & Dine is at Epcot (during Food & Wine Festival with all booths open during the party)
- Course:
--- Tower of Terror starts at Hollywood Studio's parking lot, does a sort of out and back to Animal Kingdom (does not go into Animal Kingdom at all), proceeds through a small dirt trail into the ESPN sports complex, runs through the baseball stadium around the field, and then proceeds to and through Hollywood Studios, where the finish line is backstage near the Tower of Terror.
--- Wine & Dine starts at the ESPN sports complex, does a sort of out and back to Animal Kingdom (but actually goes through Animal Kingdom itself as well), then proceeds to and through Hollywood Studios (with Osborne lights up and running), then to and around the Boardwalk, and then through Epcot to the finish line in the Epcot parking lot.
- Shirt: Tower of Terror gets a short sleeve, Wine & Dine now gets a long sleeve
- Expo: in my view, the expos were comparable.
- Weather: the two Tower of Terror 10-Milers have been very hot, and while I seem to recall that some people thought Wine & Dine was hot as well, it didn't seem nearly as hot to me, and with it being a month later there is certainly a much better chance for more moderate weather.
- Dates: I believe Wine & Dine typically falls on the last weekend of the Food & Wine Festival, in conjunction with being Veteran's Day weekend, which leads to higher crowds during the day, I believe. Tower of Terror is not on a holiday weekend.

I personally really enjoyed the Wine & Dine course - one of the biggest complaints, I think, about Tower of Terror is the rather boring course, which they tried to make better last year by adding more entertainment along the route, but Wine & Dine still wins out in that regard for me. Running through the Osborne lights is a cool experience (so long as the lights continue to be around, despite rumors to the contrary), and there is simply more park time through the three parks, rather than what feels like just a lot of empty road running in Tower of Terror (even though both have the same sort of out and back on Osceola). I think the Wine & Dine after-party is also preferable, with more to do in Epcot open and available after the race than the 5-6 attractions or so available in Hollywood Studios after the Tower of Terror Race.

If I was forced to choose one, based on just the course and after-party, I personally would go with Wine & Dine. But, like I said, I enjoy both of them and intend to be doing both for the foreseeable future.

Hope this helps!
 
the *ONLY* thing going for ToT for me, is the Elevator medal. That's it. It needs more for me to justify $400flight + $160 hotel + registration for 10 freaking miles. why not add on the extra 3.1 for half marathon status, AND coast to coast opportunities?? AND the number 13 is spookier for halloween/twilight zone tower of terror better than 10.

i would do wine & dine over ToT for all the things ToT doesn't do.
 
party for Wine & Dine is at Epcot (during Food & Wine Festival with all booths open during the party)

I think you did a pretty good job of selling it, and it started with the quoted bit! :) That sounds like WAY more fun than the TOT last year. I truly do not remember what I did other than change clothes very slowly and try to eat. DS and DH had fun *before* I finished running, which is good.

But food kiosks...mmmmmmm. And the way you describe the course is very appealing. And so much more interesting than the TOT was...


I truly cannot believe I'm thinking about this. :) But it's like trying different resorts for me. I want to try them all, very very quickly, so I know what my favorites are NOW and can stop wasting my time on places I don't really like. :upsidedow
 
I'm going to feel so left out this year...... Hmmmmmmm. I may be crazy but I'm still debating. I PROMISED DH I wouldn't run it this year, but I love love love this race (despite my difficulties with it).

And stargirl I'm a total night owl as well which means I was able to be up and awake for it no problem but there's something about waiting ALL day for a race that i realize now drives me nuts! Still love it though.

I used to be a total night owl until I started this whole "normal" job thing :scared:, but as long as you can get a decent nap in, or at least relax for a few hours that afternoon, you'll be fine. Between all the energy and adrenaline, I was pumped until 4am :cool1: (the time we finally got back to our hotel!)

(creepy Haunted Mansion ghost voice) "Suuuuusssaaaannnn, come back to the Wine and Diiiiiinnnnnneeeeee. Kimberley will take all the bbbbblllllaaaammmmeeeeee....." :lmao:
 

And as a side note ROSE: thinking the Derby Half in 2015 might be a possibility! Still thinking about it... :rolleyes2
 
Earlier today I said "the Disneyland Half was too expensive, I don't think I'm doing any more Disney runs after that one".

And then the Wine&Dine popped into my head.

I wonder how it differs from the TOT? Can anyone sell me on it? Maybe I'd be willing to do this one. :rolleyes1

I haven't even run the Wine & Dine and I can tell you I would do the Wine & Dine over the ToT.

The ToT is too hot and the course is horrible. There is about a quarter to half of mile on a dark gravel road. I would guess that there are multiple ankle and foot injuries on that section of the race.

The course is very boring (not much park time). You do cover a lot (too much) of the back of Hollywood Studios.
 
Is it determined already what hotels are rundisney hotels for this event in 2014?

Do they ever change them from race to race or year to year? Are they the same for all races? Just thinking of planning ahead if I take a shot to run this and I just don't have any historical knowledge of the hotels they choose to be rundisney hotels.

Thanks!
 
The ToT is too hot and the course is horrible. There is about a quarter to half of mile on a dark gravel road. I would guess that there are multiple ankle and foot injuries on that section of the race.

I chose to strictly walk that part. I have a hard time seeing in those conditions and wasn't wanting to hurt myself. Hugged the far right nearly in the foliage. And still had people jumping past me even further right with NO notice whatsoever (I don't listen to music during runs so I would've heard them). Guess they really wanted to go trekking in the jungle?

So good to know that that path is just a tot thing.
 
I haven't even run the Wine & Dine and I can tell you I would do the Wine & Dine over the ToT.

The ToT is too hot and the course is horrible. There is about a quarter to half of mile on a dark gravel road. I would guess that there are multiple ankle and foot injuries on that section of the race.

The course is very boring (not much park time). You do cover a lot (too much) of the back of Hollywood Studios.

I LITERALLY have nothing to compare it to -- ToT was my first race over 10K -- but my sister and I liked it a lot!

We liked the gravel -- breaks things up a bit. The 5K trail run course was actually more challenging from a terrain perspective, also covering long grass sections and sandy ones.

With all of the characters placed along the route, we found that the 10-miler held our interests, if that makes sense. We also loved hanging out in the Studios afterwards.

We'd do ToT again in a heartbeat - the dates just don't work for us next year.

Just offering a different take. :)
 
well it is now 2014 so I thought I would start a thread. What: Wine & Dine Half Marathon When: November 7-8 2014 Where: Walt Disney World This race will be part of my Coast to Coast for 2014. Wine & Dine was my first half ever in 2011 and I am excited to run it again. Who else is in? Courtney:sulley:

I'm not a runner, but wanted those RunDisney Cinderella shoes. I just got them for my birthday yesterday. I'm aiming for the 5k! Treadmill training this morning was all fast walking. I did 3.1 miles in 48:20 minutes. I'll bet I'm sore in the shins tomorrow!
 
I'm in! Never been a runner in my life, but after being in WDW marathon weekend, I got the itch. Dragging the hubby in too. Gonna start small. 5K sounds good this time. Already planning for the TOT in 2015, then on to the halfs. Love the excitement of being with all my fellow Disney Geeks! Question about the Expo...I really want a pair of the NB shoes, how early do you need to be at the expo to get them? I heard marathon weekend they had a two hour wait at opening.
I'm with you! I'm planning on the 5k, have never been a runner and I'm over 50. Whee!
 
I'm not a runner, but wanted those RunDisney Cinderella shoes. I just got them for my birthday yesterday. I'm aiming for the 5k! Treadmill training this morning was all fast walking. I did 3.1 miles in 48:20 minutes. I'll bet I'm sore in the shins tomorrow!

Good for you!

Note on the shoes...if you haven't done this already, be sure to go to a good running shoe store and find out what sort of shoes really work for you. And then see if the Disney shoes are that type. If they are, awesome! If they aren't, keep them for "cute athletic shoe" times, rather than serious walks (or perhaps jogs in the future) in them.
 
Good for you! Note on the shoes...if you haven't done this already, be sure to go to a good running shoe store and find out what sort of shoes really work for you. And then see if the Disney shoes are that type. If they are, awesome! If they aren't, keep them for "cute athletic shoe" times, rather than serious walks (or perhaps jogs in the future) in them.
Thanks for the tip!
 
I'm not a runner, but wanted those RunDisney Cinderella shoes. I just got them for my birthday yesterday. I'm aiming for the 5k! Treadmill training this morning was all fast walking. I did 3.1 miles in 48:20 minutes. I'll bet I'm sore in the shins tomorrow!

Yay for your first 5k!! If your shins are sore, it's your calf muscles that are tight, massage them out and you should be good to go. Shin splints are also due to your calf muscles, if they continue on, look into getting calf compression sleeves, they're REALLY helpful! :D
 
About to run to the gym again for my 20 minute run. Ick I want this weather done and over with. It was supposed to warm up today. It barely did so. It's negative one out right now. I am going to have to throw on a layer of pants over my running shorts just to make it to the gym. Two weeks until sunny California and boy has California never looked better.
 
About to run to the gym again for my 20 minute run. Ick I want this weather done and over with. It was supposed to warm up today. It barely did so. It's negative one out right now. I am going to have to throw on a layer of pants over my running shorts just to make it to the gym. Two weeks until sunny California and boy has California never looked better.

Ugh. Good luck! This weather is killing me! I have a 16 mile training run this weekend and I'm frustrated trying to figure out when and where to do it with this weather and snow on the ground. And there is no way I can handle the treadmill for 16 miles! Enjoy CA! We were out there for Tink and the weather was heavenly!

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Yay for your first 5k!! If your shins are sore, it's your calf muscles that are tight, massage them out and you should be good to go. Shin splints are also due to your calf muscles, if they continue on, look into getting calf compression sleeves, they're REALLY helpful! :D
Thanks....I didn't have them the first day. We will see about today. I'm a teacher on my second snow day off this week, practicing!
 
I'm up early to run my first 5k. My goal is to be as close to 45 minutes as possible. I'd appreciate some pixie dust in my direction!
 
And as a side note ROSE: thinking the Derby Half in 2015 might be a possibility! Still thinking about it... :rolleyes2

It is a really flat course. There are inclines going in and out of the tunnels at Churchill Downs (which are relatively steep and a lot of people walk) and a couple of little hills, but other than that pretty flat. The second half of the full is very, very hilly. The full splits right about when you leave Churchill Downs. The weather could be anything from slow flurries to heat (70s at the start) and humidity. The year Mike did the marathon it was close to 80 and sunny when he finished. He was pretty miserable. We are still really hoping to not be here in 2015, but if we are then we will definitely need to do some fun stuff when you are in town!:goodvibes
 













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