Official Wine & Dine 2014

[SRUAlmn]

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.

So you drove to the 5k? How was it? We were going to stay at AKL (Kidani) but its not a host resort, however, it seems like it would be pretty easy to drive over for the start. I just wasn't sure about traffic and if they'd have the AK lot open for parking. If so, yay!

 

[mla2177]

I am thinking about doing this race. I just did the PHM a my first Disney race. Has anyone done both?

 

[Figment1990]

Yep! I have done two wine and dines and just finished PHM! Very different experiences.

 

[mickeywho?]

Just registered for the half! My first runDisney race and I'm so excited!!
I'm going down on my own - might bring a friend but I'll be running on my own.

 

[VAfamily1998]

Yep! I have done two wine and dines and just finished PHM! Very different experiences.

Which did you like better? I am strongly considering signing up for W&D--I just finished Princess, and have also done Tinker Bell and TOT. My favorite so far has been TOT because of the party afterwards in the park...I'm thinking I'll like W&D for the same reason.

 

[Ariel484]

I've done The Princess and WDW Half (in January - same course) and did Wine & Dine last year. I LOVED Wine and Dine. Biggest reason - the course goes through 3 parks, not 2. Loved the nighttime atmosphere. The starting area was much more compact compared to the morning (corrals around the corner from staging compared to the 20+ minute walk for the AM races). It just seemed more like a party to me.

If you can't do nighttime running and REALLY want the MK/castle portion you may not like this one as much. There also aren't quite as many characters. But for me this is my favorite half course as WDW.

 

[Figment1990]

I've done The Princess and WDW Half (in January - same course) and did Wine & Dine last year. I LOVED Wine and Dine. Biggest reason - the course goes through 3 parks, not 2. Loved the nighttime atmosphere. The starting area was much more compact compared to the morning (corrals around the corner from staging compared to the 20+ minute walk for the AM races). It just seemed more like a party to me.

If you can't do nighttime running and REALLY want the MK/castle portion you may not like this one as much. There also aren't quite as many characters. But for me this is my favorite half course as WDW.

I could not have said it better actually! And as long as they keep the course running through the Osborne lights, I will pick that over running the castle every time.

W&D is a ton of fun! I never make it to the after party as I intend (my own fault) but one of these days I will! Wish I had skipped 2012 so I could run the 5th anniversary year this year but I didn't and now I've done too many rundisney races this year! Need to replenish the budget.

 

[DeerIsleDisney]

Does anyone have any idea what the ticket discounts might be? Trying to decide whether to sign up for W&D. We are DVC members, so I have access to the early registration....and also to discounted annual passes through the end of April.

We were planning to "take a year off" from Disney trips, but this race and Food and Wine are very tempting! If the ticket discounts are good, that might push me over the edge to plan just one short trip for our family of 5. If the discounts are nominal, then we might look more carefully at the annual pass option and plan some other trips as well. (Or just skip this year as originally planned - we had 5 trips last year with our DVC annual passes!)

I've done the Disneyland 1/2 and Princess 1/2. Love the idea of racing at night rather than having to wake up at 3:00 a.m. to make the start.

 

[littlesparkler]

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.

Thanks for the info!! I want to do the 5k, but I think I'm going to pass -- I'm thinking it's too much for all of us! lol

 

[StarGirl11]

Well it's official. My trainer has given the okay to try for the double back with the Wine and Dine along with the Avengers. And my Dad just gave the green light to register. I think this maybe the most insane thing I have done as far as racing goes since I signed up for the Dumbo Double Dare the first time around. I am half terrified, half excited. And we are eight months out from race date.

 

[Kathymford]

I am doing the 5k, but my bf is going to do the 1/2, so I want to buy the party ticket. Does that sell out quickly also? Or can I wait ae to purchase that?

 

[DCbride]

I didn't think I would like it but I really enjoyed the Glass Slipper Challenge last weekend. After I there was no "I'm never doing a half again" feeling. After discussing $$ with DH we figured that while we do 3 WDW trips a year, I should pick only 1 Disney race. My choices were W&D, Princess or go during marathon weekend and attempt the full. It was tough but I love everything about W&D- the time of year for training, the course and the night race that I had to pick it!

I am all registered!

 

[Rose&Mike]

I really don't think the race is going to be an overnight sell out, but since I tend to get nothing done during the week, I took advantage of the early dvc registration and the weekend and signed up me, Mike and our DS (22). This is number 5 for me and Mike and number 2 for DS.

Normally I don't even register early enough to get the tier 1 pricing, let alone a discount.

I saw nothing on the registration about the anniversary and whether they are doing anything for legacies, so I will be curious if anyone else hears anything.

I guess I could email and ask...

ETA...ok I emailed. I will let everyone know if I hear anything.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

So excited!! I will actually get to meet Rose in person!

We are on board to do both races. I just have to work on the logistics of getting then DS14, DS13 and DD8 back to the park for the after party. I figure then DS18 will be in corral A or B so he could go back to the room and get them or they could just walk to the international gateway and meet us there.
And I need to work on getting a heck of a lot faster. LOL

 

[Faccia Bella]

Quick questions, fellow W&D-ers, do you have to book hotel/ticket packages at the time of registration, or can this be done at a later time if booking through RunDisney? Thanks a bunch!

 

[Castle2Castle]

Planning to do our first Wine & Dine this November! Made a reservation for All-Star Sports last night to just come in for the weekend, but with the race going through three parks and the after-party in EPCOT, we'll still have plenty of Disney to soak in!

Quick questions, fellow W&D-ers, do you have to book hotel/ticket packages at the time of registration, or can this be done at a later time if booking through RunDisney? Thanks a bunch!

We've not ever booked through runDisney, but I believe you can do the hotel/ticket packages at a separate time. From what I remember when I last looked at their hotel packages (Goofy 2013), it wasn't as good as what we could get doing a room only reservation with the option of snagging a discount at a later date. Their runDisney ticket prices have looked fantastic, though.

 

[DisneyDreamer2504]

Hello everyone! My DH and I are new to running, but big Disney people so we thought we'd try out the 5k. (Actually, it's me convincing DH it'll be fun and he's just happy to get away for a weekend lol!) I've been reading through the thread, and we're DVC members and Disney visa, and I found the early reg but I guess it's only for the half and not the 5k? I mean, I guess when open registration is tomorrow it doesn't make much difference anyway, but I thought I'd try.

Also, were obviously going to book our hotel through DVC, is there anything special we need to do or tell them? We'll likely stay at saratoga which I see is on the marathon hotel list, but do we notify them that we'll be participating?

We'll plan on attending the finish line party too, should we book that right away? How quickly might it sell out?

Thanks! I'm really looking forward to this!

 

[cewait]

Hello everyone! My DH and I are new to running, but big Disney people so we thought we'd try out the 5k. (Actually, it's me convincing DH it'll be fun and he's just happy to get away for a weekend lol!) I've been reading through the thread, and we're DVC members and Disney visa, and I found the early reg but I guess it's only for the half and not the 5k? I mean, I guess when open registration is tomorrow it doesn't make much difference anyway, but I thought I'd try.

Also, were obviously going to book our hotel through DVC, is there anything special we need to do or tell them? We'll likely stay at saratoga which I see is on the marathon hotel list, but do we notify them that we'll be participating?

We'll plan on attending the finish line party too, should we book that right away? How quickly might it sell out?

Thanks! I'm really looking forward to this!

Totally separate transactions. The 5k should not sell out too quickly, but keep an eye on it. Once registrations hit 50% a % full ticker pops up and the speed of registration may jump.

The AK 5k course is a neat course. Like most other Disney 5k courses, most of it is in the parking lot or back stage. You run a full mile before entering through the Main Gate. Once in the main gate we run to Africa, Asia the head out by Dinoland. Prior to 2013 the back stage section took a path to Rafiki's Planet Watch and back. This last time we ran out on a perimeter road to backstage Everest. Many runners did not know that we were behind the mountains due to its industrial look.

Have fun with this

 

[stephielela]

Can't wait to register tomorrow!!! I will be ready to go right at 11 AM (I live in Missouri)

I REALLY want to do the Avengers half as well, I figure it's the easiest way to get a C2C medal, I'll already be all trained up! Spending $400 in one month on race registration though is bit painful so I'm still debating.

Anyone have thoughts on MCMVP? I really want to get to one when we are there, is it usually held on the Friday before and the Sunday after the race?

 

[Castle2Castle]

Can't wait to register tomorrow!!! I will be ready to go right at 11 AM (I live in Missouri)

I REALLY want to do the Avengers half as well, I figure it's the easiest way to get a C2C medal, I'll already be all trained up! Spending $400 in one month on race registration though is bit painful so I'm still debating.

Anyone have thoughts on MCMVP? I really want to get to one when we are there, is it usually held on the Friday before and the Sunday after the race?

According to this DIS listing for 2013 they had MVMCP on Friday and Monday around last year's Wine & Dine (Nov 8-9).

If you're certain that you want the C2C medal at some point, then you're going to have to pony up a pretty good amount of money eventually. runDisney prices are still continuing on an upward trajectory, so doing it this year could save you some money there. If you think you could take the whole week between the two in vacation time, you could possibly fly from Orlando to CA to cut out one flight (vs. roundtrip Missouri-FL, roundtrip Missouri-CA) and save on the cost of at least one flight; flying out of Orlando may even be cheaper depending on how the routes compare. Additionally, if you pace yourself through the first, then having two within a week of one another will allow you to make the most efficient use of your training time for C2C -- as opposed to having to run two totally separate training cycles through another year.

. . .and if you're into the bling, it could be pretty nice having an anniversary W&D medal and an inaugural Avengers medal. . .

Seriously though, we didn't plan doing C2C last year, so ended up doing two different training cycles between Goofy and DL 1/2. Had we known we would stick with the running beyond Goofy and shoot for the C2C, we definitely would have planned it more along those lines to save money. It's going to be expensive any way you go, but you can cut some of the costs (financial & physical) if you think it through.

Whatever you decide to do, best of luck in your pursuit and happy training!