Official Wine & Dine 2014

[taratru]

I added days to ours. My family of four will be there for the weekend of the race, then on Monday my dh and older ds are going back home. The younger ds and I are staying for the rest of the week. So on my reservation it shows 5 day park hoppers for those two and 9 day park hoppers for me and the younger.

The younger ds and I are also moving resorts. We have the Beach Club for the four of us for the race weekend, then on Monday we are moving over to the Contemporary. We have never stayed at the Contemporary and can't wait to check it out.

Really? Maybe because you did it before you went? I tried at every park, I called on the phone and was told no every single time because I had bought sports tickets nothing could be done.

 

[cme37]

Really? Maybe because you did it before you went? I tried at every park, I called on the phone and was told no every single time because I had bought sports tickets nothing could be done.

Yep. It didn't seem to be any problem. The only thing I couldn't do through RunDisney was the Contemporary part of the reservation. I had to do that myself as a room only reservation.

I have the paperwork that shows 5 day park hoppers for 2 and 9 day park hoppers for two. Now if only November would get here!

 

[mking624]

In true Disney phone fashion, I called, had the first CM say absolutely they will expire on 11/16, then said just one second let me transfer you to a run Disney ticket CM, transferred and that CM told me they are good for 14 days after we activate. I think I'll try to e-mail run Disney and just ask that in future they publish the time frame for using the tickets. I've adjusted our trip so our last day in the parks will be the 16.

I would have stuck with speaking to runDisney only, just because they are the ones that are handling these Sports tickets. That said, I am kind of used to a CM on the phone saying one thing, and another CM on the phone saying another. I would be surprised if they had the same 14 day window upon activation as a normal ticket, simply because that makes it easy to buy a ticket for someone who has no intention of being there during the race weekend...just shows up on the 16th and uses the ticket for a couple weeks.

 

[mking624]

I added days to ours. My family of four will be there for the weekend of the race, then on Monday my dh and older ds are going back home. The younger ds and I are staying for the rest of the week. So on my reservation it shows 5 day park hoppers for those two and 9 day park hoppers for me and the younger.

The younger ds and I are also moving resorts. We have the Beach Club for the four of us for the race weekend, then on Monday we are moving over to the Contemporary. We have never stayed at the Contemporary and can't wait to check it out.

A couple things about this...
First, it really wouldn't surprise me if they were able to switch you from one Sports ticket with x amount of days to the same type of ticket but with a couple more days added. I can see them not doing it once a person is already there, because at some point, the discount offer is over. The expiration would obviously still stand though.
Second, the 9 day hopper is curious to me. With the online store, all I am seeing is a max of 7 days. I even tried entering a longer "event date" range to see if maybe my range would get more days, but it is still at 7 days max. This makes me wonder how they were able to add days to a Sports ticket if the site shows a max of 7 days.
(and does that mean anyone who plans on staying longer than 7 days during that two week period has to buy multiple tickets for longer stays??)

 

[teacherbee]

Hi everyone,
I apparently joined way back in 2008 and I'm only just getting back on here. LOL. I just ran Princess (it was my 1st half and my 1st runDisney race). Hubby and I (and our 10 y.o. son) are AP holders and live about 30 minutes from Disney. Since I survived Princess I thought I'd sign up for W&D and I manged to convince several of my friends to do it with me! One concern, I don't typically run at night. How important would you say it is to train at night? I'm a scaredy-cat and don't like the thought of running in the dark(I'm a klutz) alone (for obivous reasons).

Also, we got hubby the after-party ticket. Is he able to go into the park (I think they said 7, right?), come out to watch me finish, and then go back in? Or would it be better for him to watch me run through the park and just wait for me inside EPCOT?

One last question (TIA BTW), is it a pain to stay at a non-host resort and drive ourselves in? Anyone have experience with this who could recommend times?

Thanks!!
Bridie

 

[TJAinNE]

Just booked the Poly for the 6th-12th. I was surprised at how many host resorts are sold out of runDisney discounted rooms. The CM told me Beach Club, Wilderness Lodge, and Port Orleans Riverside were sold out at least for my dates. I would recommend booking a room soon for those looking for runDisney discounted rates.

 

[mking624]

Hi everyone,
I apparently joined way back in 2008 and I'm only just getting back on here. LOL. I just ran Princess (it was my 1st half and my 1st runDisney race). Hubby and I (and our 10 y.o. son) are AP holders and live about 30 minutes from Disney. Since I survived Princess I thought I'd sign up for W&D and I manged to convince several of my friends to do it with me! One concern, I don't typically run at night. How important would you say it is to train at night? I'm a scaredy-cat and don't like the thought of running in the dark(I'm a klutz) alone (for obivous reasons).

Also, we got hubby the after-party ticket. Is he able to go into the park (I think they said 7, right?), come out to watch me finish, and then go back in? Or would it be better for him to watch me run through the park and just wait for me inside EPCOT?

One last question (TIA BTW), is it a pain to stay at a non-host resort and drive ourselves in? Anyone have experience with this who could recommend times?

Thanks!!
Bridie

Hi!

I would say you need to get at least some evening runs in. I never went out running at night when it was dark. I am just not comfortable with it. But I was out in the evenings...6, 7, 8pm (if the sun was still out at that time). During the summer when the sun wasn't setting until 9pm, I was out then also. I am fortunate that I live right next to a field/park. Spring through fall, there is a soccer team that practices in the field three times a week. All the men are on the field and their families are playing at the park. So if I am out later, I run around the field. I just feel more comfortable running where there is a lot more people. When they were ending their practice, usually as the sun was setting, that was when I headed back inside. If I was out during days they weren't practicing, I was out just a bit earlier to make sure I was home just before the sun started to set. I think it's important to get some evening runs in because your body starts to adjust to saving that energy for later in the day, and obviously using it later in the day. There is going to be a big difference between running during the day and running at midnight when you're actually running the race.

My personal experience with spectators watching at the finish line: wasn't possible. A friend of mine went with me in 2012 and was turned away by security when trying to walk over to the bleachers. When I crossed the finish line, all I saw were other finishers sitting and waiting for friends/family to also finish. Otherwise the bleachers were mostly empty. Better to let him watch you run through Epcot or the path between DHS and Epcot, and have him either meet you in Epcot or at the front gate.

I can't answer about non host resorts, but I know many have done it so I am sure someone will be able to help with that.

 

[PrincessV]

How important would you say it is to train at night? I'm a scaredy-cat and don't like the thought of running in the dark(I'm a klutz) alone (for obivous reasons).

I haven't run W&D yet, but I've run TOT twice... I never run in the dark at home, and do almost all of my long runs in the morning. I'm on the Tampa Bay coast and I swear, running in the hot, sunny mornings MORE than prepared me for the comparatively better conditions of a night (read: NOT sunny) race. As you know, those afternoon/evening daily storms are a major obstacle; I wasn't willing to take my chances and hope all would be clear of lightning to run in the evenings, so I went with mornings to make sure I got my mileage in. I make sure to take a nap the afternoon of the night races, but other than that, it felt no different to me than running in the morning.

 

[Castle2Castle]

One concern, I don't typically run at night. How important would you say it is to train at night? I'm a scaredy-cat and don't like the thought of running in the dark(I'm a klutz) alone (for obivous reasons).

This will be our first W&D but we did TOT last year for a night race, and had zero night time runs since we signed up only three weeks before the event. We just tried to recreate a "morning" routine by eating a bit more at lunch, taking our nap in the afternoon and then eating a light "breakfast" before hopping on the bus to head to the start. It seemed to work alright for us as a one-off, so we probably will do the same for W&D rather than make a mess of our regular schedule for multiple runs.

 

[mking624]

I haven't run W&D yet, but I've run TOT twice... I never run in the dark at home, and do almost all of my long runs in the morning. I'm on the Tampa Bay coast and I swear, running in the hot, sunny mornings MORE than prepared me for the comparatively better conditions of a night (read: NOT sunny) race. As you know, those afternoon/evening daily storms are a major obstacle; I wasn't willing to take my chances and hope all would be clear of lightning to run in the evenings, so I went with mornings to make sure I got my mileage in. I make sure to take a nap the afternoon of the night races, but other than that, it felt no different to me than running in the morning.

I did my long runs in the morning also. Since those obviously took a longer time, I couldn't fit them in in the evenings without worrying about it getting dark. The ones I did in the evenings were the 30 minute runs (I do Jeff Galloway's plan). That way I knew how long I was going to be out there and could time it with the sun still being up.

 

[jeanigor]

My bestie and I registered about an hour before it sold out. No way I could miss out and break my streak of Wine & Dines. This will be his first runDisney race, although he tagged along during the Princess a few years ago, he opted to sleep in and wake up once I returned back to the room with the medal.

We are driving down and vacationing the week prior. Haven't decided whether we are going to rent DVC points or stay at a regular resort. It feels good to plan another trip!

 

[Ariel484]

How important would you say it is to train at night? I'm a scaredy-cat and don't like the thought of running in the dark(I'm a klutz) alone (for obivous reasons).

Just to add to what others have said, when I was training for last year's race I did one "evening" run -a 6-miler at about 6 PM a little less than a month before the race. I normally run in the morning. Honestly, I'm not sure that evening run helped me too much and I won't worry about doing that again this year.

On race day I took a nap during the day, made an early dinner ADR (4PMish) and then had my same pre-race "meal" of a bagel with peanut butter and felt fine throughout the race.

I'd also recommend trying to prepare yourself to run in the humidity. I made sure to hydrate a good amount leading up to the race and I do a decent amount of my runs in a small, stuffy cardio room at work, so running on the humid course in the evening with no sun felt fine to me, but I think I remember hearing that other runners really struggled with it.

But I really think it depends on the person, so you do whatever you think will work for you!

Also, we got hubby the after-party ticket. Is he able to go into the park (I think they said 7, right?), come out to watch me finish, and then go back in? Or would it be better for him to watch me run through the park and just wait for me inside EPCOT?

Not sure if he'll be able to get back in, but my husband had an after-party ticket last year and I met up with him on the course in the park - he was near the tip board by the Land. I liked that because I could see HIM that way pretty easily...finish line area may be more crowded.

Can't help you with the driving question...sorry!

 

[jeanigor]

One last question (TIA BTW), is it a pain to stay at a non-host resort and drive ourselves in? Anyone have experience with this who could recommend times?

It is really quite easy. You will need to either find your way to a host resort or to Epcot's parking lot to be shuttled over to the starting area at Wide World of Sports, just like everyone else. One benefit to driving is you can control the temperature of your car. I find the post race buses usually have the air conditioning going full blast. While that may be nice after the Princess, it can get chilly in November and freeze you out.

 

[teacherbee]

Thanks for the replies. The humidity training is no problem as I live in East Central Florida and do most of my training over the summer since I'm a teacher. LOL. Princess was pretty bad humidity-wise but still not as bad as some of the summer runs.

 

[Adgie128]

I make sure to take a nap the afternoon of the night races, but other than that, it felt no different to me than running in the morning.

Totally agree! I was worried about this last year, but I ultimately found it much better than I expected.

I think because I took it so easy on the day of W&D - sleeping in a little, really light walking around DTD for lunch, then back to the room to rest (sleep wasn't in the cards... I wonder why with all the excitement) it really made the day feel as if it hadn't really started until I left for the bus.

 

[AirForceFamily]

I think because I took it so easy on the day of W&D - sleeping in a little, really light walking around DTD for lunch, then back to the room to rest (sleep wasn't in the cards... I wonder why with all the excitement) it really made the day feel as if it hadn't really started until I left for the bus.

Ditto

 

[MacClemsons]

Super Excited that I got registered with a travel partner! (I missed out registering with Disney because I was waiting for a better race time to report 3/15.)

How does running with a travel partner work? Do I report time through them, but pick up packet like everyone else? I've done 2 previous Disney races, but registered through Disney.

Second question is about the pre-race party at HS. I see that it opens at 6pm but until what time? Is all of HS open or is it confined to the Lights Motor Stunt Show area?

 

[jeanigor]

Super Excited that I got registered with a travel partner! (I missed out registering with Disney because I was waiting for a better race time to report 3/15.)

How does running with a travel partner work? Do I report time through them, but pick up packet like everyone else? I've done 2 previous Disney races, but registered through Disney.

Second question is about the pre-race party at HS. I see that it opens at 6pm but until what time? Is all of HS open or is it confined to the Lights Motor Stunt Show area?

I believe you would email Track Shack your race results directly. Your travel provider will submit your registration to them as soon as you have completed it and satisfied their monetary requirements.

I'm not sure about the openness of the park, but the party probably won't go past 8...especially if you are running the race. You're supposed to be at WWoS around 8.

 

[AprilRunsDisney]

I haven't read the whole thread yet, but wanted to jump in and say hi

I ran Wine & Dine last year and had a really wonderful time and am signed up for it again this year. I'm already working on my costume and on getting my weight down and my speed up so I can finish faster and get to the food & wine festival booths sooner!

Looking forward to reading along!

 

[Adgie128]

I haven't read the whole thread yet, but wanted to jump in and say hi

I ran Wine & Dine last year and had a really wonderful time and am signed up for it again this year. I'm already working on my costume and on getting my weight down and my speed up so I can finish faster and get to the food & wine festival booths sooner!

Looking forward to reading along!

April! I'm so excited to see you here. Hope our paths cross this W&D weekend!