Princess Weekend 2022

[JJ2017]

Would LOVE some planning help! I had a lightbulb moment over the weekend that since I'm going SOLO, I can plan this whichever way I want. I'm a researcher at heart, especially at WDW and I want to see as much as I can to help with planning for future trips with the family.

I would like some help deciding on which TWO hotels to stay (i'd love to try out two new ones) and what should be my ONE park hopping day (Friday or Saturday)

Brand new to runDisney (have no idea how tired I will be on race day)​

10k Saturday​

Arriving late Thursday night and leaving Sunday early morning​

Need to get to expo on Friday​

Must do's: International Festival of the Arts, Ratatouille, Magic Kingdom​

I'm leaning towards my first night at POP - it's "cheaper" and I arrive later at night. I've been dying to just see it, especially to see if it would be a good fit for my family. I'd like to switch after night one. I've previously stayed at AKL, BLT and Dolphin.

Thanks!

 

[Herding_Cats]

Would LOVE some planning help! I had a lightbulb moment over the weekend that since I'm going SOLO, I can plan this whichever way I want. I'm a researcher at heart, especially at WDW and I want to see as much as I can to help with planning for future trips with the family.

I would like some help deciding on which TWO hotels to stay (i'd love to try out two new ones) and what should be my ONE park hopping day (Friday or Saturday)

Brand new to runDisney (have no idea how tired I will be on race day)​

10k Saturday​

Arriving late Thursday night and leaving Sunday early morning​

Need to get to expo on Friday​

Must do's: International Festival of the Arts, Ratatouille, Magic Kingdom​

I'm leaning towards my first night at POP - it's "cheaper" and I arrive later at night. I've been dying to just see it, especially to see if it would be a good fit for my family. I'd like to switch after night one. I've previously stayed at AKL, BLT and Dolphin.

Thanks!

are you driving in/renting a car? Mears shuttle? Uber/Lyft from the airport and then using the internal bus system?

how big is your family (how many would you need to sleep in a room when)? How old are your kids?

pop and aoa are nice for Epcot/HS access because of the skyliner and for just sleeping 4 I think are priced similarly. If you need something that would sleep 5 I like CBR (I know a lot of people don’t) because it’s more spread out, there is a quiet pool for each “island” and it has the skyliner and more food options. Plus the riviera resort is also next door for additional dining choices. A lot of people don’t like how spread out it is though.

We have done a few split stays and I always like to make the resort change day a park day just so I don't have to figure out what to do with myself (and my family) during the time between check-out and check-in.

Something to consider with your current plans AND changing resorts is how much time you would actually have at a resort to explore it.

You arrive late Thursday night. So you wouldn't get to see it much that night, and if you change resorts the next day AND need to go to the expo you would be limited in time, especially if this is the day (Friday) you decide to park hop.

The 10k starts at 5am on Saturday, so you would be done pretty early still/before the parks open. Would you have stayed our late or until park close the night before? Or would this be your park day? If Saturday is your park day, would this be the day you would change resorts and stay somewhere else Saturday night? When would you visit/spend time at the 2nd resort?

All of that is to say, look at the things you want to get accomplished and decide what your timeline might look like and how long you think you would need for different things (how much time at the expo, how much time to explore a new resort, how much time you think you'd spend in the parks) and what makes the most sense to get the most out of your time.

 

[alon86]

Would LOVE some planning help! I had a lightbulb moment over the weekend that since I'm going SOLO, I can plan this whichever way I want. I'm a researcher at heart, especially at WDW and I want to see as much as I can to help with planning for future trips with the family.

I would like some help deciding on which TWO hotels to stay (i'd love to try out two new ones) and what should be my ONE park hopping day (Friday or Saturday)

Brand new to runDisney (have no idea how tired I will be on race day)​

10k Saturday​

Arriving late Thursday night and leaving Sunday early morning​

Need to get to expo on Friday​

Must do's: International Festival of the Arts, Ratatouille, Magic Kingdom​

I'm leaning towards my first night at POP - it's "cheaper" and I arrive later at night. I've been dying to just see it, especially to see if it would be a good fit for my family. I'd like to switch after night one. I've previously stayed at AKL, BLT and Dolphin.

Thanks!

I'm so jealous of your solo trip!

Just to clarify, are you getting a 1 day park ticket with hopper, and trying to decide whether to visit parks on Fri (day before race) or Sat (after race)? Or can you get a 2 day ticket and visit the parks Fri and Sat (either with hopper or not).

I haven't stayed at POP but makes sense if you want to scope it out for a future family trip. For the 2nd night I would suggest Beach or Yacht if there's a room open, or anything on the monorail (GF, Contemporary, Poly, BLT) because it will be easy to get in and out of MK and Epcot on your park day. You might want to check out renting DVC points for a studio at BLT or VGF (or possibly BCV) for that 2nd night, it will certainly be cheaper. Good luck!

 

[jmasgat]

Pop is a good choice. It has become my go-to race place to stay--and I do all my Disney run trips solo. Price is right (or as right as it will ever be with Disney!) and the park transportation options are good, esp with the Skyliner. I will say that I have always rented a car, so my experience with Expo buses is non-existent, but race transportation was good.

What are your expectations for the 10k? Do you intend to race hard--whatever that may mean for you--or take it easy and make it more of an experience? That will impact your fatigue level on Saturday and also influence how much you may want to do on Friday. Also wondering if you are doing a 1-day ticket. If so, I would make Saturday my "all-out" park day. If you have 2 days of tickets, and since you identified a couple of Epcot things, I would do that Saturday. The 10k is still over pretty early, and you can make a full park day out of it. Friday, I would do MK.

I have stayed at other resorts for races (POR, OKW, BCV, WL, AKL)--I liked them all. I have yet to stay at a Monorail resort, and the refurbished Poly rooms with Moana theming look good I second trying to find a DVC rental.

 

[JJ2017]

Thanks for the responses - I appreciate you taking the time to help! As of now, I am only springing for one park day - which will be a park hopper ticket and split my time between MK and EP.

As for my race style, I will not be a hard racer. I haven't completed my training up to the 10k distance yet, but my guess is I will be at a 14 - 15 minute (or longer) pace. I'm more worried about being tired from waking up so early. I'm leaning towards Saturday as the park day because I don't want to interrupt park time by going to the expo. This is also why I want to be at the same hotel Fri - Sun so if I'm tired during the day on Saturday, I can take a rest break.

I'll look into DVC point rentals - not sure if I'll find anything and the idea of being locked in stresses me out. My dream is to stay at Poly or Beach but I also have Marriott points so it's easy to always default to Swan/Dolphin and the location is great.

I think for now, I'll structure it as:

Thursday night - land in MCO around 8:00 pm. Uber to POP. Sleep at POP, wake up, look around, go to the Expo, maybe Disney Springs and then get to the second hotel and hang by the pool until check in, dinner somewhere outside the parks, early bedtime. Then Saturday - race morning, regroup in room, head to the parks. Crash when I need to!

Although...............might be very well worth it to just get a 2 day ticket. I do want to see both Enchantment and Harmonious! If Fantasmic comes back, then I'll really be in a tough spot - that's my fave!

 

[pinkxray]

@JJ2017- I’m the wrong person to ask about choosing a resort since I can’t decide for mg own trip. Just wanted to let you know studios are all booked up for dvc so unless you wanted a one bedroom I wouldn’t count on a dvc rental.

We are staying at Grand Floridian villas but moving for one night after the 10k. I don’t want to deal with MK traffic during the princess half since our flight is that morning.

I am thinking maybe CBR, AOA or ASMO. Pop is a good choice if you won’t be in the room and you want to see if it will work for you family. I am hoping to stay at all the Disney resorts one day so hoping to check off one we haven’t stayed at yet.

 

[JJ2017]

@JJ2017- I’m the wrong person to ask about choosing a resort since I can’t decide for mg own trip. Just wanted to let you know studios are all booked up for dvc so unless you wanted a one bedroom I wouldn’t count on a dvc rental.

We are staying at Grand Floridian villas but moving for one night after the 10k. I don’t want to deal with MK traffic during the princess half since our flight is that morning.

I am thinking maybe CBR, AOA or ASMO. Pop is a good choice if you won’t be in the room and you want to see if it will work for you family. I am hoping to stay at all the Disney resorts one day so hoping to check off one we haven’t stayed at yet.

Thanks for the response. After researching last night - POP is all booked as well as any DVC studio. So - I did already have three nights booked at POP and three nights booked at Swan. Do you know if I can modify my POP reservation down to ONE night only? Hm.....

 

[jmasgat]

Thanks for the response. After researching last night - POP is all booked as well as any DVC studio. So - I did already have three nights booked at POP and three nights booked at Swan. Do you know if I can modify my POP reservation down to ONE night only? Hm.....

You can definitely call and have them change your reservation. I have found that the online system is less than stellar in this regard--the system acts like it's trying to book a whole new reservation and will often barf on availability, when in reality you already have the nights and just want to drop one or two. Logic is not the strongsuit of Disney IT.

Also, I wouldn't entirely give up on DVC. There are several third party DVC rental sites that will rent existing reservations. It's a long shot, but still worth checking.

 

[pinkxray]

Just curious for those who usually travel for the Princess Weekend.
Is Festival of the arts usually still going on? For some reason I thought it ends before the races?
We aren’t planning on going to EPCOT but might need to get park hoppers. Would love to see the festival.

 

[QueenFernando]

In the past Princess weekend has been the last weekend of the festival of the arts. It's a really cool festival. Also, there are cool constructs of art pieces (The Birth of Venus, a Frida Kahlo self portrait, etc) where you can step into them. They make for neat photo stops in the races. Especially the 5k and 10k.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I would like some help deciding on which TWO hotels to stay (i'd love to try out two new ones) and what should be my ONE park hopping day (Friday or Saturday)

Brand new to runDisney (have no idea how tired I will be on race day)10k Saturday Arriving late Thursday night and leaving Sunday early morning Need to get to expo on Friday Must do's: International Festival of the Arts, Ratatouille, Magic Kingdom

With such a short trip that already involves additional things to schedule and plan because of the race, I would recommend staying at the same resort for the entire weekend. It's one less thing to deal with. Race trips always have an additional level of craziness.

I'm a slow runner. I usually finish the 10K in around 1 hour and 40 minutes give or take. Even with a photo stop or two after the 10K, I am usually in the MK by 10:30am after showering at my resort. The 10K should not throw a major wrench in your park time even with only one day. If you choose to get a 2 day ticket to see both shows, then the night before the 10K will be a later night followed by a very early morning for the race. You'll definitely be tired the day of the 10K, but it's still a lot of fun and you feel good about what you accomplished.

Do you know if I can modify my POP reservation down to ONE night only? Hm.....

My travel agent told me that it's always easier to remove a night or two from a stay than to add a night or two to a stay.

 

[pinkxray]

I am doing the 10k with DD who is almost 17. She said in August she wanted to do it. She started the C25k and did it for a few weeks.

Once school started I haven’t seen her do anything. When I ask her about it she says “It’s fine. It’s 6 months now” (not sure what calendar she is looking at?)

Im not really sure how to handle this. One on hand she 17.I paid the race fee, booked VGF and MK for her.

I don’t want to push her am going to be pretty annoyed if I spend all this money and she either refuses to do the run or tries to do it totally untrained.

We are signed up for a 5k Halloween weekend so I’ll get to see how she does that day.

 

[HangWithMerida]

I am doing the 10k with DD who is almost 17. She said in August she wanted to do it. She started the C25k and did it for a few weeks.

Once school started I haven’t seen her do anything. When I ask her about it she says “It’s fine. It’s 6 months now” (not sure what calendar she is looking at?)

Im not really sure how to handle this. One on hand she 17.I paid the race fee, booked VGF and MK for her.

I don’t want to push her am going to be pretty annoyed if I spend all this money and she either refuses to do the run or tries to do it totally untrained.

We are signed up for a 5k Halloween weekend so I’ll get to see how she does that day.

So sorry this experience with your daughter isn’t going the way you hoped. It is a hard position to be in, wanting to motivate without pushing and activating that heels dug in, don’t want to do it thing. I have a now 13 y/o who occasionally gets motivated to run, usually to do a specific race then drops running altogether.
Would your daughter be willing to train with you? Would you be willing to do c25k or whatever program with her at her pace? Mine is not going to get herself out the door, but when we had a training plan mapped out, she was really good about doing the runs with me. She trained for a 5k then a 10k. We kept the pace at her level and she would tell me stories about school and stuff while we ran. It helped her pass the time and made the training runs into a bit of a bonding experience.
Maybe the Halloween 5k will reignite her interest. That race day environment is a lot of fun and may get her excited about the 10k. She definitely still has time to prep for a Feb 10k.

 

[bumbershoot]

One on hand she 17

That gives a pretty big "she'll be OK" vote even if untrained, FWIW.

Is she an athlete in other ways?

I paid the race fee, booked VGF and MK for her.

If those truly were for her, and you could change resorts to someplace YOU want and maybe change the park, have a convo with her to let her know what's going on in your brain.

 

[pinkxray]

Thanks @bumbershoot and @HangWithMerida

DD is not athletic. Before COVID she has done a few 5ks with me. Unfortunately she was remote learning all of last year and didn’t do much.
I have offered to train with her and she isn’t interested in that. I told her yesterday I am a bit concerned I haven’t seen her do anything lately. I said my main concern that if she does the 10k untrained she won’t feel good afterwards. Since I know she wants to go to MK afterwards. I don’t think she realizes it will be much tougher to just show up to a 10k and go on about your day than a 5k. She do do her run yesterday so we’ll see if that sticks.

 

[sunshine girl]

Thanks for the responses - I appreciate you taking the time to help! As of now, I am only springing for one park day - which will be a park hopper ticket and split my time between MK and EP.

Although...............might be very well worth it to just get a 2 day ticket. I do want to see both Enchantment and Harmonious! If Fantasmic comes back, then I'll really be in a tough spot - that's my fave!

My vote is to stay at one resort. Why, on a race weekend with tons of race stuff to do, and with a million NEW things to do at Disney for the 50th, would one waste time moving from one resort to the next?? That'll eat up a ton of time and energy, it's just not worth it in my view.

Stay at one resort, get the extra park ticket! The most valuable and limited resource on race weekends is your time. Unless you are way, way more interested in spending your time transferring and perusing hotel lobbies than enjoying what Disney has to offer.

I always stay at Pop for solo trip race weekends. Convenient, easy, great transportation, no wasted time!

 

[patty22407]

OK, I think I'm losing it. Didn't they release pictures of the Princess Weekend medals already? I'm trying to find it and can't (lost of pics of the Marathon weekend in January!)

 

[JJ2017]

My vote is to stay at one resort. Why, on a race weekend with tons of race stuff to do, and with a million NEW things to do at Disney for the 50th, would one waste time moving from one resort to the next?? That'll eat up a ton of time and energy, it's just not worth it in my view.

Stay at one resort, get the extra park ticket! The most valuable and limited resource on race weekends is your time. Unless you are way, way more interested in spending your time transferring and perusing hotel lobbies than enjoying what Disney has to offer.

I always stay at Pop for solo trip race weekends. Convenient, easy, great transportation, no wasted time!

Pop it is!!!!!! I am excited to get a feel for the resort and use the Skyliner! I'll keep thinking about the extra day for the parks - but who am I kidding, of course I will spring for it!

 

[Naomeri]

OK, I think I'm losing it. Didn't they release pictures of the Princess Weekend medals already? I'm trying to find it and can't (lost of pics of the Marathon weekend in January!)

I don’t think so, I think they just showed us which princess was hosting which race. But I would think they should be out soon, since Marathon medals were revealed the first week of September

 

[patty22407]

I don’t think so, I think they just showed us which princess was hosting which race. But I would think they should be out soon, since Marathon medals were revealed the first week of September

ok, good - not totally nuts yet