Princess Weekend 2023 (Feb 23-26, 2023)

[DopeyRunner486]

Perhaps I just had good luck when I went to the Expo on Thursday afternoon, but I believe that they had everything in stock in all sizes. Did you have a different experience at the MW Expo?

MW Dopey ears were gone in basically minutes and then dopey jackets were mostly gone in a couple hours. Outside of a few things yes most things were stocked well.

 

[1lilspark]

W&D we were group 50 (clicked just shortly after things opened up) return time kept getting delayed finally got in just after noon… 5K pin stock was running thin and it took two or three passes around the room for my sister to find her shoe ornament but other than this things were good

With SS & Princess I know preorders were back so that will be an interesting factor (I got 5k and challenge pin sets still will need all four magnets + 10k/10 miler pins come April)

 

[Bree]

Perhaps I just had good luck when I went to the Expo on Thursday afternoon, but I believe that they had everything in stock in all sizes. Did you have a different experience at the MW Expo?

MW was a cluster****. Bib lines were insane. I have NEVER had to wait in line to pick up a bib. The official merch building looked like a tornado went through it. Piles and piles of items all over the floor. All the VQ is doing is putting all the people from the merch line into the bib line. The shortest lines I waited in were the beer lines

 

[XoxoAmy]

My 2 daughters (10 and 14) are running the 5k with me - first time I have kids running. Do they need to be at expo in person to get their bibs, or can I pick up for all 3 of us if I have all our waivers done? (We are driving up that morning and I know they would rather be in the pool while I go to expo, if we can do that!)

 

[Bree]

My 2 daughters (10 and 14) are running the 5k with me - first time I have kids running. Do they need to be at expo in person to get their bibs, or can I pick up for all 3 of us if I have all our waivers done? (We are driving up that morning and I know they would rather be in the pool while I go to expo, if we can do that!)

You can pick up bibs for minors without them present.

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

I emailed RunDisney today about pre-ordered merch pickup and the virtual queue. This is what they said:

"Runners who pre-ordered race merchandise will not need to join the virtual queue on the first day of the Event Expo to pick up their orders. More information and directions on where pre-orders can be picked up will be available in the Official Digital Event Guide. This will become available approximately two weeks prior to the event weekend."

Glad to see this response.

 

[jpeterson]

I emailed RunDisney today about pre-ordered merch pickup and the virtual queue. This is what they said:

"Runners who pre-ordered race merchandise will not need to join the virtual queue on the first day of the Event Expo to pick up their orders. More information and directions on where pre-orders can be picked up will be available in the Official Digital Event Guide. This will become available approximately two weeks prior to the event weekend."

Glad to see this response.

That's nice. In the past you had to join the line to get in to where you could pick up the merchandise.

 

[kps7795]

MW was a cluster****. Bib lines were insane. I have NEVER had to wait in line to pick up a bib. The official merch building looked like a tornado went through it. Piles and piles of items all over the floor. All the VQ is doing is putting all the people from the merch line into the bib line. The shortest lines I waited in were the beer lines

What a difference a day makes. I got to the Expo at around 3:00 on Thursday and walked right in. There were no piles of items on the floor at all. After picking up an "I did It!" HM shirt and a magnet for my daughter, I went over to the Field House and walked right in (after taking some pictures) and was in a line of only runner in front of me for the Goofy and HM respectively. The only line that I experienced was waiting to take a picture with Goofy and I only waited in that line for 3-4 minutes.

 

[bumbershoot]

Bib lines were insane. I have NEVER had to wait in line to pick up a bib.

Our first? maybe second Princess we waited for over an hour outside in the heat to get bibs. Got to know the baseball field area very well. If I recall correctly we even had a baseball player sighting.


Every year of this race seems to be different, but since 2017ish they seem to be getting better about restocking. OF COURSE they never tell you they'll restock, but they have tended to do so. My cousin and I almost always go twice and find different things.

 

[Bree]

What a difference a day makes. I got to the Expo at around 3:00 on Thursday and walked right in. There were no piles of items on the floor at all. After picking up an "I did It!" HM shirt and a magnet for my daughter, I went over to the Field House and walked right in (after taking some pictures) and was in a line of only runner in front of me for the Goofy and HM respectively. The only line that I experienced was waiting to take a picture with Goofy and I only waited in that line for 3-4 minutes.

My mobile shopping receipt is time stamped 1:49pm. They must have used pixie dust to get it looking good by 3pm. It was real bad in there. I should have taken photos. My husband has never been to an expo and said you couldn’t pay him to go in that merch building again.

 

[kps7795]

My mobile shopping receipt is time stamped 1:49pm. They must have used pixie dust to get it looking good by 3pm. It was real bad in there. I should have taken photos. My husband has never been to an expo and said you couldn’t pay him to go in that merch building again.

Was this on Wednesday, the first day of the Expo, or Thursday?

 

[Bree]

Was this on Wednesday, the first day of the Expo, or Thursday?

Wednesday

 

[Disneyhanna]

Sorry to be a bit OT but this is what the expo looked like on the first day at 1pm. A dozen tables with piles like this and all over the floor below. It was like Black Friday! They had temporary walls up to make dedicated exit and along the walls were piles of clothes and especially hangers. Hangers everywhere!

This was the Goody medal pin status (the orange round one) at 1pm, from what I hear they didn’t ever restock. The medal pins are going for $80+ so it seems they were hard to get. I got a Dopey hat at noon and there were maybe 10 left and they didn’t restock.
I would definitely prioritize medal pins at Princess if that’s your thing. I think the anniversary made the MW expo so much worse since everyone wanted anniversary merch. That was my first MW expo and everyone I talked to who had done more weekends said it was by far the worst they ever saw. So hopefully princess won’t be so crazy…

 

[1lilspark]

I emailed RunDisney today about pre-ordered merch pickup and the virtual queue. This is what they said:

"Runners who pre-ordered race merchandise will not need to join the virtual queue on the first day of the Event Expo to pick up their orders. More information and directions on where pre-orders can be picked up will be available in the Official Digital Event Guide. This will become available approximately two weeks prior to the event weekend."

Glad to see this response.

Hmm makes me wonder if preorder pick up will be in one of the other buildings and not arena

 

[DianaMB333]

Do you know pls if virtual queue is also needed to go in the afternoon? Tks

 

[DopeyRunner486]

Do you know pls if virtual queue is also needed to go in the afternoon? Tks

It depends... So the virtual queue is technically all day. I know for Wine & Dine and likely MW towards the end of day 1 they were just letting people in. This is not a guarantee though. And by towards the end I mean last hour or two of the expo when things are wrapping up and crowds have died down.

 

[Herding_Cats]

This is what the queues were at the peak of insanity on Wednesday for MW.

 

[azrivest]

This is what the queues were at the peak of insanity on Wednesday for MW.
View attachment 736677

There was a queue to get into the Vendor Expo? Ouch.

 

[Herding_Cats]

There was a queue to get into the Vendor Expo? Ouch.

yes. it took somewhere between 5 and 10min to get out of the bib building, up the stairs, and over and into the vendor expo.

 

[NYC_MW]

It depends... So the virtual queue is technically all day. I know for Wine & Dine and likely MW towards the end of day 1 they were just letting people in. This is not a guarantee though. And by towards the end I mean last hour or two of the expo when things are wrapping up and crowds have died down.

For MW, I got to the expo just after 5:30p on Wednesday (way after my VQ time expired) and they still let me in to the official merch bldg. At the same time I overheard a staff person telling another to start letting people without VQs in (there did seem to be a clump of people waiting outside who cheered when they heard that).

A lot of Dopey specific merch was gone (or only in one size) but there did seem to be quite a bit of general MW items. There was absolutely no line for Dopey bib pickup. Didn't check on the general vendor area.