Wine and Dine 2015

[Pleglech]

The dates are up for the Wine and Dine 2016 and unless it's an error the $15 gift cards are not included now.

Finally the weekend before Jersey Week!
It's tough to run a good race when you've been cramming F&W goodies down your throat all week.

 

[FFigawi]

It was not unique to Disney. The wild weather affected the Rock n roll Savannah marathon. From my understanding people were mid
Or near the end found out the course was shortened. So Wine and Dine was not the only racr effected by weather change.

They had to cut short Chicago seven or so years ago too when it got too hot. It was my friend's first marathon, and they closed the course as he hit mile 17. Thankfully, another race in Michigan a week or two later offered free entry to anyone who didn't get to finish Chicago and he was able to get his full done.

 

[SunDial]

Still might have been you, based on the timing, if you started more at the end of G because I was at the front of H. I didn't slow down my crazy aggressive pace until we had crossed backstage into EPCOT. I'm not 100% sure on the clothes as I only made that split second of eye contact, but I remember for sure no costume and her overall build because of close we all were packed in in that one spot.

You and I were not far from each other. Short video From where I was toward the front of H.

 

[Terry70]

My 2 cents:
-I stayed at OKW with my sister in law who is DVC. My original plan was for my daughter to drive me to Epcot and catch a bus from there, but Friday we got a voice mail from OKW. We were told we could take a shuttle they would be providing to SSR and take a bus from there. This provided a convenient excuse for my daughter to bail last minute, so I took the shuttle/ bus that was provided.

-While I initially let myself get angry about the shortened course, I'm still hoping I don't regret just running the race instead of stopping for photos. I was not aware that there was a possibility for more weather to catch runners behind me and after finding that out I'm OK with the decisions made by organizers.

-I understand the walk/run method and felt bad for a runner at the Disneyland Half who was yelled at by a spectator during a walk period b/c that spectator clearly had no clue that the runner was doing as planned. However, I was very frustrated at W&D at the number of people who didn't move to the side during a walk period and made it difficult for others to pass. At the first water station many of the people in front of me came to a complete stop without moving to the side. Perhaps if this was resolved I would have enjoyed the run more.

-For me the bottom line was something my wife pointed out on Sunday, even the shirt says "Wine a lot run a little." I completed the race I was given and will wear my shirt and display my medal. Many people I know won't get off the couch: I finished the challenge I was presented, so I'm comfortable with what I've accomplished. I don't feel the need to redo W&D but do look forward to other rD races.

 

[wilkeliza]

I wasn't aware that people were being told to use the host resort transportation. I just saw the complaints that after the race they had to walk or cab over to their resorts after being dropped off because there was no other transportation. Also the 2 hours waits at the Poly from people who admitted they weren't staying there. I believe next year all resorts are host resorts so it should be a non-issue going forward.

 

[RogueKnits]

After last year's rain and this year's delay/shortened course - would anyone who has ran one or both of them, sign up again? I'm contemplating it for the first time next year, but wonder is it really cursed to be rain/stormed again?

This was my first RunDisney event, and I definitely want to do another, but I'm not sure if I want to do Wine & Dine again. I think I may prefer one of the morning races because I just was not feeling the after party. I thought it would be loads of fun, but I didn't anticipate the magnitude of the crowds and the fact that I'd just be standing in line the whole time. I kind of expected to get some food and drink and maybe even get on some rides, but we struggled to even get food. And my feet hurt so much by the time we got back to the room. I think I may prefer just running a race in the a.m., getting a nice sit-down breakfast and having the rest of the day to rest and do my own thing.

 

[SunDial]

Princess weekend I believe all resorts are hosts. This weekend should have been the same. With the dropping of ToT and the increase in size of this event should have made it an easy decision.

 

[fsupharm77]

This was my first RunDisney event, and I definitely want to do another, but I'm not sure if I want to do Wine & Dine again. I think I may prefer one of the morning races because I just was not feeling the after party. I thought it would be loads of fun, but I didn't anticipate the magnitude of the crowds and the fact that I'd just be standing in line the whole time. I kind of expected to get some food and drink and maybe even get on some rides, but we struggled to even get food. And my feet hurt so much by the time we got back to the room. I think I may prefer just running a race in the a.m., getting a nice sit-down breakfast and having the rest of the day to rest and do my own thing.

That's what my wife and I were thinking. I think we may do Princess in 2017 and the 5k with our 14 year old daughter.

Dumb question. Do males run it too? I expect there aren't many.

 

[ZellyB]

Just back yesterday from our trip. I feel like most of you that we were disappointed over the shortened race, but couldn't fault Disney for that. I do think communication could be improved if they had more speakers along the corral route. Maybe they did but they weren't working??? I just know on the Marathon weekend there are big speakers lining the whole corral line-up and I didn't notice that for this race. So, we could only slightly hear what was being said from the stage. We did hear at the first announcement about the shortened course. Everyone around us in F and in front that I could hear boo'd that announcement.

I'm mostly irritated with myself though. I was so soured by the time we started running that we bypassed all the characters and just rushed through the race. This is NOT how we usually do Disney races and as a result we just didn't enjoy it. And, that's nobody's fault but our own. Really stupid in hindsight. I think the whole night race thing threw us off and then the delay and shortened course just killed it for us and then we compounded that by being big babies about it. So silly really.

We've always done Marathon weekend before and I just think that's a bigger, better event and so this may have paled by comparison to that. Maybe our expectations were too high??

That attitude lingered into the after party as well, so we only stayed until about 2 and then left. The bag check thing getting into the park, was crazy and stupid I think and that didn't help us much. We did ride Soarin with a 5 minute wait which was awesome, but the crowds in the world showcase were miserable. We had another Epcot day planned, so we just didn't think it was worth fighting the crowds.

The good news is that the remainder of our time in the parks was spectacular.

Debating about doing a trip report especially since I have very few pictures from the race itself.

Not sure how we feel about doing another W&D run, but likely won't do another Disney race for awhile. I think some time away might reignite the magic for us.

 

[wilkeliza]

That's what my wife and I were thinking. I think we may do Princess in 2017 and the 5k with our 14 year old daughter.

Dumb question. Do males run it too? I expect there aren't many.

Yes Males run Princess. For my understanding for Princess and Tink there are no males in the elite corral and none in A. After that men can run. They just want a woman to be the first across the line. This may have changed. They use to start men in the last corral by default years ago.

 

[Pleglech]

I've run Princess with DW. It's a really fun time, and there are more men than you would think.
The year we ran, they only would allow men as far up as Corral C, which resulted in a lot of dodging throughout the course.

 

[jeanigor]

That's what my wife and I were thinking. I think we may do Princess in 2017 and the 5k with our 14 year old daughter.

Dumb question. Do males run it too? I expect there aren't many.

Yes, there are. I have ran two myself. The Princess (and Tink) weekend is most certainly and undeniably women focused. I felt a little out of place and off put the first princess I did, but I did it solo and was bull headed. The Tink and second Princess, I ran with friends and had a marvelous time.

Marathon Week is a much bigger event that is focused on all things running and there isn't much else going on at Disney World besides running. This race is a bit different in the fact that it has to share with the Food and Wine Festival, both in theme and crowds.

 

[SunDial]

That's what my wife and I were thinking. I think we may do Princess in 2017 and the 5k with our 14 year old daughter.

Dumb question. Do males run it too? I expect there aren't many.

Yes they do. I will be doing the GSC with my DD.

 

[Miranda]

I just saw the complaints that after the race they had to walk or cab over to their resorts after being dropped off because there was no other transportation.

This is not really related but reminds me of the woman I saw coming back from the bus area at 3:45 AM as I was heading out to the buses who was loudly shouting/complaining to anyone who would listen as she passed them that there were "NO BUSES TO CORONADO SPRINGS!" and waving her arms wildly like it was Disney's fault that she didn't read the transportation information about the host resorts.

 

[Miranda]

I do think communication could be improved if they had more speakers along the corral route. Maybe they did but they weren't working???

There were and they did cut out right after the announcer started his pre-race hype, so if you weren't in the corrals yet, you would have maybe thought there weren't any back there. I happened to be standing right next to one (and it just about blew out my eardrums) when he started the pre-race talk, are you ready to get started, yada yada, and it cut out right after he said he had pertinent information, which I assume was about the course. I didn't hear any more stage stuff until we got up into the vicinity of about C or D, so I think all the ones behind that cut out.

 

[RogueKnits]

The bag check thing getting into the park, was crazy and stupid I think and that didn't help us much.

Ugh...the bag check going into Epcot was the most ridiculous thing. They made us use clear bags, they checked them at the starting area, and then had those bags in their possession for several hours. Was it really necessary to check them again? I was too tired/cranky to think of it at the time, but I should have just taken everything out of my bag, put the bag in my pocket, hand carried the stuff through the gate, and dumped it all back in the bag.

 

[Miranda]

I was annoyed at the bag check too, especially since there was no signs saying that the area to the far left was for people without bags, so a lot of us were getting stuck over there and having to squeeze through to the other side. But anyone could have been going through the gates with stuff that hadn't already been vetted by rD.

 

[ZellyB]

Ugh...the bag check going into Epcot was the most ridiculous thing. They made us use clear bags, they checked them at the starting area, and then had those bags in their possession for several hours. Was it really necessary to check them again? I was too tired/cranky to think of it at the time, but I should have just taken everything out of my bag, put the bag in my pocket, hand carried the stuff through the gate, and dumped it all back in the bag.

Yeah. That was really what had me confused. I mean, what did they think we would manage to do with the bags in between getting it back after the race and walking into the park. We had started to perk up after our beers and then having to wait in that line just killed it for us all over again.

Still, it was our own fault for letting it get into our heads and spoil our time. A good reminder that you can make or break any experience with attitude and sadly we forgot that lesson for awhile.

 

[fsupharm77]

I've run Princess with DW. It's a really fun time, and there are more men than you would think.
The year we ran, they only would allow men as far up as Corral C, which resulted in a lot of dodging throughout the course.

No worries about me timing to get up that close. Odds are it would be myself for the 1/2 and me and DD for 5k. It's just a preliminary thought for now.

 

[GBBTomorrow]

I have pretty much gotten over the race being shortened for the weather. We had a good run, and it was probably the best call at the time, given the looks of the radar and the risks. I figure I'm willing to take the risk for myself, but it wouldn't be fair of me to expect volunteers or cast members to be out there in the open just because I want to run. So that part of the weekend I've made my peace with.

What I'm still really hung up on is the after-party. Was this experience pretty typical of what it's usually like? Am I missing something? We did go on Soarin' with no wait, so that was cool, but other than that, it seemed to be just tired, sweaty people proceeding forward around World Showcase with nothing to do, or else standing in amazingly, off-puttingly long, long, long lines for food and drink. Is that what the party is? Or was this unusual? I guess I just expected it to be more fun. Maybe I was too tired and deflated to appreciate it? What are these parties usually like in comparison to this one, those of you who have done it before? I was disappointed, and wouldn't want to do it again if this was the norm. We had a much better time at Epcot on Sunday, which was still pretty crowded, than we did that night. The lines were shorter and there was more to do.

Thoughts??