Wine and Dine 2015

[wilkeliza]

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??

I didn't make it back to World Showcase but yeah the after parties are usually zombie like. Of course when you are running the whole course they are usually thinned out a little until 2 or 3 am. Was there not a DJ in World Showcase this year? I hate the crossover and got stuck on tired legs so didn't even attempt to go back to the food portion. I just met my party, rode spaceship earth (my one must do), and then left.

 

[Miranda]

I didn't make it back to World Showcase but yeah the after parties are usually zombie like. Of course when you are running the whole course they are usually thinned out a little until 2 or 3 am. Was there not a DJ in World Showcase this year? I hate the crossover and got stuck on tired legs so didn't even attempt to go back to the food portion. I just met my party, rode spaceship earth (my one must do), and then left.

There was music in the World Showcase... I think it was the same band that was playing by the fountain in Future World.

 

[preciouspups]

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.

I know two guys running the 5k this year... without their wives!

 

[JDisRunner]

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??

I was wondering the same thing. After getting past the bag check crowd (which then I was mad about wearing a running belt ...) - it was slammed to even get across to the WS. Once there we hit maybe two places before calling it and just walking the 30 minutes back to transportation. I think I remember hearing the increased the number of tickets they sold for the after party this year. Even still though, with a shortened race more people probably showed up - I dunno, but yea, we had shorter lines during the day (and they were still numbingly long then).

 

[Ariel484]

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.

My brother ran the Princess Half with me in 2011. He was in the minority for sure, but he was okay with it.

 

[MaMa3Princess]

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??

I just did Soarin' and spaceship earth. I almost fell asleep not because of boredom because the whole balancing my family making sure they had their vacation plans and then normally when we would probably start preparing for a dinner and heading back to the room, I was up ready to race. The night race thing was just weird for me.
I think the likelihood of me even being able to do the after party would have been very slim if I had done the whole thing in that humidity. Like you, I have reconciled the weekend. It was good for what it was. I just think the whole wine and dine was fun for once and I definitely can deal with Disney super early mornings over a very late night.
But if more time was given to the race, I think it would have been as someone described more stiff walking dead type "partying" around the world show case.

 

[ExportedMolson]

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??

Last year my wife and I ran together and putting the rain, did not really enjoy the after party. Our problem is I run much faster than she does. I finished about midnight but had to wait almost 2.5 hours for her to finish. So I was done, by the time she arrived and she was very tired. We bailed out of the party and did F&W on Sunday. We also made the decision that this year I would run and she and DS would meet me at the party. They could not come, but I had a blast at the party. I am slowly coming to the realization that the W&D event is very differently experienced by the early corrals and the later corrals.

My experience this year. Hit the finish line, had my name called out by Carissa (yeah I still love that about rD). Breezed through the bag pickup. Made it through a nearly empty drink line. Put on my Yellow Wrist Band and headed to the security bag check and waited behind one person. Quickly entered EPCOT, headed to the bathroom to refresh and change, got a locker to hold my bag and I was off. I went first to the Land and rode Soarin' a few times back to back. Then headed through the crosswalk. It took all of a minute. Took off to World Showcase... stopped in DR for some tasty meat then off to Greece, grabbed a gyro watched the CMs from Greece and Canada play red rover and shout each other down. Cupid Shuffle starts playing so I joined the group of CMs and some party goers to do the dance right there in front of the Canada booth. Grabbed an Ice Wine and cheddar cheese soup and headed off. Hit the UK and joined a group of CMs doing the electric slide in the walkway, including one of the kitchen staff with a huge metal food transport. It was fun. I continued around the world showcase grabbing food and drink here and there. So far I have had only a 2 or 3 person line anywhere. Made it around to Mexico I think by 2:30 or so for a quick ride. Then headed to Test Track for my last ride of the night. I noticed the lines for the booths were getting pretty long already. After TT I was calling it a night and by this time the course had been cleaned up so I walked back to my locker to get my things before walking back to the Swan. I noticed it was very busy on the walk back. In bed by about 3:30.

 

[RogueKnits]

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.

I'm curious about this as well. In other groups, people have been saying that it was more crowded this year due to the shortened distance. Basically, more people finishing at the same time combined with more people who want to go to the party instead of just heading back to their hotel. There is also talk that they may have oversold the non-runner party tickets. However, my husband was in corral C and finished about an hour before I did. He said that at that point, the crowds were very thin and he had no issue stopping to grab some food before walking back to Beach Club to get a shower (which is why he was in a much better mood than I was).

We went to MVMCP the following night, and it was a perfectly pleasant experience with manageable crowds and reasonable lines. I think that's more what I was expecting.

 

[Keels]

I think what @ZellyB said pretty much sums up how I felt about the weekend - I was in a bad mood and over everything before we even took to the corrals.

I didn't like the waiting around all day for the race, I didn't like having to get to WWoS so early and again wait around, and then the delay just pretty much sank my whole attitude about the thing.

That said, as @FFigawi pointed out - I DID get a basic preview of the last 6 miles of the marathon course (if it stays roughly the same), and that was priceless to me. I know what to expect with the elevation changes, sharp turns and tight areas.

My husband started in a far earlier corral than I did and basically ran this race as a sprint race, so he was done very early compared to me. He was able to get us a locker, and blow through both of our gift cards (oops!) at the Craft Beer building before trying to meet me back at the finish line and ultimately getting held up in the crosswalk.

By the time I made it through the exit process (around 1 a.m.) and to him in the locker, the whole scene was VERY different. I couldn't get over to the med tent in the finish area because it was so crowded and we were being herded in one direction (like, I tried to veer to the med tent but was too far to the left of the finish corral and was essentially forced back to C2C first, and then wasn't able to make my way back to get a water OR get to the med tent), so I was happy to see there were med tents in the World Showcase.

We actually ended up hanging out at a table in the restaurant in the American Pavilion that was a) air conditioned, b) full of tables that were c) empty. It made it REALLY easy for us to get beers and relax for a bit. We started making our way back around 3:30 and the lines had really died down quiet a bit. Summoned for an Uber right at 4 a.m. and were in bed after quick showers and an ice bath at AKL at 4:30 a.m.

 

[ZellyB]

@Keels I really think you'll find marathon weekend to be a very different experience. We are morning runners and so even though the mornings are ridiculously early for marathon weekend, we felt far more energized and excited. The whole day leading up to this run just felt strange to me. I do think having now run much of the last portion of the marathon course (although the path through HS is different and you do circle the world showcase in the marathon) will be helpful in January. Although I guess it's still a bit of an unknown in terms of how the marathon course map will be changed, right?

 

[jockey]

So my experience.....I flew 4500 miles from Ireland ..as I do for most Run disney races...... got to the race well in time I was in Corral B so set up for a !.50 half..then I heard we had to evacuate! I thought it was a joke!!! However I knew it was for our own safety so no problem. By race time I was not in a running mood ,,BUT I was glad Disney let us race ..okay it was not the race I expected but who cares.... as we say here in Belfast FINISH LINES not FINISH TIMES.... yes I had worked hard for corral B..BUT I want to race again..for me ..I ran I stopped for lots of pics...something I normally dont do....when we started in Corral B we didn't know the route!!! OKAY so the medal and all the merch I bought say 13.1....but after the race was postponed ..I found the 7 miles harder than the half!....... we all got out there ..we raced ..it was fun..... oh and I met Corey and Craig the next night at trader sams....that was fun!

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

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.

It very well might have been. I actually did start very close to the back of G (could see the separation ribbon for the start of H as we were moving forward at one point). So who knows.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

So the past 2 days I've had people at work congratulate me on my half marathon and ask about it, and it hurts when I have to tell them what happened. I'm grateful we got to run at all, and understand runDisney's decision, but the more I think about it, the more disappointed I get. This type of situation is so rare - why did it have to be this weekend?!? :'(

 

[Miranda]

Well, I just impulse registered for a half in MA for this Sunday to make up for last weekend. I was going to do one 11/22, but that would have been 5 weeks out from my last long run. This weekend it is! I hope my feet have recovered from all the park walking by then. They still hurt!

@*DisneyDreamer, I feel more bummed about the situation now than I did in the immediate aftermath. I was bummed about it over the weekend but I still had MVMCP on Sunday to look forward to and a day in AK on Monday, but now that I'm home with no fun park stuff to distract me, I am sadder about it. I don't blame rD or anything... I'm just sad it happened at all.

 

[SunDial]

I was also wondering about the difference of the after party from the last years to this year since this was my first W&D. The original plans were I was going to skip the party and just go Sunday. Had a couple of friends not come up for Sunday so I did go inside for the party.

The finisher area was a cluster. Bag check was a cluster. I hit Spaceship Earth, listened to the band at the fountains for a little while who I thought were pretty good. Got something to eat from Patagonia and China. The crowd in this area was rather large but manageable. Decided to call it a night and would come back on Sunday to enjoy it more.

@Keels as FFigawi said that was pretty much the last 6 miles. Add 3 miles looping around inside ESPN and the 3 miles on Osceola from AK to ESPN and that is your back half of the marathon course. At least that was they way it was this past January.

 

[bellrae]

RunDisney have sent out a survey to those that went to the Welcome Reception. The questions were mostly around value for money for the event. I think they are trying to work out whether it is worth doing these again in the future.

 

[Pleglech]

I am slowly coming to the realization that the W&D event is very differently experienced by the early corrals and the later corrals.

That absolutely is the case, and the difference would have been even more pronounced if we had run the full distance.

Regarding the full course: It doesn't spend quite as much time twisting around DHS.

 

[Ariel484]

RunDisney have sent out a survey to those that went to the Welcome Reception. The questions were mostly around value for money for the event. I think they are trying to work out whether it is worth doing these again in the future.

I think you're right. If you look at the Avengers thread they seem to have randomly selected people to do something that sounds very similar to the Welcome Reception (private packet pick-up, access to the official merchandise, etc.)...but FOR FREE. It explicitly states that they'll be asking people questions about it afterward, so my guess is that they're trying to figure out why the W&D Welcome Reception wasn't super popular.

 

[wilkeliza]

That absolutely is the case, and the difference would have been even more pronounced if we had run the full distance.

Yep very true but that is all runDisney events and I would go as far as to say any running event with a party afterwards. It is one reason that I plan to train through 2016 even though I'm not running and train in 2017 for those night races so I can get to the after party before all the crowds!

I was a back of the packer (now mid packer) for a very long time and my first Tower of Terror I left when I saw waits were in the hours for rides.

 

[FFigawi]

It explicitly states that they'll be asking people questions about it afterward, so my guess is that they're trying to figure out why the W&D Welcome Reception wasn't super popular.

Because they charged too much?