Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend 2023
It's Aubree and I's 3rd RunDisney Race Weekend but first Wine & Dine event. We're excited to take you along for the magic and share all the fun of a RunDisney weekend!
My sister and I’s first RunDisney race was the 2022 Princess Half Marathon. We had been planning and dreaming of running this half since we ran cross country together in highschool and in 2022, we finally made it happen.
I thought that we’d be one and done. We thought that we’d run, we’d cross that finish line, and accomplish our goal of running the Princess Half-Marathon together and that would be that. Well, that’s not what happened. We caught the RunDisney bug after that race and it’s now an annual adventure my sister and I take together.
In January of 2023, we ran the Dopey Challenge. The Dopey Challenge is four days of racing: a 5K, 10K, Half-Marathon, then the Full-Marathon. It’s called the Dopey Challenge because you have to be a bit Dopey to want to do it. Marathon Weekend was the best. Training for Dopey helped me stay in shape physically and helped me to mentally prepare for thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail.
In March, I started getting texts while on the trail from my sister about the 2023 Wine&Dine RunDisney Race Weekend themes. Alice in Wonderland, Beauty & the Beast, Encanto, and Figment. We had already done a race that year, but I ultimately decided that once I got off the trail in August or September, I would want something to look forward to. And another amazing RunDisney weekend sounded like the perfect thing.
I summited Mount Katahdin and completed my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail on September 21, 2023. Our Wine&Dine races were in 6 weeks. I was running a 5K, 10K, and Half-Marathon and I hadn’t run a single mile in 6 months. I’d hiked 2200, so I was in shape, but hadn’t ran a lick. I spent the next 3 weeks adventuring down the east coast with my mom in her van, running whenever I found a trail of any kind. I ran up to fire towers, down dirt roads, loops through parks, - anything I could do to let my legs know that although we weren’t hiking everyday anymore we were about to be doing some running.
For those who have never participated in a RunDisney event, it is a completely different experience than any other race I have ever participated in. For me, and what I’ve observed at these events is that it is one of the most welcoming running events. I have never seen a race that had so many different levels of runners. Whether you’re there for time, to accomplish a bucket list goal, to do a new distance, to meet characters, run through the parks, etc - there are runners of all kinds on a Disney Race course. And it’s really special to see. And it’s ultimately besides my own Disney obsession, it’s why I keep shelling out lots of money to do it again.
Now to get into what you came for: Wine & Dine Weekend 2023.
I will give a caveat that I am only sharing the RunDisney parts of this trip. I will share more about Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, our trip to Animal Kingdom, Resort Hopping, and the Wine & Dine Post Race After Party in a seperate post.
Race Expo
Race Merchandise
I’m not gonna lie, I love Disney Race Expo’s but they are a bit overwhelming whether you’re new to the events or a seasoned RunDisney addict.
If you’re arriving on the first day of the event you’re going to want to check when to get in the virtual queue for race merchandise. This is the extra merchandise that you can purchase to commemorate your running weekend. It is honestly a wild time. They have tried to make it more organized with the virtual queue but even though we were in Group 20, a lot of merchandise was already gone. This has been a running (get it?) issue for the last few events we’ve participated in and we hope eventually Disney will fix it. Now! After you’ve gotten in the merch queue, you’ll either be called back really quickly or you can go explore other parts of the expo.
We were group 20 so we went to grab my sister a coffee and then headed back for our entry. It was as usual, crazy busy and somewhat of a mess. I wasn’t able to find everything I wanted, but I did get a magnet (my favorite race memorabilia besides the medals) and a Figment jacket.
Honestly I love to see the merch but because it can be frustrating with the crowds and Disney not having enough stock, the merch itself isn’t my favorite part of the merchandise arena. I love the photo opportunities throughout the merchandise area. From the moment you walk in, there are displays that are perfect for photos. There is usually one big photo op almost always themed towards one of the race themes and then all along the hallway towards the main room entrance are banners and wall decor depicting the themes of the race weekend. I love to take pictures of every moment so it’s always special for me to document the experience by posing with each of the race themes I’m participating in.
Besides the photo ops on the walk in, there are also giant race distance numbers once inside the arena. So if you’re running the 5K they’ll have a giant 3.1 on display in the theme of the race. This weekend's 5K theme was Alice in Wonderland and the numbers were so fun. Since we were doing the 5K plus the Challenge (10K and half-marathon) we took photos with all the themes and all the numbers.
The last photo op is that they will usually have characters out to take photos with at the expo. Most of the time these are also themed with the races but can also just be fun characters that they think people will enjoy photos with. For this race weekend, the lines were just really long and we decided we’d rather get pictures on the race course.
Bib Pickup
Although all portions of the expo on day one are a bit overwhelming, once you’ve left the merchandise area, it gets less so. After we take care of merchandise, it’s time to pick up what’s really important - our race bibs.
The expo is always held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex so once you’ve picked up your merch just follow the signs to the buildings for your race bib.
Before ever getting to the event, you’ll have to have signed a waiver - if you forget they have printed copies available onsite. Once you’ve done this, RunDisney will send you a check in pass with all your info on it that you need for bib pickup. Look at your bib number and the corresponding booths for checking in. Show the Check In Pass with info to the Check-In Team at the booths and they will hand you your bibs and usually a few safety pins.
*Important* Some race weekends you might have to stop at multiple booths for bib pickup. Since we were doing the 5K AND the Figment Two Course Challenge we had to stop by a booth for our 5K bib and then a separate one for the challenge. Make sure you grab all your bibs - you’ll need them for t-shirts and for race day.
This process always goes fairly smoothly for us. There’s usually a few more photo ops as you make the walk to get your bibs. And once we’ve grabbed our bibs, I always like to take a photo of them as they are usually fun colors and decorated with the characters of the weekend.
Finally, it was time to check out the Vendor Building! Experiencing a RunDisney expo day is almost like doing a race in itself and there is a lot to do + a lot of walking. Consider it a warm up for race day.
Vendors
This is the area where we usually spend the least amount of time - the products are awesome, we just love the Disney themed stuff the most. But we always walk around this area and see what there is to see - this time around there were definitely some cool vendors (and some fun giveaways going on)!
I always stop by the KT Tape booth, they have their employees who will tape you up in whatever pain spot you’re having. And if I’m out of tape, I usually restock because they sometimes have designs unique only to the expo. At Marathon Weekend 2023, they had pink with white polka dots, which is very Disney. Because I had just finished hiking the Appalachian Trail, I asked them to tape up one of my knees, just in case they started bothering me that weekend.
The vendor area is the perfect spot to grab anything that you might have forgotten. Socks, gels, race belts, bib holders, costume extras, etc. The fun thing about the vendor area is that while there are generic running vendors there are also a lot of fun costume vendors with special little add ons for your race day looks.
While the vendor area is also a bit overwhelming the crowds seem to flow better in this building. We were able to explore, grab a few goodies, and then after a very long expo day (there really is so much to see!), we headed back to our hotel for a quick rest and then off to Disney Springs!
Night Before Race Prep
People will tell you that the hardest part of a RunDisney race weekend is the wake up calls. They are not wrong. Because the races start at 5, we are usually up by 2 - 2:30 am so we can catch the buses over to the Epcot area. We usually spend a little bit more and opt to stay on Disney property because they provide these buses to the race start line. Some people like it this way and others prefer to drive themselves - we like the buses - I’m too tired that early in the morning to want to drive and since we usually fly, I don’t like to rent a car.
When you’re half asleep at 2 am you don’t want to forget an essential piece of race gear or costume piece. And that’s why every night before a race, I lay out my entire costume and all my associated gear. This helps me make sure that I have everything I need and that in my sleepy stupor I won’t forget something like my bib. I also love to take outfit flatlay photos that show off my costume.
Also, although we’re in Florida, the weather can vary and at that early of an hour, it can get chilly. Because of this we usually bring “throwaway” sweatshirts or sweatpants that we can toss once we warm up. RunDisney knows that people do this and will pick up, wash, and donate discarded items. We love this because we can stay warm before the race and then know that the items we tossed won’t just end up as garbage. Aubree is usually really cold before a race so in additon to the throwaway sweatshirts we also have learned to grab mylar blankets (the silver shiny ones) and she uses those to keep warm before a race too (the caveat to these is that you must toss them before you cross the start line because they mess with your timing chip).
Lastly, if you haven’t figured out breakfast, you want to do that before 2 in the morning. Not much is available that early in the morning and especially if you’re staying on Disney property, you’ll want to have grabbed something to snack on in the mornings. I usually grab some bagels or bread and peanut butter and eat that in the morning. Everyone is different and I know that my body does well with these things.
5K
My alarm and the Disney alarm clock I had set, went off at an ungodly hour. I laid there asking myself why I was doing these wake ups to myself yet again. But I knew as soon as we got to the Epcot parking area and felt the energy of race day, the early wake up would be forgotten. It was 5K day! I was dressed as the Mad Hatter wearing my Jolly Gear shirt that I also hiked the entire AT in and my sister was Alice in Wonderland!
My sister and I usually get up around 2 - 2:30 am so that we can be on the bus by 3/3:15 am. If you’re riding the buses, you have to be at the Epcot parking lots by a certain time and we never want to be on the last bus. Costumes were on, I was walking while eating, and we were sleepily headed to the buses. The fun thing about getting there early is that Disney always has a DJ and characters to take pictures with before you even start the race. It is like a full on, sleepy, runDisney party and we were starting to get excited about the race. This part is also always fun to see everyone in their costumes - we try to go all out, but some people go ALL OUT and their costumes are cooler than the characters.
We tried to wait in a few of the character lines like Mad Hatter but they were super long. We tried to wait as long as we could but then it was time to get in our corral. We were a little bummed that the character lines took so long but we did get some really cool pictures with other runners who had some amazing outfits on. And some awesome people were dressed as mome raths from Alice in Wonderland. They gifted us with some popsicle stick versions of the adorable creatures. We were ecstatic - even though we didn’t get pre-race character photos we still got some Disney magic.
If you are not a runner or a Disney runner you might not be familiar with corrals. Corrals are the group you start with and it helps facilitate a smoother race start for runners. Depending on which corral you’re in, it might close earlier than others, so you want to be in it before that. Once in your corral, you watch the announcers chat with members of the audience, see some Disney trailers (which I usually enjoy), and enjoy a live performance of the national anthem. I totally understand why corrals exist but sometimes waiting in them feels like forever and even in Florida, the mornings can be chilly. After our first runDisney race, we learned to bring throwaway jackets that we could toss off once we warmed up. Again, don’t worry, later on Disney Cast Members come pick them up, wash them and donate them.
After what can sometimes feel like forever, our corral was towards the front. I loved people watching and seeing all the different costumes go by. And the truly special thing about a runDisney start line? Every corral gets fireworks at the start. It is so fun to watch them all go off as you get ready to start the most magical race.
The last 5K Disney race I did was the 2023 Marathon Weekend and I loved the 5K. There were a lot more people but it still flowed really well and it was so enjoyable to run through Epcot. The course was a bit different for Wine & Dine and I have to admit, I didn’t love it. Even though the 5K was our shortest distance of the weekend, it felt like this race course barely spent any time inside the park and when we were inside the park there were so many people it was sometimes hard to run.
Despite long lines and lots of people, we always love a RunDisney race day and it is always a special moment to cross the finish line and receive your medal. We crossed the finish line smiles wide and made our way towards medals, powerade, and snacks. After a race, you usually have the oppportunity to get photographs with the characters that were there before the race. I really wanted a photo with the Mad Hatter since I was dressed as him. The line was incredibly long again, but we got in line anyways. After a half hour and still many people ahead of me to go, we decided to bail. We had park tickets for Animal Kingdom and wanted as much time in the park as possible. I snapped a quick selfie on the sidelines near Hatter and then we headed back towards the buses to take us back to our resort.
10K
After our 5K the day before we had spent the day in Animal Kingdom before turning in the for the night for another early day of RunDisney fun! Though the theme of the 10K was Lumiere and Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast, for the 10K we decided to dress as Figment but 2 different iterations of Figment. I was a butterfly Figment while Aubree was a sporty iteration of the iconic purple and orange dragon.
It was another incredibly early morning that I knew would be worth it as soon as we got off the bus and saw our favorite magic golfball (Spaceship Earth) all lit up. We started our morning off a little bit later and only had time for one character photo with Alice in Wonderland before it was time to head to our corral, start our 10K, and our first race of the Two-Course Challenge.
My favorite part about this particular race was the characters. Sometimes you see some of the same characters race after race, but today we were graced with some unique ones that I don’t tend to see very often. Some of these included Robin Hood & Little John (Robin Hood is one of my all time favorites), Lewis and Wilbur Robinson, and Phineas & Ferb! Besides the characters I really loved my costume for this race, although simple it gave nods to the adorable Figment and I truly loved flapping my butterfly wings down the course.
Before we knew it our 6.2 miles of magic were over and we were crossing our second finish line of the race weekend. We snapped a very quick finish line selfie (they like you to keep moving so other people can come through), grabbed our medals, our powerades, and our snack boxes. The post-race character lines were a little less chaotic for the 10K and we were able to grab photos with Mad Hatter (yay! But also sad that I didn’t get to see him in my Hatter outfit) and Bruno from Encanto. I was really excited that we were able to get some post race character photos before finding our bus and heading back to the resort. It was a great morning to run a 10K!
Half-Marathon
Time flies when you’re having fun especially when you’re having fun for a RunDisney race weekend. It was our last 2:30 am wakeup call and race of the weekend. It was half-marathon time. Aubree had been dealing with a little bit of pain (for medical reasons) for the 5K and the 10K so although we knew we would finish, we weren’t sure how this race was going to go. But we got up, put on our costumes for the day, laced up our shoes, and headed to catch the bus.
When we got to the pre-race area it was pleasantly crowded but not overly so and we were able to grab some pre-race character photos. We once again were able to grab some photos with Mad Hatter (he’s one of our favorites so we didn’t mind multiple). And then it was off to the corrals for the start of our last race of the weekend. It’s always bittersweet, that last corral of the last race of the weekend. You’re ready to not be up before dawn but it’s also such a fun time that you don’t want the experience to end.
The half was full of awesome characters. In my opinion, the half is one of my favorite distances because it has the most characters, you get to run through a lot of the parks, and you get to enjoy the magic for 13.1 miles. During the race we were able to stop for characters like Aurora and Prince Phillip, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee, the penguins of Mary Poppins (one of my all time FAVES), Oogie Boogie, & new to the parks, Figment. I loved the characters on the half course - they were my favorite of the weekend.
The course itself for the half, wasn’t my favorite. I think I have been spoiled by Marathon Weekend and Princess Weekend where we get to run through the castle and for this particular race it felt like we had a lot more road than park time. I did however love the amount of time we spent running through Hollywood Studios. Usually there is not much time at all spent running through this park, if any so it was cool to spent a bit more time running through this iconic park.
The last 3 miles of the race were pretty tough for us. Aubree was in a lot of pain (not due to running) but she felt she could push through and keep going. We slowed down a bit just to lessen the pain but still finished strong. Our toughest half at RunDisney yet (because of external things) but we did it and we earned our Encanto Half Marathon Medal and our Figment Two Course Challenge medal. It was a challenging but amazing finish to another RunDisney Weekend and we already can’t wait for the next one.
P.S. Aubree is a-okay now and is ready for whenever we decide to do our next RunDisney race.
Post Race Thoughts
As a whole, I loved the Wine&Dine Weekend experience. The characters, medals, and vibe was fun as always. The costumes runners created were amazing, awe-inspiring, and motivating to up my costume game for the next RunDisney race weekend. Though I did really love the costumes I came up with for this weekend. Wine & Dine had a lot of Disney magic that all RunDisney weekends have. And you can’t beat the included Wine&Dine After Party ticket. It wasn’t my all-time favorite RunDisney Weekend due to some of the routes and increased crowds, but with the right themes, I would sign up again in a heartbeat (and I hope to be doing Wine & Dine 2024).
If you’ve ever dreamed or even considered signing up for a RunDisney race weekend, I couldn’t recommend it more. It truly is Disney Magic and some of the most fun I’ve ever had while running. I hope to see you on the course one day!
P.S. If you are interested in shopping for my Running Essentials, visit here. To shop for my Individual Race Costumes, visit here.
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