Run Disney Half Marathon Race Experience
My first race of 2022 was the Disney Half Marathon. The race took place on Saturday, January 8 and it was such a great start to the new year. Keep reading for more info on this race and for my experience running it.
Accommodations
Back in November when I ran Wine & Dine we had a mix up with our hotel reservation and had to make a new reservation that day before driving up to Orlando. We ended up staying at Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in what was pure serendipity as the hotel goes all out for marathon weekends. I made a reservation to stay at this hotel again for the Disney Half Marathon and, once again, the hotel was a fantastic host. They not only provided race day transportation, but they also had a race morning celebration with water, Gatorade, fruits, bagels, and nut bars. Plus, the staff was so pumped up in their celebration of runners that I couldn’t help but feel excited at 2:30am. I definitely recommend considering this Hilton hotel for future Disney race weekends as there is no extra fee for the pre-race celebration and transportation.
Expo
Disney expo is straightforward and takes place at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Bibs are picked up in one building and race t-shirts are picked up in another building where all the vendors are located. We went to expo around 4pm on Friday (expo closed at 7pm) for the Saturday race and we were in-and-out in about 30 minutes. The only “extra” given was a Donald Duck luggage tag and, while I know some people like all the freebies given in the packet, I was ok with not getting anything else as it usually gets thrown out or not used. We didn’t stick around to look at the vendor booths, but it looked like standard expo vendors for charity teams, race registrations, and running gear. We also didn’t check out the official Disney merchandise (located in a 3rd building) because your girl is on a budget this year. There were photo opportunities in the walkway to the official Disney merchandise building with signs for each race and challenge distance.
Pre-Race
Hotel transportation to the race was a huge perk in the morning. The bus departed the hotel at 3am and arrived in the Epcot bus station around 3:15am. From arrival until about 4am I spent my time near the finish line to enjoy my pre-race snack of graham crackers and access to bathrooms with no lines. At 4am I walked over to gear check (more bathrooms here), which was a series of trucks (gear check does not correspond to bib number) and then made my way to my corral (s1). There were six corrals and each corral was broken into informal segments (think of people holding a ribbon marking off the segments in each corral). There were three sets of bathrooms in the corral area: one near the beginning of the corrals, one near corrals 5 and 6, and one near corrals 1 and 2. It’s about a 15-20 min walk to the corrals from the finish area, so make sure to give yourself plenty of time to walk over, use the bathroom, and settle into your corral space.
Post-Race
The best part about the post-race experience is getting that finisher’s medal! This year’s medal was a spinning medal with Donald Duck on one side and Daisy on the other. The finisher’s area has a big stage with a DJ and four photo opportunities: two with the 50th anniversary backdrop, one with a running Mickey Mouse, and one with a running Donald Duck. There is plenty of water and Powerade as you exit the finisher’s chute, and each runner is given a snack box and banana before exiting the runner’s-only area. The snack box had sunflower seeds, graham crackers, chips, and a cheese sauce for the chips.
On the Course
The course starts in the roads behind the Epcot parking lot and ends in the Epcot parking lot. The course runs toward Magic Kingdom, through Cinderella’s Castle (miles 5.5-6-ish), and back to Epcot (mile 12), entering the main area of the park by the Figment ride. I started at 5am, so there were some dark segments of the run, particularly leaving Magic Kingdom, that I wish there was more lighting or maybe even that I would have been mentally prepared to run in while it was so dark out. Water stops were at about every mile with Honey Stinger chews midway and bathrooms throughout the course. For my Miami legs that are used to flat and flatter roads, this is a challenging course with all the “climbs” that happen on the overpasses. I think there were about three to four overpasses in the half marathon course, but I might have missed some or not noticed some as I ran from character to character. There were also live music acts and DJs along the course.
I stopped for all the photo opportunities, which totaled 16. All photos, minus the one with Mary Poppins, were taken by Disney race photographers. Disney staff encouraged runners to take selfies and photos with their phones and runners stood in front the characters (instead of next to them like in pre-pandemic times) for the photos. There were two character stops within the first mile and the rest were spread throughout the course. Complete list of photo stops includes Mary Poppins, penguin from Mary Poppins, Tinker Bell & Periwinkle, Judy from Zootopia, Nick From Zootopia, Buzz Lightyear, White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, Sebastian from The Little Mermaid, Cinderella’s Castle, Mickey Mouse, Jafar from Aladdin, Horace Horsecollar, Clarabelle Cow, Lilo from Lilo & Stitch, Stitch from Lilo & Stitch, Thumper from Bambi, Bolt, and (help me out here!) a male character with a lightning bolt on his shirt. I didn’t stop for Periwinkle and the penguin in miles 9-12 as they were repeat characters from earlier in the race, however the longest distance between character stops was about a mile.
Race Experience
I went into the race with the intention of treating it as a training run and knew that I could run the course in 2:15. The plan was to eat a gel every 30 minutes or so to keep myself feeling strong throughout the race. Weather was great (50s), even if it felt a little humid (I think it was in the 75% to 85% range for humidity). At the beginning of the race, I became curious with how long the race would take if I stopped for all possible photo opportunities (spoiler alert: character stops added 20 minutes). Let me tell you, making 16 stops was hard because it basically made the run a fartlek run. Add in the “climbs” with the overpasses and I worked hard to get from start line to finish line. I dressed up for this race with a sparkly skirt, crown, and shirt with a message (“forget the miles remember the magic”) to remind myself to have fun while running.
Did I have fun? I sure did! How can you not have fun at a Disney race when you get to take sweaty photos with Disney characters? I mean, miles 9-12 were rough because there were no character stops for me, but the knowledge that a character stop would eventually come kept me moving forward. The second-best part of the race came right before entering Epcot when I spotted the funniest Kim Kardashian-Pete Davidson sign and stopped to take a picture with it. The actual best part of the race came when I crossed the finish line because it’s always such a humbling and awe-inspiring feeling, no matter how many times I have done this distance.
Overall Impression
I love Disney races and one of the main reasons I love Disney races is because I don’t race them; this is a race where I get to enjoy all the costumes, characters, and behind-the-scenes Disney sights. When else do you get to be on Disney property with only runners? Only during Run Disney events! I work hard at other events just so that I can take it easy at Disney events. While I didn’t like the darker parts of the course, I appreciated that I was never alone on these parts of the course. While I also didn’t like the long stretch of running in miles 9-12, I own it’s because I didn’t want to stop for a second picture with the same characters. Would I do another Disney event? Even with the early rises, the answer is YES. Would I do this Disney event again? The answer is YES. Any course that runs down Main Street and through the castle is a course worth running, especially if you are a huge Disney fan like I am.
Pros
Early start time for those who like to get as many miles as possible in before the sun rises.
Characters and entertainment on course.
The course itself with parts that run through Magic Kingdom and Epcot.
Lots of bathrooms everywhere.
Post-race snacks, with options to buy beer and pastries.
Post-race photo opportunities.
FREE race photos that are uploaded quickly.
In general, there are a ton of photo opportunities all weekend long.
Nice field size of about 10k, so you never feel like you are alone on the course.
Costumes! It’s impressive what some people can run in.
Cons
Disney races are pricier than other races.
Early start time, which means an early wake-up time.
The “climbs” on the overpasses.
The dark segments of the course (only an issue if you start as early as I did).
Character repeats in the second half of the race.
Transportation delays/issues, if driving to Epcot.
For those of you who like the numbers, this is half #49 and my official time was 2:35:24. Next up for me is the Miami Half on Sunday, February 6th.
For more writings, sign up for my newsletter here. Weekly newsletter is intentionally created with reflection themes, running tips, and updates.
