Planning to attend the rundisney wine and dine half marathon weekend ? Then this is everything you need to know to insure a delicious race weekend . I’m sharing everything I learned, how the weekend flows, what worked well for me and what I wish I’d known before the entire rundisney race weekend .
Hello from my couch as I recover from rundisney wine and dine and a few days of disney travel and fun. I’m writing this blog post as I recover from my second set of rundisney events ( I ran the princess 10k last year) .
A little recap: last year my friends and I signed up for my first ever Run Disney race. I trained for MONTHS, and ended up with a pulled muscle right BEFORE race weekend.
So, I ran. Yup, with an injury. I live in California, close to Disneyland and so there was also some decent travel and a time zone change to plan for when gearing up for my race weekend.
Plus, I’d never experienced an entire series of rundisney weekend events before. I learned a LOT, and now that I’m signed up for a whole season rundisney races……I feel like I’m a lot more equipped to plan for everything and to give some solid advice about what helps to make rundisney wine and dine weekend (or any race weekend) fun and easy!
rundisney wine and dine : everything you need to know
I’m going to break this down into a couple of sections. We’ll talk about plans before you arrive at the walt disney world resort (travel, hotel, race registration , theme park tickets ). Then we’ll talk about expo and getting your bib, race morning and what to plan AFTER you cross the finish line.
rundisney wine and dine : registration
Step one for any rundisney race including your rundisney wine and dine race? Registration. Now this is important, these races sell out FAST.
These are the run disney race registration dates for 2024 and 2025. Bookmark these dates and be prepared. Race registrations open at 7 am Disneyland time. You’ll want to be online and in the virtual queue before that time. If you are running under a 10:15 mile or so, you’ll also want to have your proof of time information (this determines your start group ). Be prepared to pay any registration fee in full. You can also prebuy certain special merchandise then as well.
If you aren’t able to register during the initial online time frame, a charity fundraising campaign bib is also a great option. Many of the rundisney races charity partners are able to provide bibs if you commit to their required fundraising minimum .
disney wine & dine planning : what to do BEFORE race weekend
There are a few things you’ll want to do before your race weekend. Once you’ve paid your registration fee and reserved your race spot, I’d suggest booking travel and hotel as soon as possible. Things do book up, it’s a busy weekend for Walt Disney World.
When to Arrive
In terms of arrival, you’ll want to arrive at the LATEST the morning BEFORE your race. Remember, you’ll need to head to the espn wide world of sports complex and the run disney expo to pick up your bib in person the day before your race. It must be picked up by you in person. Coming from the west coast, I always allow for extra travel time and fly in two days prior to my race. I arrive by evening, wake up the next day somewhat adjusted to the time change and I have the whole day to enjoy the expo. I get my bib, I shop for my race weekend spirit jersey and commemorative pins and I generally give myself time to rest up and prepare.
Where to Stay
For my last two races, I’ve stayed at the Swan and Dolphin Resort. I love that it’s a great price, close the race starts (at Epcot) and that it has buses to the starting line. In terms of morning transportation, the on property resorts, along with Swan and Dolphin and Shades of Green are the only hotels that have buses to the races. Your other options would be to rent a car or use an Uber / Lyft.
In my experience, Swan and Dolphin has been a wonderful option. In fact, it’s even visible from the 10k course….that’s how close it is!
Dining Reservations and Theme Park Tickets
The next thing to consider is what you’ll want to do and when surrounding your race. For ME? I learned a lot from my Princess race experience and planned differently this time around. This MAY be an unpopular approach, but I planned for LESS time in the theme parks surrounding my race.
On first day in Florida (expo day), I made a breakfast reservation for about 8 am. The goal was to get on Florida time and to hopefully be tired that evening. I met a friend and ate at BOMA at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and WOW do I recommend it. It was divine. After breakfast, I explored the property a bit and then headed to the Expo. I was at the fitness expo from about 11:30 am to about 2:30 or 3 pm. During that time I picked up my race bib, took photos, shopped and enjoyed the race energy. After that I went back to my hotel, took a walk, prepped all my race items and picked up dinner to eat around 5:00. I was in bed with MANY alarms set by 7 pm.
Day 2 was race day. It’s an EARLY morning. I was finished and back in my room by about 8 am. I slept and showered and then ordered room service for breakfast. This was LOVELY and a great way to relax a bit. Once I was up and ready, I did NOT go to the parks. Instead I did a little resort crawl. I went to the Polynesian for Dole Whip and went to see the gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian.
Then I monorailed to the Magic Kingdom, and took a boat to Fort Wilderness where I had dining reservations for the Hoop Dee Doo revue. It was so much fun (a super memorable disney dinner ), I highly recommend doing a 4 pm dining for it on race day. We were all starving and perfectly ready for a good night’s sleep after! It was honestly one of my favorite moments and memories from the trip.
The ONLY park day I bought a ticket for was Day 3 ( sunday morning ). I started at Magic Kingdom to take pictures with my finisher medal and then went to Epcot to check out the food and wine festival . I also had a ticket to the post race party that evening.
This schedule worked well for me.
Training and Running Gear
So you’ve registered for your wine and dine race (or any other run disney race). Now….you have to prepare to actually RUN the race! I promise, you really don’t have to be an experienced runner or athlete to love run disney races. They really are accessible to everyone and you get to chose your own approach . Run Disney has some GREAT training programs that are completely free to follow and super helpful. They have options for beginning and experienced runners. HIGHLY recommend using these. I also know plenty of people who walk the 5k or 10k or run / walk.
For me? Having the right gear and running accessories has made a huge difference in being comfortable. I definitely tried a LOT of different shoes, socks, headphones, chafing gels and more (I actually have a whole blog post that details ALL my favorite items for running and training) and I found some favs.
For me? Running shoes (love my nikes) , the right socks (shout out to my bombas running socks), anti chafing gel, and my favorite headphones were staples for every training run and on race day.
Race Day Morning
Ready???? Here we go! Regardless of race distance , the getting to the starting line experience will be the same for every race morning . The entrance to the race course will be inside one of the Epcot parking lots. You’ll take a shuttle (or drive) to the Epcot entrance where you will go through security and walk towards the starting corrals. The shuttles leave every Disney resort, as well as Swan and Dolphin.
If you want to bring anything with you (water bottle , change of clothes, sunscreen , headphones, hotel room key, etc) you’ll have the opportunity to gear check it all. At the rundisney health expo they will give you a special clear bag. This bag is the ONLY bag they will accept at gear check (which is close to the starting line and once you’ve gone through security). You’ll give it to the volunteers when you arrive, they’ll label it with bib numbers and when you return to the parking lot at the end of your race, you’ll have it returned to you.
In terms of timing, I would suggest leaving your hotel by 2:30 am at the latest if taking a shuttle. It takes a bit of time to get through security, bag check and into your corral. Plus, the closer you are to the front of your starting group, the sooner you’ll start. There are portapotties and restrooms available as well as food and drinks for sale. I personally bring a snack and eat it on the bus.
Weather can vary greatly (we lucked out and had lovely weather thank goodness). If you’d like to wear a jacket or layers until you cross the starting line…..you can. A ton of people wear old sweatshirts or jackets or bring mylar, then drop it at the start line. They are collected and donated to local charities that support those in need. You can drop clothing along the course as you warm up, but mylar must be dropped before the starting line.
During Your Race
This is the fun part!!! I promise!!! Characters and pacing (and water, first aid, and bathrooms). If you don’t have prior experience with run disney races…..this is important info!
Pacing is important in any race, including the rundisney wine and dine . The most important thing? No matter the race distance ? The balloon ladies are a visual representation of the pacing requirements and a reminder to keep it moving. The last people start any run disney race are these balloon ladies. You’ll know them because they have….. Disney balloons. They walk at a 16 minute mile pace consistently for the entire race. If they PASS you, you’ll be picked up off the course. Can you walk WITH them?
Absolutely. But if you see those balloon headed your way? Pick up the pace! I heard stories of people who waited in line for disney characters or restrooms and then got swept so……here are a few things I’d suggest:
If you are in a later starting group, I’d consider skipping the first few characters or restrooms if you can to put some space between you and the balloons. If you start earlier, it’s probably not something to be concerned about.
Characters
There will be multiple character stops along the route, and more when you get into the Parks (especially around the world showcase in Epcot) . There are lines, and cast members with signs at the back of them stating who is meeting and greeting. This is a nice little break from running. You’ll also see djs, musicians, bands , live entertainment and even a gospel choir to mark the last part of the last mile.
You can stop at the characters and a cast member will take your photo with them there is also photopass at each character. If character stops are a priority for you, then getting to the front of your corral is especially important so that you have as much time as you need (meaning get to the race as early as possible).
Bathrooms, Water and First Aid
Take care of your needs so that you can enjoy your race…..I can’t stress this enough! There are plenty of portapotties on the public parts of the race course (where you run on the highway) and regular park bathrooms during the in park parts of the race. The portapotties tend to have a longer line, whereas the park bathrooms are built for a lot of people….so if you CAN, they’re the best stop! There are a number of water stops (the event guide will show them on the course map that releases a week or so before the race) and first aid stations just in case you need them.
Race Photos
This was one of the questions I got the most after my race. Sign up for one of the memory maker packages in the My Disney Experience App. You can do one day for $75 and get ALLLLL your race photos. Your race bib has info on the back for how to access the photos. They’ll load into the My Disney Experience app pretty quickly!
I hope this guide to the rundisney wine and dine race was helpful!!! Let me know if you have any questions, and I hope that you have a delectable race weekend !
