2018 Princess Half Marathon

[jdd]

My flight is tomorrow morning at 5:35, and I am so ready!

Mine too! You're not flying out of Pittsburgh by any chance???

 

[Bree]

Race merchandise, as usual, was ridiculously expensive. I can’t remember if it was the blue half sweatshirt or the purple FTC pullover, but one of them was $90!!! The quality of some of the clothing just wasn’t that good either. I managed to drop a lot of money in there anyway. I really liked the set up. Plenty of merchandise everywhere and spread out.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Here now. I feel like it’s not as bad as I expected. Feels very organized. Bib and shirt and preorder pick ups were painless. Merch is longest line. Been in line for about 25 minutes and it’s been moving quickly. Seems efficient.

 

[cavepig]

Good Luck Princess Runners, Have an enchanted time!

 

[Jengluck]

Hey hey! Not sure if it’ll be much help, but figured I’d give a heads up on expo!

Not sure when they changed it, but if you’re on a resort bus to the expo, they now drop off next to the Arena. Might not be a bad idea to hit up the Arena for official Disney merchandise from the get go or have someone stand in line while getting other stuff. I think I got here today around noon and did bibs/shirts first (no lines). But then I headed over to the Arena where they’ve sequestered all the Disney stuff! I’ve probably been in line for about 30 minutes to get in. They said maybe an hour more. I heard there was a long line to pay as well. Looks like there might be more though, so hopefully that means no early sellouts!

Also pretty warm in here, so definitely have some water on hand!

Quite a happy crowd that’s waiting though! The allure of the merch!

Happy running this weekend!

 

[Ariel484]

Good luck and have fun this weekend, princesses!

 

[mickeysmith]

Hey hey! Not sure if it’ll be much help, but figured I’d give a heads up on expo!

Not sure when they changed it, but if you’re on a resort bus to the expo, they now drop off next to the Arena. Might not be a bad idea to hit up the Arena for official Disney merchandise from the get go or have someone stand in line while getting other stuff. I think I got here today around noon and did bibs/shirts first (no lines). But then I headed over to the Arena where they’ve sequestered all the Disney stuff! I’ve probably been in line for about 30 minutes to get in. They said maybe an hour more. I heard there was a long line to pay as well. Looks like there might be more though, so hopefully that means no early sellouts!

Also pretty warm in here, so definitely have some water on hand!

Quite a happy crowd that’s waiting though! The allure of the merch!

Happy running this weekend!

First time doing the PHM weekend. Can my DH and DD go in the expo, or is it just for runners?

 

[kpooh]

First time doing the PHM weekend. Can my DH and DD go in the expo, or is it just for runners?

Anyone can go in the expo

 

[mickeysmith]

Anyone can go in the expo

Thank you!! I thought so, but then they would’ve killed me if I drug them for nothing!!

 

[mouseketeerwannabe]

The Race Retreat wrist band is really bothering me. I wish I could take it off and put it back on Sunday morning. Any suggestions? I’ve tried sliding it over my hand, but it’s too tight.

 

[heart goes boOm]

I’m so bummed! I had to rush through the expo and I still missed my FP for Frozen! Can anyone tell me who is the meet and greet in the Expo? I am contemplating going back

 

[Dis_Yoda]

The Race Retreat wrist band is really bothering me. I wish I could take it off and put it back on Sunday morning. Any suggestions? I’ve tried sliding it over my hand, but it’s too tight.

Foam Tape?

If you are in the Boardwalk Area - I have some you could try out.

 

[joan4mickey]

TO ALL THE 5K'ERS;
HAVE FUN IN THE MORNING!

 

[mouseketeerwannabe]

Foam Tape?

If you are in the Boardwalk Area - I have some you could try out.

Thanks for the offer. It was causing a rash, so I finally got it off. Will head back to the Expo before Sunday if I can’t get it back on.

 

[jaxonp]

Disney, please get new people in charge of Merchandise... the designs and quality sucks. Thanks in advance.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Good luck, runners! I’m living vicariously through your posts. I’m going to manage a Run Disney weekend eventually.

 

[pld5]

Mine too! You're not flying out of Pittsburgh by any chance???

I'm not the original poster, but I am flying out of Pittsburgh tomorrow on the 5:35 am Southwest flight. Plans are to land, grab a bite to eat at our resort (Poly) and then head to the Expo.

 

[dcrunner]

Somebody in my party lost their bib for tomorrow. Anyone have experience with this? Are we out of luck?

 

[Novatrix]

Expo report:

Got to the expo at 6:30 pm today, have to say I like the new disney merchandise set-up in the arena. There was quite a bit of traffic to get into wide world of sports (probably all the Floridians attending the expo after work), but there was no line to get into the disney merchandise area, basically got to walk right in.

I thought the Disney cast members were doing a good job of keeping the merchandise tidy and restocked. It looked like all of the magnets, cups, ornaments and pins were still in stock as of the time I left. All the princess weekend magic bands were gone, and most of the sizes of the annual pass holder princess weekend shirt, don't know if they'll be restocked. I did overhear a couple separate groups complaining that something was out of stock, so some of the shirt sizes may have been missing, but I did see more of the 5k "I did it" shirts were put out while I was in the area. It took 12 minutes to check-out, from getting into the line to leaving with my paid merchandise.

After disney merchandise, I went for bib pickup, followed by shirt pickup with no lines. Still in love with these shirts, Fairy Tale challenge was prettier in person as it's a darker purple than it appeared in the photo, but the Merida 10k shirt in particular has me on due to the dark emerald green color. Don't know if it's just my imagination, but the women's shirts for Princess weekend felt smaller than the women's shirts for Marathon and Wine and Dine weekends. I did see a lot of people waiting to exchange shirts, so make sure to check yours before you leave the expo!

Had a shake-out run tonight after getting back from the expo, and I'll personally take this weather over Marathon weekend any day. I admit to extreme bias against cold, as I have difficulty breathing, and my nose constantly runs when temperatures are in the 40 degrees Fahrenheit and below, and have been known to wear sweaters in 80 degree temperatures, so YMMV.

 

[Novatrix]

Somebody in my party lost their bib for tomorrow. Anyone have experience with this? Are we out of luck?

That really sucks.

Never had that happen, but try emailing rundisney ASAP, and make sure the member of your party who lost their bib gets to race start super early tomorrow with their photo ID. Have them speak to the people at the rundisney booth and see if they can help them out with a replacement bib. Best case scenario, someone turned in the lost bib and/or they can give the member of your party a replacement. Let us know how this turns out!