Princess Weekend 2020

I'm so glad I checked this forum today. Seeing you all talk about flights reminded me to check and see if Southwest posted their flights through February. Scored a great deal for my flight! Glad to have that booked and done as well as hotel. Now for that pesky training part....lol

So, checked, and...crud. Looks like Southwest has axed the nonstop from San Jose to Orlando.

So, my options are to take a connecting flight and probably give up on the idea of hitting the expo on Thursday, or go up to San Francisco and fly Alaska or United. (Probably Alaska.)

After discussion, there's a chance my wife and younger son will join us for this trip, which adds some fun uncertainty to the plans.
 
Has anyone heard from @Keels Re: room block. dining booking day is coming around soon.
 
I'm sorry to sound so confused but I'm new to running and my goal is to run the 1/2 marathon. My question is, what's the difference between the WDW marathon and the Princess marathon? I didn't realize there were 2 different runs. Thanks for the clarification!
 
I'm sorry to sound so confused but I'm new to running and my goal is to run the 1/2 marathon. My question is, what's the difference between the WDW marathon and the Princess marathon? I didn't realize there were 2 different runs. Thanks for the clarification!

Different dates, themes, and race distances.
There are four race weekends at WDW - Marathon Weekend (January), Princess Weekend (February), Star Wars Weekend (April), and Wine and Dine Weekend (November).
Princess, Star Wars, and Wine and Dine each have a 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon.
Marathon Weekend has those three distances, plus a Marathon.
If your goal is the half (which is an awesome goal!!), all four weekends have one. Most of the halfs are on Sundays, with the marathon weekend half being on Saturday (because the full is on Sunday).

I hope that answers your question!
 


Different dates, themes, and race distances.
There are four race weekends at WDW - Marathon Weekend (January), Princess Weekend (February), Star Wars Weekend (April), and Wine and Dine Weekend (November).
Princess, Star Wars, and Wine and Dine each have a 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon.
Marathon Weekend has those three distances, plus a Marathon.
If your goal is the half (which is an awesome goal!!), all four weekends have one. Most of the halfs are on Sundays, with the marathon weekend half being on Saturday (because the full is on Sunday).

I hope that answers your question!
So if I'm not interested in doing the full marathon I shouldn't worry about the January weekend but the other weekends are good to go, correct? Do you prefer one over the other (not the marathon)?
 
So if I'm not interested in doing the full marathon I shouldn't worry about the January weekend but the other weekends are good to go, correct? Do you prefer one over the other (not the marathon)?

Marathon weekend in January has a half, you certainly wouldn't have to run the full. Wine and Dine has a cool after party in Epcot. None of the other weekends have that.

Keep in mind that you'll need to start training at least 12 weeks beforehand. It's a lot easier to train outside when the weather is nicer. Wine and Dine and Star Wars have a bit of an edge there.

Im not sure about popularity. It seems like some weekends may be more crowded than others. I would choose for the time of year you want to train or the theme you like best.
 
So if I'm not interested in doing the full marathon I shouldn't worry about the January weekend but the other weekends are good to go, correct? Do you prefer one over the other (not the marathon)?
Im not sure about popularity. It seems like some weekends may be more crowded than others. I would choose for the time of year you want to train or the theme you like best.

I'm going to second this.
For me, Princess and Star Wars are the best training weather/schedule, and of the two, I like the Princess theme better, which is why that's my preferred weekend. I did marathon weekend last year, and while it's a super fun weekend and I do recommend it (although I didn't do the half, so I can't speak to that particular course - I did 5k, 10k, marathon), having the end of training be in December is hard for me because I'm doing my longest runs when the days are the shortest. Figure out when you want to train and what theme appeals to you, and pick that weekend. There's no wrong answer - all of the race weekends are great.
 


So if I'm not interested in doing the full marathon I shouldn't worry about the January weekend but the other weekends are good to go, correct? Do you prefer one over the other (not the marathon)?

The half during marathon weekend and the princess half are the same course. You go from Epcot parking lot through the TTC, then to Magic Kingdom. You spend about a mile in MK, then head back to Epcot via the roads that go past the GF and the Poly. You run through just a sliver of Epcot and finish in the parking lot.

Star Wars and wine & dine halfs are the same course as each other. For these you start in the MK parking lot, go to the AK, then through a little bit of MGM (you enter at ToT and exit near the front of the park). Then you go to Epcot and run around the world showcase before finishing in the Epcot parking lot.

Marathon Weekend half/ princess half pros:
Weather in January is USUALLY better (although this hasn't necessarily been the case of late - marathon weekend can be cold and princess the last two years has been hot).
You run down main street and through MK (these are the only two halfs that do this - the marathon does this too).

Marathon Weekend half/ princess half cons:
Potential for weird weather (Jan and Feb in FL is unpredicable)
Lots of highway miles
Cone Alley

Star Wars and Wine & Dine pros:
You run through 3 different parks
Wine & Dine has the after party on Sunday
Wine and Dine is during the food and wine fest (great time to come)
Two unique themes

Star Wars and Wine & Dine cons:
April (Star Wars) in Florida is hot.
April (Star Wars) is crowded (spring break)

Hope this helps!
 
Has anyone heard from @Keels Re: room block. dining booking day is coming around soon.

I haven't heard anything beyond the initial email a few weeks ago, and I have emailed a couple of times but gotten no response at all. Not even a "I'm working my way through the list" response. IDK, I already have an existing hotel reservation, so I'm fine on that end, and everyone has said if I make ADRs I won't lose them if I switch hotel reservations, but I'm feeling a bit anxious about that part of it.
 
I haven't heard anything beyond the initial email a few weeks ago, and I have emailed a couple of times but gotten no response at all. Not even a "I'm working my way through the list" response. IDK, I already have an existing hotel reservation, so I'm fine on that end, and everyone has said if I make ADRs I won't lose them if I switch hotel reservations, but I'm feeling a bit anxious about that part of it.
Same here and I had cancelled my prior room res. I hope all is ok with her.
 
Yeah, I hope everything is OK! I'm just trying to be patient and trust that people have said the ADRs will transfer with a new hotel reservation cuz my window opens on Saturday.
The ADRs are 100% tied to your Disney expernice account only, not your hotel reservation. The only real difference between booking them without a hotel ressie or vacation package is that you can only do one day at a time instead of the length of your stay. Remember offsite people and locals can make ADRs without hotel rooms.
 
The ADRs are 100% tied to your Disney expernice account only, not your hotel reservation. The only real difference between booking them without a hotel ressie or vacation package is that you can only do one day at a time instead of the length of your stay. Remember offsite people and locals can make ADRs without hotel rooms.
Correct but I did get asked when I cancelled my room if I had any reservations for dining, bbb etc.
 
I did too!
(Although I don’t know why but it came to my junk mail so in case some of you don’t get it, try that!)
Thanks @Keels and thank you for your hard work!!! We really appreciate it!
 
I and hubs got emails today from keels. I guess we have our room held in master block so just need to pay up.
I did too!
(Although I don’t know why but it came to my junk mail so in case some of you don’t get it, try that!)
Thanks @Keels and thank you for your hard work!!! We really appreciate it!
Got mine as well!

I really appreciate y'all having your patience with this - I've said SO MANY not-so-Princess-y words in how this has all gone down, and it's really frustrated me with how Disney is staffing certain areas of their reservations division.

Like HELLO. I'm trying to guarantee you that an ENTIRE BUILDING at one of your resorts is booked in February. Little help here?
 
I really appreciate y'all having your patience with this - I've said SO MANY not-so-Princess-y words in how this has all gone down, and it's really frustrated me with how Disney is staffing certain areas of their reservations division.

Like HELLO. I'm trying to guarantee you that an ENTIRE BUILDING at one of your resorts is booked in February. Little help here?
Have you gotten room booked because I haven't received conf. number? I have no problem calling myself if that would be easier on you.
 
Can someone check my math?

I'm booking an ADR for Kona Cafe for after the 10K (macadamia nut pancakes - YUM!). If I'm running about a 13-14 minute mile and have a car (i.e. not relying on Disney transport), would a 9 a.m. ADR be reasonable - not rushing, but not having to kill a ton of time either?

Thanks!
 

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