Every Mile was Magic: The Disney Princess 10k and Half

As I’m sure most of you have seen on social media, I spent last weekend in Disney World for the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend!  I flew down and stayed with a friend from college, Jenny, and her roommate, Shelby. I was feeling crazy and ran both the Enchanted 10k on Saturday, and the Princess Half on Sunday, which comprises the Glass Slipper Challenge. Overall, I had an amazing weekend and am planning on doing the Princess Half every year I am able moving forward.

Day 1

I arrived on Thursday and took a cab to Jenny’s apartment. She was on her way to meet fellow Cast Member friends for dinner before work, so I went with her to Animal Kingdom, caught a bus to All Star Sports, and then caught the shuttle to the Expo at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports. The expo was insane. I arrived at 1pm and grabbed my bib and my shirts before heading to the commemorative merchandise pick up and grabbing the beautiful Dooney and Bourke Princess Half Large Zip Wallet my parents got for me.

From there, I headed to the Josten’s Center (anyone else feel like they just can’t escape those guys? From my high school class ring, to my sorority badge, to my college class ring, to my running. They’re all over the place!). It was packed. I got there at around 1:45pm, and there was already merchandise that was sold out. (The Glass Slipper Challenge leggings I wanted were long gone, for example.) I stopped and got a $23 mini bottle of sparkling rose because I’m an idiot, tossed it back (hope you got to witness that on my Instagram Story) and went shopping. I spent $224, and that was WITH the annual passholder discount that the cast member kindly provided me.

I ended up getting a Glass Slipper Challenge magnet, a Half Marathon sweatshirt, a Glass Slipper tank, an ornament, a Half Marathon medal pin, a Glass Slipper Challenge pin, a pair of Run, Princess Run sweatpants (in a medium. Smalls were already sold out), a half marathon hat, and a half marathon sweaty band. I think. I was tipsy so I basically learned what my purchases were after I got home. I passed up on the Tervis water bottle everyone went nuts over and sadly passed on the shot glass. The lesson from this? Don’t drunk shop.

After that craziness, I went to the Balega and Trigger Point booth to meet up with Wayne, a rep for Implus brands. As many of you know, I’m an ambassador for Balega, so I wanted to say hi. After assuring him I would return to get a photo the next day, I made a lap around the expo, bought some Run Gum (tastes awful, works VERY well) and headed up to a special Beauty and the Beast Display to get a bib photo!

After this, I went ahead and decided I needed a hard cider. Good choices, I know, but the cup was NEON PINK and said runDisney on it! Obvious need. After getting that, I sat in the upper level of the expo and vlogged to you guys while I killed time before dinner.

From there, I took a cab to Downtown Disney, now Disney Springs. I have to say, if you haven’t been to Disney Springs since the giant remodel, you HAVE to go. It’s basically what you get if Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island had a baby, and it’s beautiful. I made a couple of laps around there and got myself a Disney Princess Half Magic Band and phone case, shopped a bit for a souvenir for my parents, then headed to find food.

I had dinner at Raglan Road. I hadn’t heard of it, but I really, REALLY wanted a Shepherd’s Pie. The best part of doing Disney solo has to be the lack of waiting for things, including a seat at a restaurant. I snagged a seat outdoors at the bar and ordered a whiskey drink (I’m a genius, clearly) and a Shepherd’s Pie. Shortly after I had ordered, my Instagram request for food recommendations was being answered…by several people recommending the very restaurant I was at.

I chatted a bit with the bartender (whose wife was running the 10k the following day) and demolished my Shepherd’s Pie. Listen. If you go to Disney Springs, you have to go to Raglan Road and get their Shepherd’s Pie. It was the best I’ve ever had and I would order it a thousand times over. Highly recommend.

Day 2

Jenny was working at Hollywood Studios, so I went along! I got in the park and went straight to Rockin Roller Coaster. I waited about 40 minutes in the Single Rider line, but wasn’t too upset with it. From there, I hopped off and went straight to Tower of Terror, which had a much shorter wait. Seriously love the décor for that ride so much.

After getting my ride on, I watched the Imperial March and went looking for food. I don’t know Hollywood Studios nearly as well as I know the other three parks, and with the construction that was exacerbated. It took me a while before I finally stumbled upon the quick service restaurant by Star Tours and sat outside to eat while watching little kids fight Darth Vader across the way at the Star Wars area. Side note: I had an amazing Caprese Sandwich. You can eat fresh even at Disney!

From there, I headed to One Man’s Dream and watched the first 8 minutes of the new Beauty and the Beast remake. I watched it four times. It was amazing. It lets out right next to Star Wars Launch Bay, so I went next door to visit Jenny and meet Kylo Ren. Most intimidating character meet and greet ever. I highly recommend it. My mean mug looks hilarious because I was genuinely intimidated.

After that, I hit up the Great Movie Ride before getting lost on my way to Jenny’s car. Once I found her, we headed straight to the Expo so Jenny could get her bib for the Half. By the time we got there at about 4pm on Friday, most of the trendy, distinct, unique merchandise was sold out, including the Tervis water bottles, the sweatshirt I bought, my sweatpants, the ornament and my Glass Slipper tank. It was kind of incredible. I’m sure bits of it will be popping up on eBay in the coming weeks.

From there, Jenny and I went ot Disney Springs and got a snack before heading to Animal Kingdom 40 minutes before close to catch a ride on Dinosaur and Expedition Everest. If you haven’t done Expedition Everest at night, you really have to. It’s so so so cool. Especially when their hours expand, you really need to go do it. Add it to your Disney bucket list.

After that, we headed home to pass out before the 10k the next morning. Jenny was working at it, and I was running it.

Day 3: Enchanted 10k

Jenny had to get to a completely different area of Epcot than I did, so she drove separately and I took a Lyft. I got to the starting area around 4am with plenty of time to spare. I got my picture with my charity group before excessively stretching to make sure I didn’t hurt myself before my half the next day. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

After the race, I beat Jenny home and napped until noon, when we both got up and headed to Magic Kingdom for the afternoon. We hit up a few rides, I got a giant Mickey pretzel, and then we headed home for an early pasta dinner and bedtime!

Day 4: The Princess Half

Jenny, Shelby and I crawled out of bed extra early so Jenny and Shelby could be in the cast member photo at 4am. I went ahead and checked a bag with my sweatshirt in it, since Jenny and Shelby’s corrals were well after mine. The starting line was a HALF A MILE away from the staging area! So I wandered over and got set up in corral C.

The race was delayed a bit due to an elite runner being stuck in traffic. Once she made it, we were off.

This course was not easy. Not at all. There are a lot of man-made hills in Disney World and we ran what felt like all of them. It was intense and long and hot. Again, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

I was really in my head for this race. I walked a lot, which I was really upset about, and despite my fatigue from not running easy enough the day before, I was determined to hit my usual 2:09 time. Thankfully I did, but my body hurt like nothing I’ve felt after. I pulled my hoodie on and plopped down out of the wind to wait for Jenny and Shelby.

Once Jenny and Shelby crossed, we got our picture taken with Pocahontas and headed home. We all sat in an ice bath, still in race clothes, and laughed as we shivered. I’m not gonna lie. The ice bath worked. My soreness was nonexistent by Monday. After that, I laid down for a “one-hour nap” that turned into two, and then we headed to Epcot for lunch. After a delicious meal at Mexico, we ran to Spaceship Earth for a quick ride before heading back to Magic Kingdom for a few more rides, fireworks, and the projection show on the castle! I said goodbye to Disney by stopping at the Main Street Confectionary for some sweets and stopping into the Emporium for a new set of ears (which I get every trip). This trip, I got the Magic Kingdom 45th Anniversary ears.

Day 5

For my last day, I slept in a bit before we all got up to head to Siesta Key beach! It was a tame, relaxed afternoon in the sun. Again, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

From there, I headed straight to the airport and then home! Oliver was so happy to see me, as he always is, and we were both happy to get in bed and sleep.

And that’s my trip! Sorry for the long-winded play-by-play, but I hope you enjoyed it. I had such a good time, that I’ll be heading to LA for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon in May. See you there?

--B