This was my first ever Disney race, and I'm really happy I got to experience one. I do want to first say that I'm not a huge Disney fan. I have nothing against it, I'm just not super into Disney or Disney World. That said, the management of RunDisney events is incredible, everything flows smoothly and the way they move people around flawlessly is impressive. I had pretty high expectations because of how much every single person you talk to raves about these races, but to fully appreciate these events, you do need to be a Disney fan, so some of it was lost on me.

So, we stayed at a Disney resort, and I'm so glad we did. The ease of waking up in the morning (super early, 3am!), and having the resort shuttle take us directly to the starting area was a huge bonus. Disney volunteers direct you through the starting area, gear check, and to the start line. There is about a mile walk from the time you check gear until you get to your corral. I appreciated the time to warm up, but the long walk might throw people off if they weren't expecting it (good thing for BibRave reviews, ammmiiiright?). They do an awesome job of lining this walk with port-o-potties, seriously, there was hardly any lines because of how many port-o-potties there were!

The start is amazing! They have a huge pink start line and shoot off fireworks for every corral. The course was OK to me, you run on highways for the majority of the race, and only spend a small amount of time actually in the parks. Here is where I think being a Disney fan is key. I didn't care to take pics of characters on course (I was running for time), and while I did appreciate the attention to detail (mile markers with Disney Princesses on them!), the excitement was kind of lost on me.

The finish again is so well organized. You cross the finish line with Mickey and Minnie welcoming in the runners, are handed a medal, a box with food AND a string bag to put all your things in. I absolutely hate having to hold all the things at the finish, and Disney made all the post-race goodies so convenient by offering the bag. The post-race had live music and Disney princess characters to take pics with. We got on the shuttle pretty quickly after the race.

Overall, these races are run incredibly well. Every detail is thought out, and everything flows really easily, so that as a runner, you don't need to worry about anything. If you have the chance to run a RunDisney race, you must take it!