• Orlando,
    Florida,
    United States
  • November
  • 3 miles/5K, 6 miles/10K, 13.1 miles/Half Marathon
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

Heather

Chicago, Illinois, United States
109 87
2016
"Mickey's Holiday 5k Fun!"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Heather 's thoughts:

We had a new name for the 5k this year - Mickey's Holiday 5k - along with a new day. The 5k was held on Friday, the 10k on Saturday, and the half marathon on Sunday. All morning races. The 5k ran through Animal Kingdom and the start and finish, though different lines/areas, were both in the parking lot. Race time began at 6:30am and I think maybe 5 minutes between each corral.

The expo was well organized as far as bib and shirt pickup. I will say that I was there on Thursday morning before opening to get a spot for the merchandise, and while the lines were organized and everyone was polite, when the doors opened, they failed to monitor the initial amount of people going inside. For the first 30 minutes you could barely move through the aisles, they were so jam packed. They started holding the line back and only letting a few in at a time, but I wish they had started that from the get go. It was very stressful and overwhelming. While most were nice and would pass back sizes or products, there were others just pushing through. I think starting from the beginning they need to only let a few folks in at a time (like they do in California - Tinker Bell was so well organized and controlled, the shopping experience was a breeze). The lines to checkout were long, but I feel they moved pretty quickly.

PROS:
+ runDisney transportation was easy to use for expo and the race. You had a 30 minute window for the 5k to get on the bus to be at the race to be in corrals by 5:30 (I think they ran from the resort hotels from 4:30–5am)
+ Medals for the 5k this year instead of medallions
+ I saw 4 character stops, but heard others saw 6. Lines generally moved pretty quickly.
+ Plenty of the PhotoPass photographers on course. You could then get your photos via Memory Maker or if you are an Annual Passholder, it comes with that (you had to enter the code on the back of your bib to link them up - easy to do).
+ It's really cool to run through Animal Kingdom while the sun is rising. Looked really awesome behind Expedition Everest.
+ While some parts of the course get narrow, mostly it's not too bad. Read why I gave the elevation and course scenery those scores in the Cons.
+ Post-race you receive a bottle of water, Gatorade, and the runner box filled with: tortilla chips, cheddar dipping sauce, dried cranberries, oreos, Clif Builder's bar, GoGO Squeez, and a wet wipe.
+ Pre- and post-race you had the opportunity to get your photo with Mickey and Minnie, though there were long lines and they had time limits (I think maybe stopped photos at 6am and then had to leave by 8:30 to get inside the park).
+ Clear course markings, mile markers, and clocks.
+ Volunteers/Cast Members are fantastic!
+ Transportation back to hotel went until 9am, which then the park is open so you can either go have some fun on the rides (if you have a ticket) or hop on the hotel buses if you miss the race transportation.

CONS:
- I wish the 5k shirt was tech material over cotton. It's the hard cotton, not that super soft material, so I'd just rather have a tech (I wear them all the time, even when not running)
- Corral placement seemed off. I feel that's people submitting finish times inaccurate with what they actually run, trying to get a better placement. We were towards the front of our corral (I went back to D with my mom), and at the start people were just walking. I'm fine with people that only walk, but they should have been in E, or at least the back of D. It was unfair that people were trying to run at the start line and couldn't.
- Elevation I gave a 2 just because there are some very minor inclines, but mainly it's for the fact that some of the pavement is uneven and you want to be careful of your footing. Not a big deal, but something to notice.
- Course scenery would get a 5 if we didn't have that out and back towards the end. Mainly it's just super congested and hard to run through the crowd since it's more narrow (I don't think they can do any other way for the course, so I get it, but still frustrating).

Even with a few cons, it's a race at Disney so it's really fun and mostly laid-back. I enjoyed myself despite getting caught in congestion at points... I expect it, especially if you start farther back and then stop for photos, you just get caught behind more walkers. This was my 5th year at Wine and Dine Weekend and I love it.

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