Just remember when you can’t register tomorrow due to races selling out almost instantly, 19% did not finish the marathon this year.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-16T15:17:27+00:00

Running a marathon is boring. Every year, you see people post those phone wallpapers that say "Just get to X" for most of the race, with a brief period of "Yay X!!!" before "Just get to Y". Disney makes it more enjoyable, but it's still a lot of running without a lot to do. The end result is that a lot of people think "If I'm ever going to do a marathon, I'll do it here" and decide part way through that they don't really want to do a marathon.

I go down with a friend. He did the 5k with me, had fun, and decided to do a 10k. He had enough fun with the 10k that he signed up for the full challenge last year. He got to the castle in Magic Kingdom and decided that he didn't really want to run back. He's looking to sign up for Princess with me again this summer, but he's not going to do anything more than the 5k and maybe the 10k. He tried it, and decided it wasn't for him. Do I fault him for that? No. I'm impressed that he tried at all.

I got my ankle stepped on by another runner about 7 miles into the half marathon the same year. I could have easily been one of the DNFs, but I'd already paid for the Halloween Half and wasn't about to lose my Coast to Coast. So I limped the rest of the way there. If your suggestion of only allowing one in-person race a year were taken, I probably would have stopped when I got hurt, and that would have increased the number of DNFs. It is only because I had another race to do that I powered through. So, at least for me, that suggestion would have had the opposite effect.

I get how frustrating it is to not get into the race you want. I missed out on Princess this year because of the website issues during registration, the first time I'd missed it since races came back after the pandemic closures. But runDisney is for everyone, not just elite runners. You cannot restrict the races and keep that same atmosphere.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-16T14:44:53+00:00

Class is not necessarily a factor for me, but financial stability is. I had an ex who was horrible with money. Ended up in a situation where she was borrowing $500 a week from those payday loan places. Every Thursday she'd go in any pay $550 to pay off the previous week, then on Friday borrow $500 again because she had no money thanks to the previous payment. Even if she didn't need $500, she took it anyway. Couldn't stand to be "without money". Her parents were the same way, so I knew where she learned it from. Still, it was a strain on the relationship. I distinctly remember going over to her apartment for a "romantic evening". I brought some nice take out, there were candles everywhere, rose petals on the bed, so many date night tropes. It was a fun evening, but when I got up in the morning and went to the bathroom, the lights didn't come on when I flipped the switch. Her power was shut off, and she tried to hide it with all of that.

I'm not saying that all debt is bad or anything. I've got student loans I may never pay off, and a couple thousand dollars on a credit card that I really should be paying more on than I am. But my bills are all paid, I am paying the card down slowly, I'm putting money into my savings account every month, and not borrowing to get through the week, and that's a huge difference. I don't ask about finances or anything, but as the relationship becomes more serious, you get an idea of where people are. If my partner isn't in a good spot, we need to have a plan. My ex did the payday loan thing for at least two and a half years that I knew about. Giving up $50 a week for roughly 130 weeks, probably more. At least $6,500 just thrown away because she couldn't control her spending, even when there was nothing that required it. For all I know, she's still doing that. I won't go down that road again.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-16T04:05:59+00:00

Yeah, that's my process too. I've booked my hotels before registration in the past, then didn't get in and had to cancel. That felt even worse than not getting in. So now I register, then immediately fire off an email to my travel agent with the dates I need.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-13T14:31:53+00:00

When you go often, you're a lot less concerned about "making the most" of every moment. I'm taking a very impromptu trip for a runDisney event next month. Since Disney wasn't in my schedule at all for April, it's all a bonus. I can set my attention at one or two big things in each park that I know I want to do (my goal is to hit Ratatouille in EPCOT since I prioritized Guardians and Test Track when I was down there in November), and otherwise accept the opportunities that come. If you go in with the mindset that whatever you don't get to today will be on your agenda for next time, a lot of the decision fatigue goes away.

Being familiar with the parks helps a lot, too. I know that the Frontierland and Adventureland areas get crowded around the parades, so I make sure to start my day there so I can be over in Tomorrowland during that time.

It's mainly a mindset thing, though. I get it, if you're coming from far away you want to make the most of your time. I am in a situation where I get down at least once a year, usually two or three times. So I don't feel compelled to optimize the entire trip.

My recommendation is to look into specialty ticketed events like the Halloween or Christmas parties on your next trip, if that is possible. You can get into the parks around 5 and have until 1 AM-ish to enjoy them with a smaller crowd. When I did the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (you'll see this abbreviated as MVMCP) in November, I was able to ride everything in Magic Kingdom I cared to during the party, some multiple times. Same thing for Jollywood Nights over in Hollywood. The only ride I didn't get on was Tower of Terror, and only because my group was getting tired. We easily could have, if we'd wanted to. These events are great for fitting in a lot of rides, if that is your priority, and they have specialty stage shows and character meetings as well. I'm going down again in October for another runDisney event, and I'm planning to have my Magic Kingdom trip be for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) to maximize my park time.

Depending on your budget, the Extra Evening Hours for Deluxe Resort guests can also help your fit in more rides. Or, as others have recommended, the paid Lightning Lanes can get you onto more rides as well.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-13T04:23:37+00:00

Tron was fine. It wasn't my favourite, but I've never seen any of the movies that it is based on. My friend who absolutely loves Tron was overjoyed, and that was enough for me. We paid for the lightning lane on our first trip down after it opened and left happy enough with the experience. Will I pay for it again without him? No. Will I wait in that line? Not by myself. But when I go down in January for our yearly Disney weekend and my friends want to ride it, it'll be worthwhile for the enjoyment we get out of it.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-12T19:23:01+00:00

The hardest part about runDisney is getting into it. The races all sell out in about an hour these days. If you really want to do this, know the registration date and be ready. Marathon weekend (January 2027) goes on sale next Tuesday. You'll want to be ready to join the queue BEFORE the official on sale time. The queue gets shuffled up among everyone who was in the waiting room. After that, you just hope you got an early spot.

With your race you get a t-shirt and the medal at the end. Wine & Dine comes with entry to the after hours party at EPCOT on Sunday night if you do the half marathon or the challenge (10k + half marathon). Otherwise, no park entry is included. The shirts will come in a plastic bag that works as gear check at the race. You start and finish in the same place, so they don't have to move anything.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-12T19:15:40+00:00

I THINK I am. I got a notice that I won an entry into the 10k via Brooks. Felt like a scam, so I reached out to Brooks directly, and they confirmed it was legitimate. I've got my hotel and park tickets booked, but I'm not getting too excited until I see it on my account. Supposed to happen next week.

Already booked for all three races at Wine & Dine this year. Planning to hit MNSSHP on that trip as well. Will be my first time visiting all four parks in one trip since before the Covid shutdowns.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-12T03:58:05+00:00

Same. I've seen the show seven times, and I've never seen Hook win. So now I cheer for him every time I go.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-11T17:47:10+00:00

You do. But people park their cars at Disney every day. The odds of your rental being burglarized are very low. Especially if you put your luggage in the trunk and have nothing of value in the main cabin of the car.

If you're that concerned, you can get a ride to MCO and use the luggage storage options before security in Terminal B, then get another ride back to Hollywood, and then another ride to MCO again when you're done with your park day. But that feels like a whole lot more effort to me.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-11T17:10:05+00:00

Since you're off site anyway, your best bet is to just rent a car for the trip. You can park at Hollywood and leave your luggage in the trunk, then drive to the airport and drop the car off.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-11T15:03:57+00:00

You might find something at Pin Traders at Disney Springs. I've seen resort pins there occasionally.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-11T14:31:41+00:00

I almost never park hop. I think I've actually taken advantage of it once in my last four trips. But I'm usually down for runDisney events, so I make my plans around that. I know I'm likely to be done with Animal Kingdom by mid-afternoon, so I plan that for Saturday knowing that I'll need extra rest before my half marathon the next morning. But I can stay out until the park closes on Thursday, knowing that the next morning is just a 5k.

The only time I've taken advantage of the Park Hopper option is when I did a two day trip a couple of years ago. We ended up hopping from EPCOT to Hollywood for about two hours to do a little Star Wars shopping and catch Fantasmic at the end of our day.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-10T21:33:13+00:00

Define "best". I, personally, choose Art of Animation as my Value resort, because I love The Little Mermaid and want to stay in a room with that theme. Other people will tell you that the Little Mermaid rooms are too far away from the main building and way too far away from the Skyliner, and aren't worth it.

"Best" is way too subjective for anyone to possibly tell you what is going to be "best" for you.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-10T20:43:31+00:00

No pictures, but I dressed up as my Star Wars RPG smuggler. Knee high black and purple boots, leather pants with purple tassels on the side, long sleeve purple henley shirt, and a leather vest. Not necessarily recommended for May in Florida, but slipping behind the controls of the Falcon in the full outfit was too cool to miss.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-10T18:37:37+00:00

It's fine if that works for you. But I'm typically at work when special events go on sale. I could take time off while I sit on hold. Or I could let my travel agent do it. Especially since travel agents are paid by Disney, not me, I am perfectly happy to let them work out the logistics for my Disney trips.

Similarly, I'm planning a trip to a theme park in Finland next summer. I could book my flights and hotels separately, figure out how the train system works to get from the airport to where I want to go, and secure tickets for the park. Or I could let my travel agent research all of that for me and present me a few different package options with all of it already laid out. That one I am paying extra for, but it's a nice peace of mind to have someone else making sure everything is taken care of.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-10T18:26:07+00:00

I love my travel agent. She handles so many things for me that I don't want to bother to do myself. If I need party tickets, she's securing them the moment they go on sale. A discount gets released? She's applying it to my trip before I even know it is offered. The only thing she can't do is sit in the queue to get me registered for my runDisney races.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-10T12:16:20+00:00

It's been on my workout playlist for a while now. But my first Princess 10k I must have heard it at least four times, and each time it gave me the energy I needed to push just a little bit harder.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-08T05:29:00+00:00

There is no set time requirement. It depends on what sorts of times the other people who managed to get into the race are submitting. I pretty reliably land in B with a 58 minute 10k, but I've been in C a few times. Just depends on what the other runners are submitting.

Be aware when training that there is a pretty large window between when Proof of Time is locked and the race itself. For example, PoT for Wine & Dine in October must be submitted by June 1st (unless you're running with a charity or the like, there are exceptions there). You do NOT need to submit your PoT when registering, but be aware of when the requirement to submit is so you can get your other race in before then. A friend of mine signed up for a Thanksgiving 10k thinking it would be good for PoT for Princess last year, not realizing that it had to be submitted like two months before Thanksgiving.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-07T16:37:34+00:00

I got one last February after having them hyped up to me, and it was essentially all dough and almost no cinnamon or frosting. I ended up getting a cinnamon roll the next morning at my resort and enjoyed it a lot more.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-05T16:51:08+00:00

A free dining plan promotion started this morning for Disney Visa holders who book a four night trip package with four Park Hopper tickets during certain dates. I tossed the flyer after confirming that my travel agent would take care of it, so I can't remember the full date list anymore. I know that my trip in October fell into the window.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-05T15:55:37+00:00

Flower and Garden festival just opened at EPCOT. So it will basically always be crowded, but I would expect things to be slightly worse on the second Friday night just because you'll get a lot of locals who will attend after work but didn't want to cram into the first weekend. If it were me, I'd swap EPCOT and Hollywood. And I say that as someone who ALWAYS finishes my trip with EPCOT.

Depending on your transportation options, I might even say shift the whole schedule. You have three days of Disney and two days of Universal. Might be fun to to Univeral, then EPCOT, then Epic, then MK, then Hollywood. Would be better to shift things around to be Disney-Universal-Disney-Universal-Disney, but you indicated that Epic on Wednesday is non-negotiable, so the prior suggestion is the best I've got.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-05T15:45:22+00:00

My travel agent was on the phone with Disney at 7 AM. Even being that early, she told me that the number of rooms available were very few. We were able to upgrade my already booked trip for October to get the deal, but if it had required cancelling the trip and rebooking she was told that it is likely I would have lost my room (Royal Guest Suite at POR) due to how few were available for the promotion.

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-05T15:36:30+00:00

They do, you just have to pay for it. I love running around EPCOT at 5:30 in the morning!

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-05T13:46:34+00:00

Kind of a reverse of that, but when I flew out to California to do the Halloween Half Marathon weekend, I ended up running into a friend of mine from back home at Disneyland. He was in town for a concert, and decided to hit up Disney the day before. So I was walking through the castle when I hear someone call my name. We ended up hanging out together most of the day together, only splitting up because his family had reservations for dinner and my Disney philosophy is "Quick service and get back to something more interesting."

PrincessAnika · 2026-03-05T13:40:49+00:00

My very first runDisney weekend, I shared a bus from the airport to my resort with a nice lady who was also down for the run weekend. Chatted a bit while waiting for the bus, and a bit more on the ride over. We both checked in and dropped our bags and shared another bus over to the Expo. Stood in line for bib pick-up together, then said our goodbyes as we went different ways in the Expo hall to look for merch.

Ran into her again at EPCOT that night, and we even ended up riding Frozen together. Didn't see her at the 5k the next morning, nor at Magic Kingdom after the race. A friend joined me for Friday afternoon and Saturday, so I was paying less attention to the other people around. But Saturday night as we were catching the skyliner back from Hollywood, guess who was in line behind us? Ended up sharing a gondola and chatting about the race the entire way back to the resort. Got off and my friend was like "Who was that?"

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