11/23 COMPLETE! Course by Course, One By One...A 2016 Wine & Dine Half Marathon Trip Report!

[Ariel484]

Another wonderful trip report. It stinks that they really have taken the uniqueness of the W&D race away. I totally admit that I'm not a big fan of running at night, but I did like that this race weekend was different. I hope that this is temporary and related to all the construction changes and that maybe (MAYBE) they'll revert back. Of course, I really wish they'd bring back the Tower of Terror 10-miler. Please, runDisney, Please!!!

Thank you!

Yeah, I liked the night aspect a lot more than I expected to the first time I did the race. The atmosphere was just so different - now it's pretty much just like running Princess or the WDW Half.

YES I AGREE - PLEASE bring back ToT!! I need that medal!

I love all your medal pics and they are a really great looking group of medals this year. Your dinner at Yachtsman looks delicious. Now I'm hungry!!! Especially after also seeing that Nutella waffle thingy.

Thanks - makes me excited to try to take some good medal pictures in January! I saw the January medals at the expo...they are nice (huge!) but such a random assortment!

I recommend both Yachtsman and the Nutella waflle...yum!!

Onward and upward to January and your second Dopey. So glad you've got your running mojo back and that W&D really helped you to confirm that. I know it's been a tough year for you, but you've been smart and a real trooper about all of it and now that is starting to pay dividends for you.

Thanks my friend, I appreciate that. I know we will both be ready to rock those races in January!!

Great wrap up! The medal pictures are great!

Thank you!!

I love yachtsman! We opened our trip with it, and I'm heading there again in January. We were in a lot of places at around the same time Sunday and Monday, too funny (Epcot Sunday afternoon/ evening, muppets and waffle Monday). The MK was blessedly uncrowded Monday morning.

Ha, how funny! We probably just missed one another quite a few times.

I too came through IG around 8ish (maybe slightly before) and had no trouble getting a wristband. Bummer it was backed up. The after party was OK, but super crowded.

I must have passed by when it was at its most crowded!

I agree that the course was not great. I hope they tweak it for next year. I will probably do this one again though, since I love the combo factor with F&W festival.

You do bring up a good point - I did love being able to do BOTH a race and F&W in the same weekend, so Wine & Dine definitely has an advantage over other race weekends in that regard...

Seriously though, if they'd added a loop around the World Showcase, that would have been SO much better!

See you in January!

See ya!!

First and foremost ... congrats on finishing the half!! Such an awesome accomplishment, especially considering all of the struggles you've had this year. I'm so happy for you and proud of you!

Thank you, Sarah!! And thanks for being so encouraging all year long!

Also ... I discovered recently that the key to having a great runDisney race is having the right attitude, and I'm glad you realized that and were able to have that positive attitude for most of the race.

Yeah, totally true. I need to remember this going forward!

As always, I loved all of your character and park pictures. I'm super jealous of the Duck Tales one, especially because I missed that one in January (stupid rain during the 10K).
(Also ... thanks for getting the Duck Tales theme stuck in my head. After reading that part of the recap, I actually opened up iTunes to listen to it ... because of course I have it on my computer.)

You are welcome - I need to download that song, like, yesterday!

I love all of the medal pictures! That candid picture with Minnie looking at the medals really is great! And I love that you did wine pictures with the Wine & Dine medals!

Thanks! I really appreciated that the PhotoPass CMs took some candid pictures. I feel like they didn't used to do that as much.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the weekend. Back when I was first starting to get into runDisney, I thought Wine & Dine would be a bucket list race for me. From what I saw, it seemed like such a different energy than the other races, between the fact that it was a nighttime race, and the course, and the after party ... and the fact that it was just set up differently than other weekends. When they announced this year's changes, I kinda wasn't excited about it, and reading your recap ... it kinda just confirms how I was feeling. Maybe I'll do this race eventually, but ... it's no longer a bucket list race, it's just something I'll do if it fits into my schedule.

Yeah, I really liked when it was a Saturday night race. I would still stay until Monday so then I'd have a whole extra day on Sunday where I didn't do any races, so that was pretty nice. And the race being at night made it totally different, more like a party atmosphere. Now it's just very similar to the WDW and Princess half marathon!

I'm glad you did have a good weekend, though ... and it's awesome that you and Mr. A enjoyed running together!

We did! I thought it would be hard because he's naturally faster than I am, but it went well!

(Also ... less than a month and a half until Dopey (I think ... I can't count)!)

EEEEEEK!!!!

 

[CherieFran]

Great recap! Love your half outfit and all your happy running-through-Epcot pictures! Glad your calf pain didn't last too long.

I waited in one of those ridiculous wristband lines. I was killing time at that point to try to last until the party started, so I didn't mind too much, but if there was something else I had rather been doing I would have been annoyed.

I meant to check out the Muppets at MK and totally forgot! I tried the Nutella waffle for the first time on this trip, too! I thought it was super yummy but it was also my post-10K breakfast, so I was hungry!

 

[cavepig]

I know you are familiar with some of the issues I have been dealing with, too (which, hopefully you haven't had any problems lately?). Not fun!

Like you, pain comes and goes in my right side. I hadn't had any burning lower back pains in awhile till the other day. I'm dealing with plantar faciatis in my left foot, which is strange since most my issues are always my right side. I had pain for a month before wine & dine & during the trip and it's still there and after reading ZellyB's training journal I realized her pain mimicked mine, which is PF I guess. What sucks about injuries is when you can't pinpoint why or what caused it, which I'm sure you understand. Like if we could just go back to what led to it and undo it happening in the first place all would be merry again But after running for 20+ years I've just come to the conclusion, it will hurt, running isn't easy or everyone would do it

Glad your calf pain went away. Those banked roads on the overpasses can do a number on certain muscles so maybe it just got aggravated with the unevenness. Being a walking pirate is cool though

Our attempt at the after party didn't last long, we were so tired. To really get a lot out of it seems like a nap would be needed (which I just can't do) and come like at 10:30pm after it started as I read lines and crowds died down later. The lull clearing out day guests I knew would happen so just did medal pics to kill time, but some after party guests I overheard were upset since kiosks wouldn't open back up till 10.

advertising Dr. Strange parked on the route at one point

That bus made me laugh. Like at least throw a character with it or a dj or something.

We were going to sign up when it was night, but overall my body was probably happier it was morning & I do love the challenge aspect. Darkside 10k still lists Studios as a park we'll run through, so makes me wonder why they couldn't have worked this course through there somehow. At least you still had a great weekend and now on to Dopey!

 

[BigEeyore]

Yay you did it!!! Congratulations! I love how your attitude changed over the duration of the half. Your 10K pictures with your husband are amazing! And I love all of your medal photos. You have gotten very creative getting some cool medal pictures. Because we all know it's all about that bling!
As always, love your TR's and all your great outfits! Hoping you will do a TR for Dopey. I appreciate your honest reviews of the races, as well as dining and the parks. We all love our Disney, so it can be hard to be critical sometimes, but one of the reasons we love Disney is that they have so often exceeded our expectations in the past - so it's easy to be disappointed when an experience isn't amazing.
Keep running and writing! Thanks again!

 

[rteetz]

Awesome trip report as always! One day I'll do wine and dine just to say I did it.

You got some fantastic medal pictures this trip! I'm jealous, I'll have to try and get some good ones in January.

Can't believe Marathon Weekend is coming up on us so quick.

 

[Ariel484]

Great recap! Love your half outfit and all your happy running-through-Epcot pictures! Glad your calf pain didn't last too long.

Thanks! Me too...calf pain was super weird and hasn't returned so far.

I waited in one of those ridiculous wristband lines. I was killing time at that point to try to last until the party started, so I didn't mind too much, but if there was something else I had rather been doing I would have been annoyed.

Maybe I would have done the same thing if I wasn't completely ready for bed!!

I meant to check out the Muppets at MK and totally forgot! I tried the Nutella waffle for the first time on this trip, too! I thought it was super yummy but it was also my post-10K breakfast, so I was hungry!

We passed the Muppets a couple of times and stopped to watch for a minute or so - what we saw was funny, but we never made the time to stop and watch the whole thing. Next time!

Like you, pain comes and goes in my right side. I hadn't had any burning lower back pains in awhile till the other day. I'm dealing with plantar faciatis in my left foot, which is strange since most my issues are always my right side. I had pain for a month before wine & dine & during the trip and it's still there and after reading ZellyB's training journal I realized her pain mimicked mine, which is PF I guess. What sucks about injuries is when you can't pinpoint why or what caused it, which I'm sure you understand. Like if we could just go back to what led to it and undo it happening in the first place all would be merry again But after running for 20+ years I've just come to the conclusion, it will hurt, running isn't easy or everyone would do it

I still have the burning back pain maybe half of the time. It's getting old.

Yes, I totally understand the frustration about not being able to pinpoint why an injury happened. That's what makes me nervous about Dopey, etc. - like this could just come back at any time.

Glad your calf pain went away. Those banked roads on the overpasses can do a number on certain muscles so maybe it just got aggravated with the unevenness. Being a walking pirate is cool though

Me too! I hope it stays away!!

Our attempt at the after party didn't last long, we were so tired. To really get a lot out of it seems like a nap would be needed (which I just can't do) and come like at 10:30pm after it started as I read lines and crowds died down later. The lull clearing out day guests I knew would happen so just did medal pics to kill time, but some after party guests I overheard were upset since kiosks wouldn't open back up till 10.

Yeah, I slept after the race but any longer would have been too much, I know I would have been pretty groggy. I guess the after-party just isn't meant to be for me!

Sounds like they maybe have some kinks to work out for next year.

That bus made me laugh. Like at least throw a character with it or a dj or something.

Right? runDisney, I love you, but that was lame!

We were going to sign up when it was night, but overall my body was probably happier it was morning & I do love the challenge aspect. Darkside 10k still lists Studios as a park we'll run through, so makes me wonder why they couldn't have worked this course through there somehow. At least you still had a great weekend and now on to Dopey!

Yeah, I'm very curious to see what they do with the course in the future. I think they could have figured out SOME way to add in some more park time...but what do I know.

Yay you did it!!! Congratulations! I love how your attitude changed over the duration of the half. Your 10K pictures with your husband are amazing! And I love all of your medal photos. You have gotten very creative getting some cool medal pictures. Because we all know it's all about that bling!

Thank you! I love the 10K pictures so much. Even if I didn't get the pictures as part of my AP, I probably would have bought them just for those race pictures.

As always, love your TR's and all your great outfits! Hoping you will do a TR for Dopey. I appreciate your honest reviews of the races, as well as dining and the parks. We all love our Disney, so it can be hard to be critical sometimes, but one of the reasons we love Disney is that they have so often exceeded our expectations in the past - so it's easy to be disappointed when an experience isn't amazing.
Keep running and writing! Thanks again!

I'm sure I will do a TR for Dopey. Thanks so much for reading!

Awesome trip report as always! One day I'll do wine and dine just to say I did it.

You got some fantastic medal pictures this trip! I'm jealous, I'll have to try and get some good ones in January.

Can't believe Marathon Weekend is coming up on us so quick.

Thanks! I'm trying to come up with some good ideas for medal pictures for January, but I keep coming back to the ones everyone already does...which, maybe everyone does them because they're just good ideas!

I can't believe it's almost here, too...

 

[Sailormoon2]

Hurray for another successful race weekend and trip report. Well done!

 

[Ariel484]

Hurray for another successful race weekend and trip report. Well done!

Thanks!! Thanks for reading!

 

[emilyindisney]

My goodness, I blinked and I missed your whole report!!

I'm disappointed to hear that Tiffins was a flop. I was sort of intrigued to possibly try it but it sounds like we won't rush to get seated there.

The MEARS employees staffing the bus stops were awesome!! Our bus service had some delays as well but that lady was working her bum off to get another bus to show up. Kudos to them! Animal Kingdom looks awesome in the dark. Makes me giggle that they put the RoL floats on display and then acted like it was supposed to be all hush, hush. Thanks for sharing your photo! Of course, your InB kit looks great with the main mice!

We did breakfast at Garden Grille in April and I agree- the characters were much more rushed than they were at dinner. Oh well!

Fear not about eating on the ground- I spent a great deal of time eating off the top of trash cans which seems equally as classy

I totally agree with you about the list of 'extra' charges in the DVC rooms! I didn't remember that from our last rental but it blew my mind that charged for absolutely anything extra you could possibly want. It's not a huge deal, I suppose, but it still felt a little crazy to be charging $2 (or however much it was) for an extra bar of soap!

Interesting observations about the difference at the end of the 10k course! Great picture at Epcot with little Remy and your medals!

So, I'm embarassed to admit that I think I saw your on the half course (especially now that I see your InB outfit!) Of course, I got too bashful to try shouting your name- oh well! Glad you had a good race and really got that pick-me-up/affirmation for Dopey to boost your confidence!

Thanks for sharing your trip- you always write such great TRs! Less than one month until Marathon Weekend!

 

[Ariel484]

My goodness, I blinked and I missed your whole report!!

Once I get going on a TR, i decide I just want it DONE!

I'm disappointed to hear that Tiffins was a flop. I was sort of intrigued to possibly try it but it sounds like we won't rush to get seated there.

In reading about others' experiences, I do think that mine was not normal. I have a friend that went there that weekend and ordered the exact same dish, and she loved it! So i'm not sure if we have different tastes, or if I went on an off-night, or what. I'm still wary to go back at this point, though.

The MEARS employees staffing the bus stops were awesome!! Our bus service had some delays as well but that lady was working her bum off to get another bus to show up. Kudos to them! Animal Kingdom looks awesome in the dark. Makes me giggle that they put the RoL floats on display and then acted like it was supposed to be all hush, hush. Thanks for sharing your photo! Of course, your InB kit looks great with the main mice!

Our MEARS person was pretty great, too! We knew he was doing the best he could. I felt bad for him!

Yeah, the RoL thing was so funny! Like - here are the floats perfect lit, but don't take pictures! Okay? Turn the lights off or something!

We did breakfast at Garden Grille in April and I agree- the characters were much more rushed than they were at dinner. Oh well!

Yeah, such a contrast to dinner! I feel like from my experience at dinner there, and reading in other reports, there's a ton of character interaction. The difference between dinner and breakfast was striking in that regard. Still good and fun, but different!

Fear not about eating on the ground- I spent a great deal of time eating off the top of trash cans which seems equally as classy

I have also used the trash cans. #Classy

I totally agree with you about the list of 'extra' charges in the DVC rooms! I didn't remember that from our last rental but it blew my mind that charged for absolutely anything extra you could possibly want. It's not a huge deal, I suppose, but it still felt a little crazy to be charging $2 (or however much it was) for an extra bar of soap!

YES!! I don't understand! If I owned DVC I would be LIVID! Disney should give DVC owners whatever they want! It just seems so cheap!

Interesting observations about the difference at the end of the 10k course! Great picture at Epcot with little Remy and your medals!

Thanks! I love that one!

So, I'm embarassed to admit that I think I saw your on the half course (especially now that I see your InB outfit!) Of course, I got too bashful to try shouting your name- oh well! Glad you had a good race and really got that pick-me-up/affirmation for Dopey to boost your confidence!

Aw man! Maybe next time! I can understand though, I'd likely chicken out, too! (I have in the past when I have seen other DIS-ers!)

Thanks for sharing your trip- you always write such great TRs! Less than one month until Marathon Weekend!

Thanks for reading!! And EEEEEEEEEEEEEK...it's coming up so soon!!! Will you be there??

 

[emilyindisney]

YES!! I don't understand! If I owned DVC I would be LIVID! Disney should give DVC owners whatever they want! It just seems so cheap!

Thanks for reading!! And EEEEEEEEEEEEEK...it's coming up so soon!!! Will you be there??

I get that DVC is supposed to be home-y and they encourage people to bring their own stuff but I couldn't believe they even charged for extra towels! We ended up keeping the ones from the pool around for the week just to make extras. If I were an owner, I think I'd be put off by that as well!

Yep! I'm in for the 'just' the marathon this year I've only got two long runs left- can't believe it came up so quick!!

 

[momabaarjo]

How did I miss this trip report? Now to catch up!

 

[angryduck71]

Reading this late -- my friend and I are trying to decide whether to do Star Wars or Wine & Dine. (I'd probably only do the 5K -- MAYBE the 10K. She would probably do both.) Anyway, I think I read you have IT band issues -- that causes calf pain.

 

[Ariel484]

I get that DVC is supposed to be home-y and they encourage people to bring their own stuff but I couldn't believe they even charged for extra towels! We ended up keeping the ones from the pool around for the week just to make extras. If I were an owner, I think I'd be put off by that as well!

I know! It just seems to cheap to me - especially considering that DVC owners buy those contracts, pay monthly fees, etc. I'd be upset about that if I owned...I feel like Disney should be kissing the feet of DVC owners!

Yep! I'm in for the 'just' the marathon this year I've only got two long runs left- can't believe it came up so quick!!

How did it go?? Have you thawed out yet?

How did I miss this trip report? Now to catch up!

Reading this late -- my friend and I are trying to decide whether to do Star Wars or Wine & Dine. (I'd probably only do the 5K -- MAYBE the 10K. She would probably do both.) Anyway, I think I read you have IT band issues -- that causes calf pain.

I did like the Wine & Dine 10K a lot - hard to say what the 5K will be since it sounds like they are changing the theme and maybe even the course??

Weird - I have never had calf pain in conjunction with IT Band pain before but maybe that was it!

 

[angryduck71]

[QUOTE="

Weird - I have never had calf pain in conjunction with IT Band pain before but maybe that was it![/QUOTE]

I experienced this awful calf pain when I was in a tennis tournament. My trusty massage guy was kind enough to open up early on a Sunday morning to try to loosen it up before a final. He said, "you know, usually, if you have calf pain, it's really your IT band." Then, he messed with it and I HOWLED. I then after the tournament got treatment for the IT band. So, that's how I know about that.