With the Expedition Everest 5K starting at 10:00 pm on Thursday, March 31 in the Animal Kingdom parking lot, Disney has announced the Animal Kingdom will close at 7:30 pm that day.
This makes sense as the previously set 8:30 pm closure would make it harder to clear out the park for the runDisney event. It also makes sense given transportation from Disney Resorts to the race is starting that night 8:30 pm. The more Disney can clear out the park and the parking lot before the event, the better.
runDisney has posted the course maps for the upcoming Springtime Surprise race weekend, taking place March 31 to April 3, 2022 at Disney World. This will be the first runDisney event Elyssa and I have run since 2019, and we are super looking forward to it.
NOTE: At the time of posting, the full Weekend Event Guide has NOT been posted
Expedition Everest 5K
The 5K course takes place all at the Animal Kingdom. It starts in the parking lot, and you appear to run through the entrance about three-quarters of a mile into the race. Mile 3 has a long out and back along the water, so it will be interesting what Disney has for entertainment there. The 5K is also part “scavenger hunt”, so that could also help us get through that last mile, too.
Expedition Everest 5K Course Map 2022
Race for the Taste 10K
This 10K seems to cover the same ground as a lot of Disney 10Ks, but in a slightly reversed order. In the past, we’ve run into Epcot around Norway to finish with the run around World Showcase Lagoon and Crescent Lake. Here, we seem to get into Epcot about mile 3 (after looping the backside of the Land Pavilion) and the head to Crescent Lake before finishing with a run around World Showcase Lagoon and back to the front of the park. I figure the construction in the middle of the park forced this change.
Race for the Taste 10K Course Map 2022
Tower of Terror 10-Miler
This course has been getting the most coverage because it is the first runDisney course to go through Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land. Even setting that aside, I really like this course. You start pretty early in Epcot at just over mile 1, before going around World Showcase and then along Crescent Lake. The super narrow walkway between the Boardwalk and Studios takes place between miles 2 and 3 (instead of near the end of the race), so—hopefully—people can move through that more quickly while they still have early race adrenaline. Miles 4.5 to 8.5 will be the roughest part (similar to those miles after leaving the Magic Kingdom during Princess Race Weekend), so that is where Disney will need to step up the entertainment. Hopefully, having Spaceship Earth in view as you make the turn just about at mile 8 will be a good motivation for those last 2 miles.
Tower of Terror 10-Miler 2022 Course Map
NOTE: If you like this course, there were still registration spots available for the 10 miler at the time of posting.
I like to have this post on the site since I frequently reference when the various runDisney events are taking place. Below you’ll find upcoming 2022-2023 runDisney events that either (a) still have spots open for registration on the runDisney website or (b) have not had registration open yet.
2022 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend – February 24-27, 2022 (Only the half is available)
2022 runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend – March 31-April 3, 2022 (Both the 10K and the half are available, but the 5K and Challenge are sold out)
2022 Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend– November 3 – 6, 2022
Registration Date: March 22, 2022
2023 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend– January 4 – 8, 2023
Registration Date: April 19, 2022
2023 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend– February 23 – 26, 2023
Earlier today, runDisney announced the theme for its “Spring Surprise” race weekend (March 31 – April 3): Celebrate Yestermorrow. The event has 3 races that are themed around Disney attractions:
Expedition Everest 5K – a 10pm nighttime race and scavenger hunt on on Thursday, March 31
Race for the Taste 10K – a “Ratatouille”-inspired course Saturday morning, April 2
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler – 10 miles through Disney World on the morning of Sunday, April 3
There is also a Challenge that includes all three races (in the past, the “challenges” have normally involved just the Saturday and Sunday races.)
I admit, the “theme” seems a little lackluster, but the idea of a 3-race weekend WITH A NIGHTTIME RACE has me excited.
General registration opens on December 9th at 10am, Eastern.
Earlier today, Disney (via Marvel) announced that its 2019 runDisney “Virtual” races will be Marvel themed. Personally, I view “virtual” races as a little bit of a money grab (Elyssa and I are going to run 5Ks during those months, anyway, so why pay to be able to print out a “bib” to do it?), but if this is a chance for me to get a Captain America themed runDisney medal, I am ALL IN.
Of course, the announcement page doesn’t show any medals (just bibs), so we’ll have to wait a little longer to see what the medals look like.
John and I are done with our trip down to WDW for the Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon weekend, and I am the one putting together this Quick Hits post because John is driving (and blogging while driving is probably not that safe).
Here are some of the “new to us” items:
Small World Dress!
The Dress Shoppe @ Cherry Tree Lane. IT IS THE BEST AND I WANT ALL THE DRESSES! They aren’t free though, so I only bought one. I got the Small World pattern and love it. I tried a bunch of them on and they’re all really cute. I wish they’d had the Orange Bird one in stock. Cast Members said they’d been told much more stock would be coming in summer. Hopefully Disney recognizes the demand and we get even more patterns and styles.
BB-8 Meet & Greet. Droid please. He’s really cute and we thought this was a positive experience. One thing that’s different about the BB meet is you’re the only ones in the room with him; at most character meets, there’s a family or two behind you watching/waiting their turn. They brought us in to him alone. He’s a nicely attentive droid too – even though he doesn’t roll around, his head swivels and you can see him looking around based on where voices are coming from. The chirps are the cutest.
The Polite Pig. MEH. As North Carolinians, we have pretty high expectations for BBQ/southern food, so it’s a bit of a tough sell. The fast casual concept of ordering and then sitting down might be nice if they figure it out. When we went, they had clearly not ironed out the wrinkles in that system. When we initially got in the main line, which was pretty long and didn’t seem to be moving quickly, the CM handing out menus told us we could sit/order at the bar if we didn’t want to stand in line. So we went to the bar, where the lone bartender was clearly overwhelmed (both sides of the bar were almost at capacity). It took almost 10 minutes for us to even get water, but we stuck it out and ordered. I got mac & cheese and John got the brisket sandwich. John liked his sandwich okay. My mac & cheese just made me wish we’d gone to Homecomin. We both agreed that if we’d just gone to the bar at Homecomin, we could’ve gotten a better tasting meal in about the same amount of time though at a slightly higher cost. I don’t think we’ll really need to go here again, but it would be okay if sitting at the Homecomin bar is not an option for you.
Geyser Point. Beautiful views, not so beautiful food/service. When we sat, it took a while for a waitress to even acknowledge us. She gave us drink menus and seemed mad when we asked about food. Apparently, you are supposed to go over to the quick service counter (not clearly visible from the Geyser Point entrance) to get anything aside from 3-4 appetizer type things. Given that there’s a giant menu at the Geyser Point entrance showing all the options from the quick service counter, I’m sure lots of people walk in expecting those options. Yet, when we asked about them she huffed and acted like it was a giant hassle, so we just ordered drinks. John ended up just going over to the quick service counter to order some food. The food you get is definitely Disney quick service. That doesn’t mean it’s gross, but it’s replacement level. The food from Territory Lounge is much better. The views at Geyser Point are really pretty though, so I can see us getting some stuff from Territory to go and posting up at Geyser Point to eat it and enjoy their drink menu. *Note that you can only get food discounts (like AP) if you order directly from the quick service counter.
Bon Voyage Breakfast at Trattoria al Forno. What we had of the new menu was good – John had the King Triton breakfast calzone and enjoyed it. I had the Tower of Pancakes, which were thick and fluffy. Each table gets a skillet of breakfast pastries when they sit, and the pastries are themed to Rapunzel & Ariel (the two princesses you meet). Character interactions were solid. Flynn Ryder comes out first, then Rapunzel, Eric, and finally Ariel. While each character meets tables individually, the two couples do dance around the restaurant a little together, so if you’re in a good position, you could get a photo of Rapunzel with Flynn and Ariel with Eric, they just don’t come to your table together. Overall, the breakfast was fun, but it was a little bit of a bummer, because we really liked the old Trattoria breakfast. It was a great option to fuel before heading into International Gateway at World Showcase opening. Now, the breakfast is more expensive (because of the characters) and some of our favorite menu options are gone. We may end up at the Bon Voyage breakfast again, but not as often as we went to the old Trattoria breakfast.
Il Mulino. This restaurant is by no means new, but we’ve never been so this is new to us. The disclaimer is that the purpose of this dinner was to have a mild, carb-y dinner before Saturday’s 10k. If it were a normal meal, we may have ordered different things. The atmosphere was nothing to write home about. It was pretty enough, but there certainly aren’t any exciting views. The wine list looked nice, but we stuck to water like good little runners. We both ordered pasta dishes – I got a linguine in a “spicy” red sauce. It was not spicy, and I probably wouldn’t order it again. John got the pappardelle dish and really liked it. I can’t see us choosing this over Tutto Italia unless we’re staying in the Swan or Dolphin and simply don’t feel like going into Epcot.
Paddlefish. Food was pretty good and a decent value. We had the lobster corn dogs from the appetizer section and those were quite tasty. Everything else was fine too, but not significantly memorable. You won’t have any trouble getting a table and it’s certainly not the type of restaurant to rush you through your meal, so I think Paddlefish is a good option if you want a longer/lazier meal at Disney Springs. If you get a window seat you can wave to the Amphicars.
Tiffins. OMNOMNOMNOMNOM. Seriously lives up to the rave reviews we’ve seen elsewhere. We were there on the Rivers of Light dining package, which means we got more food than we probably would have otherwise. The package includes an appetizer, entree, and dessert for each person. To start, I got the octopus and John got the lobster soup. John’s summation of the soup is that it was good, but he prefers traditional lobster bisque. We both really liked the octopus. I could’ve eaten 3 or 4 of those. For entrees, I had the Waygu pasta dish, which was delicious, and John got the Waygu beef and short ribs. This is one place where you don’t have to worry so much about Disney overcooking – the beef was insanely tender and tasty. We both got the chocolate dessert because chocolate. It was so good and now I’m seriously craving another one. After dinner, the waiter brought our Rivers of Light tickets along with a GLOWING LOTUS FLOWER POPCORN BUCKET. It didn’t have any popcorn in it, but it only cost $1.50 to fill it at any of the popcorn stands. The only negative from Tiffins was that our waiter told us they were out of Kungaloosh. We were both shocked since they only have 3 beers on the menu, but John audibled and got the Tempting Tigress instead. When we went to Nomad almost immediately after Tiffins, John tried ordering the Kungaloosh again and it was available. Not sure if they got a new keg in or if our waiter was misinformed/playing a cruel joke.
Rivers of Light
Rivers of Light. I tweeted this, but I seriously don’t understand how people are unimpressed with this show. It was beautiful. Even though it was kind of windy and you could see where the water screens were rippling, it was delightful. The shadows during the preshow were entrancing and the glowing animals during the show itself made me so happy. The synchronized water effects were incredible. I also really liked the cast members on the boats dancing and contributing through the shadow puppets. I do think they need to make the narration louder or put in more speakers, because there were definitely parts that were difficult to hear, but overall I really enjoyed it. John definitely will not go this far, but now that Celebrate the Magic is gone, this is my favorite nighttime show. I’m not really a fireworks fan though, so you can take that with several salt grains.
Additional thoughts from the trip:
We watched our last Wishes. Here’s hoping that Happily Ever After is a suitable replacement.
Ample Hills being open to 11:00pm is a good thing. Frankly, it should be 24 hours, because duh.
Uniqlo has awesome deals and is a great option if you forgot to pack some essential piece of clothing.
The race expo was a little underwhelming compared to prior expos, and we may post more about the race stuff.
Territory Lounge has a new spicy watermelon margarita that I loved.
There is a dumb waitress at Sanaa who kept insisting she was bringing me the bread service sauce I was requesting, even though it was clearly the Tomato-Date Jam instead of the Red Chili Sambal. So I sat there with four of the WRONG sauce until another table’s waitress noticed and brought me the RIGHT sauce, explaining that they had been mislabeled, but she could tell the difference by looking at the sauces instead of the label (AS COULD ANYONE WITH EYES). Our waitress never apologized. She’s the worst. I was right. I’m not still bitter about this or anything.
Hey! Look! The site still works! This latest batch of (breakfast?) News Nuggets is a long time coming. I had grand desigins of posting it when I was down in Florida IN DECEMBER, but that slipped. Then, life got in the way, and an iOS beta broke my custom Workflows, and…well..its (still) February.
To try make this post (of over 8 weeks worth of Disney news) a little more timely, I’ve culled some of the original stories I was going to publish, as well modified some of commentary to reflect my experiences and other news I’ve heard about these items.
Of course, the biggest news item that hasn’t already been written about on the site is:
New Choza Tequila Coming to Epcot in 2017 at Walt Disney World Resort – Does “hand-crafted margaritas” mean they’ll be made when you order them or does “hand-crated” mean they’ll be made by hand and then put into huge jugs for days on end? (Of course, Elyssa will still want one when she walks by.)
2 month Rehab for Walt Disney World Railroad in early 2017. – The train is scheduled to be down from January 9 through March 2nd. That is a bummer during the day, but it makes that area kind of a ghost town for certain parades and evening shows.
Bus Stop Pizza Kiosks Now Have Breakfast – I don’t use the term “game changer” lightly…(I kid, I kid. “Game changer” means nothing with respect to theme park news these days.)
Crossroads plaza faces demolition for Disney-area road project – Interesting story, but it’s a long, long way from happening. The state will have to get right of way access to the area first, and I can’t imagine Crossroads and its tenants will go quietly.
Upcoming changes to Epcot entertainment acts – Kenny the Pirate runs down some of the upcoming (and now made) changes to Epcot entertainment. Disney seems to have decided to change these various acts a little more frequently over the past few years.
Entry bridge to Pandora – The World of Avatar now visible to guests – It’s probably just me, but it feels like they’re going to be able to open this place in time for the summer. (I’m also pretty sure I’m going to regret this post when it’s not open in September.) — I swear I wrote this in December, BEFORE the date was announced!
Star Wars: Galatic Nights Special Event starts April 14 at The Studios – Nicely timing to coincide with Star Wars Celebration (which is taking place that weekend). Personally, it sounds like the Magic Kingdom After Hours event would have more value than this $129 event will, but I’ll hold off final judgment until we get some more details.
Express Fresh Pilot to Being Feb. 7 at Contemporary and Yacht Club. – Interesting. A new “quick and casual” option for in-room dining. My fear, of course, is it’s going to be like those sandwiches that you see in the case at an airport (more “express”, than really “fresh”.)
Drinks coming to Paddlefish – I wonder what the craft beer from North Carolina is. Of course, it’s kind of silly for me to go to Disney World and have beer that I can get just as easily at home.
Okay, time for another break. This time, let’s look at this tribute to the late, great Carrie Fisher from The Studios:
Ms. Fisher will be missed, and (shockingly?) I was unable to come up with a way to segway back into the nuggets:
Braves Spring Training to Conclude at Walt Disney World – This is a bummer for me. I liked being able to see some spring training baseball when I was visiting Disney World. I guess I understand the Braves’ point that they are too far away from other spring training teams, but that doesn’t make it less of a bummer for me.
New Menu Items at Jiko – Since Elyssa and I have never been here, we really don’t have any favorites that might get pulled of the menu. That said, I figure Elyssa will still try to get a filet on top of a bed of mac-and-cheese if we do go.
runDisney has posted the dates for the late 2017 and early 2018 events (full list in the runDisney image, below.) Most race dates are pretty much what you would expect (it looks like Marathon weekend is settling right into that first full weekend in January slot instead of later in the month.) There are a couple of milestones, though, including the 25th annivesary of the Walt Disney World Marathon, and the 10th Anniversary of the Princess Half-Marathon, that you might want to consider (Maybe runDisney will give out a special medal?)
Through some recent discussions on the Mickey Milers Facebook group, it has come to our attention that runDisney no long provides deferrals for any of its races. (Previously, you could pay a nominal fee to defer a race a year into the future.) Even more disheartening, this was not a change that was broadcast by runDisney or even before registration for the races took place, but, instead, was something we found out about when of our fellow Mickey Miles team members was informed of this policy change when requesting a deferral because of upcoming brain surgery. Instead of allowing him to have a deferral to a future year, runDisney decided to make a “1 time exception” to the “no refunds” policy and provide our fellow team member with a Disney Gift Card in the amount of 1/2 of the funds he paid to register for his races (minus the registration fees that Active.com charges.) That’s right, instead of allowing a runner to defer to the future because he was having brain surgery, runDisney said he could have 1/2 of his money back, in the form of Disney credit.
Policy changes like this disappoint me, greatly. When Elyssa had her brain surgery a couple of years ago, runDisney was fantastic about deferring our race registrations at no cost to the following year. Knowing that race was coming up again was a huge part of what motivated Elyssa to learn to walk, and then run, again. Getting that deferral was such a pivotal moment, that I clearly remember the night I got off the phone with runDisney, walked into Elyssa’s hospital room (crying) and said “I just got off the phone with runDisney. We’re running the race next year. You and me. Whatever it takes.” It was about 2 days later that Elyssa took her first post-surgery steps, and about 5 days later that she first jogged around the hall. To hear that runDisney has decided to not offer this same benefit to someone who is a very active participant in the runDisney community is heartbreaking. It really feels like taking some of the magic away
Elyssa and I love participating in runDisney events. We’ll be running the Star Wars: Dark Side Challenge in April of next year, and are really looking forward to it. In fact, while we are participating in it, we’ll probably love it. That said, thinking about it now, it saddens me that runDisney’s policies are standing in the way of people having the same chance to “come back” from major surgery and injuries that Elyssa did. Frankly, I would have been devastated if runDisney told me what they’re telling people now. It’s so disappointing that I hardly even know how to express it.
Under runDisney’s new policy, I wouldn’t have had this moment. My princess finally completing her race.
