Disney’s Fit for a Princess Expo | 2017 Princess Half Marathon Weekend

Time for another Princess Half Marathon Weekend recap! Today, I’m picking up with my Day 1 post by chatting about the runDisney Fit for a Princess Expo held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Center. Seeing as how we were still scarred from last year’s crazy long lines, (and there wasn’t any Disney merchandise we had to have,) we decided to go later in the afternoon on Thursday rather than first thing in the morning. Was this a good choice?

Oh my goodness. Yes, yes, yes!

Instead, the four of us, (Kelly, Stephanie, and Sarah,) headed to Animal Kingdom for a relaxing morning and early lunch. Our first stop was Expedition Everest, since the single rider line wait time wasn’t looking too bad. But on the way, we had to visit the Disney Vacation Club booth for now traditional #wherewildthingsareAK car photo!

Do not feed the wild women. Just don’t.

Afterward, we headed to Yak & Yeti for lunch. While I still miss the noodles, the beef teriyaki is fantastic! And the beer was quite nice, too.

Throughout the day, we also filmed scenes for a Happy, Happy Birthday Videostar video to send to our friend, Angie, who was celebrating that day! Let me tell you something about Videostar. They take much, much longer to finish than you think! We left Animal Kingdom thinking that we had accomplished a lot, only to discover we filmed 22 seconds of a three minute song. Oy.

Speaking of YouTube, be sure to check out my Disney’s Fit for a Princess Expo video and subscribe for video notifications!

What I haven’t finished yet, however, is the Shut Up and Dance video we started last year but never finished! (And Walk The Moon changed their music policy, but that’s a story for a different day.) That’s next on my list!

Now. Back to the recap.

Uber was our best friend that day. Since Animal Kingdom is near the ESPN Wide World of Sports Center, we grabbed one for $11.00 – totally worth it for being dropped off at the front. We soon met up with Shannon, another Princess Half veteran. And look! The banners were out this year! But did I get photos in front of them? Nooooo.

Doesn’t this always look so gorgeous against a blue sky?

Speaking of blue skies, the weather forecast for all three races was looking pretty spectacular! Humid, yes, but a welcome warm. It was so amazing not having to worry about what I was going to wear each day! Tanks and shorts were perfect.

We then ran into our friend, Michelle and her daughter. They ran the 5k with Shannon and Sara and wait until you see their adorable costumes!! [Hint: they dressed as Aurora and the three fairies. 🙂 ]

Now, usually we always head straight to the Disney Merchandise area in the Josten Building, but for some reason, we gravitated toward the Field House instead. None of us seemed in the mood to bust booty for merchandise this year!

After getting our bibs and race shirts, we headed upstairs since there were no characters out for photos, boo, hiss. Once again, I forgot to order a commemorative jacket and pins beforehand, but that ended up being okay. This year’s jacket was really pretty, but I have a closet full of them already and I had just ordered one for Dopey 2018!

The register line at the Field House runDisney merchandise area was pretty long, so it might have been a mistake buying our goodies there rather than Josten’s. Especially since they do not sell pins at the Field House and I’d only have to wait in line again. But eh, live and learn. We were relaxed and having fun, so we weren’t too worried about it!

I ended up getting magnets and this cute hurricane glass to go with my collection of wine glasses.

Besides the commemorative jacket, another thing I have not been purchasing for the last two years are the Dooney & Bourke bags. I did for my first three Princess Half Marathons with the intentions of making it a yearly tradition, but I didn’t love last year’s enough. This year’s was better but still. Heartstrings weren’t pulled. Money stayed in wallet.

And by the way, my apologies for the poor quality screenshots. I was so focused on taking great footage for a video recap that I didn’t take many pictures! Be sure to check it out by going to our YouTube channel, if only to see the goofiness we were up to here:

Next up, we finally headed over to Josten’s to check out the merchandise there.

There were a fair amount of people there, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I’ve seen it before! So far, I was very happy we decided to go later.

At the runDisney merchandise area, I bought a 5k and Glass Slipper Pin and the pretty pink I Did It shirt … which baffles me still considering I hardly wear tee-shirts and the previous ones I’ve purchased have gone unworn. Call it a weak moment. What I wish I would have bought instead is the cute Tervis Tumbler!

Afterward, we had to stop by the runDisney booth to gawk at the medals. I love spinners!!

And you can’t leave a runDisney expo without paying a visit to the wonderful Jeff Galloway! I absolutely love how he gives everyone his undivided attention, making them feel that they are they only thing that matters to him in that moment. This is why I always try to get my bib signed by him!

And have I mentioned fancy yet?

There certainly was a lot of fancy going on. I’m talking pretty cupcakes, gourmet cheese plates, and servers wearing tuxedos. You could definitely tell it was a women’s oriented, Princess weekend!

The pink Pommery bottles were quite lovely, but $23.00? No thanks. I’ll stick with beer. Our stop at the Children’s Network Hospital booth was a total blast, though! I gave my phone to the one gentleman working there, asking him to shoot video, and he had a blast with that, accusing me of flirting with his co-worker, (I didn’t,) and encouraging us to dance, (we did.) And I just love the photo! Our crowns look like cartoons.

Speaking of beer, our next stop was for a traditional souvenir pink cup of it before we headed to the Roo Sport booth. I’ve been thinking about trying their larger pouch for some time now – not for running necessarily, but for using around the house. Since I work from home, I’m always leaving my phone on my desk while running upstairs to switch laundry or go get the mail. That’s always when Bob or someone calls, so it’d be nice to have a way to easily carry my iPhone 7 Plus with me all the time.

Plus, I liked the way Roo Sports didn’t hesitate to replace Jackey’s pouch after she had some issues. Great customer service goes a long way for me and so far, I’m loving my new Roo SportPlus in black. I like the way I can easily slip my phone in without having to unzip anything or struggle to wedge it in. Plus the outer zipped pocket is great for lip balm and a pen, since I’m always misplacing mine! Glad I bought this.

And I’m glad I finally bought a Sparkle Athletic skirt in black. I’ve been eyeballing this one for a long time, since I love the heavier fabric, but I’ve never needed it for a costume. I already have the visor, though, so I finally broke down and got it!

By then, we were all shopped out plus I had some other gals from my runDisney 40 Plus Runners & Princesses group to meet at 3:00. I got a little misty when my friend, Angela, told me that Joyful Miles videos was the reason she started running! That just made my day. 🙂

One Uber ride later, we were at the Contemporary’s Bay Lake Towers, where eight of us gals, including Megan and her daughter, would stay until Monday. Far cry from All Stars! After calling for our luggage, (and some panic by me over fears they didn’t have it,) we headed back out for Hollywood Studios, where Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror and Star Tours were calling our names.

Thank goodness the other gals were on top of their Disney games. They knew about the Moana character meet at Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream attraction! She was so lovely!

We also got to see the dress Emma Watson wore in Beauty and the Beast! Swoon! How gorgeous is this??

The swoons didn’t end there. They were also showing previews of Beauty and the Beast in the theatre! We were treated to the entire version of Belle, driving my excitement over seeing the movie on March 16th sky high. I didn’t even mind the continuous promotion they did for the movie throughout the weekend!

Yes, I have already purchased our tickets.

And yes, I will be blogging about it immediately as well as doing a video review!

Can’t wait.

I also can’t wait to FINALLY watch the Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life episodes this weekend at the beach!!!

Wow, I’m really getting off topic here, aren’t I?

Anyway, after our running around had ended, we had dinner at 50’s Prime. Gotta admit. It’s not my favorite restaurant since there’s not much on the menu I like and it’s rare to have a waiter or waitress who does the nagging mom routine. But to my joy, I was able to get the kid’s salmon meal that was quite good! And somewhat healthy. Ish. Plus we also did get some cute pictures!

We then headed back to get ready for our early morning on Friday for the Princess 5k, the topic of my next recap! Be on the lookout for our expo haul video that is coming soon. And for more about my expo adventure, click here to see my YouTube video recap!

QOTD: What kind of goodies did you buy at runDisney’s Fit for a Princess Expo? Or if you weren’t there, how excited are you to see Beauty and the Beast??? 🙂

Thanks for reading and as always, have a joyful day!