Today, I’m kicking off the first of many recaps for runDisney’s 2017 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend presented by Cigna, starting with the Expo! I have to admit: I hate shopping, but I do LOVE the Disney race expos. It’s not even that I buy a bunch of things, I just love the environment. I especially love the expos in Disneyland as they are easy to get to, a bit more intimate but have all the things I love.
First thing I couldn’t wait to see was if there would be the fancy carpet heading down to bib pickup. We have a tradition of getting our picture taken here, as well as rolling down the ramp, but at Tinker Bell Half Marathon in May, there was no carpet. Luckily, they had a beautiful new bright colorful Pixar themed emblem right at the top of the ramp! I was happy. (It’s the little things!) However due to the excessive heat and the fact our dresses were sticking to our bodies we decided not to roll down the hill.
As we headed toward bib pickup we just had to take pictures next to all of the beautiful banners. I just love how bright and colorful everything was. I was a little bummed Dumbo got kicked to the curb at first but now was happy with this change.
As we picked up our bibs there was no crowds or lines anywhere. It was a very relaxed vibe. I noticed they had plenty of water stations everywhere. Thank you for that runDisney! Any chance I got I made sure to hydrate. Also want to give a shout out to all of the “paid” volunteers. There was a bit of worry they would not have the same spirit or excitement as previous races now that they were paid, but everyone was SO NICE!!
And look! Once again, I got Corral A for the 5k, woo-HOO!!
We also had a nice little giveaway surprise with our packet, a Pixar luggage tag. I was really excited about this commemorative item. Will I put on my luggage? Working for an airline I see countless lost tags ripped off bags so not sure I’ll risk it.
Laura and I were also thrilled by the many runners who said hello throughout the weekend, after they recognized us from either the blog, our YouTube channel or podcast. What a lovely blessing!! They put the biggest smile on our faces and made all our hard work feel worthwhile. This gal, Adriana, is from Mexico! We’re international!
After that we headed back up the ramp and into the main expo building to get our race shirts and check out the many vendors. Since I forgot my sunglasses, I wanted to see if I could find any and one of the first places I went to had a pair. I’m so happy with this purchase. They’re stylish and never slid down my face despite the sweaty races that would follow. Laura got a pair as well and the inner middle school girls in us were excited to be “twinsies”.
Aren’t they cute?
We were strolling around and a young lady asked if we would like to audition for American Idol. Who me?!?! I couldn’t… oh, who am I kidding, HECK YEAH! Can we do a duet??? She said yes!!! So Laura and I got our chance to audition for American Idol! Of course we sang one of Joyful Miles’ favorite songs, “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips. Will we be the next Kelly Clarkson or William Hung?
We’re still waiting for Simon to call. Afterward, we stopped to get our traditional pic with Jeff Galloway.
We then stopped by the Sparkle Athletic booth since Laura won a free skirt from their photo contest in August!! Woohoo! We were a bit pressed for time since we had our Joyful Miles meetup at 5:00 at Trader Sam’s and it was approaching 4:00. Our final stop was the runDisney merchandise area.
I really liked the merchandise but have learned over time if I want to be able to afford these races I have to limit my purchases. I did get a couple magnets and a pin. Laura got some magnets and pins as well as a wine glass.
We really wanted to get a picture in front the the Pixar themed backdrop but we just didn’t have enough time to stand in the one line at the expo. But I feel in the end we did good with the plenty of photo opportunities provided, and we didn’t break the bank within two hours of being in California. This expo was a huge success!! Thanks again Rundisney!!
Coming up next is pictures from our very first Joyful Miles Meet-Up!
Until then, want to see more from our Expo antics? Check out the video recap Laura made for our YouTube Channel. Also, please subscribe if you’d like more video notifications! She has a ton coming soon.
We also talk about the Expo and Disneyland 5k on our Joyful Miles Podcast. Our chat about the Disneyland 10k and Half Marathon is coming soon!
Thanks for reading and as always, have a joyful day!
QOTD: Did you attend runDisney’s 2017 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend Expo? If so, please tell us how your experience was and what you purchased!
