Read the 2016 Princess Half Recap in this post! I’ll compare our experiences below and provide tips so your trip will be great!
Princess Half Route
First of all, the start line is about one mile from the gear check/ warm up area…. Yes, that means you walk a mile before the race even starts.
You should know that the course runs over lots of highways. Characters are placed all over to make the route a little more fun, but it’s not ALL Magic Kingdom and Epcot.
I LOVE running through Main Street USA in Magic Kingdom. With the crowds lined up on the sidewalks, you’ll feel like you’re in a local 5k with your family cheering you to the castle! The sunrise made the castle pink and gorgeous…. Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff wave to the runners from the back of the castle.
Random Tip: There are a million clean resort bathrooms throughout the Magic Kingdom route… don’t use a port-a-potty along the highway if you can wait!
One part of the race goes past the golf course, which was really pretty.
When you cross the finish line, someone gives you the medal, another person hands you a gatorade, and you get a nice little drawstring backpack (I use mine for the gym all year). You’ll also receive this great snack box with Oreos, chips, fruit, apple sauce and more. I was so hungry that I just sat down and ate the whole thing 🙂
Favorite Things
One of our friends from college also ran the Princess Half this year, so we me up with her and walked the mile to the start line together. Since she lives in CA, we plan on seeing her at the Tinker Bell Half too someday!
This year, we got photos with the characters and princes (shorter lines!), we were able to stop for the restroom without lines.
Ok this might be a weird “Favorite Thing” – but can we talk about how amazing the Portrait Mode is on the iPhone 7plus? Look at this photo!
Everything about this year’s race was better than our experience last year. We’re definitely planning to do more of these races in the future!
Review
This year, Stefanie and I worked extra hard to qualify for a better corral: this makes all the difference. We started the race earlier (last year we didn’t start until 6:30 when the race started at 5:30), and fewer people crowded the slim parts of the track.
An important fact about the race: if you’re in a back corral, you probably won’t have time to take pics with the characters. The lines are too long, and you’ll get swept by the balloon ladies… I’ve never seen these balloon ladies, but apparently everyone is afraid of them. We HIGHLY RECOMMEND running a local 10k to get a better proof of time. You can get towards the front of the race, take photos with the characters, and really enjoy the experience!
Because we ran the 10k the day before, we did have more blisters than last year.
I hope my tone was a little happier than last year. I really want to provide an honest experience, so people know what they’re getting into!
Check out this little video for an idea of race day!
