Race weekend Expo's are seriously my favorite! I've said it before, but I love the excitement in the air and the feeling of a new beginning...a new race...a new possibility...anything can happen!
For a full recap of our WDW Marathon Weekend experience, check out these links below:
- Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Expo & Vlog
- Walt Disney World 5K & Vlog
- Walt Disney World 10K & Vlog
- Kids Races (100 m Dash) & Vlog
- Walt Disney World Half Marathon & Vlog
- Walt Disney World Full Marathon & Vlog
The sun was beginning to set as we arrived and it made for a beautiful evening. Orlando was way colder than we expected, but it didn't phase us...we had some shopping to do! Well, and a few bibs to pick up. But mostly shopping.
First, we stopped by Champion Stadium to pick up Brayden's bib for the Kids Races.
I was shocked to see bib pick up for the kids races as well as several vendors in the alcove of Champion Stadium which meant they were OUTSIDE! I seriously felt bad for the ladies of Sparkle Athletic and Endure Jewelry but they were holding it up like champs!
The next stop was in the HP Field house for my Dopey Challenge bib!
This process was SUPER easy and smooth with zero lines which I was really happy about! In all, we had all of our bibs and shirts collected in under 15 minutes!
Up next was the runDisney merchandise floor. When we stepped out of the upper level of the Field House, I was VERY shocked to see the insanely long line just to enter the runDisney merchandise area! I honestly did not like the fact that the runDisney merchandise was split from the rest of the expo. Yes, it gave them plenty of room but I still didn't like it.
The line to get in here was about 30 minutes long, so we waited....
Once we arrived inside, we discovered that 90% of the Dopey merchandise was sold out. The next day, I went online to see what was available on Ebay and sure enough, I found the car magnet I wanted as well as a Dopey jacket for about a 50-75% markup. No thank you.
Despite the lack of Dopey merchandise, I was still able to purchase the Marathon Weekend Dooney I'd been eyeing as well as a Dopey Challenge "I Did It" shirt and a Marathon Weekend coffee mug. Thankfully, the Expo wasn't all a bust. Also, after the races were all said and done, shopDisney offered all of the marathon weekend jackets on their website with the word "Finisher" added to the bottom! You bet I jumped right on ordering a Dopey Finisher jacket! I was so excited to see these available as a Dopey jacket was one of the items on my "must have" list!
By the time we finished shopping and going through yet another long line to check out, it was really late and we needed to get back to Brayden and our friends.
On Friday morning after Brayden's kids race, I managed to wander into the Josten's Center to view the remainder of the Expo. Sadly, I only had about 5 minutes there, so I snapped these pictures then headed out.
Had I remembered the magnitude of this Expo, I would have scheduled our flight to arrive earlier in the day on Wednesday. Oh well.
Another fun thing to note is the weather advisory we were greeted with for this marathon weekend! You know what's funny? The last time I ran Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World (5 years ago for the 20th Anniversary of the Marathon), we also had a weather advisory but it was definitely on the far opposite end of the spectrum! That weekend (2013) was so beyond hot, it's not even funny!
After snagging a quick picture with the Dopey Challenge medal banner, it was time to say goodbye to the Expo!
We had a lot of fun but again, I wish we'd had more time to wander around and explore! Definitely next time!
Here's a look at the items I was able to purchase at the Expo....
The Disney Marathon Dooney was high on my list as well as a Marathon Weekend mug! I love this mug as it has all of the races listed on the back of it as well as each race distance!
A Dopey Challenge "I Did It" shirt was another item that was high on my list so I was happy to see these available and in a decent range of sizes, too!
Here's all of the race shirts from the weekend. I ordered "Ladies Large" and I love how all of the shirts fit except the 5K. Sadly, the 5K shirt is a generic unisex cotton t-shirt which I usually wear a medium. Had I realized while I was still at the Expo, I would have attempted to trade it out. Oh well! I'm still happy with them overall and I love how Mickey was on each medal/shirt this year because of the 25th Anniversary! So fun!!
Stay tuned for continued recaps and vlogs of our fun times at the 2018 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend!
That's so frustrating that so much of the merchandise was not only sold out but already up for sale on eBay by the time you got to the expo. I'm so happy that you were able to purchase a jacket after the race weekend though. A jacket is high on my shopping list for Princess weekend.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that so frustrating?! I'm super happy about the jacket as well! Thank you! :)
DeleteSorry there wasn't a lot of dopey merchandise left. Both times I ran the marathon I ordered the jacket a head of time, but when I saw them in person I was not impressed. I ended up getting just a run disney jacket and getting it embroidered later. Maybe you can do the same.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people pre-ordered the jacket this time too and it was just a generic Marathon Weekend jacket, not a Dopey Challenge one. Oh well! That's a great idea about embroidering one later! I actually found a jacket on shopDisney.com so I'm happy about it now! :)
DeleteGlad you were able to get some things, but it's always frustrating, knowing the eBay people can swoop in.
ReplyDeleteSo frustrating! I wish they weren't allowed in but oh well.
DeleteI love that Mickey is on all the shirts too. But I don't see him on the Dopey shirt. Where is he?
ReplyDeleteHe wasn't on Dopey because Dopey had his own anniversary this year...the 5th!
DeleteIt's hard with these bigger races - we have to go to Houston a day earlier than necessary, just to hit the expo in the first few hours, otherwise, all the official race merchandise is picked over and/or sold out. We learned that the hard way our first year. That said, you got some cute stuff!
ReplyDeleteYES Houston Expo can be a madhouse too!! Thank you! :)
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