Disneyland Half Marathon Expo

I experienced very little of the expo for The runDisney Disneyland races. The only good thing about having a later flight than everyone is you can send other people in with a list of things you want ;) HUGE shout out to Fred, Jaime and Ronda who all helped out! 

My bank account was very grateful for the amount of stuff I actually bought versus what I wanted to buy. I managed to get a Coast to Coast tech tee (even though I wasn't thrilled it's white) and some race branded Sweaty Bands, which seem to be working out well! 

ignore the mess it's holding back.

I don't know what it is about getting off of a plane in Disney, but I forget about common sense and just want to be there, on property as soon as possible. So, instead of chilling out, finding something to eat, or resting like a smart person who had just flown cross country, I threw my bags down and headed right back out the door. Did I learn nothing from Princess?! In my defense, I ate an energy bar, but I wasn't expecting the heat or the actual distance from our hotel to the expo (it looks so close on the map!). I had been following along on social media, so I knew what I was in for regarding mass hysteria (yet, another red flag I ignored), but I really thought it would be over by the time I got there. 

Definitely not the case. 

I took one look at the loop of lines outside the Disneyland Hotel and walked as quickly as possible to the nearest quick service restaurant to get some real food in me (shout out to the Disneyland Pool QSR! It was so delish, I ate there again the next day, when the line at Earl of Sandwich was out the door), where I had Karen and Fred meet me instead. If I didn't have to go into the expo to get my Park Hoppers and clear up a little mishap with my coast to coast status, trust me, I wouldn't have. 

After I had eaten, I returned to face the crowds, but was greeted by none! There was no crazy line, I just walked right in to the bib pickup and the vendor area. I still think I might have imagined it in a sun stroked hypoglycemic state, because there was nothing! I went upstairs by the merch and it was still a bid crazy at the runDisney booth, but everything else was manageable. It was literally a matter of under an hour that made all the difference. 

I did, however, wait in a very long line at Runner's Relations. I didn't have time to get a picture with the castle and Dumbo, I had to get to the cupcake meetup and Bacon Challenge Meetup!- but I made sure to go back after the 10k. I was finally at Disneyland and needed that coveted castle photo. 

Bacon!

The good news is I think women's cut race shirts might help the merch-madness that has become an epidemic at runDisney expos. Personally, I won't be that inclined to buy an extra race shirt if the official race shirt actually fits. However, I will still want a tech jacket since they didn't have one for the Dumbo Challenge- I'm looking at you, Glass Slipper Challenge. Here's hoping for a bit less crazy at the Marathon and Princess weekends! 

I've experienced crowds and crazy at many different race events, but nothing compares to runDisney. I highly recommend going on a full stomach and being fully mentally prepared for it.