RunDisney Tower of Terror Expo, Pop Century and Splitsville

In previous runDisney races, there usually seems to be a theme surrounding the weekend. Marathon weekend was Africa. Princess was Carnival. This time it was Bowling. 

We ended up staying in the 1950s wing of The Pop Century Resort, which means our building was decorated with bowling pins, records, and transistor radios. It also means the bowling pin pool was right by our room. The one time, I really want to go swimming, I don't pack my suit! Boo. This was also the first time I've stayed on that side of the resort. It seemed really close to the main hall and transportation. 

After we settled into our room and ate in the hotel's food court, we headed over to the expo. Yes, you read that correctly. For the first time ever, I ate a meal before heading to an expo. 

It had just opened, and I almost wished we had waited. I knew it was going to be busy, even if it wasn't a "big" race, it was still a runDisney expo. Only the people wanting merch get there ASAP and as cute as it was (I loved the long sleeved tech I did it! shirt), I wasn't planning on buying any. 

We waited in line to get into the building and get our numbers, but by the time we had made a full loop of the expo floor, the lines were non-existent. The runDisney merch line was not that lucky. It wasn't the longest I've ever seen it (pales in comparison to Dumbo on one of the lighter days), but it was long enough for me not to stand in it for just the ToT 10 miler medal pin, which was the only must-have I wanted. 

I really like that Tower's expo is all in one place. The Bibs and the vendors were all on the same side of the complex. I get that they can't do that for marathon weekend, but it's still nice. The area was crowded in the beginning, but it never felt too crowded. It was a perfect space. 

We went back to the hotel to hang out for a bit and later headed to Downtown Disney for dinner. I really wanted to check out Splitsville and as luck would have it, we were seated right away! Since it was still a little early, the upstairs had just opened and we decided to sit up there. Best choice ever. It was quiet and intimate even as people were bowling around us. The bowling areas are split up into 4 or so lane areas scattered all around. It helps spread them out allowing for a bar area and smaller dining areas. As we ate, more people started to show up and I could see it being a very lively place to be as the night went on. 

The menu is pretty amazing, too. Sushi in a bowling alley? Don't judge it too hard, you might end up ordering it because it sounds delicious! Everything looked good to us and we couldn't decide so we went with a little bit of everything:

None of these things are anything like the other.

In retrospect, we should've just gotten a cheese or pepperoni pizza because the meat lovers was way too much! Surprisingly, I was a fan of the sushi roll (just wish there was more tempura in it) but my favorite was the french fries! Yum! 

Disclaimer: clearly, I'm not the poster child for best pre-race meals.

One of the walls by the kitchen

I really loved the details that went into the design for the space as well. Everything was well thought out and it just made my little designer heart so happy!

We were going to bowl a game, but by the time we finished eating, we were not in the mood to being doing anything the slightest bit active. We walked around downtown Disney- and by walked around, I mean back to our bus stop. It had already been a long travel day and we still had a bunch of action packed days to go!

What's your favorite thing to do at Downtown Disney?