The 2022 RunDisney Wine & Dine Half Marathon was an awesome race and I’m so excited to share about it with you! It was a new course, full of crazy weather, fun characters, and had an after party at Epcot. Keep reading for my 2022 Wine & Dine Half Marathon Race Report!
RunDisney Wine & Dine Expo
The RunDisney Expo this year took place again at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Hollywood Studios. For the first time this year, Disney decided to use a virtual queue for the Disney-branded RunDisney merchandise area for day 1 of the expo (Thursday), to help manage the crowds. In the past, crowds gathered on day 1, with lines for merchandise snaking around the ESPN grounds.
To join the virtual queue, you needed to be within 45 miles of ESPN Wide World of Sports. Select those in your party who wanted to shop, and at 7:30am on the dot you could join the virtual queue. From day 2 onwards it would go back to traditional standby.
During past expos since RunDisney made its return after COVID, I was unable to see the RunDisney merchandise area because standing in a long line with 2 small children was nearly impossible – my kids just don’t have the ability to wait in hours-long queues like that. I was happy with the decision to stick with a virtual queue for day 1, as it made our experience a lot better. I understand it was more difficult for those who were flying in or trying to fit an expo day around work schedules. I am sure Disney will continue to evaluate their procedures moving forward and adjust accordingly.
We were able to secure group 1 for the virtual queue, and we made our way over to ESPN, arriving shortly after opening. When we arrived, groups 1-14 could go in to shop. We parked the stroller and walked right in. We saw that they had taped the floor inside as if they were expecting a large queue, but thankfully nobody was waiting and we could just stroll right in and begin shopping. It wasn’t particularly crowded – definitely busy, but not impossible to see everything you wanted to see. There were plenty of checkout stands and even mobile checkout was available, so that wasn’t a concern either.
Next, we headed to bib pickup, which is in a separate building. For the first time ever, this had a queue outside! I believe there was a queue because people were waiting for their virtual queues to be called, and spent their time picking up their bibs instead. Thankfully it only took about 10 minutes. After picking up my bib, we went over to the third building to get my race shirt and check out the third party vendors. It was pretty busy here, and the Fit2Run store had their registers go down earlier in the day, so the checkout lines were long and slow.
Note for parents: strollers are not allowed inside any buildings, unless it has been red tagged to use as a wheelchair. Plan to carry your child and all your belongings like diaper bags, snacks, etc. Or take turns with another adult in your party!
Note for those with sensory sensitivities: these buildings are large, loud, and echo-y. There are lots of people, and with the exception of bib pickup, there isn’t a logical flow like there is with lines for Disney rides. It can be chaotic and confusing. Go in with a plan, and take a break if you need to!
Wine & Dine Half Marathon Parking & Corrals
This year, my dad and I only did the half marathon. Since we are local, we drove ourselves in, instead of taking resort buses. The course differed this year from previous years (more on that later), so parking was at the Epcot parking lot. We ended up staying in the right lane, which was a mistake – we parked just fine but it was a hassle to leave (more on that later, after the race). We come in from the western side of Disney, passing by Coronado Springs Resort. We weren’t affected by road closures as we left home around 3:15am or so, and road closures began at 4am. We made it with plenty of time to spare. I always recommend arriving early – you can always sit in your car, hang around the corrals, etc. It’s a much calmer way to start your day than panicked in traffic!
The walk to the corrals was a couple miles, at the most. I didn’t clock it but it was the same as the half marathon during the WDW Marathon Weekend in January. On the way, we passed through Epcot security, past the main entrance of Epcot, and into the pre-race area where you could check your gear, grab some food to eat, and hang out with other runners and family before heading out to your corral. The Epcot bathrooms near the entrance to the park were open (real bathrooms!) and there were also plenty of port-a-potties. There were some food trucks with food and coffee available for purchase.
My dad and I didn’t have any gear to check, so we walked straight to our corral to wait for the race to start. My dad was assigned corral C & I was assigned corral D – neither of us submitted proof of time (we had proof of time from the January WDW Half Marathon but forgot to submit!) but my dad chose to fall back to my corral. You can always move back a corral, but you can’t move forward.
I wasn’t feeling all that great, so I forced myself to eat my bagel with cream cheese and I followed it up with some beef jerky, washing it all down with some sips of water. Eventually the dizziness & nausea passed and I was ready to roll!
The corral didn’t seem any more or less crowded than previous years, but it did start raining off and on – it was pretty humid out and was forecast to be hot and humid by the end of the race. It wasn’t raining hard and I was thankful for a bit of rain to cool us off a little bit.
We saw early in the morning that the conditions were at “yellow flag” meaning there was some concern about heat & humidity, so once the corrals started being released they were moving what seemed like more quickly than normal! Pretty soon, it was our turn.
Race Start & First Few Miles
The first corrals to go are wheelchair athletes, elite runners, then moving on alphabetically through the corrals. Since RunDisney made its return post-COVID, there are “mini waves” in each of the corrals, instead of releasing one big corral at a time. The spacing between the mini waves felt closer together to me – I think they wanted to get people out on the course ASAP due to concerns about the heat later in the day.
There was a saxophonist who played the national anthem, then the first athletes were out! With each group of runners, a small burst of fireworks went off. The race announcers did a great job of keeping everyone entertained and pumped up with music and commentary. During this entire time it was raining off and on, so I didn’t take my phone out to take many pictures!
I had my Nike Run Club app ready to go so I could time our run, and my data shows us beginning the race at 5:34am. I remember my dad noted the first runners went out just before 5am (race scheduled to start at 5am on the dot). We weren’t the first wave of corral D to go, so I do believe they sent out runners faster than normal.
We were at the very end of a wave of runners, so I didn’t feel pressured to keep up with everyone. I could run my 90/45 intervals just fine, without fear of stopping right in front of a faster runner or cutting someone off. It was still pretty dark, and raining off and on, plus I was settling into the race. It felt good to be able to just run my own pace for this stretch, despite the off and on rain (which felt good!).
Eventually we made it to the Epcot parking entrance, where the rain really started coming down. A lot of people were walking through this portion. My dad and I kept doing my intervals, and I felt pretty good. I really wanted to get into the park so I could get into a bathroom and grab a paper towel to wipe my face, as I kept getting a combination of rainwater and sweat in my eyes. The course had us running through part of the Epcot parking lot where there were a lot of spectators braving the rain with encouraging signs and cheers. Even though I didn’t know these people it was nice to see some folks cheering for us. Soon enough we were backstage underneath/behind Test Track, entering World Showcase near Mexico! This was right around where the 5k timing mat was – our 5k time was clocked at 42:04. Not bad given the rain and having to dodge all the walkers.
Running Epcot & Hollywood Studios
The run through World Showcase went really fast! We did have to dodge quite a few walkers again, but we enjoyed the views of World Showcase Lagoon, and Spaceship Earth off in the distance. The country pavilions were lit up, too, which was a nice surprise! The first bathroom in the park was over near Germany, but the line was out the door (there aren’t many stalls in there) so instead we stopped for a quick picture with Spaceship Earth in the background and kept running for the America bathrooms, which are much larger! There was no wait there, and we were in and out super fast after a quick bathroom stop and a chance to wipe the rainwater off my face.
We saw a lot of photographers in the park here, but unfortunately almost every time, other runners either jumped in front of us or stopped right in front of us, so we didn’t get great pictures from inside Epcot. PhotoPass photographers are along the course, but they are only inside the parks and at the finish line – sometimes they will be with character photo stops, too.
We continued running World Showcase, heading backstage behind France for a quick jaunt, then heading back onstage. We crossed the bridge between the UK and France and headed backstage again behind the UK. We made a turn towards the Skyliner station and then it was time to run around the Boardwalk. This was a fun stretch because there were hotel guests and a few Cast Members out there cheering us on!
We turned the corner towards Hollywood Studios, and this portion of the course got incredibly narrow, with room for only about 4 runners across. For some reason, a water stop was placed along this section of the course, making it even more of a slowdown. It was very difficult to keep up with my intervals, as the course became so crowded. However, runners were being very polite about staying to the right if you were a walker or slow runner. There was one gentleman who was yelling “walkers to the right!” but everyone was already abiding by that – there were just too many people for him to run his pace and he was frustrated. There was also a Galloway pace group in this section, and they clogged up the course quite a bit.
Thankfully this stretch wasn’t very long and once we hit the Hollywood Studios entry area, it opened up a lot. By this point, my left shoulder was giving me some trouble. My dad had some ibuprofen on him so I took a couple and kept running. We entered Hollywood Studios on the right side, and made a sharp left so we could run down Hollywood Boulevard before making a left towards Echo Lake. We passed by the Indiana Jones show, Vacation Fun with Mickey, Star Tours, and Muppet Vision 3D before heading into Galaxy’s Edge. The 10k timing mat was here, and our time was clocked at 1:28:19. There were lots of photographers in Hollywood Studios so we got great pictures here!
Life is a Highway
We finished up Hollywood Studios by running through Toy Story Land, towards Tower of Terror, and around the upper level of seating at the Fantasmic theater before exiting backstage and onto highway. We ran a short distance on Buena Vista Drive towards Blizzard Beach before making a left onto World Drive, and this was pretty much a straight out & back that I was absolutely dreading, but it wasn’t bad at all and went by really fast. We ran by runners on the other side who were already heading back, so we could see their costumes, and there was entertainment on the other side of the course. We eventually passed under Buena Vista Drive and continued to head up World Drive past the Swan & Dolphin resorts on the right side, near where we’d be turning to Epcot if we were driving there ourselves.
We then made a sharp left between miles 9 and 10 up an onramp. This was difficult on the ankles and at this point it was pretty warm and humid, but thankfully we were surrounded by trees so it stayed shady and not as hot as if we were in the blazing sunlight. As soon as we rounded the corner, by mile 10, we were running into direct sunlight though, with no trees to shade us from the relentless sun.
Miles 10-11.5 were the hardest for me – I upped my water intake & Powerade intake, as I was sweating profusely in the weather conditions. Unfortunately all the liquid in my stomach didn’t sit well and I was starting to feel nauseated. I had to slow it down quite a bit and I walked a couple of intervals and ended up switching from 90/45 to 45/90 around mile 12. We also saw a firetruck and ambulance rushing towards the race course somewhere behind us. We’re not sure what happened but we did see a lot of people struggling with the weather, so we are assuming it was weather-related.
Return to Epcot & The Finish Line
Around mile 11.5 we started to return to Epcot, entering the park on the right side behind the Seas pavilion. We went by the resort bus stop area, so there were a lot of guests/spectators watching us and cheering us on. That was a big morale boost at this stage of the race. We continued backstage through Epcot behind the Seas, and the Land, coming back onstage near the restrooms next to the Imagination pavilion. Here we did our one and only character stop – they had a giant Figment statue out. Figment is one of my favorite characters so I had to stop and get a picture with him. There were less than 10 people in line so we decided to stop and the line moved fast!
We ran past the site of the former Starbucks, towards World Showcase before heading back to Spaceship Earth. By this point, it was around 8:25am and they had already let in resort guests who had early entry, so we saw some very confused-looking guests in this area. We ran towards the Creations Shop and saw Jeff Galloway over there, right around mile 12.5.
We exited the park between Mission: Space and Test Track, just on the other side from where we entered at the beginning of the race, and we rounded the corner to see a gospel choir singing for us (one of my favorite parts of WDW races!). We saw mile marker 13 and we slowly jogged it in to the finish line! We crossed the finish line together and thankfully there were lots of photographers so we got awesome pics! Our net time was 3:04:38.
Post-Race Goodies & Getting Back Home
We kept walking through the chute to get our medals, cooling towels (which were soaking wet, they felt so good!), water bottles, Powerade, bananas, and snack boxes. Since we didn’t check gear, we kept walking til we could find a place to sit down on the ground and regroup before getting in one of the lines to take a picture with the RunDisney backdrop. The line was a little long but took less than 10 minutes.
We then started our long walk back to the car – it was maybe a 15-20 minute walk back. Then we sat in the car… for 40 long minutes… in a huge traffic jam… waiting to get out of the Epcot parking lot.
Remember earlier on I mentioned that staying to the right when we parked first thing in the morning was a mistake? This put us in the Discover Lot, which all funnels down to 2 lanes, then to one, then back to 2, as you exit. However, it stayed at just one lane as the other was closed due to it being part of the course. The parking lines to leave just were not moving. In the first 20 minutes of our 40 minutes of sitting in the parking lot, all we did was pull out of our parking space. It took forever.
In the morning, had we stayed to the left, we would have been on the other side of the parking lot, and perhaps had a better chance at leaving the parking lot early. Thankfully, we made it home in time to shower, change, and rest for about 10 minutes before our lunch reservations at Terralina Crafted Italian at Disney Springs. I enjoyed the breakfast pizza (only available on the weekend brunch menu) and a delicious Diet Coke. Afterwards, my family and I headed to Magic Kingdom for a couple hours. We went back home for dinner, then I went to the post-race party at Epcot.
Wine & Dine Post-Race Party
If you’re a half marathon/challenge runner, your race entry includes tickets to an after-hours party at Epcot! You can enter the park as early as 5pm with your ticket, and the party officially lasts from 10pm-1am. I arrived around 7:30pm and met up with my dad. We had dinner at Les Halles Boulangerie in the France pavilion (highly recommend the Pissaladiere – at $5 it’s essentially a mini-pizza!) and watched the Impressions de France show. Next, we headed to Living with the Land, which was a walk-on.
By the time we got off the ride, shortly after 9pm, the park was officially closed. The party didn’t start until 10pm and it was unclear whether party guests would be allowed to get on rides, but we walked over to Soarin’, showed our wristbands, and were allowed to board with no wait!
After Soarin’, my dad decided to head home so I was on my own. I checked out the event guide to see what characters would be around, and saw that friends of Snow White would be greeting over at the Germany pavilion. Being a huge Snow White fan I decided to make my way over there around 9:20pm, even though characters wouldn’t come out until 10pm. I didn’t want to be stuck in a long line.
On my way over, I walked past the line for Miguel at the Mexico pavilion.. it already stretched the length of the pavilion! Day guests were funneling out of the park after the conclusion of Harmonious and it was pretty crowded. However, as I neared the back of World Showcase, it cleared up quite a bit and I was about the 10th person in line at the Germany pavilion. I only had to wait about 20 minutes until it was 10pm, and then Dopey came out!
The last time I had seen Dopey was over at Storybook Dining at Wilderness Lodge, so it was nice to get a picture with him again.
Afterwards, I walked towards the France side of World Showcase, while the DJ played upbeat music. I was just enjoying myself and trying to ignore the nagging tiredness. I saw the lines for Jiminy Cricket in Italy and Duffy in Japan, and decided to pass. Just past the UK pavilion there was a neat photo opp with a RunDisney statue so I waited for that. On my way out, I got another picture with Spaceship Earth then made my way back to my car.
Final Thoughts on Wine & Dine Weekend
Overall, I very much enjoyed the 2022 Wine & Dine Half Marathon! I was initially looking forward to the course that was offered in previous years (running through Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot) and was disappointed in the change – but this course wasn’t so bad and went by fairly quickly for me. I liked it better than the “out and back” from Epcot to Magic Kingdom that we get during Princess and WDW Marathon weekend for the half marathon distance. The weather was an interesting factor that I wasn’t quite prepared for: specifically, the rain was challenging. However, the entertainment, characters, fellow runners, Cast Members, and volunteers made for a really fun race environment and I’m looking forward to running again next year!
