I love race expos. The excitement of the race, like minded people all together in one big room, and of course shopping.
They are a great way to kick off a race weekend, and runDisney expos are no exception. Tons of exhibitors, cute official merchandise, and friendly cast members were abounding at the Wide World of Sports Complex.
Me and Jen
We were stuck in a HUGE line and mass of people when we tried to get to the Tower of Terror expo right at opening, so this time we tried a different approach and went at 1:00, hoping the first wave of people would be gone and the expo wouldn’t be so crowded.
We were right! I was so excited. Oh, and thanks for blinking in EVERY PICTURE we took with the champagne, Bobby.
There are always plenty of people giving directions, and signage to help you know where to go.
We first went to pick up our bibs. Luckily we had printed out our waivers at home, so we went straight to the booth that corresponded with our bib numbers and were done in a flash.
We then headed over to the expo floor to get our t-shirts and do some shopping.
Hello no lines! I have NEVER seen the official merchandise area with no line! While walking down to get our shirts, I ran into these lovely ladies and we chatted for a bit.
We got our shirts then headed straight to the official merchandise.
I ended up with an I Did it shirt, a Wine and Dine headband, and a wine glass. There was more types of merchandise than normal, but I still think it is a huge untapped market and if there was even more to choose from, people would buy it!
We went over to the runDisney booth and I got my usual picture with my friend Carissa. Poor girl lost her voice!
We said hello to Jeff Galloway and his wife Barbara, and took a free adorable photo. You just have to show proof that you follow runDisney on Instagram and they email you the photo. Nice!
We walked around a little bit and I stopped at a few different booths run by people I know and said hello. Then it was time to check out some medals. I was so excited to see the Princess weekend medals in person.
Also, the Tinkerbell medal!
Cannot wait for all of these!
Bling bling!
We were ready to get off our feet, so we headed out shortly after.
For those of you stressed out about the crowds, I would consider waiting until 2-3 hours after the expo opens to go over there. It was MUCH more enjoyable this way! great job runDisney, can’t wait for the next one. Dopey here we come!
Interested in running a runDisney race? Check out their website for more information!
QOTD: Do you like to get to an expo right when it opens?
As you know, we also avoided the crowds by going in the afternoon. What a refreshing change to see the runDisney booth uncrowded and no lines to checkout! See you on Wednesday afternoon at the January expo! Thanks for including us in the post! <3
no problem!
I was so happy that the expo wasn’t crowded! We really lucked out!
Never been to an expo. First one will be for Princess!
I was there right at opening and it wasn’t crowded then either. Still no lines for merchandise and everything was a breeze! It was the smoothest runDisney expo experience I’ve ever had!
That’s crazy. Tower was MISERABLE waiting in line!
From what others have reported, the expo wasn’t crowded in the morning either. Do you think runDisney has learned its lesson from other more crowded expos (like this year’s Dumbo one), or do you think it was just a fluke this time around? As of now, my husband and I are planning to go to the Marathon weekend expo when it first opens, mainly since its my first half and I don’t want to risk some of the merchandise being sold out like it was for Dumbo.
I have no idea b/c at ToT the month before it was PACKED at opening!
That place is empty! I’ve only been when it was super crowded, and I’m skipping it in January. My parents will be in Orlando before me, so I’ll give them everything they need to pick up my packet and shirt.
good call haha
Did you notice that any of the official runDisney merchandise was sold out? I’m curious as I want to avoid the lines for Marathon weekend but don’t want to miss out on the Dopey merchandise.
It wasn’t sold out, but I went 3 hours after opening. Some of it was sold out by Saturday I think. I am VERY nervous about dopey merchandise selling out. This year goofy stuff sold out the first day.
We will be heading to the Princess Expo right at noon so that we can hit the park right afterwards- I’m hoping it’s not crazy crowded! Do you know if the booths with the official Run Disney merchandise accept Disney Gift cards?
I think so, the receipts say disney parks on them
I don’t mean to intrude, but yes, the official merchandise registers do accept Disney gift cards. I used one at the DL expo. 🙂
Thanks for the advice! The Tinkerbell 1/2 in January will be my first Disney race and 1/2 marathon. I’m so excited!
I really like that mid-afternoon expo time. With a toddler at PHM last year, I went during his nap and it just happened to be around 1:30pm and it was so much less crazy than what people who went right when it opened were reporting. I went to the W&D expo in the late morning on the second day (Saturday) and it was nice and uncrowded.