Princess Expo 2018 (Friday Five Edition)

I realized that I didn't get any photos of the expo buildings or area.  Oh well, you will have to use your imagination. :)  I'm not sure if this is normal for the Princess Weekend Expo, but the first day didn't open up till noon.  I had been to other runDisney expos and they all had opened first thing in the morning.  The noon opening worked out well for me as I didn't get to Florida till after 1, and not getting to the expo till 3.


1 - Buildings
This year, just like Marathon Weekend, they had put the official merchandise in it's own building.  I found this to be so much better.  It meant more walking, but everything just felt a bit more spacious and less claustrophobic.  Bus drop off was in a different location too, but about the same amount of walking so that didn't make much of a difference.  I knew that the official merchandise was in a different building and I had walked right by it.  I think I was thinking that there was a third building back with the other two and didn't even look at the first building.  I could have actually looked at the map that I had, or the one that I printed out, or looked online before I got there, but I didn't.

A=Official Merch, B=Bib Pickup, C=Expo, E=Kids Races

My first stop was to get a beer on tap with my runDisney cup.  I've done this at every expo that has the cups.  The new thing is some sort of alcoholic flavored sparkling water.  I tried that instead of beer and really liked it.

2 - Bibs
I headed and picked up my bib.  I didn't notice a third building back there, but still wasn't sure where the official merchandise was.  Again, I could have looked at several maps, but at this point I was going to get my bibs, shirts, check out the expo and figure out official merchandise later.  I was running the 5k and Fairy Tale Challenge, so I had 2 bibs to pick up.  While I was there I heard several people mention that the wait to get into the Official Merchandise was 2 hours.  Hmmm, not sure if I wanted to wait that long.  But I would check out the line when I finally found the place.

3 - Expo
I headed over and got my shirts, which were in the building with the expo booths.  That area was so much nicer to walk around.  While there were still a ton of people, it didn't feel packed.  Since the booths could spread out and use the space that the official merchandise usually uses, the walk ways were wider to allow more people to pass by.  I did see that Sweaty Bands was having a sale, so I picked up a few of those and headed over to get my shirts.  I looked at them long enough to try one on to make sure it fit fine and put them all back in the bag.  There wasn't much that I wanted to do there, so I headed out.  I did remember to buy a rolling stick from The Stick for my friend C who forgot to get it while she was there.  Now to find the Official Merchandise.

4 - Official Merchandise
My friend K had gotten the Race Retreat which meant that they could get into the expo at 10, instead of noon.  Fretting the merchandise that I wanted would be sold out by the time I got there, I gave her my shopping list.  She was awesome and was my personal shopper.  I still wanted to see the merchandise in person and planned on looking around and getting at least my "I did it" shirt that I knew wouldn't sell out so I didn't ask her to get it.

My other friend C, that had gotten there a couple hours before me said that the wait to get into the official merchandise was 2 hours.  Her family was there and she didn't want to wait in that line.  She asked if I would get her a Challenge Pin.  I wasn't sure if I would wait in line for 2 hours, but after asking a volunteer where to go, I went to check out the line.

I slowly realized that I had walked right past the building and kinda felt a little dumb.  They did have the race banners out of the main traffic near the building.  I thought that was nice.  I got my picture with the Fairy Tale banner and headed in to check out the line.


We were lead down a long hallway to a room on the right.  I knew that was probably the start of the line and that more lines would probably be across the hallway on the left.  It didn't look too bad in the room.  I waited in line for about 15 minutes till we were ushered across the hall.  And to my surprise we were in the Official Merchandise area!

I was shocked on how big the area was.  I didn't even think about taking a photo or video while I was in there.  The first couple rows of merchandise was their new Character Performance Wear.  It was tech clothes that was supposed to look like a character.  I didn't understand the characters till someone pointed them out to me.  They were cute, but I tend to buy most of my training clothing on the clearance rack.

The next rows each were dedicated to each race.  And there were still tons of merchandise of everything.  There were still Sweaty Bands.  There were still Pins.  There were still lots of everything that I could have wanted.  I guess K didn't really have to be my personal shopper, but you know Murphy's Law.  I picked up the pin for C and got my I did it shirt.  I did fall in love with the Fairy Tale jacket.  I just loved that color.

There was a section for just runDisney merchandise that is not race specific.  Here is where I found the lack of merchandise and sizes.  I had been eyeing a runDisney shirt online and thought that I might pick it up at the expo.  There they did not have my size.  I found a really cute "Race Day Checklist" that was princess themed that was really cute.  None in my size.  And then there were these shorts that I would have bought in a second.  Not in my size.  I found that interesting as they always have plenty stock of the generic runDisney items.

I did see that they had their personalized artwork for sale there.  Since I'm not a huge princess fan I didn't go over to that area.  But I do like that they are starting to do it at most of the races I have been.  It makes for such a special keepsake from the race weekend.

I got the couple things I came for and headed to the checkout line.  I probably waited about 20 minutes there, but the line moved quickly.

5 - Pre-purchased  Merchandise
I usually get the pre-perchased items as they are usually cute.  In the past they used to be something that you could not get at the expo, which made them special.  The last couple years I had found that they are the same as in the expo, but it was good to get them early as they usually sell out quickly.  This year, they were the same as in the expo and there were plenty of them when I went.  As for the pre-purchased jacket, I have gotten in the past and really had not liked the design and last year they stopped taking returns.  I decided that since I was not really into princesses, I would skip the jacket.

As I walked out of the official merchandise area I almost walked out without picking up my items.  Thankfully I heard someone mention them as I was heading out and made a u-turn.  I picked up the items, an ornament, figurine, and magnet.  The ornament was the same type as races past, which was a very cute running shoe.  The figurine was my favorite.  A very cute running Minnie Mouse.  When I saw the jacket I was so glad I didn't get it.  Not really my favorite design.

I got a picture with running Mickey and headed out.  I was exhausted!


I stopped and got a picture with Cinderella's carriage.  The volunteer that was helping to take photos said that it was her favorite job.  That was so awesome to hear.


Final loot:

Extra - Disney Springs
A new thing that I noticed was that they had a stop for Disney Springs in the bus loop at the expo.  This was a good thing as it meant I didn't have to go back to the hotel to head out there.  I wanted to get dinner (I was famished) and go to the Disney store.

I headed to Paddlefish for dinner.  I've been there a couple of times and it has not disappointed.  My favorite item there is the Crab Fries.  Yummy.  I ended up getting the Salmon which was very good.  Between the fries, salmon, and the bread for the table I was stuffed and had to take some of it back to my room.


I headed over to the Disney store after dinner.  I like to look around and I have a couple birthdays coming up that I wanted to see if I could get items for them.  It turns out that about 2/3 of the store was under construction.  There were still the same amount of people in the store and in that less space made it very claustrophobic.  I got a couple things and got out of there as quickly as I could.

I remembered buses near the Rain Forest Cafe side of Disney Springs and verified on the map that buses were still there.  When I got there I found that section was closed.  WTF?  I had to walk all the way across Disney Springs to get to the buses.  I was tired and just frustrated at that point.  I didn't need all this extra walking right before 3 days of races.  Oh well.

Where do you like to eat at Disney Springs?  Do you like to get to the expo right when it opens or wait till the crowds clear out some?

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0