First, the negatives. The race was both the most expensive half marathon (by far) and the earliest half marathon (by far) I’ve ever run, at $190 and 5:30 am, respectively. I had to get up crazy early to board one of the busses to the start line. Getting back to the resort took a very long time as we hit Disney traffic back to our hotel. Finally, even though you’re running through Disney, don’t expect to run through theme parks the whole time. Most of the race is on dark streets and highways.

OK, that all said… this is a Disney race and a Disney experience through and through. It’s extremely well organized and entertaining, from Donald Duck and fireworks sending you off to characters taking photos with you all along the course. The main highlight for me was running through Magic Kingdom with the castle all lit up. I audibly gasped and said WOW out loud while running. It’s a stunning exclusive experience that you don’t get with the crowded streets during the day.

The course itself was mostly flat but not without challenges. There are hills at the start and again near the end. But I did end up PR’ing on the course (yes, I probably should have stopped for photos for the full experience!)

I’m not usually a medal guy, but the Disney designs are really cool and I even got a plaque mailed to me for finishing 5th in my age group.

Would I do it again? Yes. But next time, I want to try the marathon to experience four parks. I just signed up for the RunDisney full.