{"id":62320,"date":"2018-05-18T12:00:49","date_gmt":"2018-05-18T16:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/?p=62320"},"modified":"2022-04-08T23:37:52","modified_gmt":"2022-04-09T03:37:52","slug":"star-wars-race-weekend-review-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/star-wars-race-weekend-review-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"2018 Star Wars Race Weekend Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Expo<\/h2>\n

Every race weekend begins with the race expo at ESPN Wide World of Sports.\u00a0 This is where participants pick up their race bibs and shirts along with clear gear check bags.\u00a0 All participants must present a signed race waiver and a photo I.D. to pick up their items.<\/p>\n

I arrived late Thursday afternoon and went straight to the expo.\u00a0 In the HP Field House, I had to visit three different booths to pick up my bibs for the 5k, for the First Order Challenge, and my wristband used for getting my runDisney Kessel Run Challenge which involved running both the Star Wars Virtual Half Marathon and completing the Dark Side Half Marathon.<\/p>\n

Afterwards, I ventured to the Visa Athletic Center for my race shirt pick-up where I left with four different shirts (one for each of the races plus an additional shirt as a First Order Challenge participant).\u00a0 I love that all the runDisney volunteers are helpful about pointing people in the right direction, answering questions, and making sure that you have everything that you need.\u00a0 As an experienced runDisney participant, I didn\u2019t have questions, but there were still plenty of volunteers are the ready to help anyone who needed it.<\/p>\n

I also appreciated that change in the setup this year as a person who doesn’t buy any of the race merchandise.\u00a0 runDisney merchandise was located in the Arena and allowed those of us who didn\u2019t want to venture into the craziness that can be the runDisney merchandise area to avoid that area.\u00a0 In past years, you\u2019ve been funneled through that area to pick up items whereas this year it was in its own area.<\/p>\n

One experience that I found different compared to other runDisney weekends was the opportunity for multiple photo ops at the expo.\u00a0 Throughout the buildings, and even outside there were opportunities for several different Star Wars related photographs.\u00a0 My personal favorite was the scene from the upcoming movie Solo: A Star Wars Story.<\/p>\n

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Star Wars Darkside Expo Solo Photo Op<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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5k Review<\/h2>\n

Friday morning brought the 5k which was where the smallest number of runners for the weekend compete in this family friendly event.\u00a0 Arriving on the first bus which departed at 3:30 a.m. from the resort allowed time for pre-race photographs.\u00a0 Arriving in the EPCOT parking lot this early in the morning allowed for plenty of time to take pre-race pictures with the various characters that were setup there.\u00a0 Since I knew I had all three race mornings to look forward to for pictures, I wasn\u2019t picky about which characters I got pictures with each morning- except for wanting to make sure that I got a picture over the three days with all the characters.<\/p>\n

After that, I was able to get pictures with others to fill the time as a party like atmosphere started to take over the pre-race area.\u00a0 I also had the opportunity to meet up with several of my friends from my running group.\u00a0 Seeing and then running with friends is one of the best parts of runDisney race weekends.<\/p>\n

And before long, we were being sent to our corrals.\u00a0 We waited a while but eventually were sent off with fireworks on our 3.1 mile journey.\u00a0 Since around half of this race occurs in EPCOT, the first thing you did was spend a little more than a mile getting there.\u00a0 But don\u2019t worry- it wasn\u2019t boring at all!\u00a0 There were photo opportunities all over the place.\u00a0 Including my must get photograph with Chewbacca.<\/p>\n

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Star Wars Darkside 5k Photo with Chewie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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In all, there were 5 character stops plus the 501st<\/sup> Legion which were out in force for photo ops of all kind.<\/p>\n

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Star Wars Darkside 5k photo with the 501st<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Eventually, you approach the finish line and receive your 5k medal.<\/p>\n

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Star Wars Darkside 5k post race<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

10k Review<\/h2>\n

Saturday morning brought the middle distance race of the Star Wars The Dark Side race weekend.\u00a0 Once more, I arrived on the first bus which departed at 3:30 a.m. from the resort.\u00a0 I took the opportunity that pre-race photographs permitted.\u00a0 All of the pre-race activities were the same as the 5k, and this time I took the opportunity to have my picture taken with Boba Fett in my Yoda inspired costume.<\/p>\n

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Star Wars Darkside 10k pre-race with Boba Fett<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The big difference between the 5k and 10k (besides the doubling of the distance) is that the course starts in the Magic Kingdom parking lot and spends almost 4 miles on Disney roadways before you enter Hollywood Studios the first of 2 parks on this course.\u00a0 It also allowed time for additional PhotoPass photographers to take pictures during the race.<\/p>\n

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Star Wars Darkside 10k PhotoPass picture during the race<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As with the 5k, Disney provided various character stops- including repeating some from the previous day and adding a few new ones of which were different from the previous day as we ventured through Hollywood Studios and EPCOT this time.\u00a0 A picture in front of the Tower of Terror was a great addition this day.<\/p>\n

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Star Wars Darkside 10k Tower of Terror photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most importantly, the longer distance allowed for a great finish line photo with it being daylight.<\/p>\n

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Star Wars Darkside 10k Finish Line Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Half Marathon Review<\/h2>\n

Early Sunday morning brought the start of the longest distance of Star Wars The Dark Side race weekend.\u00a0 This race had the largest number of participants of the weekend.\u00a0 As a result the first bus left the resort at 3:00 a.m.\u00a0 Again, the pre-race festivities were the same, with various characters available for pre-race photos and this time I made sure to get a picture with Darth Vader.<\/p>\n

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Star Wars Darkside Half Marathon Pre-Race Picture with Darth Vader<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The race started in the Magic Kingdom parking lot before allowing you to spend a little over 4 miles on the road before entering Animal Kingdom where we got to run through Pandora: The Land of Avatar, backstage of Animal Kingdom, and then the Animal Kingdom parking lot.\u00a0 This area was one of my favorite of the race as there was a great backdrop of the Hoth scene where Luke is using the Force to grab his lightsaber.\u00a0 A little Disney magic and this group photo turned out amazing.<\/p>\n

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Star Wars Darkside Half Marathon Hoth Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another 5 miles along Disney roadways led us to the second of three parks of the day- Hollywood Studios.\u00a0 We only spent a short amount of time in Hollywood Studios.\u00a0 While there we were treated to another photo opportunity with the 501st, which was one of three on the course.<\/p>\n

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Star Wars Darkside Half Marathon picture with the 501st<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Exiting Hollywood Studios allows us to add a different route to EPCOT compared with the previous days as we ran along the Boardwalk where there was quite a few people out cheering us on.\u00a0 Entering EPCOT we knew that we were in the homestretch with the mile 12 marker just inside our entrance using the International Gateway.\u00a0 We were able to time our race just right to sneak a ride on one of the newest rides in all of Walt Disney World- Frozen Ever After<\/a>.\u00a0 Timing our arrival just before 9:00 a.m., the doors opened just as we went to join the line. We loaded quickly, and thankfully experienced no ride malfunctions.<\/p>\n

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Star Wars Darkside Half Marathon Ride on Frozen Ever After<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is just the second time that I had the opportunity to ride an attraction during a race, and the opportunity to cool off just a little from the otherwise hot and humid morning was very welcome.\u00a0 If you can find the time to fit an attraction into your race plan, it is something that I highly recommend.<\/p>\n

Post-Race Park Touring<\/h2>\n

One of the best parts about running the Star Wars The Dark Side races is that you can celebrate at Disney!\u00a0 I had collected quite a haul of medals this weekend, I decided ahead of time that I would only wear one of the medals to the parks each day, but after the Star Wars The Dark Side Half Marathon, I wanted to take a picture with all of the medals that I had earned that weekend- including the Star Wars Virtual Half Marathon and Kessel Run Challenge Medals somewhere in Hollywood Studios- since it is the future home of the new Star Wars Land- Galaxy\u2019s Edge.\u00a0 I was able to capture a great one with Chewbacca and all of my medals at Star Wars Launch Bay<\/a><\/p>\n

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Star Wars Darkside Post Race Chewie Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The PhotoPass photographer and Chewie were great at arranging my medals and capturing a great photo.<\/p>\n

Overall, this was by far my favorite runDisney Star Wars weekend so far.\u00a0 The images that the PhotoPass photographers captured, the characters on course, running with friends, and the overall atmosphere made for a great weekend.\u00a0 If you are a Star Wars fan, this is an event that you will enjoy and should experience at least once.<\/p>\n

Next year’s Walt Disney World Star Wars race weekend details are trickling out and it’s going to be an experience where you can pick if you want to run for the Dark Side or the Light Side. If you’re interested in running, find out more info on our Star Wars Rival Run Race Weekend page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Have you run one of the Star Wars races before? What were your favorite parts?\u00a0Share in the comments, or\u00a0on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Did you like this article? Make sure to share it with your friends! Check below for easy ways to share!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Expo Every race weekend begins with the race expo at ESPN Wide World of Sports.\u00a0 This is where participants pick up their race bibs and shirts along with clear gear check bags.\u00a0 All participants must present a signed race waiver and a photo I.D. to pick up their items. I arrived late Thursday afternoon…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":62327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4642],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rundisney"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62320"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62927,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62320\/revisions\/62927"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}