Disney's Jingle Jungle 5k and Wine and Dine Races


Yes, this past weekend was all about the races! I won't go into detail about the expo, because after attending several Disney races, the expo was pretty much the same as it always is. The only difference is that this year I actually recognized people/vendors from previous races throughout the year and they remembered me too!
I did finally get to meet Jeff Galloway though. ( no line this time, honest!)

The Jingle Jungle 5K was the first race of the day. Just like the name implies, it's a Christmas themed race.

I was happy to have found this little elf and her mom!
 Photo courtesy of Christine from We Run Disney

The race started in the parking lot of Animal Kingdom. The course looped through the parking lot, entered the park from the front and than out the side of the park for about the last mile.

This was the first Disney race that I was running solo. My plan was to make it fun and still stop for pictures. Since I registered late for this race I was unsure which corral I was going to be in. It ended up I was in B. I believe there was only a 30 second delay between each corral start.  The first mile around the parking lot was pretty difficult because there were a LOT of walkers. Please note I am not saying anything bad about those who were walking because afterall it IS a fun run, it was just difficult to get in the groove to run because it was very crowded. I think maybe this part of the course through the parking lot was a little more narrow than the parking area we run through during the Royal Family 5K ( but then again, maybe not, I don't know).

After the first mile, the congestion cleared out a little bit.  I think this is because we were entering the park and people were  now starting to stop for pictures. People were stopping at the Animal Kingdom sign and in front of the Christmas tree at the front of the park. I kept running.  I planned to stop for character pictures, but to be honest, I didn't even know who the first couple character were, so I kept running. Looking back, I believe these characters were from the Jungle Book.  Chip and Dale, Donald Duck, and Pluto where the only other characters I saw that I recognized.


 I fully expected these characters to be dressed in Christmas attire, but they weren't. I guess they were in their "jungle attire".

I don't know if it was because I was running by myself or not, but this race seemed to go super fast. before I knew it I was out of the park and headed towards mile 3.  Before the race my husband told me to text him when I was headed towards the finish ( he was kidding of course because I don't think he thought I could text and run at the same time). Of course I had the text ready and when I hit the mile 3 marker I hit send!  I was running down the finish chute a few seconds later.  This is one of the pictures he took of me.

I guess you can say that I was really happy to see someone I knew at the finish line.  This was the first Disney race that I actually had someone waiting to see me!


Later that night was race number 2. We were merely spectators at the Wine and Dine Half marathon. Quite honestly after getting up at 3 am earlier this day I was ready for bed by 10 pm. I don't know how you runners who did both races survived! Kudos to you!  We had to wait outside of Epcot until a  bit after 10pm before they left us into the spectating area.


As we walked through the parking lot I spotted the Yum Yum cupcake truck. My only purchase was a bottle of water but had I not just pigged out at the Food and Wine Festival just moments before, I totally would have bought one of these babies!
The DJ's, Chef Mickey, and Minnie kept us entertained while we waited!


Before we knew it, Mickey was preparing for the first male runner to cross the finish line. We then waited for the first female runner to cross. The ladies holding the finishing tape are representatives from New Balance. They had to practice their job a couple of times. Funny side note: As they are rolling out the tape for the second time in preparation for the first female runner to cross, another male runners starts to run through it. Even though the race staff is motioning for him to run off to the side, he still runs through and breaks the tape!  He was about the 8th or 9th finisher at this point. I wonder if he thought he had won?

We waited a little while longer in hopes that I might see some of my friends that were running, but alas I couldn't hang in there. Sorry guys!  We had to call it a night!

Who all ran either of these races ( either previously or just this year)? 

Have you ever ran a night race?

 What do you think the biggest challenge would be running a night race opposed to a morning race?

14 comments:

  1. Running both races and having a little park time between them made for a tough half that night. We had fun, but would probably skip the morning race in the future despite the adorable holiday theme. We love those medals!

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    1. What!!! You went to the parks between races???? I thought for sure the two of you would be relaxing by the pool!

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  2. Cute pictures!! I plan on doing both races next year. I love the Christmas theme and I want both medals lol :0) Looks like you had a blast and those cupcakes look yuuuummy!

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    1. My medal was cute, but those wine and dine medals looked huge!

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  3. That is such a cute picture of you! Looks like fun but I don't know how anyone did both races either... I would have fallen asleep!

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    1. I admit, I did take a little nap after I came back from the first race, and I was STILL tired by 10 pm!

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  4. You know, Pluto's hat is actually Jungle AND Christmas-y at the same time. You know, the colors. I have never run a night race, but if I did, it would be the Wine and Dine Half.

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    1. Actually I did notice that those bones on the hat were red and green after I posted the picture..haha

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  5. We lived in the Toledo area for 18 months. Our semi-rural property backed up to a former railroad track turned walking path. Every New Year's Eve night there was a run on that path and everyone wore glow sticks. We could only see the glow sticks bouncing up and down. The first year it was initially strange and funny. But then it was cool. I'm not a runner, but that might make me want to do it (although New Year's in Ohio was potentially VERY cold). -- Sharing some comment love back ya from the Blogging Bunch LinkUp!

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    1. Thanks for visiting! That run sounds like a fun run and a great way to bring in the new year with family and friends.

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  6. Napping mid-day is a must! Congrats on your adorable 5k medal!

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  7. Thanks Abby! This may be my last one of the year! ~M

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  8. Sounds like fun! I never thought that you actually stopped in some of these races for pictures. I thought that all just happened at the end. I've always wanted to do one of these, but running and I don't get along. I could walk it though. :-) I can't believe they had two the same day! It must have been so busy!

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    1. There are character stops throughout the courses. I should really start stopping at more of them! Many families will walk the 5K's with their children and ( and stop for characters). As long as you meet the pacing requirements you are fine ( I think it is like a 16 minute mile which can easily be done by walking). You guys should definitely do it sometime with Nick!

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