Expo for PHM question and Pasta Party

[disneygirl76]

Hi all,

So I am all registered and training is going well for the PHM in Feb. I have also registered for the Marine Core 10 K in Oct so that I can get coral placement hopefully above the last one so I can buy a bit more time.

We originally planned on coming in Thursday evening before the race and staying through the weekend and week after. But now we are coming in Friday. My question for planning is to determine how much time I need to plan for the expo. I am not a stop at every exhibit kind of person but I do want to get the most of it. I am wondering, depending on flight times, if I can do it justice on Friday or just go on Saturday.

As for the pasta party, do you think that it is worth it? We have a 10 day park hopper ticket with dining so I don't need it to get in to the park or for dining but I want to experience everything. So what are your thoughts on the pasta party?

Thank you!!

 

[dreamfinder]

Expo - totally depends on you and the crowds. If you are planning on buying any official RunDisney merchandise, the earlier you can get there the better. For most of the events, merch starts to sell out the first day of the expo, often leaving a small subset of sizes, or a fraction of products on the last expo day. As far as the rest of the expo, do you want/need to buy other stuff? The booths at the expo tend to fall into 3 categories. 1) Other endurance event trying to convince you to register 2) New/different food/hydration/running skirt/whatever company trying to convince you their product is best 3) Booth crammed with a ton of stuff catering to people who forgot their gel, need more Body Glide, etc, last minute purchases.

If you are happy with your current gear, and have well stocked running stores nearby so that you have a good selection, than you can almost definitely blow through the expo. But if you are the type who wants to buy a new and different glittery skirt for each race you do, then you can definitely spend a while. (Not trying to be rude, but it seems like the non Princess weekends are 20% skirt vendors, never mind the ratio at the princess expo) I've walked right into expos some years and had plenty of room, I've also had to wait in line 15-20 mins just to enter the expo, only to find it packed and difficult to maneuver.

RE Pasta Party - Never done it. Can't say I think it would be worth it. $52 for a pasta buffet is crazy. Heck, I can eat an amazing meal at Jiko or other signature for less. Not to mention that lots of people are now saying that carbo loading the night before a race doesn't do much. Instead they are advocating eating more carbs over the 4-5 days leading up to it.

 

[Mandyb4]

Congrats for registering for PHM. I'll be there too! I will mimic what the previous poster said about the expo. It gets VERY crowded. I usually only look at the Disney and Princessy things and that's it. All the other products I can see at any other expo.

Pasta Party: We have done the pasta party before. It is a nice touch. True, you can get just as good of a meal somewhere else for that money. I believe you are paying more for the VIP experience than the food anyway. I don't know if I would do it again just because I like to get to bed early the night before a race and this lasts still park close. of course you can leave early, but then you miss out on the Illuminations viewing and heck you might as well stay for that since you paid for it in your package. You even get a roped off reserved area to sit in to watch the show. Here is a link to our review of the Pasta Party and expos. Feel free to browse around.

Pasta party: http://fairytalesandfitness.blogspot.com/2013/04/walt-disney-world-marathon-weekend-part.html

Expo: http://fairytalesandfitness.blogspot.com/2013/04/disney-princess-half-marathon-weekend.html

 

[JillC LI]

Can't comment on the WDW Pasta Parties, but I know I wanted to experience everything that went along with the NYC Marathon years ago, so I took the train from my home on Long Island into NYC for the Pasta Party. Turned out I didn't really care for any of the food there and had to schlep around trying to find someplace with food that I wanted to eat the night before the marathon. It got me anxious and tired, and I will never do it again. I recommend you eat somewhere that you can get food you know you will like and that sits well with you for a long run the next day. (Plus, if you like pasta, by all means enjoy it for dinner, but you don't really need to carb load too much for a Half Marathon.)

 

[disneygirl76]

Expo - totally depends on you and the crowds. If you are planning on buying any official RunDisney merchandise, the earlier you can get there the better. For most of the events, merch starts to sell out the first day of the expo, often leaving a small subset of sizes, or a fraction of products on the last expo day. As far as the rest of the expo, do you want/need to buy other stuff? The booths at the expo tend to fall into 3 categories. 1) Other endurance event trying to convince you to register 2) New/different food/hydration/running skirt/whatever company trying to convince you their product is best 3) Booth crammed with a ton of stuff catering to people who forgot their gel, need more Body Glide, etc, last minute purchases.

If you are happy with your current gear, and have well stocked running stores nearby so that you have a good selection, than you can almost definitely blow through the expo. But if you are the type who wants to buy a new and different glittery skirt for each race you do, then you can definitely spend a while. (Not trying to be rude, but it seems like the non Princess weekends are 20% skirt vendors, never mind the ratio at the princess expo) I've walked right into expos some years and had plenty of room, I've also had to wait in line 15-20 mins just to enter the expo, only to find it packed and difficult to maneuver.

RE Pasta Party - Never done it. Can't say I think it would be worth it. $52 for a pasta buffet is crazy. Heck, I can eat an amazing meal at Jiko or other signature for less. Not to mention that lots of people are now saying that carbo loading the night before a race doesn't do much. Instead they are advocating eating more carbs over the 4-5 days leading up to it.

I have an amazing running store just a few blocks away so I don't see myself buying much of anything. I will have my outfit so I don't need skirts. Thank you for the run down, its really helpful!

 

[disneygirl76]

Can't comment on the WDW Pasta Parties, but I know I wanted to experience everything that went along with the NYC Marathon years ago, so I took the train from my home on Long Island into NYC for the Pasta Party. Turned out I didn't really care for any of the food there and had to schlep around trying to find someplace with food that I wanted to eat the night before the marathon. It got me anxious and tired, and I will never do it again. I recommend you eat somewhere that you can get food you know you will like and that sits well with you for a long run the next day. (Plus, if you like pasta, by all means enjoy it for dinner, but you don't really need to carb load too much for a Half Marathon.)

Can I ask probably a silly question? Is it Friday or Saturday night or both? I just check RunDisney and it has both dates listed. I had not noticed that before. I only noticed Friday before. So if you run the Saturday you go on Friday, and if you run Sunday, you go Saturday?

 

[disneygirl76]

Congrats for registering for PHM. I'll be there too! I will mimic what the previous poster said about the expo. It gets VERY crowded. I usually only look at the Disney and Princessy things and that's it. All the other products I can see at any other expo.

Pasta Party: We have done the pasta party before. It is a nice touch. True, you can get just as good of a meal somewhere else for that money. I believe you are paying more for the VIP experience than the food anyway. I don't know if I would do it again just because I like to get to bed early the night before a race and this lasts still park close. of course you can leave early, but then you miss out on the Illuminations viewing and heck you might as well stay for that since you paid for it in your package. You even get a roped off reserved area to sit in to watch the show. Here is a link to our review of the Pasta Party and expos. Feel free to browse around.

Pasta party: http://fairytalesandfitness.blogspot.com/2013/04/walt-disney-world-marathon-weekend-part.html

Expo: http://fairytalesandfitness.blogspot.com/2013/04/disney-princess-half-marathon-weekend.html

I'm going to ask you also my probably very silly question:
Can I ask probably a silly question? Is it Friday or Saturday night or both? I just check RunDisney and it has both dates listed. I had not noticed that before. I only noticed Friday before. So if you run the Saturday you go on Friday, and if you run Sunday, you go Saturday?

 

[JillC LI]

I'm going to ask you also my probably very silly question:
Can I ask probably a silly question? Is it Friday or Saturday night or both? I just check RunDisney and it has both dates listed. I had not noticed that before. I only noticed Friday before. So if you run the Saturday you go on Friday, and if you run Sunday, you go Saturday?

Well I don't know what Disney's intent is with these Pasta Parties. The theory behind a Pasta Party is to carb load before you run a long race (although if you're truly carb loading properly, you're doing it over a period of time, not just in one fell swoop the night before). If you're not going to be running for more than 3 hours, you probably don't need to carb load, so you're really just attending for the fun of the Pasta Party, in which case, I see no reason why you couldn't pick whichever night you prefer. Regardless, don't "carb load" so much pasta the night before the Half that you feel sick to your stomach the next day.

 

[disneygirl76]

Well I don't know what Disney's intent is with these Pasta Parties. The theory behind a Pasta Party is to carb load before you run a long race (although if you're truly carb loading properly, you're doing it over a period of time, not just in one fell swoop the night before). If you're not going to be running for more than 3 hours, you probably don't need to carb load, so you're really just attending for the fun of the Pasta Party, in which case, I see no reason why you couldn't pick whichever night you prefer. Regardless, don't "carb load" so much pasta the night before the Half that you feel sick to your stomach the next day.

Yeah, I already have found that if I run with food on my stomach I feel sick. I haven't figured out what to do for long runs yet b/c I haven't done one yet where i need food. I start every day with whole fruit and veggie smoothie (we have a vitamix so it is not a juicing thing) and a yogurt. That's what I like to eat when I go for a run. I will call and see if I can get a straight answer about the pasta party but what you said totally makes sense.

 

[dreamfinder]

Can I ask probably a silly question? Is it Friday or Saturday night or both? I just check RunDisney and it has both dates listed. I had not noticed that before. I only noticed Friday before. So if you run the Saturday you go on Friday, and if you run Sunday, you go Saturday?

Well I don't know what Disney's intent is with these Pasta Parties. The theory behind a Pasta Party is to carb load before you run a long race (although if you're truly carb loading properly, you're doing it over a period of time, not just in one fell swoop the night before). If you're not going to be running for more than 3 hours, you probably don't need to carb load, so you're really just attending for the fun of the Pasta Party, in which case, I see no reason why you couldn't pick whichever night you prefer. Regardless, don't "carb load" so much pasta the night before the Half that you feel sick to your stomach the next day.

You can go either night. It's up to you. They did initially start just with a single night prior to the "big" event. But as they are adding other races, and realizing they can make more money, they have added second nights.

 

[disneygirl76]

You can go either night. It's up to you. They did initially start just with a single night prior to the "big" event. But as they are adding other races, and realizing they can make more money, they have added second nights.

Thanks! We were thinking of going Friday evening but now I think I am going to change that. We will do our traditional Rose and Crown with Illuminations on Friday and then resort and an early dinner on Saturday for the big race. Thank you for all your help! Since this is my first time, I didn't want to miss anything. But it doesn't really sound like I will be missing much.