What was the runDisney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend 2019 like?
Is the runDisney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend a fun race? What are the medals like? How is the course? What is at a runDisney expo? I am going to answer all this and give you my thoughts. 
A runDisney race weekend is always a ton of fun. The races are organized really well, the medals are top notch, and the on-course entertainment can’t be beat. In 2019 I had the privilege of running the Two-Course Challenge, which means I ran the 10k and the half marathon and got the bonus challenge medal.
I flew in Friday, November 1, from California and went straight to the expo. Curious what a runDisney expo is like? Check out this video!
The runDisney expos are set up a little different than traditional race expos because they use two separate buildings at ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World to pack in as much shopping as possible. Typically one building is where you pick up your race bibs and also has some official runDisney merchandise to shop for. The other building is where you go to pick up your race shirts and has lots of other booths to shop or brands like KT Tape, Raw Threads, Sparkle Athletic, Track Shack, etc.
On Saturday, November 2, I got up at 2:30 am to get ready because you have be on a bus to the race start between 3:30-4:00am. The starting line for these races were in the Magic Kingdom Parking Lot and finish at the Epcot Parking Lot. This is different than Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend and Princess Weekend where you basically start AND finish at the Epcot Parking Lot.
Here is a course video from the runDisney Wine & Dine 10k.
The medal was cute with Olaf and Sven from Frozen. It seemed a little random with the Wine & Dine theme to put them on the medal, but Frozen 2 releases in a few weeks. All in all I had a good time at the 10k.
The next day was the Wine & Dine Half Marathon, which meant a 2:30am wakeup call again. The half marathon also started in the Magic Kingdom Parking lot and ran down to Animal Kingdom on the backroads. If you have ran the Disney World Marathon, you know the road because it is part of that course. The nice part though was we ran through Animal Kingdom quite a bit, including Pandora, which is different than the marathon. After leaving Animal Kingdom you make your way down Oceola Parkway to head to Hollywood Studios. Bummer part, at Hollywood Studios you basically run in the side gate by Tower of Terror and then out the exit and make your way to Boardwalk. You are barely in Hollywood Studios. Here is a full course video.
The medal had cute patriotic Mickey Mouse on it and the challenge medal was the Three Caballeros.
My opinion of the weekend
Every runDisney weekend is fun. You just have to pick the races you want to run based on the course. I personally love running through the Magic Kingdom, which this race does do, so for that reason I think I would prefer WDW Half or Princess Half because those courses run through Magic Kingdom. The stretch from Animal Kingdom to Hollywood Studios isn’t my favorite. This same section is around mile 16 of the marathon course, which I think after running Goofy and Dopey so much, brings back the memories of that being the roughest part for me. I DID love running through Pandora though. 
Looking for more runDisney info? Here are some posts you might like:
What To Eat At Epcot Food & Wine Festival During runDisney Wine & Dine Weekend!
The runDisney Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend and Dopey Challenge Recap 2018
2020 runDisney Disney World Marathon Weekend Themes- Something’s Different?
10 Training Tips for the runDisney Dopey Challenge
Affordable Disney World Area Hotel For runDisney Races
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