One of my favorite things about runDisney races are the Health & Fitness Expos. There are always great vendors, speakers and merchandise. My husband and my wallet probably don’t like them as much as I do, but that’s another story…
The Expo for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler was a lot of fun, but definitely on the smaller side from other expos I’ve been to in the past for the Wine & Dine Half andthe Princess Half. We arrived to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex just after the Expo opened on the first day. If you’ve never been to the complex before, be prepared to walk. This is a HUGE facility.
There was a long line to get into the Josten’s Center when we arrived, which seemed to be a theme here throughout our visit. I’ve never been to an expo right at opening and all that hot merchandise is what everyone seemed to be after. When we got to the door, we were greeted by a bell hop from the Hollywood Tower Hotel (aka Tower of Terror), which I thought was a really fun detail. You could immediately see that the expo was on the small side, and I was surprised to see that packet pick-up was on the floor with the rest of the expo because I have always seen them separated into different areas.
Love the addition of the costumes!
My first priority was to head to the race merchandise area to make sure I got everything I wanted. At the Princess Half, they were sold out of a lot of things by the time I got there and I didn’t want that to happen again. The race specific merchandise was just ok. I’m continually disappointed with the lack of performance tank tops available from runDisney. I’m not a fan of running in short sleeves and would love to see some tanks for women. I spoke to a few other women at the expo who felt the same way. The “I Did It” shirt was cute and I did get one of those. The women’s tech shirt available was also nice, but a little to sparkly for my taste so I passed.
My favorite item at the expo was the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler pint glass! I always drink water (and maybe some other beverages) out of pint glasses at home and this is the perfect addition to my collection! I just wish I bought more than one.
The line to check out was super long and we ended up waiting at least 20 minutes. B got a shirt and I also picked up a pin, a car magnet and some fun runDisney stuff for a giveaway coming up (hint, hint!). The line wound past all of the medals and I was able to hold the Tower of Terror medal for the first time and most importantly check out the 20th Anniversary WDW Marathon medal! This thing is giant and I love it…the spinner is super cool!
I love that the elevator moves!
You will be mine!!!
After checking out, we headed to the back of the Josten’s Center to pick up our race packets. Oh look…another giant line! Well we are in Disney after all.
My line extended back into the vendor booths!
After about another 20 minutes in line and some fun conversations with fellow runners, I got my bib and commemorative pin. I then had to head over to another line to get my t-shirt…I gave in at this point 
The t-shirts are pretty cool and they glow in the dark like the medals. I’m not a huge fan of unisex shirts because they always fit me weird, but this one will get some use.
Commemorative T-Shirt Design
We then wondered around the Expo for a bit and visited with various vendors. I wanted to pick-up some new BondiBands and B wanted to get a new fuel belt since he was using my hand-me-downs and he got a great one at iFitness.
It was about this time that Jeff Galloway was coming out to give some tips for the race, so we stuck around for a bit. He provided some great information, particularly on eating for a night race…something I had been struggling with. There were other great speakers lined up that day, but we had just flown in that morning and were starting to fade. I hope that in the future runDisney releases the list of speakers in advance so participants can plan their days around these great presentations.
Jeff Galloway
By this time, we had been at the Expo for over 2 hours and I still didn’t feel like I saw everything. There is so much to see and do! I can’t wait for the Wine & Dine Half Marathon Expo next month, which should be bigger and better!
What did you think of the Health & Fitness Expo? What fun stuff did you find?