Our races were finally done so now it was time to relax and celebrate! The half marathon participants get free entrance into Epcot for a special race food and wine festival celebration from 8pm-1am. The park closed at 9 so we had a little time with everyone still in the park and then it was restricted to racers and their family and friends (who had to buy special tickets to get in). Given we were up before 4am, we decided not to go to a park that day and instead relax at the pool and nap so we had energy for Epcot.
Around 7pm, we took the bus to enjoy our free trip to Epcot. I wasn't sure what rides were going to be open during our special event so we decided to get to Soarin first to ensure we got to ride it. We were also able to get on Finding Nemo before the park officially closed and found no wait for pictures with Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy. We had no choice but to stop and get the pictures. Then we quickly hit Spaceship Earth and Test Track before going to hit the Food and Wine Festival.
 |
| The ladies got hugs... |
 |
| and the guys got handshakes. |
 |
| Corey was trying to be taller than Goofy |
 |
| The ladies with our wine cork Minnie ears! |
The race specific Food and Wine Festival was a lot of fun. The park was officially closed, so Disney had a DJ playing music that was played throughout the park. We slowly worked our way around the world, sharing food and wine along the way. There were so many options and everything looked amazing. Sadly we all started to fill up on food before we even got halfway around the world. Don't worry, we kept drinking around the world. As the night wore on, the racers seemed to get tired, but the cast members were having a blast. They normally have Disney specific music playing and non-stops crowds, but this night, they were dancing and singing the race tunes. Their positive mood was contagious for me. They were smiling, dancing, singing, and having such a great time. I found myself dancing and singing through the park with them. I would love to go back to this special night just to see all of the cast members having this much fun. I also need to return to Epcot during the Food and Wine festival. There is so much food that I wanted to try. Sometime I will return during this festival with a park hopper so I can go to Epcot a few times to ensure I was able to sample more of the food.
 |
| Wine samplers |
 |
| I love my German Rieslings |
This was a fun filled, yet exhausting Disney race weekend. I finished 6 Disney races in 2017 and I think I will take at least a year off from Disney races. I loved racing and enjoying Disney with my family. Some of my best childhood memories were made with my family at Disney and it is fun to keep making more memories and exposing Bethany to Disney. Now I just need to convince my family to race with me again (although we can find a non-Disney race this time). And next time, we can skip the race at Disney and just enjoy the parks and other aspects Disney has to offer. I can skip on the 3am wakeups for a while.
 |
| Back to real life |
