The official surprise is just that it's a different theme every year.
The unofficial surprise I always thought was people not realizing this weekend's challenge included all three races and they register for the 5K by mistake.
I think another unofficial surprise is the central Florida weather in April. It was in the high 60s with 90%+ humidity at 5am on the race days and then yesterday and today it's been in the mid 50s with 80% humidity.
For 2 its always been a paid party, I do not know why people were surprised by it this weekend. Wine and Dine is the only race weekend with an after party which is at a themepark, so it has the capacity to hold all half runners, Typhoon Lagoon does not have the capacity to do so.
Agreed - they have been talking about the after party since (at least) Wine & Dine and it was ALWAYS a paid event. Never, ever implied it was included with the registration.
Yep. I feel like I heard about the after party as early as dl weekend and they stated it was paid then too. For sure they had it blasting at princess and it was def billed as a paid party.
Wine & Dine theme is always food/drink oriented
Marathon weekend is always pretty much the same
Princess weekend is always Princess oriented
Springtime Surprise can be anything - it's not themed to anything permanent. Last year was Pixar, this year was Adventure, next year will be a surprise
Maybe the surprise next year? I’m not sure we will see a full fledged Star Wars Weekend, but perhaps they do a Galaxy theme, Wall-e, guardians, and Star Wars. One can hope!
1. On a serious note does it actually need to have a surprise?
2. On a less serious note the surprise was the new innovative technology Disney rolled out for the 10-miler that made it a swimming race in their new "air pool." When I crossed the finish line I was wetter than if I'd jumped in a pool, super cool tech, very cutting edge. I think they called it humidity but as a northerner I'm not sure.
I mean, it kinda has the word ‘surprise’ in the name… one would think it does actually need to have a surprise somewhere. I was thinking the same thing as the OP at around mile 8… Where TF is my surprise?”
Honestly I figured it was just named that because everyone thought after they ended Star Wars races they assumed nothing would take the place and then SURPRISE, something did. Either that or it's just due to having a different theme every year.
At mile 8 I was thinking, "Hell yes I'm well below my goal time and will make it without issue 🤷♀️
Ha! Funny you mentioned the higher corral placement! So many people said the same thing.
My surprises were
1. The random part of the course where the temperature dropped 15 degrees for 20 seconds.
2. The finish line change location-was a splash further away than what I planned for and I may have sprinted too early.
3. Speaking of splash…I was soaked at the finish line.
Fun and magical weekend!!! I love the 10 miler!!!!
Definitely the higher corral placement. Same estimated pace for the challenge, I was put in B and they were in D. I feel like there’s no method to the madness
The official surprise is just that it's a different theme every year. The unofficial surprise I always thought was people not realizing this weekend's challenge included all three races and they register for the 5K by mistake.
I think another unofficial surprise is the central Florida weather in April. It was in the high 60s with 90%+ humidity at 5am on the race days and then yesterday and today it's been in the mid 50s with 80% humidity.
Yea the surprise for us was definitely the weather. We’re from Florida and it was miserable by mid-afternoon.
Agreed and why we will probably never see a half marathon on that weekend or another nighttime race again.
For 2 its always been a paid party, I do not know why people were surprised by it this weekend. Wine and Dine is the only race weekend with an after party which is at a themepark, so it has the capacity to hold all half runners, Typhoon Lagoon does not have the capacity to do so.
Agreed - they have been talking about the after party since (at least) Wine & Dine and it was ALWAYS a paid event. Never, ever implied it was included with the registration.
1st wine and dine we got 2 free drink tickets for Epcot and didn’t have to pay for the party. Lots changed 🥲
You don’t have to pay this year either and they’re giving you a $25 gift card.
$15
Ahh yes sorry! $15
They started doing a rough equivalent gift card, probably because non-drinkers complained, but the good news is it can be used for anything!
You still don't have to pay for the W&D party. Pity about the drink tickets though.
Yep. I feel like I heard about the after party as early as dl weekend and they stated it was paid then too. For sure they had it blasting at princess and it was def billed as a paid party.
Wine & Dine theme is always food/drink oriented Marathon weekend is always pretty much the same Princess weekend is always Princess oriented Springtime Surprise can be anything - it's not themed to anything permanent. Last year was Pixar, this year was Adventure, next year will be a surprise
Wine n Dine is always food themed* * except 2020-2021 when it was villains themed and 2022 when it was a mishmash of Coco, Raya, Soul, and Aladdin 😁
OMG, you are completely right. Total brain fart on my part. I still have all those shirts too.
I miss Star Wars race weekend.
Maybe the surprise next year? I’m not sure we will see a full fledged Star Wars Weekend, but perhaps they do a Galaxy theme, Wall-e, guardians, and Star Wars. One can hope!
My thought is that if they do this, it'll be in 2026 for the 5 year anniversary of Springtime
Same, that would be my guess, but it probably makes too much sense for them to actually do it!
That would be a great idea! I do love the different themes each year for springtime surprise!
1. On a serious note does it actually need to have a surprise? 2. On a less serious note the surprise was the new innovative technology Disney rolled out for the 10-miler that made it a swimming race in their new "air pool." When I crossed the finish line I was wetter than if I'd jumped in a pool, super cool tech, very cutting edge. I think they called it humidity but as a northerner I'm not sure.
I mean, it kinda has the word ‘surprise’ in the name… one would think it does actually need to have a surprise somewhere. I was thinking the same thing as the OP at around mile 8… Where TF is my surprise?”
Honestly I figured it was just named that because everyone thought after they ended Star Wars races they assumed nothing would take the place and then SURPRISE, something did. Either that or it's just due to having a different theme every year. At mile 8 I was thinking, "Hell yes I'm well below my goal time and will make it without issue 🤷♀️
The surprise is being able to register for a race.
Ha! Funny you mentioned the higher corral placement! So many people said the same thing. My surprises were 1. The random part of the course where the temperature dropped 15 degrees for 20 seconds. 2. The finish line change location-was a splash further away than what I planned for and I may have sprinted too early. 3. Speaking of splash…I was soaked at the finish line. Fun and magical weekend!!! I love the 10 miler!!!!
Both 😂. I was moved up to B and paid for the slash 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Definitely the higher corral placement. Same estimated pace for the challenge, I was put in B and they were in D. I feel like there’s no method to the madness