David has a magical time at the Disneyland Paris®Half Marathon Weekend.

David from our Sports Tours International team traveled last weekend to the Disneyland Paris Magic Run Weekend. Find out if his trip was a dream come true.

 

“I decided to travel to the Disneyland Paris Magic Run weekend after my first Disney race experience earlier this year in Florida. During that first trip I instantly fell in love with the whole Disney experience of running a different race each day in a very supportive and non-competitive environment and also the mix of enjoying the attractions and recovering in a fantastic hotel when you are not racing. Therefore I decided to visit Disneyland Paris, and if I successfully managed to complete the half-marathon I would receive an additional piece of race bling, the Castle to Chateau Medal.

Travelling with my wife we arrived on Friday Morning and got the fantastic Magic shuttle (which you pre-book yourself here – http://ift.tt/2wXOu1H )

“…exactly what you expect from Disney. Great entertainment, great hotels and a series of very well organised races”

We checked in to our Hotel (the New York) and we received all our meal passes (as we’d also booked meal plans) – if you are running the 10k and/or the marathon this is particularly important as you will have the early pre-race breakfast vouchers.

Our hotel was only a short walk to the expo and is also only 10 minutes from the park entrance; therefore it’s a great location for this Magic Run Weekend. The location really did make things easy, just because everything was so close. We met Clement the Sports Tours Rep at the expo, who provided us with our race entries. Overall registration was a breeze.

Race #1 – Disneyland® Paris 5K:

My wife and I ran together – we both loved it. Running through the Walt Disney studios park during dusk was a unique experience and as it’s a family fun run there was a great buzz. Then it was dinner and early to bed before for my 10k which started at 7am.

 

Race #2 – Disneyland® Paris 10K:

On waking, I was a little tried from the travel and the 5k the day before. However  I soon perked up once the 10k started. For me it was an even better experience than the 5k. This morning’s run visits both parks and although it was an early start it got light quickly, so I was rewarded with better views of the attractions that I was keen to visit over the weekend.

There was also much more characters on the course to keep you entertained while the kilometres ticked by and Main Street was particularly memorable as the atmosphere was electric! Once I finished it was a quick trot back to the hotel, a quick shower and we headed straight back into the parks to visit the rides and attractions I’d spotted during the race. After a great day spent in the park, I again opted for an early night as it was the same 7am start time for the Half-marathon.

 

Race #3 – Disneyland® Paris Half-Marathon:

Big day for me – I had 3 finisher medals riding on this; the half marathon medal, Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo and the Castle to Chateau! The race starts by following a similar route as the previous 2 days and the parks start to have a feeling of familiarity. After 5k we’re outside the park and soon on to the Boulevard du Grand Fosse which circles the park. Even although we were running outside of the park, there was still lots of entertainment along the route and plenty of drink stations.

There was then a slight off-road section but nothing rough, I actually quite enjoyed the change of terrain. We were then back on to the main road and at just after 16 kilometres we were back into the park after passing through Hotel Santa Fe lodge, which is like a scene straight out of a Western film.  The last couple of kilometres are back through the Disney Village. This was fantastic because of the amount of spectators and their cheering spurred me on to the finish. I crossed the line cheered on by Micky and Minny, I then picked up my 3 medal haul and decided immediately that I’ll be back again next year! This is truly a  unique racing atmosphere with amazing race bling (medals)! You also get a T-shirt for each race too.

Overall, it’s exactly what you expect from Disney. Great entertainment, great hotels and a series of very well organised races, that can all be enjoyed during a long weekend from the UK. See you there in 2018!”

David works in business support at Sports Tours International, if you’re looking to travel to the 2018 Disneyland® Paris Magic Run Weekend, we offer a range of packages starting from £219.

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