Hello and welcome to my runDisney Princess Half Marathon Weekend 2025 trip report! I’m returning to the blow-by-blow diary format for this trip. Read all the posts in this report here. Onward!
When we last left our intrepid gang, we had just finished the Princess 10K. Under normal circumstances it would be straight to the showers. On this particular occasion, however, we had an interstitial goal.
BUT FIRST, PRINCESS PICTURES
Given that we had based our Princess 10K race costumes on the ladies of the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue, it only made sense that we orchestrate a quick photo shoot at Pioneer Hall.
Therefore our first order of business upon debarking from the race bus was to pile onto our golf cart and motor down to the Settlement. Holy smokes, kids, that was a COLD experience. The chilly morning combined with the rushing air of the open golf cart meant we were borderline frozen by the time we reached our destination.
We were dismayed to discover upon arrival that the Trail’s End quick service restaurant we had hoped to warm up in didn’t open for another ten minutes. Instead we took brief refuge in a bathroom break before ramming through our photos as fast as humanly possible. At least they turned out cute!
By that point Trail’s End was open, and we poked around inside for a bit before golf carting back to our cabin. A hot shower and a medium-length nap was called for and summarily completed.
ADVENTURES IN GOLF CART PARKING
Here the Princesses of Hoop Dee Doo split into separate missions. Becky was headed to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, whereas Erika and I decided to swing by Disney Springs again.
Both paths began at the Outpost, so we jumped back into our trusty golf cart (code name: Strawberry Shortcake) and motored on over. I happened to have “Prince Ali” from Aladdin stuck in my head; thus I indulged myself in taking the ball turret gunner position (back seat) and jamming out with headphones while Erika and Becky held down the pilot and shotgun positions up front.
As such, I was paying extremely minimal attention to what was going on around me as we rolled into the golf cart parking lot. I was abruptly dragged back into real life when Erika tapped me on the shoulder. “You know how to do this,” she said.
Naturally I had no idea what she was talking about. But I did notice that Becky, our licensed golf cart driver, had vanished. Turned out she had seen the Studios bus idling at the bus stop, stopped the cart, and made a run for it. And, like, respect! You never know with these Disney buses – there could be another in five minutes or fifty! But also, despite Erika’s statement, I did not know how to park the cart. Specifically, I did not know how to back up.
Fortunately for us and unfortunately for them, we were boxing another cart into the parking lot in the moment. The driver was kind enough to come over and show me how to work the dang thing, and I was able to successfully park. Victory!
But this is what makes the story great. The special spice? The whole time this scene was unfolding, Becky’s bus had not left. She saw it all happen from the window. Indeed, she tried to text me instructions but I wasn’t paying attention to my phone. A Disney Springs bus pulled up and Erika and I got on it before her bus so much as pulled away. Am I secretly living in a sitcom? Do I have writers? BECAUSE I’D LIKE TO PROVIDE SOME NOTES. 
SHOPPING & DINING LIKE PRINCESSES
I was primarily at Disney Springs to grab some Gideon’s Bakehouse treats. Yes, I know I had literally gone two days earlier, but this time I wanted to order cookies to bring home. (They stay delicious in the freezer!) It being Saturday, there was a virtual queue in place, so I put in my name before setting out to find a snack.
I didn’t have to go very far; we wound up grabbing lunch at Wine Bar George’s The Basket quick service location. Normally this is where I’d say “Snack roundup to come!” except I got the hummus AGAIN. It’s so freaking good – and it’s good to know I can get it from the quick service window.
After lunch we still had some time to kill before our Gideon’s time opened up, so we did a little browsing. We ducked into Uniqlo, World of Disney, and the Marketplace Coop, where in keeping with tradition I coveted everything and bought nothing. I did take pictures of stuff I’d like to buy, which is almost as good as owning stuff, right?
Happily our Gideon’s wait was shorter than quoted, and we only sat around for a bit before I got the callback. Alas, no Irish singers entertaining the line this time. But the good news: I was walking out of the store with a bagful of cookies in plenty of time to make our dinner reservation.
IT’S ME! I’M THE DISNEY PRO; IT’S ME
Speaking of our dinner reservation, it was at Trattoria al Forno on the Boardwalk behind Epcot. The fastest and easiest way to make it over was to pick up the bus to the Boardwalk-area resorts. Upon arrival at that bus stop, however, we encountered a Line of Great Length – certainly more than one bus’ worth.
But! Directly next to this stop was the same for Disney’s Riviera Resort, which us Disney pros know is but a Skyliner ride away from the Boardwalk. Was jumping on that bus faster than waiting for the actual Boardwalk bus? This must forever remain a mystery! But given that we enjoyed an uncrowded vehicle with a single stop leading to a leisurely gondola ride to the International Gateway, it was certainly a heckuva lot more pleasant. Even the sunset seemed to be on our side – just look at that sky!
We knocked out our required pre-race pasta dinner (review to come, obviously) before grabbing an Uber back to Fort Wilderness. Strawberry Shortcake the golf cart carried us back to our cabin, where we made our final race preparations before tucking ourselves into bed. Another early wakeup call awaited us…
Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Threads @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!