https://pickupthepacepaul.wordpress.com/2016/09/27/disney-paris-inaugural-race-weekend-2016/

For or a full review about the whole weekend experience please read my blog. I go into more detail about the value of the inaugural party, and just the Disney experience as a whole. In short, I think a lot of the extras would be of real value for an older family or just adults, but as a family of 4 with two young kids, I found much of it to be expensive and did not really benefit from the exclusive access to the Walt Disney studios.

one thing that struck me was the number of adults without kids. Yes there were lots of kids, but there were far more adults without kids, and many American. It was predominantly populated by those who are regulars at Run Disney USA. Now this was a great experience, but talking with others, I don't quite think they have pulled off the Disney Magic to the same scale.

The 5k took place entirely in the two parks, and throughout there were numerous characters to stop and photograph with. This was great near the front, but I can imagine it was frustrating as the queues got longer. I also heard criticism that the pens were seeded alphabetically, which is fine with a last name beginning with A, but not so good for a fast Smith.

The kids race was chaotic as the start, such a great idea to include kids of all ages, but they lined up each group behind the other, taking far to long to organise. With two kids in the 1-3 year old race it was difficult as all the kids got restless waiting. It was great running to Mickey Mouse, but some of the parents took it far too seriously which was disappointing. Especially watching toddlers getting pushed and my boy getting kicked by an adult, all trying to get to Mickey first. It's lucky it wasn't my girl as I would be in a lot of trouble for my actions. This however is out of Disneys control, and the alternative of lots of one year pods wondering without supervision is just not an option. 

Thr half marathon took a slightly different route to the 5k, but started with 5k in the two parks. This was populated with characters again and a great experience. The pens were seeded according to predicted finish times so no issues here. The marshals and aid stations were superb and the support was really friendly. The issue is that after the first 5 k support was scarce, taking you out around Disney. Toward the end the hotels and Disney village was well supported, otherwise there were pockets of people. It was disappointing that they did not dot a few more characters around aid stations, so there was 16k of relatively flat boring sections before we got to the Disney village and were greeted by Daisy and Donald Duck.

This course has real PB potential on paper, but if anyone goes for a pB they have spent a lot of money on a wasted experience. This is a magical, unique experience that I would thoroughly recommend. It is find for the whole family, and one that can be enjoyed by kids of all ages, and adults proved that this weekend.

This is a classic fun run, not to be taken too seriously. PB potential, but even more potential for fun... And the medals were fantastic