While the fall leaves are just starting to turn and we haven’t even made it through the holidays, it’s never too early to start thinking about the winter and spring season at the Walt Disney World Resort.
Starting next year on the right foot is the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend presented by Cigna on January 8-12. The event features two new challenges next year – the Walt Disney World 10K and the Dopey Challenge.
Runners signed up for the Dopey Challenge will run the 5K, the 10K, the half marathon, and the marathon for a total of 48.6 miles over the course of four days. The full slate of events for the marathon weekend includes the Disney Family Fun Run 5K, the runDisney Kids’ Races, the 10K, the half marathon, the full marathon, the Goofy Race and a Half Challenge (running the half and full marathons), and the Dopey Challenge. All races except for the Kids’ Races are sold out.
In February thousands of runners will once again descend upon the Walt Disney World Resort for the 2014 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend taking place February 20-23.
The events for this race weekend include the all new Disney Enchanted 10K, the Glass Slipper Challenge (running the 10K and half marathon), the Cinderella Royal Family 5K, the Princess Half Marathon, and runDisney Kids’ Races. This women-focused event also features Disney’s Fit for a Princess Expo at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The only races that are not sold out for this weekend are the 5K and the Kids’ Races.
In March, Epcot once again will be beautiful in blooms as the 21st Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival starts March 5 and runs through May 15.
Guests can celebrate spring with topiaries featuring Goofy, Donald Duck, and Daisy Duck in the middle of a butterfly hunt adventure in the front entrance garden. And for the second year in a row, guests can tempt their taste buds at a dozen different food and beverage marketplace kiosks around World Showcase Lagoon.
The festival will also feature daily seminars with HGTV celebrities headlining the weekend seminars for home, garden, and design ideas.
The Flower Power Concert Series kicks off March 7 with The Guess Who. Other acts include Chubby Checker & the Wildcats, The Village People, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and Herman’s Hermits starting Peter Noone.
And because you can’t have spring with baseball, the Atlanta Braves will return to Walt Disney World for spring training in March. The 2014 schedule hasn’t been released yet, but the team is set to play a slate of games that will likely feature the usual Grapefruit League teams such as the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and Detroit Tigers.
Over in the Magic Kingdom the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is set to take to the tracks in the spring. The family style coaster, inspired by Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, will take guests on a ride into the mine and through the countryside complete with music and a cast of characters from the film. The coaster features a first of its kind train ride vehicle that is mounted in cradle like pivots allowing the cars to swing back and forth.
That’s just the start of the magic at the Walt Disney World Resort for 2014. Later in the year guests will have a chance to experience Star Wars Weekends and other events throughout the summer and fall of 2014.
