Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend

The end of this past week was a tiring one. I learned what it means to work Disney's third shift. Various Industrial Engineering interns had signed up to work the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend. The weekend includes the "Frozen 5K", the "Enchanted 10K", and of course the "Disney Princess Half Marathon" finished off the weekend. Each race was on a different day and started very early. This meant that anyone working the event, including us interns, had to arrive at the venue before road closures began. I worked the 5K and the 10K races, meaning I had to wake up around 2 AM each day and arrive at work by 3 AM.

These races bring thousands of participants to Disney, as well as their friends and family who tagalong to cheer on the racers. These special events are the perfect place for Industrial Engineers! We help make sure that there is enough transportation, that runners are at the starting line on time, and that friends/family know where to watch from. Anything that doesn't go quite as expected serves as a learning experience for the following year.

If I had known how much fun the Princess Marathon events were, I definitely would have done the 5K. Most of the runners dressed to the princess theme, running the event in princess running gear, tutus, tiaras, and more!

Photo: The Walt Disney Company

My favorites were the generations of grandmas, mothers, and daughters who all dressed alike and ran the races together. There were even a handful of dads who dressed up as Princes and ran with their daughters! It definitely made me miss my family a lot.

Working part of the night shift has given me a newfound respect for employees who have to work nighttime hours on a regular basis. It was truly tough finding the strength to fall asleep at 7 PM and then waking up in the early hours of the day. However, one of the best parts of being at Epcot so early was getting an amazing view of the sunrise!