Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust: A Purse Fit for a Princess: New Dooney and Bourke Design for the 2014 Disney Princess Half Marathon!
Welcome to the Virtual runDisney Blog Hop!
Princesses are known for poise and manners, ballgowns and tiaras. At the Disney Princess Half Marathon, they tend to add a few more accessories, running shoes and Dooney and Bourke handbags!
In 2009 Disney partnered with Dooney and Bourke and introduced the "Disney Dooney". The bags have been very popular and the two companies have continued to collaborate, bringing new designs to the parks each year! In 2012 a new princess design was released in time for the Princess Half Marathon in a wristlet, a tote, and a crossbody bag. They also featured an exclusive race medallion on the two larger bags for those that were purchased at the Expo. As expected, they were a huge hit and sold out within a few hours. Sadly, many of these bags were seen later that day on eBay at grossly inflated prices, making for some very disappointed princesses.
For the 2014 Princes Half, Dooney and Bourke is introducing a BRAND NEW PATTERN! (I'm just a little excited, can you tell?) Featuring a pale pink background and various Disney images such as Cinderella Castle and Minnie Mouse, they are available in a tote, a shopper style, and a letter carrier bag. Each of the bags has an embossed leather Princess Half Marathon tag with the year 2014 to commemorate your accomplishment! With a new pattern offered this year, they are likely to sell out quickly at the Expo!
After the year where bags ended up on eBay rather than in the hands of racers, Disney did make adjustments to the purchasing process, and bags are available for pre-order! If you really want that bag, registered race participants can purchase their bag ahead of time to avoid a possible sell out at the Expo. You are allowed to pre-purchase one of each style to add to your collection.
I was able to pre-order my bag, though I thought it was a bit complicated to find. In theory, you should be able to click on the link that came in the January runDisney email for race participants. For some reason though, that link doesn't always work.
If it is not working for you, try linking directly HERE to the Active.com Princess Half Marathon registration page. Or you can go to the Princess Half area of the official runDisney website. Under the menu option of "Registration", go to "commemorative keepsakes", and click on any of the choices. You can also scroll down until you see the photos of the handbags and double click on the photo. Any one of these links should take you to the Active.com sign-in registration page for the weekend. Sign into your active.com account that you registered for the race with, and you will see the available options. Near the bottom are.... Dooney and Bourke bags. Follow the prompts to order your bag!
Do be aware that Active.com is charging a processing fee, which added $15 to the price of the tote, and will add around $12 to the other bags. Also know that during the pre-order, there are no discounts available such as AP, DVC or Disney Visa. Despite paying a bit more, I know I will get my bag, and I can spend my valuable Expo time waiting in line for a New Balance shoe appointment!
If you are planning on purchasing your bag at the Expo, I would recommend getting there sooner rather than later. While putting those winter miles in on the treadmill, I am dreaming of sporting my very special Princess Half bag around town (preferably in warmer weather)! Who else is planning on purchasing one of these awesome purses?
Hi Karen! I tried to get exact dimensions, but apparently Dooney and Bourke makes several different styles of "shopper" bags. Since they are only referred to as a "shopper" and Disney has not given exact measurements, I can only go by general info on the web. Some Shopper bags I found were indeed smaller than the tote, but I also found a few styles that were larger. Sorry that's not more helpful.
Cute purse again this year. I like it better than last year, but the first year, was my most fave and I wish I had gotten one.
One of the nice things about this year is that Disney is promoting it as a "runDisney" pattern, so it should be exclusive to the race.
This is a really cute pattern! If I was into purses, i'd definitely want one but sadly purses don't excite me. Now Jackets, that's a different story! These are pretty though!
I'll be hunting down a running jacket at the Expo too!
This pattern is much nicer than the ones in past years. I plan on getting one too.
Thanks for all this information! I'm a little bummed there isn't a wristlet this year... or even a little coin purse would be fun!
I don't think you will be the only disappointed one. They did have a wristlet at the WDW Marathon, but for some reason not for the Princess Half this year. I think its nice to have a more affordable option available.
These are absolutely gorgeous! Do you happen to have measurements on them?
Hi Lauren! Disney has not published any measurements on the bags. I did tweet Dooney and Bourke to see if they would send me measurements, but I have not gotten a response as of yet. The difficult thing is that Dooney and Bourke uses the names "tote" and "shopper" in a general manner rather than a style specific way. This means they have various sizes of bags all called "totes" and "shoppers" and other various style names, making it impossible for me to determine the measurements by comparing the bags to other Dooney and Bourke bags of the same name. I guess its just part of the "Disney Magic" that we will get to be surprised when we pick them up!
I've heard that if you pre-order, when you pick up your purse at the Expo and you can go to "return" it at the checkout (bring your receipt), you can re-purchase it with the DVC/Visa/Passholder discount.
I don't know for a fact if this will work, but I would try it if I was getting a purse.
That is good to know! Thank you, I might have to try this!!
I will be trying that for sure! Thanks for the tip!
Isn't each new Dooney and Bourke design nicer than the last? (I guess that's the idea. :D) I was lucky enough to grab the 2009 model ON SALE, and ever since I've had gals asking me where I got it. I haven't bought one since the Inaugural Tinker Bell Half, so I think I'm overdue... Either way, I'll be happy to see photos of yours Kate. Thanks for providing us the links and your know-how; the hop is lucky to have you!
Wow! A Dooney on sale makes it even better! Thank you for organizing such an informative and exciting Bog Hop!
I love these, but man, the price tag. It's like a dagger to the heart, lol.
Oh I know, isn't it? At least I have known for a while that I wanted one to commemorate my first half marathon, so some advanced planning and saving has made it possible, but it's certainly not something most folks can afford to pick up at every race they complete!
Oh, man, I am SUCH a sucker for the Dooney purses. My Dopey purse is pretty much my favorite thing in the world right now, and I am really, REALLY tempted by this year's Princess bag. SO cute!
This year's WDW Marathon Weekend Dooney and Bourke bags were AWESOME! I love that they had a definite runDisney theme!
Yeah.... I preordered. LOL - Just way too cute not to!
Agreed! And being able to pre-order is such a great feature.
I preordered mine - I can't wait to pick it up at the expo!!!
I love the preorder option! I wish they did that for Tink this year!
I also like this pattern much better then last year. I'm a little bummed I won't be getting one.
I'm surprised they didn't? Did they run out at the Tink Expo?
LOVE the design this year! Just wish they offered the wristlet size.
I think there are probably many disappointed ladies. A wristlet is a practical and more affordable option for a lot of ladies.
I LOVE these bags - I just CAN'T Decide which one to get?
I like the new design, but I'm not sure I can do pink. I am so so so sad they changed the Tink purses this year. They were cute, but I was in love with the old purple design and was hoping to pick one up at the Expo last month. Thanks for the preview and the links!
Does anyone have the 2014 WDW Marathon Dooney and Bourke Crossbody purse? I'm looking for the style number to order a new strap. I lost the registration card which contains that information. When I called Dooney, they can only look it up by the style number since it is a Disney exclusive. Of course I didn't register it with them, I've never registered my others, think I just might start.