#runDisney costume ideas for the men in your races

So I’ve spent a bit over the last several months preparing for the 2015 Dopey Challenge (OMG it’s less than ten days away *faints*). Whether it was training or crafting, Dopey has basically consumed my life for the last few months (see my costume posts: Tinker bell, Rapunzel, Kevin, and Alice).

But I’m not running these races alone. In fact, I have friends and family running with me (woo hoo – races are always more fun with friends). My hubby, Handsome Jack, was not only supportive when it came to running 4 races in 4 days (did I mention it was *his* idea to run Dopey?) but he was also very encouraging when I suggested we run in costume.

He wanted to do couples costumes!!! Now, he’s not a big fan of dressing up, but he adores Halloween. So costumes weren’t a huge leap for him. And having run a few Disney races in the past we both knew costumes at Disney were more the norm than the exception.

So, these last few months I’ve been crafting my butt off to make not only my costumes, but his as well. Here are some pic’s:



Tinker bell and Peter Pan:

We both adore this story. Not just the Disney version but the novel as well. We love love love Peter Pan. We agreed that Peter and Tink were a must. I’m all for wearing wings and suffering for the sake of beauty (part of being a girl, I guess). But Handsome Jack really wanted a lower key costumes. I started with tech gear – green tech shirt and tech shorts. You can see I made some cuts to the shirt creating a V-neck and a more 'pirate-like' top.

From there, our in-laws supplied an authentic Peter Pan hat (purchased at Disney – Did I mention I have the best in-laws?).

To top it off, I stitched a brown cover for his fuel belt (sorry - not pictured). It’s subtle, because I didn’t want to actually cover his fuel pouches, but I think it adds a nice touch. A quick felt scabbard to hold his Peter Pan dagger and we have a completed costume.

Rapunzel and Flynn Rider:

Of the recent Disney movies, Rapunzel is my favorite (yes, I love it more the Frozen). And Handsome Jack loved it too. I always knew I would wear Rapunzel for the full marathon. At first, Handsome Jack didn’t want to run in costume for the full. He later changed his mind, in part, because we were able to find such lightweight tech gear for this costume.

We went with a white tech shirt under a larger, blue shirt. I cut the sleeves off the blue shirt and gave it a deep v neck. I glued some white frog closures on the blue shirt (since it was an outer shirt I felt comfortable using glue to adhere it – if it was against his skin I would never use glue). Next, I stitched a sash out of brown felt. His brown belt cover (sorry, not pictured) will work perfectly with this costume as well as Peter Pan.


Kevin and Russell (from UP):

Immediately, (I’m not exaggerating) when I suggested costumes Handsome Jacks suggested Russell from UP. Handsome Jack is an Eagle Scout and those years spent scouting really left an impression on him. He could relate to Russell’s struggle to get that one final patch. I was totally up for it because I loved UP but I knew a true to form Russell costume would require a lot of accessories (which could make running long distances a challenge). So we agreed to go all out on our UP costumes and we agreed to wear them for the shortest race (5k).

We started with lightweight, store bought shorts and shirt. I cringed when I saw the shorts at first (sorry, not pictured. But they are store bought hiking shorts that land mid thigh) – they are a lot shorter than most men wear today but they are perfect for a scout costume. Next, I went to town making Wilderness Explorer logo’s out of felt. I even made a pennant out of felt.

Several of the accessories had to be purchased online: the bright orange backpack, the bugle hanging from the backpack, and the pan (which will also appear as part of Rapunzel’s outfit), the yellow hat, and the boot covers (to give the appearance of boots vs running shoes).

I needed to sew for Russell’s costume. I attached the logo to his yellow polo with the machine (easier than I thought it would be) and I sewed his scout sash. Next, we found the exact image of the patches online. We printed them, and glued them onto small, felt furniture pads.

After they patches were dry I glued them right onto the sash for a *very* authentic Wilderness Explorer sash.

Alice and the White Rabbit:

Now, it should probably come as no big surprise that Handsome Jack was not really into the idea of dressing up as a Prince. He is more rebel than prince anyway. I suggested great girl costumes (for me) like Snow White (IMO, winner of Best Dressed Disney princess), and Princess Aurora. But the princes are sorta bland and unappealing. So when Handsome Jack suggested Alice and the White Rabbit I jumped at the idea (see what I did there? Jumped….like a rabbit?).

The white rabbit was easy and low key. We avoided the Elizabethan Collar to avoid any potential restriction while running. He suggested we do a red tech shirt under a sleeveless men’s, white cotton tank (seen above). We then slapped an iron on heart on the white tank and we had a basic White Rabbit.

Now, luckily for me, I was building this costume right around Halloween. One quick trip down the Halloween isle at my local store and I had bunny hears and tail. Now all that remained was cutting the bunny ears off the headband and attaching them to a tech visor.

So there you have it folks: four fun and relatively easy ways to craft runDisney costumes for the men in your races. We shouldn't forget costumes for the boys because we all know races are more fun with friends.

Handsome Jack and I are so excited (and NERVOUS) to run these races. I think the training and crafting can be a drag at times – but it will all pay off when we have a ridiculously fun time in the parks on race day.



Are you ready for WDW Marathon Weekend?



Want some tips on running costumes? Check out this post.