One year ago last month (January of 2013) I was at the Tinker Bell Half Marathon weekend at Disneyland. You can read about that weekend HERE and HERE if you like. A couple of years ago runDisney entered into a partnership with New Balance shoes. New Balance actually designed and released 2 versions (men's and women's) of "Disney running shoes" in 2013. I hemmed and hawed about purchasing a pair of these prior to going to TINK and then I wasn't able to even have an opportunity to purchase because when I attended the Tink weekend in 2013 New Balance had only brought a VERY LIMITED amount of shoes to the TINK EXPO so by the time I got to the EXPO they were LONG gone. So sad! Here is a photo I snagged online of the first edition of the shoes. I still dream about owning a pair of these... I just saw a pair (slightly worn and IN MY SIZE) appear on EBAY last week. I bid on them but was sad when the price exceeded what I was willing to spend on a pair of used shoes. They actually ended up selling for OVER what they were new! Can you believe that? Pssst... New Balance... bring back the originals!
Photo courtesy of runDisney/New Balance
Anyway - fast forward to January of 2014... New Balance had promised a new batch of shoes to be released that month. They didn't disappoint... New Balance actually came out with 4 new styles (6 if you want to count the kid shoes as separate designs)!
Photo courtesy of runDisney/New Balance
I was still in love with the original women's design from 2013 but I figured if I liked the shoes I would possibly buy some if I had the chance when I headed down to the Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend in mid January 2014. runDisney and new Balance did a much better job this second time around with being prepared for the demand. They had a queue system in place for purchasing the shoes also. Basically it worked like this... you got in a line to be able to input your texting information into a kiosk... then you were free to leave and then you would receive a text later for when you should return for your slotted "purchase time". It worked pretty slick. No problems for anyone in out party. We came back when we got our texts and waited may 10 minutes before someone was helping us. I tried on the Pink Minnie shoes and couldn't help my self... I had to have them. Then I started thinking about my kiddos. These shoes were well made and MORE then I would normally spend on any pair of kids shoes. BUT... I had planned on bringing each of my kids something home and what could be better then a cool pair of Disney shoes. Basically my souvenir money was burning a hole in my pocket. So I went home with these... for my two older kids...
and these... for me.
I didn't buy them for running but really just bought them for fun. So my real point of this post is to review how they have held up... I can't really give a good review of the Pink Minnies... I haven't worn them a ton. They are very comfortable - I will give them that! I had some issues with the insert slipping around when I first wore them but then my husband suggested using some shoe glue on the actual insert and that solved the problem. My daughter hasn't worn hers very much either... she loves them... but doesn't want to get them dirty or "ruin" them. We have worn them to match at a few 5Ks...
Safeco Field - Refuse to Abuse 5K - Summer 2014
So mine and my daughter's shoes still look awesome and are in practically brand new condition (I bought my daughter's a little big to last as long as possible). My son - on the other hand is SUPER HARD on his shoes... he has worn the heck out his Sorcerer Mickey shoes. I have to say though that considering how hard he is on shoes... these shoes have held up so well! Don't get me wrong... they are well worn and have smelled better... (gross I know)... but he is still wearing them most days... there are no holes... the soles haven't cracked... and Mickey is still smiling! These were pricey shoes but worth it in my book! Here are a few photos of the Sorcerer Mickey shoes... one year later after a 10 year old boy has had his way with them... I will say that I have thrown them into the washer a few times in the past year but never dried them in the dryer. Let me also add that this is a lot more money then I would normally spend on my kids' shoes... it was a total splurge!
Recently runDisney released the 2015 versions of the runDisney running shoes and "re" released the 2014 versions for more sales because they were so popular... I am glad for those people who didn't have the chance to buy the ones they wanted in 2014... or for those that are just finding runDisney and deciding they can't live without the shoes either. The new 2015 versions were met with some disappointment ... there are elements that I do like about the 2 new versions of the shoes but not enough to purchase them.
Photo courtesy of runDisney/New Balance
My only complaint? BRING BACK THE ORIGINAL Minnie Mouse shoes... please??? I must have them!
Photo courtesy of runDisney/New Balance
Do you own a pair of the runDisney shoes? Which ones?
What Disney characters are you hoping that New Balance will use next in their designs?
The run disney shoes never really appealed to me but I will say some of the 2014 designs were pretty cute! I haven't had good luck with New Balance shoes for running so for me to spend that much $ on them to just wear them to walk didn't make much sense. I thought those 2015 shoes looked awful in the pic but when I saw them in person at the expo, I have to admit they weren't so bad. Hope you get the 2013 version without having to spend an arm and a leg!
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