The race retreat was expensive, but I found it to be worth every penny. It was so nice having a warm tent, private bag check, bathrooms and food before the race (bagels, bananas, oranges, coffee, soda and water. There was peanut butter, cream cheese, jelly and butter for the bagels and also toasters to toast them.
I didn't find the walk to the corral any worse than the main staging area. It's a looooooong walk no matter what!
After the race I really enjoyed being able to get out of the sun. The breakfast buffet was pretty good. They had scrambled eggs, turkey sausage patties, roasted potatoes, oatmeal w/ toppings, yogurt with toppings, muffins, bagels, bananas, oranges, coffee, tea, chocolate milk, soda and water. There may have been Powerade, but I don't remember. My only complaint is that there was cheese on the scrambled eggs and they also provided more shredded cheese on the side.
I loved watching the live feed of the finish line. I was hoping to watch the very last person cross the finish line, but I was just too tired.
There were characters for photos - Aurora and Philip & the fairies from Sleeping Beauty. They also had a backdrop with some props.
The gift was a hand towel with Princess Half Marathon on it.