Yeah, there seems to be a general concensus that they really dropped the ball on this one where entertainment was concerned. It was just really boring...very few characters on the course and only one DJ. I mean, yeah, we're there just to run, but I think we all do the Disney races specifically for the entertainment they provide...it was really disappointing, especially since they played it up so much as a villians themed race...they really could've gone all out and they just didn't.
We couldn't believe how long it took to even come up on the first character stop (a Lion King float/puppet piece? Doesn't exactly scream villian to me)...which ended up being the only one we stopped for, so that was a bummer. It seemed to be organized pretty well though from what I could tell...no bottlenecks at the finish, and bag pick up went quickly though it was waaaay across the park from the finish and was on the stage area of Indiana Jones...meaning we had to walk DOWN STAIRS to get our bag and then back UP STAIRS to get out...a very cruel joke, runDisney
We didn't stay for the afterparty, but I hear it was way overcrowded and the few characters there were very hard to find...it seems CM's didn't know where to find them either. The crummy weather really made everything worse too...which was obviously no one's fault. The humidity was oppressive and I've read about soooo many people getting sick and passing out just after finishing. Hopefully the medical staff was prepared! Definitely wasn't my best race by a long shot, but at least I finished...I felt very sick and got the chills around mile 5 or 6 and had to slow way down...I think I was getting too close to heat exhaustion. I'm just glad my BF ran this one with me...I wouldn't have wanted to be alone feeling the way I did. I suspect in the next year or so, it'll get better...runDisney seems to be good at hearing and responding to the complaints they get about their races...just seemed like they should've known better to begin with...it's not their first rodeo, you know??