2017 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend

[Ariel484]

Back to registration. I now TRULY believe that RunDisney runners have hit a price-point that they'll no longer pay, because I cannot believe both the half AND 5K are STILL available almost seven hours after Early Registration opened.

I feel like it may be a lot of things - price for sure is a factor and I think a lot of people want to do these races once and check them off the list. I especially think the repeatability factor is going away because the race weekends are all so similar now. Also, many people take one big vacation a year and the race weekends don't work super well with school schedules, or with some people's work schedules, so maybe that factors in?

I also think runDisney has been resting on their laurels for a bit now, and they're getting a little sloppy in some areas - people are starting to notice and take their money elsewhere.

Maybe people are waiting until next year - 10th anniversary of Princess weekend...???

Maybe????

 

[Keels]

I wonder if it's due to the cost of APs and people not being able to afford them. October of last year hit Disneyland pretty hard. We went from a $780 pass to a $1050 pass, ouch! And I'm going to be joining my friends and work colleagues by not renewing my Disney pass for the first time since 1994 when I got it. The cost for a Premier pass is already $1500 with taxes, and there's no way they're not increasing that to nearly $2000 this year. And with present prices at $1050 for Disneyland only (or just $850 w/o Christmas week) is just too much when so many things are under construction.

But the runDisney events? We're totally signing up for them over the next year in general registration!

What I find more interesting is that nearly two months out from Dumbo we have a half marathon that hasn't sold out yet and you have runDisney vendors begging people to sign up at other running event expos offering $25 off registration if you do it that day. Tinkerbell half didn't sell out. So it must be people want a challenge or nothing? Or maybe the 10K is drawing people away from the half marathon?

IDEK. I have a lot of thoughts... but I totally believe the cost has reached a point where spending $350 for one race weekend isn't a good cost investment, especially when a similar race organization offers an unlimited racing pass for 5K, 10K, and half marathons for about $500.

I ended up buying the $850 AP for Disneyland and I have a Florida Resident Platinum Plus pass for WDW - it just didn't make sense for me to lose out on my Florida Resident rate and payment plan to upgrade to the Premier, when I'd only get Disneyland from May until November.

But I think cost of a LOT of things - hotels, plane tickets, gas, park tickets, RACE REGISTRATION ... it's enough to keep people away unless they are newbies or absolutely love a race weekend.

 

[Keels]

I feel like it may be a lot of things - price for sure is a factor and I think a lot of people want to do these races once and check them off the list. I especially think the repeatability factor is going away because the race weekends are all so similar now. Also, many people take one big vacation a year and the race weekends don't work super well with school schedules, or with some people's work schedules, so maybe that factors in?

I also think runDisney has been resting on their laurels for a bit now, and they're getting a little sloppy in some areas - people are starting to notice and take their money elsewhere.

Maybe people are waiting until next year - 10th anniversary of Princess weekend...???

Maybe????

When Princess doesn't sell out in early registration ...
When Star Wars STILL isn't a sell out ...
When Dopey hasn't sold out yet, almost three months after registration ...

All of these are race concepts that were VERY popular in years past.

I think $75 for a 5K with a rubber medal and unisex cotton shirt is too much. Now, change it to a tech shirt and a metal medal in line with the rest of the race weekend, and I'm back in for paying the $75. You pay $20-30 more for three more miles of running, a metal medal and a nicer shirt.

 

[SueInBoston]

Anybody know what the host resorts are? I couldn't find it on the rD site. My running partner has DVC reservation at Kidani and wondering if we should move it at the 7th month window? Kidani was not host for Wine & Dine and it was a bit of a pain to drive and park.

 

[NicoleLarson]

Anybody know what the host resorts are? I couldn't find it on the rD site. My running partner has DVC reservation at Kidani and wondering if we should move it at the 7th month window? Kidani was not host for Wine & Dine and it was a bit of a pain to drive and park.

Every resort is a host resort. I think they all are now for every race.

 

[pld5]

I think $75 for a 5K with a rubber medal and unisex cotton shirt is too much. Now, change it to a tech shirt and a metal medal in line with the rest of the race weekend, and I'm back in for paying the $75. You pay $20-30 more for three more miles of running, a metal medal and a nicer shirt.

This! I did the 5K last year as my first runDisney race. I was proud that I did it and am now registered for the GSC this year. But, the unisex cotton shirt? Very disappointed.

 

[pld5]

I registered for the GSC today with my passholder link. One of my arguments for upgrading to our annual pass last month was that it would allow me early registration. So happy it worked out today because I was scheduled into a meeting next week when the link opens to the public.

 

[Keels]

This! I did the 5K last year as my first runDisney race. I was proud that I did it and am now registered for the GSC this year. But, the unisex cotton shirt? Very disappointed.

HOLY COW!!!! Yay for you - that's AWESOME!!! I love to hear stories like this!! Is this your first challenge?? I know you will crush it.

 

[pld5]

HOLY COW!!!! Yay for you - that's AWESOME!!! I love to hear stories like this!! Is this your first challenge?? I know you will crush it.

Yes, this will be my first challenge. Thank you for the encouragement! I'm very excited! This board and community was so valuable while I did my first runDisney race in February. I was a solo traveler and had a blast doing the 5k, exploring the Expo, just enjoying the positive energy of the weekend. I will likely be solo again due to obligations of my family so I'm hoping to connect with other racers this year.

 

[NicoleLarson]

When Princess doesn't sell out in early registration ...
When Star Wars STILL isn't a sell out ...
When Dopey hasn't sold out yet, almost three months after registration ...

All of these are race concepts that were VERY popular in years past.

I think $75 for a 5K with a rubber medal and unisex cotton shirt is too much. Now, change it to a tech shirt and a metal medal in line with the rest of the race weekend, and I'm back in for paying the $75. You pay $20-30 more for three more miles of running, a metal medal and a nicer shirt.

I think you are right. To add to this, people just got fed up with the system. Wine and Dine 2015 was a complete disaster and I know they lost a lot of people, then in the end, they cut the race short and lost even more (not really WDW fault). The only thing that has sold out are the smaller distances, especially the 10K. Every race except for W & D have several options available, that definitely says something. Either they've priced people out or people just got fed up with the system. On top of that, hotels, tickets and food have sky rocketed in the parks. I want to do the 10K next year because I have done them all but after that, if prices keep going up, Gasparilla in Tampa is looking like a better option for that weekend.

 

[Keels]

I think you are right. To add to this, people just got fed up with the system. Wine and Dine 2015 was a complete disaster and I know they lost a lot of people, then in the end, they cut the race short and lost even more (not really WDW fault). The only thing that has sold out are the smaller distances, especially the 10K. Every race except for W & D have several options available, that definitely says something. Either they've priced people out or people just got fed up with the system. On top of that, hotels, tickets and food have sky rocketed in the parks. I want to do the 10K next year because I have done them all but after that, if prices keep going up, Gasparilla in Tampa is looking like a better option for that weekend.

Yup. My husband and I did W&D last year and that was the straw that broke his back when it came to RD. By that time, he was already registered for the 5 and 10K during Marathon Weekend (when I ran Dopey), but he said never again. He loved Disneyland, but W&D was such a disaster ... and he really got into it for that race. Costume, the whole nine. And it was a HUGE disappointment.

Also, the schedule is PRETTY crappy. W&D this year is the same weekend as Gasparilla (MUCH cheaper Challenge), IronMan Florida AND NYC Marathon. Granted, I know the crossover between those last two events is probably smaller ... but I didn't register for W&D because 1) I was waiting to see if I got into NYC and 2) I decided to spectate a friend doing his first IronMan at IronMan Florida.

I'm not doing Princess in 2017 because it's the same weekend as Cowtown (my hometown race weekend), and me and my VBRF are going to attempt our first Ultra Marathon that weekend, along with another bestie attempting her first marathon that weekend. Plus, we also have a handful of friends that run the half - so it's a big run weekend for our friend circle!

Even Marathon Weekend feels a little rough ... it's A LOT close to New Year's, so that's a big reason why a couple of my friends with kids can't make it out.

 

[WDWKid4Life]

Did anyone have trouble today during registration? I was trying to register for the glass slipper. I tried using my phone, then in IE, and again in Firefox. Each time after refreshing like crazy (this was done in sequence so it wasn't from confusing the system) I was able to get in but as soon as I got to the active screen where I clicked the button to say I was registering myself it didn't let me continue. My only button that was an option was to start over which kicked me back to the queue. Well after all the effort I never got through. Anyone have advice or similar experiences to help me avoid this for the general public registration???
TIA!

 

[DISbot]

Anyone know if the after-party was intentionally removed from the website? It looks like they nixed some of the external events that were included with the half and challenge registration...not sure if they are gone for good (which means the price of the race just went up by removing that benefit), or if they were just removed for updates to their details. There is still a reference in the site source code, but the paragraph blurbs for the after-party and pasta in the park appear to be totally gone...

Bump...anyone?
Definitely agree we are hitting a price point if perks are being pulled and this is why it was such a small price increase.

 

[Ariel484]

This! I did the 5K last year as my first runDisney race. I was proud that I did it and am now registered for the GSC this year. But, the unisex cotton shirt? Very disappointed.

Woohoo! Good luck to you!

I am SO with you on the unisex shirts!! I wish they would add an option for women's cut shirts for the 5Ks...it's not like they don't know well in advance what sizes we want.

I think you are right. To add to this, people just got fed up with the system. Wine and Dine 2015 was a complete disaster and I know they lost a lot of people, then in the end, they cut the race short and lost even more (not really WDW fault). The only thing that has sold out are the smaller distances, especially the 10K. Every race except for W & D have several options available, that definitely says something. Either they've priced people out or people just got fed up with the system. On top of that, hotels, tickets and food have sky rocketed in the parks. I want to do the 10K next year because I have done them all but after that, if prices keep going up, Gasparilla in Tampa is looking like a better option for that weekend.

I wasn't at Wine & Dine 2015, but I'm fed up with runDisney because of Wine & Dine 2016. The way they handled the changes to this weekend, with announcing how they were revamping the weekend less than 24 hours before early registration was supposed to begin - and then suddenly decided to push the weekend back - was so crappy of them. They KNOW that it's necessary for super advanced planning when it comes to these races - people had taken time off of work to register and that was for nothing with the date change. They just seem SO disorganized.

As for the 10Ks selling out quickly, a good chunk of those bibs are taken up by challenge runners. If there are 12,000 total bibs for the Princess 10K, for example, expect 7,000 or so to go to GSC runners. That's a big reason why you see the 10Ks fill up so fast - there are really only 5,000 or so available.

Did anyone have trouble today during registration? I was trying to register for the glass slipper. I tried using my phone, then in IE, and again in Firefox. Each time after refreshing like crazy (this was done in sequence so it wasn't from confusing the system) I was able to get in but as soon as I got to the active screen where I clicked the button to say I was registering myself it didn't let me continue. My only button that was an option was to start over which kicked me back to the queue. Well after all the effort I never got through. Anyone have advice or similar experiences to help me avoid this for the general public registration???
TIA!

I did not, but I did read on Facebook that some people had issues with Active.com, so it wasn't just you. That stinks that that happened.

I know people have had success before using Active.com's app. I used Chrome yesterday in an incognito window and that worked fine for me. Make sure you clear your browser history, cookies, etc. Good luck!!!

Bump...anyone?
Definitely agree we are hitting a price point if perks are being pulled and this is why it was such a small price increase.

I never did the parties so I haven't paid much attention, but I don't remember seeing them available for any of the other recent race weekends. I think they are being/have been phased out.

 

[Ariel484]

When Princess doesn't sell out in early registration ...
When Star Wars STILL isn't a sell out ...
When Dopey hasn't sold out yet, almost three months after registration ...

All of these are race concepts that were VERY popular in years past.

I think $75 for a 5K with a rubber medal and unisex cotton shirt is too much. Now, change it to a tech shirt and a metal medal in line with the rest of the race weekend, and I'm back in for paying the $75. You pay $20-30 more for three more miles of running, a metal medal and a nicer shirt.

Maybe they need to look at changing the themes a bit more?* They have so many IPs to draw from...do they really need 2 Star Wars race weekends? Maybe they can change up some of the race weekends every few years???



* PIXAR PIXAR PIXAR PIXAR

 

[joan4mickey]

Maybe they need to look at changing the themes a bit more?* They have so many IPs to draw from...do they really need 2 Star Wars race weekends? Maybe they can change up some of the race weekends every few years???



* PIXAR PIXAR PIXAR PIXAR

Sounds good..but please wait until I finish my 2018 Princess Half (10 year anniversary). The 2009 Princess was my first half and the first half for my two daughters. One of my daughter's wants to run with me for the 10th anniversary and I just want to reach that mile marker.

I thought five years would be it, but then they added the Challenge in 2014 and so I did that and then said I had enough. No real changes except they started focusing on a different princess each year and it had gotten so big, but then DS wanted to run as Mary Poppins and Bert so I did it again and then at that point I just said I would go to the 10 year mark.

This was a better run when it wasn't tacked onto the end of President's Week...it was in March and the Flower show had started in Epcot and I love to see that too. It was also much smaller the first 3 or 4 years and I think adding it to the end President's Weeks helped grow the numbers, and I don't like the fact it is prime cost for hotels. These are not complaints..Disney can do as they wish. I have had fun at all the events and I too have a choice to decide what to do.

So in the next day or two I will sign up with my reserved Perfect Princess link. That was a really nice perk they added last year...

 

[Ariel484]

Day 2...only 10K and challenge sold out for early registration. Dang, I couldn't taken my sweet time on that 5K registration yesterday!

 

[Heartsturtle]

* PIXAR PIXAR PIXAR PIXAR

YESSSSSS! I can see this happening once Toy Story land opens. It would be a perfect way to build excitement for the new land.

I suspect that with sales slowing down, RunDisney might start shaking things up. Although, I think the Princess Half marathon will be safe. I think it's the perfect race to entice women to participate and they can rotate through all the different princesses. I think weekends like Wine & Dine or The Avengers weekend could see the ax or some heavy changes.

 

[makclair]

Did anyone see that they are guessing maybe Belle will be the princess this year?

 

[run.minnie.miles]

Hi All! Planning on registering for the Princess Half on July 12 (my 1st ever!) and have a couple questions!
1. Can anyone tell me more about the jacket that you preorder? Cost? Style? Worth it?
2. At 12pm EDT, where is the best place to access the sign-up link? Facebook page? Email? Will active.com have it pop up?
3. Port Orleans-RS or Coronado Springs?
TIA for your help!!