Are Disney Races the most expensive ones out there?

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

With all this pricing talk, it makes me wonder if Disney races are the ones that you will spend the most on for entry fees? I am sure overall expense has to be the largest with most buying tickets to the parks, staying in Disney Hotels, etc. but do more expensive races that are nearly as popular actually exist?

 

[ludari]

With all this pricing talk, it makes me wonder if Disney races are the ones that you will spend the most on for entry fees? I am sure overall expense has to be the largest with most buying tickets to the parks, staying in Disney Hotels, etc. but do more expensive races that are nearly as popular actually exist?

Yes, Disney races are typically more expensive than other races. As far as other races that are as popular as Disney's races, well you have the Boston Marathon that is extremely popular as well as the Hood to Coast run. I guess it depends on what your looking for and what you consider fun. I hope this answers your question.

 

[FFigawi]

They're pretty close to the most expensive, but New York's got them beat. The RnR and Miami marathons go up in price every few months or so.

New York - $196
London - 100 pounds (about $155)
Chicago - $135
Disney - $135
RnR San Diego - $130
RnR Arizona - $130
RnR San Antonio - $90
Miami - $85

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

Wow - The New York Marathon must just be about the prestige because their medal isn't nearly as cool.

 

[Bephus]

My experience is that the majority of big marathons are in the $100-$130 range (even the Donna here in Jax is over $100 for the full and $95 for the half if you don't register early).

 

[cewait]

Disney is about the middle of the pack for large events....

The killer for Disney is all the other costs. Parks and meals can be a killer

 

[verticalchaos]

Wow - The New York Marathon must just be about the prestige because their medal isn't nearly as cool.

NYRR Membership has its privileges...it's only $156 for us.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

NYRR Membership has its privileges...it's only $156 for us.

How generous of them. The discounts for all these races appear to be lacking. I guess they expect that people will just run them once and be done with it. But, I think that most of the race threads prove that there are many veterans that run year after year.

Maybe if you use your Disney Visa card for all your expenses and pay it off, you could have enough rewards to offset the other costs...kind of. I think the maximum rewards granted each year is something like $500. Okay for one person or two traveling but with kids forget about it.

 

[verticalchaos]

How generous of them. The discounts for all these races appear to be lacking. I guess they expect that people will just run them once and be done with it. But, I think that most of the race threads prove that there are many veterans that run year after year.

Maybe if you use your Disney Visa card for all your expenses and pay it off, you could have enough rewards to offset the other costs...kind of. I think the maximum rewards granted each year is something like $500. Okay for one person or two traveling but with kids forget about it.

I know, right? Of course, to get a guaranteed entry when you're a penguin like myself, you have to run 9 of their races in the previous calendar year (at around $18 a pop). Oh joy!

 

[geaux_half]

While Disney may be middle of the pack with its marathon pricing, its the clear leader in its half marathon pricing. My entry fee for the NYC half this March is $104 while the just announced early discount rate for the Disneyland 1/2 this September is $125.

Other 2011 half prices on my schedule are:

Austin $70.20
Lincoln $55.00
13.1 Chicago $38.00
Mayor's in Anchorage $43.60

 

[WDWFAN9]

its the clear leader in its half marathon pricing.

Sad, but very true in my experience.

This past year I did 13 half-marathons, I think Buffalo was the cheapest at $40 and that included a pre-race cotton shirt mailed to my home, a free pre-race pasta dinner, tech shirt and ok medal, and a pretty nice spread afterwards (indoors). Most of the others were in the $60 - $75 dollar range, except for Disney. It will be interesting to see what happens when they open registration up in March for Jan 2012. I've got my fingers crossed for an early registration discount.

 

[verticalchaos]

I do find the fact that the half is priced the exact same as the full very odd.

Still...I'm clearly buying it. LOL.

 

[deleckidesign]

It will be interesting to see what happens when they open registration up in March for Jan 2012. I've got my fingers crossed for an early registration discount.

They really open it that early! I'm thinking/planning of doing my first full at Disney next year...hoping for an early registration discount as well. Might as well sign up and make the commitment early!

 

[cewait]

. It will be interesting to see what happens when they open registration up in March for Jan 2012. I've got my fingers crossed for an early registration discount.

?? Registration for 2012 opens January10... That is unless I am missing something.

I think it important to keep an eye on early registration for the 2012 half..... It is the 15th anniversary event. The 2002 event sold out in less than 3 weeks. Th 10th took a lot longer, but was not celebrated by Disney, either. So, if you read anything about a special medal, watch out.

 

[johde]

In the half marathon realm, I agree Disney is one of the most expensive. So far, I've entered 3 Half Marathon. I've gotten at some early Discount but I've paid.

Cleveland, OH - $40
Columbus, OH - $50
Xenia, OH - $25

So far, I've stayed fairly local, but, I'm planning on the Disneyland in September. With early discount it's more expensive than all 3 prior combined.

 

[cewait]

Actually, dog piling on the half is really wrongly placed. No one has mentioned the exorbitant costs of the 5k's. Agreed that the half is high compared with the national average but you (we) freely pay the price and fill it out every year.

The cost of the 5ks are well out of place. You pay 2-3 customary pricing and do not get n official time. Plus the costs of the 5ks is significantly lower than the half or full as they are handled within the bounds of one park.

Ok just pointing out the more obnoxious costing event.

 

[WDWFAN9]

?? Registration for 2012 opens January10... That is unless I am missing something.

This year's race program says that registration for Marathon Weekend 2012 opens March 2011 at rundisney.com, which is a change from how it has been done.

 

[verticalchaos]

Actually, dog piling on the half is really wrongly placed. No one has mentioned the exorbitant costs of the 5k's. Agreed that the half is high compared with the national average but you (we) freely pay the price and fill it out every year.

The cost of the 5ks are well out of place. You pay 2-3 customary pricing and do not get n official time. Plus the costs of the 5ks is significantly lower than the half or full as they are handled within the bounds of one park.

Ok just pointing out the more obnoxious costing event.

Very true about the 5Ks. The only ones that come close to the $45 that I've done or looked at are the "benefit" ones put on by NYRR such as the Jingle Jog or the Emerald Nut Midnight Run. Otherwise theirs are $18 for members.

Most other benefits I've seen are in the $25 advance registration zone.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

?? Registration for 2012 opens January10... That is unless I am missing something.

I think it important to keep an eye on early registration for the 2012 half..... It is the 15th anniversary event. The 2002 event sold out in less than 3 weeks. Th 10th took a lot longer, but was not celebrated by Disney, either. So, if you read anything about a special medal, watch out.

So, if they end up having a special medal for the 2012 Half you think that will sell out a lot faster? I was surprised that DL half didn't sell out faster last year. It was the fifth anniversary, it had a special medal and was required for the coast to coast. Although these races are expensive we definitely aren't being suckered into paying the fee. I just know that people are more interested in my three Disney medals and I will have a lot of visitors when I return to work after the WDW Marathon. They are magnets! One of my colleagues does the big Marathons like NYC, Boston and London and people aren't as interested in those medals. They just look at them, whilst people examine mine so closely I feel they are being appraised!

 

[cewait]

This year's race program says that registration for Marathon Weekend 2012 opens March 2011 at rundisney.com, which is a change from how it has been done.

Thanks... I knew that it had to be published but did not pick up on it and it is a huge change in the way they have done things. Looks like they are attempting to spur a little pent up interest in the event prior to opening entries. Kind of like it was in the mail in paper days.

So, if they end up having a special medal for the 2012 Half you think that will sell out a lot faster? I was surprised that DL half didn't sell out faster last year. It was the fifth anniversary, it had a special medal and was required for the coast to coast. Although these races are expensive we definitely aren't being suckered into paying the fee. I just know that people are more interested in my three Disney medals and I will have a lot of visitors when I return to work after the WDW Marathon. They are magnets! One of my colleagues does the big Marathons like NYC, Boston and London and people aren't as interested in those medals. They just look at them, whilst people examine mine so closely I feel they are being appraised!

All i know is that 2002 was amazing. Registration, like next year, opened in March and the event sold out during spring break. Part of the draw was the medal. It was a very unique, one of a kind duck. The other was that half marathons had a real growth spurt in the early 2000's. There were relatively few major half events in 2002 and even less associated with a major full. The other draw for Disney was that you could drop back to the half even if you were running the full since the half finish was in the Pluto lot of the MK parking lot.

For the 2010 DL, I honestly think that the price of entry outgrew the elasticity of demand, or in other words was just too dang expensive. You saw the 15th full sell out quicker than historic averages (but not as quickly as the 5th half) only to not sell out the last two years (even though the web site says sold out).

I think that the half will sell quickly up front due to the special year and the anticipation of a special medal. But also, the expected discount structure for early entry will help drive the inital numbers up. If the WDWM folks were smart they would skew the % and put the 50% value out for public consumption prior to the first discount period closing; even if they are not at 50%. That would create a stir in entries.

The only other race to fill as quickly as the 2002 half was the 4th or 5th Goofy. But they killed a lot of the special value of the event when they doubled the slots in a year while increasing the cast significantly.