Disneyland Half Marathon 2024

[jenljeffers1989]

it closed through the weekend, too?! I tried to get reservations every day thru the 17th and never saw a single slot open.

Yep. I don't understand why they wouldn't just wait a week until after the race weekend to do whatever they're doing.

 

[RunWI1265]

Yep. I don't understand why they wouldn't just wait a week until after the race weekend to do whatever they're doing.

Wow - I said the same about WOC. It’s a little frustrating but I guess they know we are coming regardless so they don’t need to keep everything open for us. I’m bummed out for my kids. They’ve never been to Disneyland and they’re going to miss out on a lot of staple DL entertainment.

 

[nekonekoneko]

Yeah, this is my first trip to DL, and I'm missing out on quite a bit of stuff already.

 

[iheartglaciers]

Same... I haven't been to DLR in 6 years and I'm bringing friends who've never been before...

 

[sandam1]

I guess they know we are coming regardless so they don’t need to keep everything open for us.

I could see how Disney would think this. However, for me, what is happening is that I'm becoming less and less likely to do future Disneyland races. I knew that we were going in the "off-season" and that some things would be down, but this is getting ridiculous.

I know the runDisney seldom thinks about the long-term impact of decisions and they just assume that people will keep coming, but personally I've been known to have a long memory.

 

[nekonekoneko]

I know the runDisney seldom thinks about the long-term impact of decisions and they just assume that people will keep coming, but personally I've been known to have a long memory.

Thing is, Disney doesn't really care about who gives them the money, just that they get it. Look at how quick all the races are still selling out on day 1. They very much know the demand is there. Are we still dealing with smaller races? I think so. If it's not you, someone else will get in. I see all the posts on Facebook from people who complain about not getting in, but what do you want rD to do? They didn't get HIS money, but they got THE money they wanted, anyway.

 

[RunWI1265]

Thing is, Disney doesn't really care about who gives them the money, just that they get it.

Right. It’s the same with the merch issues. Instead of making sure runners attending can have access to merchandise throughout the weekend they turn the blind eye to resellers gobbling everything up. They got the money. Their job is done. But you know what? I still keep signing up.

 

[kristenabelle]

Welp. Guess I'm gonna be eating a lot of corn dogs the entire trip

Edited: IMO (and my palate is super unsophisticated), Disneyland has a lot of great quick service options so I know I'll be fed. I just like to break up the day with a reservation and this year availability/open choices are slim. Ah well.

 

[The Expert]

It's like Disneyland officials got together and said "how can we make sure the runners for the race weekend have the worst experience possible? Let's close everything for refurbishment and close down the restaurants."

It sure feels that way.

Realistically, the department that determines the downtime and refurb calendar likely did that months (or even years) ago, and changing things cascades to a lot of other issues. We already know how poor rD communications with other departments is. My guess is the week of these races is usually one of their slowest, making it a great time to take things offline. But it also makes it a great time to pull in the rD crowd and boost attendance. Sadly I do think it will result in a diminished experience for first time DL visitors.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

Welp. Guess I'm gonna be eating a lot of corn dogs the entire trip

Edited: IMO (and my palate is super unsophisticated), Disneyland has a lot of great quick service options so I know I'll be fed. I just like to break up the day with a reservation and this year availability/open choices are slim. Ah well.

I love their quick service options, and there's competition with restaurants outside the parks. Earl of Sandwich is a walk away from the parks in DTD and I've left the parks to have lunch there. I also compared prices between character dining and Denny's dining, and Denny's wins budget wise. It's hard for me to splurge on character dining when Denny's and iHOP are a fraction of the cost and I can get that breakfast right after the 10k.

 

[sandam1]

Thing is, Disney doesn't really care about who gives them the money, just that they get it. Look at how quick all the races are still selling out on day 1. They very much know the demand is there. Are we still dealing with smaller races? I think so. If it's not you, someone else will get in. I see all the posts on Facebook from people who complain about not getting in, but what do you want rD to do? They didn't get HIS money, but they got THE money they wanted, anyway.

This short-term thinking is what has the company overall in the place that it is (with demand for their product softening). When things are great (economy is good, people are spending money), this is true. But when things go downhill (or you just do it long enough to irritate enough people), you are going to regret not having those loyal customers. It's cheaper to keep existing customers than it is to acquire new ones.

Yes, this year's race sold super fast, but the pent-up demand won't be there forever. As Springtime Surprise has shown (with the 10-miler still open months after registration day), if you don't have a product that people want, it won't sell.

To another point, I suspect that Disney intentionally kept this race weekend smaller than their actual capacity, which artificially inflated demand. It will be very interesting to track the DL numbers over a couple of years to see if this winds up being true.

 

[1lilspark]

FWIW re dining reservations just keep checking the app we couldn’t get anything we wanted initially but my sister later on grabbed carthay and than I grabbed a lamplight (we ultimately dropped carthay as we didn’t want two sit down lounges sucking up our one park day) we also did mobile walk up for trader Sam’s

 

[TarynM]

We're going to have a busy trip apparently! Just signed up for a D23 Walt Disney Studios Tour on Friday after the 5k. It helps that my friend and I have Magic Keys, so we aren't wasting a park day to go.

 

[The Expert]

Just signed up for a D23 Walt Disney Studios Tour on Friday after the 5k.

OMG thank you for the heads-up on this! I'm D23 Gold and am totally signing up. Trick is, I am not renting a car. I'll just sign up and figure out how to get there later!

 

[kristenabelle]

Ah omg thank you for sharing! Just got my gold 10:30 ticket - I didn't have a park day scheduled Friday, so this is perfect!

 

[TarynM]

Ah omg thank you for sharing! Just got my gold 10:30 ticket - I didn't have a park day scheduled Friday, so this is perfect!

That's the time we're doing on Friday! We'll see you there!

 

[DisneyParrothead]

I got my tour of choice! Walt’s Main Street Tour, booked Saturday!

 

[The Expert]

Ah omg thank you for sharing! Just got my gold 10:30 ticket - I didn't have a park day scheduled Friday, so this is perfect!

That's the time we're doing on Friday! We'll see you there!

I'm also on the 10:30! I'm not renting a car and trying to figure out how to get there. If anybody has room for me to ride along, I'd be happy to chip in for gas or buy lunch.

 

[Grabnar]

Inspired by the SAFD in the Marathon Weekend thread; how do y'all pack for DL in the winter? What sort of weather should I be anticipating here? Never been to LA/SoCal before so entirely unsure what to expect.

 

[AZMermaid]

Layers! It’ll probably be cold in the morning. Now, I’m in AZ so cold may be relative. But I’ll wear jeans and a t shirt with a sweatshirt. I’ve been in Dec with a cold front and had to buy a hat and gloves! So I’ll throw those in just in case. But I’ve really only needed them that one trip, but it was memorable.

Last year it was very very rainy in January including this weekend. Although I’m aware of that… I’m also like Lalalala not gonna happen lol! I don't have a great rain plan- parks or race wise.