Have we reached the saturation point?

[PCFriar80]

YES! This! EXACTLY!

I remember the "good 'ol days" when marathon weekend participants got a pass to Pleasure Island for Sunday night! We would hit up the Comedy Club and Adventurer's Club. Back then, there were no immediate online race results so they posted sheets of paper on various boards just outside of Pleasure Island. Folks would search for their times that way and then it was on to fun!

 

[Anisum]

I feel like the only upsell with challenges isn't being done by Disney but by the community as a whole (though far less on here than other places). Running a single race is always an accomplishment but if you're down there anyway you should just do the challenge, especially if you aren't going to be down again soon. After all it's only 6.2 miles (with Dopey and Goofy as the exceptions) more than the half. And you get a third medal. And everyone has 13.1 magnets but you could have a 19.3. Plus you get that runDisney experience two days in a row. Disney doesn't have to sell that. People will convince themselves to do the challenge all on their own.

 

[Ariel484]

this was probably said but I'm too lazy to go back and read through - if you're there for a challenge, you're probably likely to buy more merchandise (if you're there for the 5K you only buy 5K merch - if you're there for Dopey you possibly buy the Dopey, Goofy, marathon, half marathon, 10K and 5K merch!). You have to get there earlier to go to the expo in time for your races, so that's more time in a Disney hotel (assuming you're on-property), more days in the parks (more park ticket money, merchandise purchases, dining, etc.).

So while entry to the challenges doesn't seem to make them any more money from registration fees, it makes Team Disney more money overall...

 

[croach]

I guess a lot of this stuff just comes down to personal preference/experiences. Just my opinion, but think Disney runs maybe the smoothest racing weekend I've been a part of. The expos are crazy but they split them up so you can avoid the shopping deal if you so choose. For me the transportation is great and something you won't find at a lot of races. I just paid $15 for a shuttle ride at a half I signed up for. The on course entertainment is pretty good and is at least as good as anything I've seen. I think everyone has made a lot valid points and runDisney clearly had room to improve but for me they do a pretty great job of putting on a race. I've done a couple Rock N Roll races and I feel like they are pretty horribly run but someone else commented earlier about really liking them. So like I said, I guess each person has a different experience. And I know people aren't necessarily complaining about it but I just feel like runDisney should get some credit for what they do. I really sound like a corporate shill huh?

 

[ZellyB]

I guess a lot of this stuff just comes down to personal preference/experiences. Just my opinion, but think Disney runs maybe the smoothest racing weekend I've been a part of. The expos are crazy but they split them up so you can avoid the shopping deal if you so choose. For me the transportation is great and something you won't find at a lot of races. I just paid $15 for a shuttle ride at a half I signed up for. The on course entertainment is pretty good and is at least as good as anything I've seen. I think everyone has made a lot valid points and runDisney clearly had room to improve but for me they do a pretty great job of putting on a race. I've done a couple Rock N Roll races and I feel like they are pretty horribly run but someone else commented earlier about really liking them. So like I said, I guess each person has a different experience. And I know people aren't necessarily complaining about it but I just feel like runDisney should get some credit for what they do. I really sound like a corporate shill huh?

runDisney Apologist!!!

Just kidding and I actually agree with everything you said. I do think they put on great events - thus my willingness to pay premium registration fees. I think we all just always want more.more.MORE!!

 

[rowan1813]

I think Avengers is in real danger of being eliminated. The half this year was wonderful with just over 9K runners- but when you consider the size of other races like Hot Chocolate that has that many and more- how long can RD do a race with that "few people"???

When I was waiting in line for the Expo to open Thursday morning during Avengers weekend, someone called Avengers the "red-headed step-child of the RunDisney world". I have to agree with her and you as I feel a lot of it has to do with RunDisney's marketing and time spent. It was small, not a whole lot of people, I didn't see people pushing and shoving their way to merchandise as they apparently do during Princess weekend. I think it is a great theme but apparently RD doesn't - I feel like they have half-assed any kind of effort for it and I wouldn't be surprised if that was the first weekend to be rethemed into something else. It's really sad because I love the superhero theme (Captain America is my favorite and I loved the 5K) but I just don't see any kind of effort on RunDisney's part about making that weekend special.

 

[croach]

runDisney Apologist!!!

Just kidding and I actually agree with everything you said. I do think they put on great events - thus my willingness to pay premium registration fees. I think we all just always want more.more.MORE!!

I'm signing up for another race so you may be right.

 

[camaker]

When I was waiting in line for the Expo to open Thursday morning during Avengers weekend, someone called Avengers the "red-headed step-child of the RunDisney world". I have to agree with her and you as I feel a lot of it has to do with RunDisney's marketing and time spent. It was small, not a whole lot of people, I didn't see people pushing and shoving their way to merchandise as they apparently do during Princess weekend. I think it is a great theme but apparently RD doesn't - I feel like they have half-assed any kind of effort for it and I wouldn't be surprised if that was the first weekend to be rethemed into something else. It's really sad because I love the superhero theme (Captain America is my favorite and I loved the 5K) but I just don't see any kind of effort on RunDisney's part about making that weekend special.

If RunDisney didn't think it was a good theme, they wouldn't have a race weekend built around it. From the outside, I haven't seen any evidence of RunDisney shirking on promoting the race weekend. It's certainly in their best interest to make sure that they get as high an attendance as possible. Yes, Avengers is pretty much the same as any other race weekend, but one of the main complaints throughout this thread has been that they treat ALL race weekends with the cookie cutter 5k/10k/half/challenge day race approach (WDWMW being the notable exception).

In this case, I think your frustration is misplaced. I think the low attendance is due to not enough people being energized by the theme, not due to a lack of marketing. It also falls on a very crowded time of the year in the racing calendar. Late October through mid-November sees a glut of races around the country as it's one of the only times of year when the weather supports races in just about all regions, so competition is extremely high for it. I'd also say enjoy it while it lasts because that lack of crowding is what a lot of folks doing other RunDisney race weekends are yearning for.

Personally, I find Avengers to be the least attractive RunDisney race from a theming standpoint. Yes, I'd rather run Tink and Princess as a guy before Avengers. That's because the Disney aspect is a huge draw to the races for me. Yes, I know Disney owns the Avengers. But I just don't think Disney when I see Avengers or superheroes in general. If they replaced Avengers with Pirates of the Caribbean or Haunted Mansion (with the Halloween tie-in at that time of year) or Pixar I'd be there in a heartbeat.

 

[jaxonp]

Yes, Disney needs to get on the Halloween Half Marathon Weekend. Do it at night. Just imagine:

Grinning Ghosts 5k
Madam Leota 10k
The Haunted Mansion 1/2 Marathon
The Happy Haunts Challenge

 

[jaxonp]

Or... Pixar Half Marathon Weekend.. The theme could change each year and with Pixar attractions being big parts of each park and with Toy Story land coming on line in the next few years, this idea seems like a no brainer.

Nemo's 5k
Monstors Inc 10k
The Toy Story Half Marathon
Space Ranger Challenge / Woody's Round-up Challenge / Finding Nemo Challenge

There's just too many.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Personally, I find Avengers to be the least attractive RunDisney race from a theming standpoint. Yes, I'd rather run Tink and Princess as a guy before Avengers. That's because the Disney aspect is a huge draw to the races for me. Yes, I know Disney owns the Avengers. But I just don't think Disney when I see Avengers or superheroes in general. If they replaced Avengers with Pirates of the Caribbean or Haunted Mansion (with the Halloween tie-in at that time of year) or Pixar I'd be there in a heartbeat.

I'm right there with you. I think the inability to theme anything in WDW around Avengers/Marvel and the fact that Marvel existed for so long as a separate entity makes the appeal less obvious for the RunDisney audience.

 

[cavepig]

Disney just can't get past allowing people to swim in one of their lakes (

Yeah, no lake swimming will happen especially after the alligator attack, plus that water isn't something I would swim in. I know we were down there during some triathalon though in the last 10 years, it may have been organized by someone else (seemed women oriented) and just used WDW property, but I can't find stuff on it except a letter in our room telling us there could be delays on roads, as I would be curious to where they swam, Bay Lake?

. I do think they put on great events - thus my willingness to pay premium registration fees

Yes to this, great events so I feel like I'm getting the return on my investment, a fun time.

Yes, Disney needs to get on the Halloween Half Marathon Weekend. Do it at night. Just imagine:

Grinning Ghosts 5k
Madam Leota 10k
The Haunted Mansion 1/2 Marathon
The Happy Haunts Challenge

If they had a Haunted Mansion themed race people would sign up asap for sure. The medals would be awesome for sure.

 

[DOOM1001]

Yes, Disney needs to get on the Halloween Half Marathon Weekend. Do it at night. Just imagine:

Grinning Ghosts 5k
Madam Leota 10k
The Haunted Mansion 1/2 Marathon
The Happy Haunts Challenge

They already had the Tower of terror 10 miler that was basically a Halloween themed race.The finish line was backstage between Rock n Roller and ToT,a new Theater was built there to replace one that needed to be torn down for Står Wars construction,so 2014 was the last year held.

 

[cavepig]

Or... Pixar Half Marathon Weekend.. The theme could change each year and with Pixar attractions being big parts of each park and with Toy Story land coming on line in the next few years, this idea seems like a no brainer.

Nemo's 5k
Monstors Inc 10k
The Toy Story Half Marathon
Space Ranger Challenge / Woody's Round-up Challenge / Finding Nemo Challenge

There's just too many.

See, to me Pixar isn't a draw unless they really went all out. They had Remy's 10k with Wine & Dine already and there's usually Pixar characters out at other races. So, they would really have to go nuts to make a Pixar theme be different from just the normal Disney theme.

 

[opusone]

So while entry to the challenges doesn't seem to make them any more money from registration fees, it makes Team Disney more money overall...

Maybe. If they are truly filling all the available race spots (like they used to), then the challenge may hurt their overall revenue. Because with the challenge, they have one runner taking up two event spots; however, if they split it apart and had two people (one for the 10k and one for the half), Team Disney likely makes even more between the two folks (two hotel rooms, two people eating out, etc). I know it depends on how long the two folks stay, but I've got to believe that for one event, on average, people stay more than half the time that they would stay if they were doing two events. That is, I think most people will stay at least 2-3 nights regardless of how many races they are doing.

This analysis gets much more complicated, however, if the races aren't filling up.

 

[Anisum]

When I was waiting in line for the Expo to open Thursday morning during Avengers weekend, someone called Avengers the "red-headed step-child of the RunDisney world". I have to agree with her and you as I feel a lot of it has to do with RunDisney's marketing and time spent. It was small, not a whole lot of people, I didn't see people pushing and shoving their way to merchandise as they apparently do during Princess weekend. I think it is a great theme but apparently RD doesn't - I feel like they have half-assed any kind of effort for it and I wouldn't be surprised if that was the first weekend to be rethemed into something else. It's really sad because I love the superhero theme (Captain America is my favorite and I loved the 5K) but I just don't see any kind of effort on RunDisney's part about making that weekend special.

I think @camaker may be much closer to accurate with this regard. Disney advertises the race but it's an uphill battle because Disney hasn't quite integrated Marvel the way it has other properties which means many who come for a 'Disney' experience may not enjoy the Avengers weekend. While the world has mostly accepted that Star Wars is owned by Disney and expect to see Star Wars at the Disney Parks. This is in part because Disney has made Star Wars events a huge focus for years even before officially acquiring the rights. Marvel on the other hand while having been under Disney's umbrella longer (2009 for Marvel, 2012 for Star Wars) has seen very little introduction in the way of events. This provides little incentive to come to Disney to experience Marvel properties. There are certainly many runners who are fans of Marvel and runners who are fans of Disney but Avengers weekend tries to fall into that small overlap while sidestepping the numerous legal boundaries that come with Marvel properties. Including but not limited to Marvel's limited rights to many characters and teams outside of the Avengers (Spider-man, Fantastic Four, X-Men, etc.), the continued existence of Marvel rides at Universal which prevents characters featured in them from being used, inability to mention Marvel in a ride name, etc.

 

[rteetz]

I think @camaker may be much closer to accurate with this regard. Disney advertises the race but it's an uphill battle because Disney hasn't quite integrated Marvel the way it has other properties which means many who come for a 'Disney' experience may not enjoy the Avengers weekend. While the world has mostly accepted that Star Wars is owned by Disney and expect to see Star Wars at the Disney Parks. This is in part because Disney has made Star Wars events a huge focus for years even before officially acquiring the rights. Marvel on the other hand while having been under Disney's umbrella longer (2009 for Marvel, 2012 for Star Wars) has seen very little introduction in the way of events. This provides little incentive to come to Disney to experience Marvel properties. There are certainly many runners who are fans of Marvel and runners who are fans of Disney but Avengers weekend tries to fall into that small overlap while sidestepping the numerous legal boundaries that come with Marvel properties. Including but not limited to Marvel's limited rights to many characters and teams outside of the Avengers (Spider-man, Fantastic Four, X-Men, etc.), the continued existence of Marvel rides at Universal which prevents characters featured in them from being used, inability to mention Marvel in a ride name, etc.

This is why we only see Marvel in Anaheim. Disney can't have a Marvel race in Orlando unless its specific to Guardians of the Galaxy or Dr. Strange. Disneyland will soon have a larger presence of Marvel in DCA which might return some interest.

 

[FFigawi]

Yeah, no lake swimming will happen especially after the alligator attack, plus that water isn't something I would swim in. I know we were down there during some triathalon though in the last 10 years, it may have been organized by someone else (seemed women oriented) and just used WDW property, but I can't find stuff on it except a letter in our room telling us there could be delays on roads, as I would be curious to where they swam, Bay Lake?

Danskin hosted a women-only sprint tri at Disney a while ago, and there was also a half-Ironman there in 2004.

 

[derekleigh]

That must've been before I was on this board. I just feel the Dopey gets that attention because of its magnitude in endurance and popularity. Now every race should be looked at as a feat in itself because everyone is at different levels some people only do 5Ks which is great, some only do 10K, or halfs, and some only do the marathon. Whatever race a person does is awesome because they are getting out there and running or walking. That's one thing we all share in common at runDisney events. We are there to move, because we love Disney, and to have fun.

Ever since the introduction of Dopey, I become very cross when rD makes a big stink about Dopey while basically belittling the other races (only the 5K? Only the 10k? etc). I mean give me a break. As you said, every race is an accomplishment in and of itself. For some people a 5K is a walk in the park (ha ha see what I did there?! ) while for others it may be the only realistic distance they can do.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Ever since the introduction of Dopey, I become very cross when rD makes a big stink about Dopey while basically belittling the other races (only the 5K? Only the 10k? etc). I mean give me a break. As you said, every race is an accomplishment in and of itself. For some people a 5K is a walk in the park (ha ha see what I did there?! ) while for others it may be the only realistic distance they can do.

FWIW, they did not do that this year. They seemed t be very careful not to say things like, who is "only" running whatever the race was on a particular morning. I think that they heard the complaints and are trying to improve on that front.