Marathon Weekend 2023

[Dopey 2020]

SAFD
Your registration should be secured for twenty minutes once you are in queue, no one should get to the pay screen and see “sorry, sold out”

On another note I’m quite happy, our wait list came through for a 1BR value at AKL, my favorite room for MW

 

[Barca33Runner]

SAFD:

A lot of really good answers provided already. I’m not sure I have the answer for it from their perspective but I hate feeling like a pack mule after the race is over if I have any interest in drinks/snacks. I realize the best solution is bringing a bag with me but I’m lucky that I remember to put on shoes at 3 AM.

Speaking of 3 AM, I realize that race homogenization makes things easier on them. Road closures, race traffic, and park inconveniences in the middle of the night/early morning are clearly easier to deal with than other times. But it would be nice if they tried a little harder to make the race weekends unique.

 

[CP3uhoh]

SAFD:

A lot of really good answers provided already. I’m not sure I have the answer for it from their perspective but I hate feeling like a pack mule after the race is over if I have any interest in drinks/snacks. I realize the best solution is bringing a bag with me but I’m lucky that I remember to put on shoes at 3 AM.

Speaking of 3 AM, I realize that race homogenization makes things easier on them. Road closures, race traffic, and park inconveniences in the middle of the night/early morning are clearly easier to deal with than other times. But it would be nice if they tried a little harder to make the race weekends unique.

Yes, I'd like to hear why they went from 5:30 to 5:00 AM starts. That 30 minutes is something. I realize they want the roads to open up sooner, but I'd like to see them move up the min pace if they're that worried about it. People shouldn't be walking an entire 10k, sorry, but if you can't move at 15m/mi you probably shouldn't be traversing the distance because your body can't handle it and most people won't even have to go that fast unless they start the race LAST. Yes, waiting in line for 30 minutes for a picture can affect pace.

On a more realistic note, maybe don't have that pre race setup where you walk 2 miles by the time you get off the buses to the start line at Epcot. Asking people to do that and run a half/full marathon is A LOT. I believe they do this on Princess weekends too but a lot of people were not very happy this past Marathon weekend.

To someone else's point, more time in Hollywood would be nice, I'm interested to see the 10-mile course coming up, you would think that would be more than down sunset from the backside and out the front by the Skyliner. I think with Galaxy's Edge there's a way to around all the way and out the front but my guess is that's an issue with park open more than a route that's feasible as Hollywood is near the end of many races when included.

 

[Barca33Runner]

To someone else's point, more time in Hollywood would be nice, I'm interested to see the 10-mile course coming up, you would think that would be more than down sunset from the backside and out the front by the Skyliner. I think with Galaxy's Edge there's a way to around all the way and out the front but my guess is that's an issue with park open more than a route that's feasible as Hollywood is near the end of many races when included.

I think the primary issue with HS is that TSL and GE are incredibly narrow. Even assuming everyone would be through before park opening they would still be pinch points with potential to cause big traffic jams.

Add to that, it’s much easier to not do something than to do something and they have little motivation to change courses to accommodate those lands. I’d like to think they can come up with something but I’m not holding my breath.

 

[jpeterson]

SAFD
Your registration should be secured for twenty minutes once you are in queue, no one should get to the pay screen and see “sorry, sold out”

This! Add in allowing more presales for merch or limiting it to racers only would make this so much less stressful.

 

[DIS-OH]

SAFD: Tape or use temporary paint to designate “running lanes” and “walking lanes” at points where courses narrow.

(We know they know how to quickly put down and pull up tape along the parade routes and fireworks viewing areas! )

 

[lookingforsunshine]

SAFD: I’ll do a very specific one… have a plant based snack box option at the finish. I do not want the cheese (or other animal products).

I also would make sure people in the last starting groups can hear/see the pregame show. This was inconsistent over MW.

 

[1lilspark]

SAFD:
Some things have already been said but
1) official race merch for runners only
2) show where characters/entertainment will be on map (you don’t need to say who/what)
3) hold a spot in queue so it doesn’t sell out while entering info

 

[Cabius]

SAFD: I wish runDisney would make me about 25 pounds lighter. (I know they're trying to make my wallet as light as possible, but I need to dig a little deeper!)

More seriously: my daughter was really bummed the kids' races were cancelled this year; it would be nice to have those back.

 

[sandam1]

SAFD: it’s little, but having bib pickup in the same building as shirt pickup. Most races I’ve done already so that, and I don’t like fighting my way through the expo vendor crowd to get my shirt.

I've always seen this as a way to get feet in the door of the Expo building so they can justify the cost of the booth rentals.

 

[sandam1]

SAFD

I've seen A LOT of things that I totally agree with (POT, better communication, more merchandise availability, making the race different from each other).

My suggestions:

- Add some sort of challenge to MW that does not include the marathon. I saw the suggestion of the 10K and half and that would work for me. If they wanted to throw the 5K in as well, I'd be cool with that. I've done Marathon Weekend twice and the Princess challenge once and I just like MW better. I like the vibe of the weekend and the time of year works out better for training as I can get the bulk of the long runs outside before the weather sends me indoors. But I don't want to have to do the marathon to do a challenge. Throw us a bone, Disney!

- Add a 4-person relay to the marathon. Again, something for people who don't want to do the marathon distance.

- Set up some mechanism to allow for deferments and bid transfers. Yes, charge a transfer fee (and knowing Disney, it would be steep), but when you are asking people to register 6 months (or more) in advance, something to allow people to not be out their entire registration fee if life happens would be nice. A second best would to offer a race based, travel insurance policy.

- An after-party (Sunday night?) at the Magic Kingdom. Make it an add-on ticket, if they must, but only for runners and their guests. I did an after-hours event on the Monday night after the Princess challenge in 2020 and it was the perfect cap to the weekend. And I had a great time getting medal pictures.

 

[nekonekoneko]

SAFD: it’s little, but having bib pickup in the same building as shirt pickup. Most races I’ve done already so that, and I don’t like fighting my way through the expo vendor crowd to get my shirt.

The vendors at the expo want exposure to the people. Having the bib-shirt pickup in a different building totally defeats the purpose. There'd be plenty of people who would just get in, get their stuff they need for the races, and get out.

SAFD:

Most of what I wanted to say was already said in previous posts.

What I'd like to see is a change to the "I DID IT!" merch, which would only be offered at the staging area for the race. In order to buy it, you'd need to be wearing your bib AND the medal for the respective race in order to get that gear. Way too often, I see people buying way too much of this, probably to resell. And then there's the inevitable posts on Facebook that they're selling their "I DID IT!" merch, because they got swept.

 

[camaker]

SAFD: I agree with some of the suggestions in prior posts. My already covered and new suggestions are:

• Bring back the old PoT requirements, including the deadline extension so it covers Chicago
• Implement the race reservation suggestion once you're in the registration site making selections, BUT limit multiple registrations by an individual to immediate family members (spouses/partners & children)
• Bring back Champion or another name brand, quality race shirt. Disney charges a premium price for these registrations, they can provide gear that isn't made out of sandpaper and/or unravels at the first sign of wear or washing
• [Minor] Stop putting "I did it!" on general race merchandise (especially car magnets). Leave that to the finisher shirts.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Add some sort of challenge to MW that does not include the marathon. I saw the suggestion of the 10K and half and that would work for me.

I would also like this, but then they would have to add another medal and shirt to Dopey… I kind of wish that Dopey didn’t include the Goofy challenge anyway. I get that you technically do Goofy as part of Dopey, but Dopey is also its own separate thing. People should get the race medals and then the final challenge medal, which would allow more flexibility like this. I like how someone referred to it in here once as the “Happy” challenge

Set up some mechanism to allow for deferments and bid transfers. Yes, charge a transfer fee (and knowing Disney, it would be steep),

This! So many races do this easily so I don’t know why Disney can’t.

An after-party (Sunday night?) at the Magic Kingdom.

This would be so fun!!

 

[Kitty-chan]

SAFD:

One more vote here for holding your pending registration for 20 minutes while you're filling out the forms. If Ticketmaster (and such) can do it, so can runDisney.

 

[Dopey 2020]

How about a challenge medal to recognize multiple weekends? Coast to coast doesn’t exist anymore and Paris may or may not ever happen again, but I have done all four WDW weekends for a couple of years and would have thrown away some more dollars for some form of multi challenge medal. Not a big deal but I’m surprised to see Disney leaving money on the table.

 

[accm]

SAFD: I like a lot of the suggestions on here.
I wish they would have photos/mock-ups for the items they do have available for pre order. I probably would have ended up ordering more though, so maybe not a great idea.

I also like the idea of the “I did it” shirts only being sold after the races, with a bib and medal. I lucked out that they still had them available after the half at wine and dine last year, because I didn’t want to buy a shirt saying I did something I hadn’t done yet.

 

[BigEeyore]

SAFD: So many great suggestions Dis'ers! Especially going back to the old PoT system - a 1:53 half time is literally BQ pace for me, and a pretty high bar for most runners (especially at a "fun" marathon like Disney).
Pre-ordering race merch seems like a win-win for athletes and Disney - if they do it they need to provide photos of the items.
Better quality race shirts.

One thought I had to help relieve the stress of registration day is to have different registration times for the different events. So - 9am Dopey and Goofy, 10am Half and Full, 11 am 5k and 10K. This would help spread out traffic on rD website. Also really miss the old "% full" they used to show on their site if you were on the fence about signing up!

 

[azrivest]

SAFD:

Agreed with most suggestions, especially the prepurchase of race merch & locking in your registration until you pay

I'd also like more challenges, like the Challenge for Spring Surprise that encompasses all 3 races

 

[jrsharp21]

SAFD: Mix up the Powerade flavors. I am still avoiding blue Powerade right now. LOL.

I would also say offer a different variety of food options on the marathon course rather than just bananas and energy chews. Maybe some pretzels, peanuts, Nutrigrain bars, etc.