New runDisney race -- who is disappointed?

[FireDancer]

Apparently men will get a medal for running. I bet the men have to start a corral back though - if not more, since a man won the Princess this year, despite that handicap.

Too bad, too - I was hoping to use a Disney race as an excuse for us to go visit Disneyland and see a SIL. S'ok - California has plenty of other races.

Competitor puts on some great races. I'd do the RnR Los Angeles and add on some Disney days. Like I said on the W.I.S.H. boards my Disney running for the forseeable future will be non-RunDisney events like the Gasparilla or Space Coast with Disney days thrown in before or after.

 

[deekaypee]

Epic fail on runDisney's part. I'm not impressed with the timing, the theme, or the idea that it's a race just lifted from Disney's Princess.

Frank's comments have been the most entertaining thing about the whole announcement, so it's not been a total loss for me.

 

[FireDancer]

Frank's comments have been the most entertaining thing about the whole announcement, so it's not been a total loss for me.

What can I say? I'm a giver

 

[ludari]

I live in SoCal so I have to say I'm a little excited about another race at Disneyland. I know some people maybe disappointed about another women's race but men can still register and run. I did.

 

[timmac]

I've offered my feelings on facebook, and on another thread, but color me in the same group of people as FireDancer. I plan to do W&D since I already have most of my travel arrangements in place (in such a way that I'd lose money, etc). But that may be my last runDisney event.

The community response, while not 100%, has been overwhelmingly negative, and with good reason. It's unfortunate that in the world of Disney races, demand so greatly exceeds supply, so it's doubtful how much impact I'll have by expressing my opinion by spending my dollars elsewhere.

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Epic fail on runDisney's part. I'm not impressed with the timing, the theme, or the idea that it's a race just lifted from Disney's Princess.

Frank's comments have been the most entertaining thing about the whole announcement, so it's not been a total loss for me.

What can I say? I'm a giver

I've been quite entertained by Frank's comments as well. I love the quote you used in your article Debra.

 

[ADP]

I might be getting a little OT with this comment, but what is the allure with all of the anticipation and buildup with announcements in general. It seems to be such a trend these days. Get everyone all reved up about some major announcement and then make the announcement days or weeks later.

I understand "the tease" in media and PR, but it seems to go overboard at times. Personally, I'd just like to here the announcement whenever its ready to be announced. I think it sort of hurt this announcement and gave some a bad taste.

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

I might be getting a little OT with this comment, but what is the allure with all of the anticipation and buildup with announcements in general. It seems to be such a trend these days. Get everyone all reved up about some major announcement and then make the announcement days or weeks later.

I understand "the tease" in media and PR, but it seems to go overboard at times. Personally, I'd just like to here the announcement whenever its ready to be announced. I think it sort of hurt this announcement and gave some a bad taste.

I agree with you Aaron. I think people think, "oh we can build up the announcement using social media", but I think overall it just leads to heightened expectations that can't be met.

 

[ADP]

I agree with you Aaron. I think people think, "oh we can build up the announcement using social media", but I think overall it just leads to heightened expectations that can't be met.

Agree...BTW - I can't wait to hear what new attraction will replace Jimmy Neutron at Universal Studios. The Facebook clues can't come fast enough!

 

[jeanigor]

I think there are some pluses and minuses, much like with most of life.

Location: I think it is appropriate that Disneyland get another runDisney event. Adding another endurance event will make it less disproportionate.

Scheduling: The Tinkerbell ½ is three weeks after Marathon Weekend and four weeks before the Princess ½. It makes the first two months of the year extremely top heavy with events. Some people need a period of recovery time, which if they were able to participate in these event it would not afford them. It also means coughing up a ton of cash and vacation time in a short period of time.

Theme: I think they wanted as close to another Princess race as possible, as it seems to be quite popular. I feel a lack of creativity and drive to create a new product, much the way Disney merchandising has gone.

Female Focused: Half marathons have seemed to get more people motivated to get up off their collective duffs. It seems far more achievable than a full marathon and training can be fit in with life's chores. The data seems to show that most participants in runDisney ½ marathons are women. From a sales aspect, I believe women are more likely to purchase souvenirs and memorabilia; so it would make sense that Disney stands to profit more from women than from men. (I apologize for the generalization, but stand in the Emporium/Mouse Gears/etc. and watch the registers.)
I feel that runDisney is trying to clone the success they have had with the Princess ½ only on the west coast. I didn't like the way runDisney made me feel illegitimate in February, nor the attitude/comments I received from some lady runners on the course (not the majority--but still disheartening and rude). I am disappointed that Disney is seeking something to be less egalitarian and more exclusionary.
Since runDisney wants to focus on specific groups, I wonder how long until I get a race geared toward diabetic, gay, pudgy, slow guys?

 

[slapwhitey]

I think there are some pluses and minuses, much like with most of life.

Location: I think it is appropriate that Disneyland get another runDisney event. Adding another endurance event will make it less disproportionate.

Scheduling: The Tinkerbell ½ is three weeks after Marathon Weekend and four weeks before the Princess ½. It makes the first two months of the year extremely top heavy with events. Some people need a period of recovery time, which if they were able to participate in these event it would not afford them. It also means coughing up a ton of cash and vacation time in a short period of time.

Theme: I think they wanted as close to another Princess race as possible, as it seems to be quite popular. I feel a lack of creativity and drive to create a new product, much the way Disney merchandising has gone.

Female Focused: Half marathons have seemed to get more people motivated to get up off their collective duffs. It seems far more achievable than a full marathon and training can be fit in with life's chores. The data seems to show that most participants in runDisney ½ marathons are women. From a sales aspect, I believe women are more likely to purchase souvenirs and memorabilia; so it would make sense that Disney stands to profit more from women than from men. (I apologize for the generalization, but stand in the Emporium/Mouse Gears/etc. and watch the registers.)
I feel that runDisney is trying to clone the success they have had with the Princess ½ only on the west coast. I didn't like the way runDisney made me feel illegitimate in February, nor the attitude/comments I received from some lady runners on the course (not the majority--but still disheartening and rude). I am disappointed that Disney is seeking something to be less egalitarian and more exclusionary.
Since runDisney wants to focus on specific groups, I wonder how long until I get a race geared toward diabetic, gay, pudgy, slow guys?

I can't believe you received attitude and comments during the Princess. It shouldn't matter who is running an event....it's crazy.

Secondly, I have the pudgy (slightly more than pudgy) and slow figured out. Not diabetic or gay but maybe I can be included anyway in that race.

 

[irishdadx4]

I didn't like the way runDisney made me feel illegitimate in February, nor the attitude/comments I received from some lady runners on the course (not the majority--but still disheartening and rude). I am disappointed that Disney is seeking something to be less egalitarian and more exclusionary.
Since runDisney wants to focus on specific groups, I wonder how long until I get a race geared toward diabetic, gay, pudgy, slow guys?

Sorry to hear that fellow runners gave you any grief Todd. Not very sportsman like

And while I don't fall under the diabetic and gay categories, I fit the pudgy and slow category to a "T"....so sign me up for that race please. and I'll see you on the course.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Since runDisney wants to focus on specific groups, I wonder how long until I get a race geared toward diabetic, gay, pudgy, slow guys?

I would run that race for sure.

 

[deekaypee]

I might be getting a little OT with this comment, but what is the allure with all of the anticipation and buildup with announcements in general. It seems to be such a trend these days. Get everyone all reved up about some major announcement and then make the announcement days or weeks later.

I understand "the tease" in media and PR, but it seems to go overboard at times. Personally, I'd just like to here the announcement whenever its ready to be announced. I think it sort of hurt this announcement and gave some a bad taste.

I'm with you, ADP. (Aaron?) I think the build-up is in part what's causing such a negative reaction. The clue game was intended to build excitement and anticipation in the runDisney fan community. Of course, we all wanted to see a race that we could participate in. Sure, we knew we might not get exactly what we wanted, but that was okay. I haven't heard, for instance, anyone seriously argue that DLR doesn't deserve another race.

Yet the Tinker Bell Half Marathon isn't an event that's even close to being do-able for everyone. Forget, for a minute, that it's a women's race. Its timing is off for the very community runDisney pitched the PR clue game to...us! We already run Disney, and the WDW Marathon is the big event of the season. Then there's Disney's Princess. Why put another race smack in the middle of these events, even if it's at DLR?

No, that's not quite what I'm saying. Why PROMOTE a big new race to the Disney running community, to the people who register for multiple Disney races, when it's likely that many of us can't go to the race. Or if we did run Tinker Bell, we would have to choose that one over another? The event's timing seems to thumb its nose at current runDisney fans and be geared more to getting new fans. (Which I'm happy to see new runners and walkers, that's not what I'm having problems with.)

As for the women's race...I can see the dollar and cents behind another one. But again, it's excluding many of us in the runDisney community. While men can participate, I don't think they're particularly welcome from the description. And I can't help but think cynically of the whole theme of the race - very much like Disney's Princess. What, no new creativity at play? I've read half a dozen or more Facebook posts with better ideas. And what Jeanigor said!

Add to this the inclusion of a Chip 'n Dale relay option for the WDW marathon, to get more people into the race with a friendly 1/2 distance. And the tiered pricing, which isn't - despite what Disney says an early registration discount but an increase in prices the closer it gets to the race - and I feel that runDisney is focused more on increasing profit and less on making Disney races magical.

So, um, yeah. I guess I have some issues.

You know, though, to bring it back to the topic. I might have reacted entirely differently to the announcement if runDisney had
1) simply announced the event without the game to suck us ALL in, even though we knew better; and
2) if the Tinker Bell Half Marathon had been scheduled for the same weekend as the Princess; that way, I would have said it was Disney's Coast-to-Coast women's race weekend to celebrate women joining the sport in numbers. I would have been cool with that, I think. And then waited for the next new race.

 

[DrMomof3]

I agree with so much of what has been posted. I was excited for another race at DL, even though it's much farther for us to travel. But I was irritated that there was so much hype about a race taking place 3 weeks after Marathon Weekend. Especially since they made the announcement right AFTER DH and I spent a small fortune paying the registration fees for the January WDW event. I just don't get the timing at all! I was very excited about a new event and followed the clues. The timing of this race makes it unlikely that I will ever participate.

Amanda

 

[ludari]

I didn't like the way runDisney made me feel illegitimate in February, nor the attitude/comments I received from some lady runners on the course (not the majority--but still disheartening and rude).

Really sorry and surprised to hear of such things. I too ran the Princess Half and I had a wonderful time and the women where great.