Official 2017 Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend!

[ZellyB]

2 days until half pixies!!

 

[ZellyB]

I'm really disappointed to hear about the possible reduction in character stops. It's the primary reason I pay a premium for rD races. I guess I'll see for myself tomorrow.

And I call BS on it being to save people from being swept. Fewer characters means cheaper overhead for rD. If there are truly fewer it merely solidifies my thoughts about taking a break from rD after Dopey '18.

 

[VickiHD]

Had a fun time doing the 5k with the fam and 2tinkerbell.
Surprised there were no character stops, we made our own with the Mouseketeer and all the "neat things" backstage.

 

[rteetz]

Finished the 5K.

It was sort of weird...unlike last year, they "corralled" us this year (as in, bibs have corral letters on them) but then just placed people wherever as they arrived - first come, first served, which is what they did last year. So why put letters on the bibs?

Unless I'm mistaken, there was just one character photo-op on the course (Hook and Smee) - and it was "selfie only." I was not impressed. Otherwise I just saw what was essentially the pirate version of Streetmosphere.

Fun race overall though and I like the medal a lot!

So I'm seeing a ton of complaints on twitter. Someone asked runDisney and apparently this is a "test". They had complaints about people getting swept last year due to characters so they are not doing characters for the 5K and 10K. Be prepared people as tomorrow you might not see any characters either. runDisney is in trouble if this continues.

 

[jaxonp]

So I'm seeing a ton of complaints on twitter. Someone asked runDisney and apparently this is a "test". They had complaints about people getting swept last year due to characters so they are not doing characters for the 5K and 10K. Be prepared people as tomorrow you might not see any characters either. runDisney is in trouble if this continues.

Yep- someone new must be in charge that hasn't a clue about anything Disney or a large portion of want the Disney Guest wants. The 5k should have the most characters imo. RunDisney is trying so many new things and almost all of them have had negative effects on most guests. The early registration, the demenished entertainment over the past 2 years and now a free-for-all in the corrals and no chaeacters... hmm. Are all those characters available after?

Me personally, hardly stop for a character. I did 1 each day for Star Wars but even then I didn't want to wait 15 min for a photo. That said, you gotta give the customer what they want.

 

[PrincessV]

So I'm seeing a ton of complaints on twitter. Someone asked runDisney and apparently this is a "test". They had complaints about people getting swept last year due to characters so they are not doing characters for the 5K and 10K. Be prepared people as tomorrow you might not see any characters either. runDisney is in trouble if this continues.

Yep, that's what my friend at Tink was told by runDisney staff. That this weekend is a test, no characters for 5K or 10K, reduced characters for the half. She expressly asked if it's being done to cut costs and was told "no", that it's because so many people get into long character lines and get swept. She was also told that rD staff disagreed with the idea and expressed that, but the decision was made high up by rD Orlando.

 

[jaxonp]

Yep, that's what my friend at Tink was told by runDisney staff. That this weekend is a test, no characters for 5K or 10K, reduced characters for the half. She expressly asked if it's being done to cut costs and was told "no", that it's because so many people get into long character lines and get swept. She was also told that rD staff disagreed with the idea and expressed that, but the decision was made high up by rD Orlando.

I thought Orlando and Anaheim runDisney were independilty run?!!

 

[singastory]

Just landed, sitting on the runway for the bajillion planes ahead of us to clear off. At least we got here early!

 

[rteetz]

I thought Orlando and Anaheim runDisney were independilty run?!!

Kind of. Track shack does the Orlando races and someone else does Anaheim, but runDisney organizes things like the characters.

 

[jaxonp]

Just landed, sitting on the runway for the bajillion planes ahead of us to clear off. At least we got here early!

Haha my flight just got in 45 min early and then we sat 35 min to get a gate... you wanna be early but sometimes it simply does you no good!! . At least we're here!

 

[rteetz]

Yep, that's what my friend at Tink was told by runDisney staff. That this weekend is a test, no characters for 5K or 10K, reduced characters for the half. She expressly asked if it's being done to cut costs and was told "no", that it's because so many people get into long character lines and get swept. She was also told that rD staff disagreed with the idea and expressed that, but the decision was made high up by rD Orlando.

I'd honestly be pissed. I run Disney races for fun and like stopping for characters when lines permit. If no characters are on the course and prices stay the same or continue to increase I'm done with runDisney. They are getting to the point of they must change or they are going to see significant drops. The runDisney twitter community is not happy at all.

 

[Cindyd04]

I really hope this is not the new norm. They advertise "characters and on course entertainment." A selfie station with 1 character does not cut it. I am signed up for wine and dine and princess weekend. If this turns into a basic race, then I will spend my race money elsewhere and pay much less. RunDisney needs to turn it around. Cutting a key element to why people sign up for RunDisney races is not going to help them meet their bottom line. Races aren't selling out like they used to, mostly because the jacked up registration fees have priced folks out and now this. Registration will continue to decline if they keep cutting back on what makes RunDisney races special and different from other races.

 

[jaxonp]

Also the other problem is while races haven't exactly sold out rather they've increased the number of bibs available. So it's truly hard to gage how RD is doing.

 

[rteetz]

Also the other problem is while races haven't exactly sold out rather they've increased the number of bibs available.

Do we know that for sure though? It's not just the half that isn't selling in all cases. Challenges and even the smaller races are having more trouble as of late selling out.

 

[Ariel484]

You are correct. I'm not at Tink, but a friend of mine is... she spoke with rD staff after the 5K and was told rD decided to "test" something for Tink: no character stops for the 5K or 10K and reduced characters for the half. Why? Because people were stopping for long lines in races and getting swept.

***Like I said, I'm not at Tink, but wanted to share this info so others are aware for the 10K, and also that this could be the new norm for rD races. I strongly suggest making your voices heard on social media if you're not happy about the prospect (or reality, in Tink's case), of no more characters stops in rD races!***

Ugh. Thanks for letting me know...what a load of sh*t.

I almost stopped after the race and asked a staffer about it and now I'm glad I didn't, because my response would not have been kind. That's complete BS for an $80 or whatever 5K.

Rudy only does WDW races at this time. No explanation was given, as far as I know.

That makes sense - last year they made a big deal about having only female announcers at Tink rolleyes so I was surprised to see a guy today.

 

[jaxonp]

Do we know that for sure though? It's not just the half that isn't selling in all cases. Challenges and even the smaller races are having more trouble as of late selling out.

I haven't compared all races but you can look at run disney results on their site and see how many finished each race ... results are available for the past few years

 

[Cindyd04]

This is just so disappointing if this continues. I run the 5K/10K so I can do the character stops. I don't have time to stop when I'm running a half marathon.

 

[rteetz]

I haven't compared all races but you can look at run disney results on their site and see how many finished each race ... results are available for the past few years

I haven't looked at all of the races either but I know in terms of WDW Marathon Weekend they haven't increased the numbers much if at all. I also know dark side had 19,000 signed up and just over 16,000 finished.

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

Do we know on average how many people get swept? What percentage is it overall for each of the races?

I find it hard to believe that the character stops are the real reason the majority people are getting swept. That seems like a very poor excuse to me.

I know my dd is going to be super disappointed by the lack of on course characters plus she is bummed about the Red Hats not being there. It will be very interesting to see what the course will be like outside of the Disney areas without groups like that.

 

[Ariel484]

Do we know on average how many people get swept? What percentage is it overall for each of the races?

I find it hard to believe that the character stops are the real reason the majority people are getting swept. That seems like a very poor excuse to me.

I know my dd is going to be super disappointed by the lack of on course characters plus she is bummed about the Red Hats not being there. It will be very interesting to see what the course will be like outside of the Disney areas without groups like that.

283 were swept from the Dark Side half...no way to know for the 5K I don't think. I'll check the list for the 10K tomorrow.