Official Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend - The Dark Side 2017

[*DisneyDreamer]

The courses for these races will be interesting to see. If any of them end up going through Magic Kingdom as well as looping back to Hollywood Studios and Epcot, then that would be awesome!

 

[Tasmen]

-- Tomorrowland - aka the only area SW really could fit in at MK. Unless they put Princess Leia in front of the castle taking it over. Because I would support that funny placement too.

Ooooo good idea!

-- Epcot - World show case is always fun to run around. Whether it fits the theme or not. Put a Tatooine set in front of Morocco. Hoth in Norway?? Just have fun with it. But. Last year someone here mentioned how they should look into projecting the Death Star onto Spaceship Earth. They did not. And I am not exaggerating when I say that it was such a fantastic idea that I was absolutely crushed when it wasn't there. When we got off the busses, I actually said to my friend "well, maybe they will turn it on once the first runners go??" Crushed.

Ok first....Seeing both Tatooine and Hoth would have special meaning for me because my husband and I have thermostat battles in the house where I yell Hoth and he yells Tatooine. Second, omg... death star on Spaceship Earth would be so incredibly amazing I would probably starting crying on the spot at seeing it.

 

[PrincessV]

I really enjoyed last year's course, and I really enjoy running through Animal Kingdom, so I will be a bit disappointed if that is cutout.

I will say that I think I had a better experience last year than a lot of people. When I went through the boardwalk area, for the most part, everyone was going the pace I wanted to go. It was pretty tight but it worked out okay for me. I can see how (like the castle can get) it could get to the point of everyone having to walk or stop to get through there. I would say I'm not speedy, but a middle of the packer. So I agree that it would be best to have that portion later in the race.

Also, I think I was pretty lucky with the All Star buses, because each time I needed one, if one had just left another had already arrived and I didn't really have an issue at all with the buses. I did see the long lines for other buses.

Anyways, I say all this to say, I really had fun last year and enjoyed this weekend. It wasn't all bad, but I do see (from other's reports) that things did need to be fixed. So I am hoping that I will have as much fun this year as last year and that most everyone will have a great experience!

It was definitely a different experience in the back of the pack for the 10K - I moved back a couple corrals to run with a friend and it was INSANE! I literally could. not. run. at all for a big chunk of the first few miles. No way, no how. And the walking pace was basically a slow stroll. This wasn't a bunch of people incapable of going faster, but just too many bodies packed into too small of a space and there was nowhere to go. It felt a lot like trying to exit the MK at closing on a major holiday. Unfortunately really unpleasant.

To add salt to the wound, it took me 3 hours to get from the finish area back to my car at EP. The EP bus line wasn't moving at all and we were told they'd be shutting it down completely at 10am... this was at 9:50am. What would happen then - how would folks get back to their cars at EP? They didn't know! We wound up getting in a resort bus line, then taking a regular EP bus from the resort, and then had to walk aaaalll the way across the EP parking lots from where the park buses let off to the race parking was. "Poorly planned" didn't begin to cut it, lol!

And yet... overall it goes down as one of my favorite rD weekends. I'm thrilled to see that they realized where the wheels came off and are changing things up, and I'm looking forward to another weekend of geeking out

 

[ejcraft]

This plus runDisney race sales have seemed to be slowing down. Perhaps they are offering to many. Perhaps, runners have already allocated their money to a different runDisney race and then Disney announces a new one. I think runDisney has reached their tipping point. Tink wasn't even sold out this year.

this could be a good thing, with enough rundisney races, then the people get spread out because they can't afford to do them all, and thus less crowding

 

[DisneyPigFan]

I'm thinking of signing up for the half -- about how much money do you guys budget/spend for this half marathon weekend?
I'm trying to get an idea of how much going there might cost me. If i want to spend more than a couple days there and get park tickets and and stay on property I'm looking at 1K+ right? hmm

 

[Tasmen]

I'm thinking of signing up for the half -- about how much money do you guys budget/spend for this half marathon weekend?
I'm trying to get an idea of how much going there might cost me. If i want to spend more than a couple days there and get park tickets and and stay on property I'm looking at 1K+ right? hmm

Probably. Depends on how many people you have going, where you are staying, and meal plan (yes or no). I'd price it out on the site and see what you are looking at.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

this could be a good thing, with enough rundisney races, then the people get spread out because they can't afford to do them all, and thus less crowding

While prices may play a part in this, I also think we've reached a point where supply and demand are roughly equal. This is a good thing. As recently as 2011, Disneyland offered exactly one race. In 2012, they offered 2. Walt Disney World offered 3 events in 2012 that featured a distance of at least 13.1 miles. Now, both U.S. parks offer 4 race weekends. With 8 events a year, there is sufficient supply to meet demand. With the exception of Star Wars, both coasts offer different themes. Yes, these races cost a lot of money, but now runners have a reasonable opportunity to sign up for a race more 1 day after it goes on sale, let alone the 2 hours that saw sellouts for both the Inaugural Avengers and Star Wars 1/2 Marathons at Disneyland.

While I do think that the cost is causing some people to scale back the number of runDisney events they run a year, I don't think this is a bad thing because there are now more opportunities for runners who may enjoy the Disney experience, but aren't plugged into it daily/weekly as some of us are.

As for me, yesterday was my most nerve wracking registration, but mostly because I forgot where to find my early registration link. Once I did, I saw the little man walking icon telling me to keep my place and it took me to the registration page within seconds. I opted to sign up for the Dark Side Challenge. I'm really excited, but at the same time it's become very real for me. As a huge Star Wars fan, I wanted a Kessel Run experience the moment it was announced. Certain dates in April will never work for me, so once they announced the dates for 2017, I knew I had one year where I could do both.

Now to deal with all the planning permutations I've been toying with for months now that it's real.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

It is so crazy to me that the 10K is still the only race that sold out of early registration spots! Hopefully general registration is the same way and some of the races stay open long enough for me to register if I am able. I have to wait to see what my job situation will be for this school year, but if it's still open by the time I know, I'd register for the 5K.

 

[MyFavEeyore]

Now everyone was signed into you active.com accounts first right. Then signed onto runDisney, registration page, and just waited for links to turn blue?

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Now everyone was signed into you active.com accounts first right. Then signed onto runDisney, registration page, and just waited for links to turn blue?

For general registration I log into my active and then usually go to the runDisney facebook page where they post up the direct link. I find that if you go through the runDisney page it gets overwhelmed and stops loading. Most of the time someone posts a link on the threads too.

 

[KatDiPaolo]

Has anybody ever camped at Fort Wilderness for a runDisney event? My friend and I are considering tent camping instead of grabbing a hotel because she's going to surprise her 8 y/o with a 5k registration an a trip to Disney. It's cost effective and I've read great reviews of the campsite but don't know how well it would work with the runDisney busses.

 

[camaker]

Now everyone was signed into you active.com accounts first right. Then signed onto runDisney, registration page, and just waited for links to turn blue?

Logging into active.com first is a time saver, not a necessity. So don't stress if you forget to do that first.

Also, there's nothing to log in to on the runDisney page. You just go to the registration page and click through the links. The links are usually blue well in advance of registration starting and clicking them will take you to a page that says that registration is not open for the event yet (or something to that effect). Start clicking on the links 3 or 4 minutes before registration opens. Sometimes registration will go live a hair early. Once you get the "running man" saying you're in queue don't refresh any more, just wait for him to finish and you'll go right into registration.

 

[MyFavEeyore]

For general registration I log into my active and then usually go to the runDisney facebook page where they post up the direct link. I find that if you go through the runDisney page it gets overwhelmed and stops loading. Most of the time someone posts a link on the threads too.

Unfortunately, I don't do Facebook. Is it the same link in Facebook as in the threads.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Unfortunately, I don't do Facebook. Is it the same link in Facebook as in the threads.

I don't have a facebook either but you can still see the page without joining, not sure if I can post the link but if you google rundisney facebook it will come up

 

[MyFavEeyore]

I don't have a facebook either but you can still see the page without joining, not sure if I can post the link but if you google rundisney facebook it will come up

Yea, I checked that out just after responding, but the computer inept person I am, I really don't know what I'm looking at. Or where to look for a link, and then was about my DS if I sign up for Facebook/runDisney am I on the actual Facebook that I don't really want to be a part of. Any help is of course greatly appreciated.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Yea, I checked that out just after responding, but the computer inept person I am, I really don't know what I'm looking at. Or where to look for a link, and then was about my DS if I sign up for Facebook/runDisney am I on the actual Facebook that I don't really want to be a part of. Any help is of course greatly appreciated.

you won't see the link on Facebook until noon on registration day, if I can I will try to post it on here next Tuesday

 

[MyFavEeyore]

you won't see the link on Facebook until noon on registration day, if I can I will try to post it on here next Tuesday

You're awesome and thank you in advance for trying! Should the alternative occur, how far in advance of the registration time do you pull up the runDisney facebook page. Quarter of, ten of a few minutes before 12? Last year during PHM registration the runDisney website had already crashed a half hour before everything went live.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

You're awesome and thank you in advance for trying! Should the alternative occur, how far in advance of the registration time do you pull up the runDisney facebook page. Quarter of, ten of a few minutes before 12? Last year during PHM registration the runDisney website had already crashed a half hour before everything went live.

just a few minutes before. I don't think it will be as crazy as PHM last year, so far only the 10k has only sold out for AP registration.

 

[MyFavEeyore]

just a few minutes before. I don't think it will be as crazy as PHM last year, so far only the 10k has only sold out for AP registration.

I hear ya, but you don't have my luck. One more question if you don't mind, my DS has facebook, so if I told him to go onto the runDisney facebook, will the link turn blue when live?

 

[opusone]

I hear ya, but you don't have my luck. One more question if you don't mind, my DS has facebook, so if I told him to go onto the runDisney facebook, will the link turn blue when live?

I really wouldn't worry about this too much. I used the normal runDisney link last year, and yes, the website was a little slow, and I might have refreshed the page a time or two before it loaded, but I was still able to register through the normal runDisney link.

That being said, I would just check this thread prior to registration time... someone usually posts the link ahead of time. In fact, we probably already know the link since the AP/DVC link was a standard link (not specific to AP or DVC). If I find that this link is the active one next Tuesday, I will post it here prior to 12 noon EDT.