Official Wine & Dine 2018

[afan]

Ok, and once again sorry for the crazy ineptness. I went to Google Chrome and found the new window. From there one goes to ...

If you are on a desktop it's much easier to right click on chrome or Firefox in your taskbar once it's open to get to incognito or FF private browsing.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Don't worry about profit. Running is about charity and making enough to break even and cover expenses. It should be viewed as a charity driven activity, not a profit driven activity. RunDisney needs to re-frame their mindset when it comes to races around the experience, not the money.

Why “should” it be viewed that way, exactly? Not saying that’s an illegitimate model, but it seems far from a slam dunk.

 

[GreatLakes]

Why “should” it be viewed that way, exactly? Not saying that’s an illegitimate model, but it seems far from a slam dunk.

My opinion, which is all it is, is that running races should be charity focused. Look at most of the local races out there. They make enough to cover their expenses and pay their staff and may even bank a little bit for the next year but they are ultimately focused on putting on a good event for the runners and donating the extra profits to charity. It is the race-for-profit mindset that has turned me off of anything Competitor Group does and is a large reason why I do Disney races so infrequently.

I just don't think they should look at these events as a way to nickle and dime every penny out of runners. Let the room stays and park time make the money, not the race itself.

Like I said though, just my opinion.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

My opinion, which is all it is, is that running races should be charity focused. Look at most of the local races out there. They make enough to cover their expenses and pay their staff and may even bank a little bit for the next year but they are ultimately focused on putting on a good event for the runners and donating the extra profits to charity. It is the race-for-profit mindset that has turned me off of anything Competitor Group does and is a large reason why I do Disney races so infrequently.

I just don't think they should look at these events as a way to nickle and dime every penny out of runners. Let the room stays and park time make the money, not the race itself.

Like I said though, just my opinion.

Got it -- sounded like more than asserting an opinion to me at first, but I get it now.

I don't agree, though. I think Disney and Rock n Roll do a great job. The former gives us race themes and settings that we love as Disney fans, and the latter brings large, well-organized races to many cities and makes them accessible to many.

While the running market has been slowing, there's still demand out there. Disney is a profit-making enterprise, and I think it should be all around. Donating a portion of profits is one thing. Expecting a for-profit company to host high-quality races all for charity doesn't sound feasible to me. I think it would force it to be a much, much smaller (many fewer events per year) and much lower-frills operation. My two cents is that this wouldn't work well, and wouldn't last long. JMO.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I have some questions about registering. My husband and I both have annual passes. Our daughter (age 7) does not. Currently, we are planning on all three of us doing the 5k, him doing the 5k and 10k, and me doing the 5k and 2 Course Challenge. Will I need to create a run.com account for our daughter? Also, where will I be able to get the link to early registration for my husband and me? Do you think I will have time to sign up for both the 5k and the 2 course challenge before one or the other fills up? Can you sign up for the races at the same time or do you have to pick one, completely register for it, and then start over to sign up for another race?

 

[Ariel484]

I just don't think they should look at these events as a way to nickle and dime every penny out of runners. Let the room stays and park time make the money, not the race itself.

I get what you're saying here. It's been bothering me how they've been adding upsell-type things to the races, like they're doing in the parks. They've always had race retreat, pasta parties, brunches, etc. which never bothered me, just hasn't been anything that has interested me at all. What really bugged me was
1. When they had the Runners World package where part of what you bought was a higher corral placement (I think was a 1-year thing where everyone who had that package got into corral B...W-T-F), and
2. When they started charging for early access to the expos

Both of those things really made me give runDisney the side-eye, in addition to the race capacities just sky-rocketing after I started runDisney races in 2011.

 

[Ariel484]

I have some questions about registering. My husband and I both have annual passes. Our daughter (age 7) does not. Currently, we are planning on all three of us doing the 5k, him doing the 5k and 10k, and me doing the 5k and 2 Course Challenge. Will I need to create a run.com account for our daughter? Also, where will I be able to get the link to early registration for my husband and me? Do you think I will have time to sign up for both the 5k and the 2 course challenge before one or the other fills up? Can you sign up for the races at the same time or do you have to pick one, completely register for it, and then start over to sign up for another race?

No, you register minors under an adult account - either your account or your husband's account.

Yes I do think you'll have time...you could do some of the registrations on AP day and then finish up the rest on general registration day. You have to pick one race and completely register for it. It would be easier if you guys divided and conquered (you sign up for some stuff, your husband sinds up for other stuff).

Personally I would do:
Husband signs himself up for 10K, then 5K (The 10K will have the least amount of bibs available since a lot of the 10K bibs are allotted for challenge runners)
You sign yourself up for 2-course challenge, daughter for 5K, you for the 5K

 

[PrincessV]

Yeah, I can say without hesitation, runDisney is definitely only in it as long as it's profitable. While I want to see them provide a better experience, I don't believe for a second that will happen at the expense of making more, more, more money.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

No, you register minors under an adult account - either your account or your husband's account.

Yes I do think you'll have time...you could do some of the registrations on AP day and then finish up the rest on general registration day. You have to pick one race and completely register for it. It would be easier if you guys divided and conquered (you sign up for some stuff, your husband sinds up for other stuff).

Personally I would do:
Husband signs himself up for 10K, then 5K (The 10K will have the least amount of bibs available since a lot of the 10K bibs are allotted for challenge runners)
You sign yourself up for 2-course challenge, daughter for 5K, you for the 5K

Thank you! Any idea where I will be able to find the link for early registration?

 

[Ariel484]

Thank you! Any idea where I will be able to find the link for early registration?

Sign into your AP account on disneyworld.com, annual passholder area...I can't remember the exact steps as my AP has expired but whenever the link comes up it should be there.

 

[jeanigor]

Yeah, I can say without hesitation, runDisney is definitely only in it as long as it's profitable. While I want to see them provide a better experience, I don't believe for a second that will happen at the expense of making more, more, more money.

Hence W&D being switched from a night race to following the same formula as the Donald half, the Princess half and the Disneyland halfs (RIP).

Money beats magic in the eyes of the corporate mouse.

 

[Ariel484]

Hence W&D being switched from a night race to following the same formula as the Donald half, the Princess half and the Disneyland halfs (RIP).

Money beats magic in the eyes of the corporate mouse.

And getting rid of the Tower of Terror 10-miler and Expedition Everest Challenge...no more unique race weekends (no night races, 10-mile distance or obstacle course).

 

[MyFavEeyore]

No, you register minors under an adult account - either your account or your husband's account.

Yes I do think you'll have time...you could do some of the registrations on AP day and then finish up the rest on general registration day. You have to pick one race and completely register for it. It would be easier if you guys divided and conquered (you sign up for some stuff, your husband sinds up for other stuff).

Personally I would do:
Husband signs himself up for 10K, then 5K (The 10K will have the least amount of bibs available since a lot of the 10K bibs are allotted for challenge runners)
You sign yourself up for 2-course challenge, daughter for 5K, you for the 5K

So has anyone found an absolutly, solid AP registration day? Been hearing A LOT of different dates, including that there is no such creature this time around.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Hence W&D being switched from a night race to following the same formula as the Donald half, the Princess half and the Disneyland halfs (RIP).

Money beats magic in the eyes of the corporate mouse.

And getting rid of the Tower of Terror 10-miler and Expedition Everest Challenge...no more unique race weekends (no night races, 10-mile distance or obstacle course).

I enjoyed the novelty of a night run for ToT. However, I much prefer morning races. And as a family that runs different distances together, we LOVE the 5K, 10K, half options.

Think there’s any chance that surveys suggested this is what most people want? Not everything is a money grab. And honestly, I’m not even sure what that means given that we’re talking about a for profit company charging what the market can bear.

And no shortage of “magic” for us at every race weekend we’ve attended.

 

[FlashAM7]

Don't worry about profit. Running is about charity and making enough to break even and cover expenses. It should be viewed as a charity driven activity, not a profit driven activity. RunDisney needs to re-frame their mindset when it comes to races around the experience, not the money.

Disney? Not worried about profit? Let's not kid ourselves. At the end of the day it's a business first, and the races are one of Disney's biggest money makers. I couldn't see them explaining to shareholders why revenue is down because they felt like turning it into a charity event.

Not saying I would rather have them jack up prices, but I understand why things are they way they are. Until people stop signing up for the RunDisney races, things will not change.

 

[Disney at Heart]

From what I've seen, I think this is a glitch that happens randomly and can only be sorted out by Disney IT. I suggest calling.

Tried Chrome, incognito Chrome, Firefox, IE, MSEdge, Safari on a combination of iPhone/2 laptops. Cleared history and “cleaned up” MY laptop. Still no go. Calling it is!

 

[Ariel484]

I enjoyed the novelty of a night run for ToT. However, I much prefer morning races. And as a family that runs different distances together, we LOVE the 5K, 10K, half options.

Think there’s any chance that surveys suggested this is what most people want? Not everything is a money grab. And honestly, I’m not even sure what that means given that we’re talking about a for profit company charging what the market can bear.

And no shortage of “magic” for us at every race weekend we’ve attended.

In my opinion, the race weekends are a little too similar to one another. I realize that not everyone feels the same, but I don't feel the pull to do multiple race weekends like I used to. Overall, I prefer morning races, but I LOVED the couple of nighttime Wine & Dine races I did - the atmosphere just wasn't the same to me when they made the switch to daytime. And every other race weekend is a morning race, so it's disappointing to me that there are now zero nighttime options.

I do think that they made these changes (boosted capacity, made the weekends 5K/10K/half marathon format, added additional purchase options like early expo access) with profit in mind. They make more money if they over 5K/10K/half marathons as opposed to just the Expedition Everest 5K or just the Tower of Terror 10-miler...more runners can run, so more money made the expo, hotels, etc.

As for the surveys - I took a couple of their post-run surveys and thought some of their questions were worded in such a way as to get them the answer they wanted...

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

They make more money if they over 5K/10K/half marathons as opposed to just the Expedition Everest 5K or just the Tower of Terror 10-miler...more runners can run, so more money made the expo, hotels, etc.

But that's another way of saying they did it based on customer demand... there's demand enough to fill up entire 5K, 10K, half weekends. Those other races were by definition under-serving then.

 

[PrincessV]

As for the surveys - I took a couple of their post-run surveys and thought some of their questions were worded in such a way as to get them the answer they wanted...

ALWAYS! Taking Disney surveys are like taking Cosmo quizzes: you already know the "right" answer for each question and rarely is there an answer that actually matches your own opinion, lol!

FWIW on the subject, I'm happy with the change of W&D to a morning race, as after doing a bunch, I realized I really do not enjoy the late night races. But I am getting sick of more and more people being packed onto race courses. When I ran my first rD 5K - Princess in 2012 - it was capped at 5,000 runners and was delightful! For the past few years, they bumped the 5K cap up to 10,000 for all WDW races, and it seems like they went over that - maybe even to 15,000? - for this year's Princess 5K. Too. many. princesses. WAY too many.

Ditto for the half-marathons. The caps keep getting bigger, but they're still using one hour to release all of them and the course hasn't increased in capacity, so it's just more people in the same sized space. It can get tiring. I still have fun and still plan to register for most of them, but it would be nice to see caps back to more functional levels.

 

[FFigawi]

I do think that they made these changes (boosted capacity, made the weekends 5K/10K/half marathon format, added additional purchase options like early expo access) with profit in mind. They make more money if they over 5K/10K/half marathons as opposed to just the Expedition Everest 5K or just the Tower of Terror 10-miler...more runners can run, so more money made the expo, hotels, etc.

I wholeheartedly agree. It's much easier to add pure profit items like early expo access than it is to raise the cost of the race registration.