Princess Weekend 2023 (Feb 23-26, 2023)

[Jillfo]

I need someone to tell me to not jump the gun and register with a charity again. I did it last year when registration went fine. I did not like having to fork over an extra 1k to do the Challenge.

It's gonna be fine in June right?

Can't you register with a charity after normal registration opens (meaning if you get shut out of regular registration, you can then go get a charity spot so no need to jump the gun)?

 

[camaker]

Can't you register with a charity after normal registration opens (meaning if you get shut out of regular registration, you can then go get a charity spot so no need to jump the gun)?

Yes. You can register with a charity at any point they have bibs. You end up playing a bit of Russian Roulette by waiting, though. If general registration fills up and you don't get a bib there are going to be a lot of others in the same boat, greatly increasing competition for the charity spots, which are quite limited. It's a tough choice to commit to a charity and the fundraising early, guaranteeing your spot, versus waiting to see if you can register yourself first, but risk not being able to get the charity spot, if not.

 

[striker1064]

Isn't this an anniversary Princess weekend as well? I thought I read that somewhere. That could influence how fast it sells out as well.

 

[Livelovedance]

I also registered with a charity early on for the challenge. The fundraising goal was $900 (bib included), and I did donate a lot to myself. Looking back on it now, if the cost for the challenge was $355 + 6.6% processing fee (I looked that up, not sure if it's accurate), it was an extra commitment of $521.57. I'd still feel better giving $500+ to a charity vs Club runDisney even if I paid all of that myself without receiving donations from family/friends.

I ended up really enjoying running with the charity, and decided to run with them again for the 5K (supportive and meaningful charity experience with less fundraising commitments). I'm going to attempt to register for the challenge on my own on registration day. After the MW registration fiasco I'm admittedly a little nervous, but I'm registered for Dopey and planning on the Springtime Surprise Challenge again as a perfect status hopeful, so if I don't get in it'll save me $$$ and hours of sleep! I say this now, we'll see how I feel on registration day!

This is the last year I'll be able to swing 3 race weekends in 4 months, so I'm hoping to enjoy every moment no matter what the result!

 

[Herding_Cats]

Hard to say. Wine & Dine was nowhere near this chaotic last month.

I think people were also *very* indifferent to the themes for the W&D races. DH wanted to sign up for the challenge *ONLY* for the genie medal. He could not care less about Raya and Soul. If the princess themes are really popular ones (and not another remix of 2021/2022) I think there's a lot bigger of a question mark as to how quickly it'll sell out.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I need someone to tell me to not jump the gun and register with a charity again. I did it last year when registration went fine. I did not like having to fork over an extra 1k to do the Challenge.

It's gonna be fine in June right?

I'm in the same place I was earlier this week before MW registration occurred. I suspected MW would be nuts, but even I probably undersold how nuts it actually ended up being. I don't share that same level of concern for Princess at the moment. I'll have my multiple devices and multiple browsers and feel relatively confident I'll likely be able to get my two 5ks and one challenge. Ultimately, you have to do what makes you the most comfortable with the level of risk in terms of not getting in.

Ignoring the registrations that we believe had reduced capacity, W&D 2022 sold out faster than 2017, 2019, and 2021. And MW 2023 sold out faster than 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022. So both of these would suggest that Princess 2023 is probably more likely to sell faster than anything in the less several years.

Princess Weekend

2022
Start (link)
No more queue after 21 min (link)
10k sold out in 23 hours (link)
5k sold out in 2 days (link)
HM sold out in month (link)
Challenge unknown sell out date
*5k, 10k, HM periodically open after sell out in 23 hrs.

Yoga sold out in 3.5 hrs (link). Registration was about a month after normal registration.


2020
Start (link)
5k and 10k sold out in 97 min (link)
Challenge sold out in Sept 2019 when registration was June 2019 (link)
HM sold out in Dec 2019 when registration was June 2019 (link)

2019
Start (link)
10k sold out in 57 min (link)
5k sold out in 10 hours (link) *Post about 1 hr earlier states only 10k sold out thus far
Challenge and HM still open 2 months later (October with August registration) (link)
Challenge sold out sometime between 2-3 months based on this and prior post (link)

In all three years of Princess data, if you were ready to register at open, then you got what you wanted. Not looking at current races for other weekends, Wine and Dine 2021 you would have cut it close even at open. MW 2022 and 2020 you might have had issues even at open as well.

 

[Ariel484]

Isn't this an anniversary Princess weekend as well? I thought I read that somewhere. That could influence how fast it sells out as well.

It is. If you go to the Princess page on runDisney.com, they’re listing it as the 15th anniversary of the half AND the 10th anniversary of the Fairy Tale Challenge (which I think also means the 10th anniversary of the Princess 10K).

 

[DisneyParrothead]

I'm in the same place I was earlier this week before MW registration occurred. I suspected MW would be nuts, but even I probably undersold how nuts it actually ended up being. I don't share that same level of concern for Princess at the moment. I'll have my multiple devices and multiple browsers and feel relatively confident I'll likely be able to get my two 5ks and one challenge. Ultimately, you have to do what makes you the most comfortable with the level of risk in terms of not getting in.

Ignoring the registrations that we believe had reduced capacity, W&D 2022 sold out faster than 2017, 2019, and 2021. And MW 2023 sold out faster than 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022. So both of these would suggest that Princess 2023 is probably more likely to sell faster than anything in the less several years.

Princess Weekend

2022
Start (link)
No more queue after 21 min (link)
10k sold out in 23 hours (link)
5k sold out in 2 days (link)
HM sold out in month (link)
Challenge unknown sell out date
*5k, 10k, HM periodically open after sell out in 23 hrs.

Yoga sold out in 3.5 hrs (link). Registration was about a month after normal registration.


2020
Start (link)
5k and 10k sold out in 97 min (link)
Challenge sold out in Sept 2019 when registration was June 2019 (link)
HM sold out in Dec 2019 when registration was June 2019 (link)

2019
Start (link)
10k sold out in 57 min (link)
5k sold out in 10 hours (link) *Post about 1 hr earlier states only 10k sold out thus far
Challenge and HM still open 2 months later (October with August registration) (link)
Challenge sold out sometime between 2-3 months based on this and prior post (link)

In all three years of Princess data, if you were ready to register at open, then you got what you wanted. Not looking at current races for other weekends, Wine and Dine 2021 you would have cut it close even at open. MW 2022 and 2020 you might have had issues even at open as well.

Same here. I knew it would be carnage since the perceived reaction for the '90s theme was positive thru the roof. It may have gone faster too due to the IT issues. Who knows.

My current plan is to go for the 10k since that is my preferred distance. If I like the theme for the 5K, maybe that too. I'll make up my mind when the themes are announced. I've never done back-to-back races before, but my coach had me do a shakeout run the day before the 10K in January, so I figure why not do the 5k at an easy pace, IF I decide to do it. I know she'll put that shakeout run on my schedule.

 

[HangWithMerida]

My current plan is to go for the 10k since that is my preferred distance. If I like the theme for the 5K, maybe that too. I'll make up my mind when the themes are announced. I've never done back-to-back races before, but my coach had me do a shakeout run the day before the 10K in January, so I figure why not do the 5k at an easy pace, IF I decide to do it. I know she'll put that shakeout run on my schedule.

I have done just this for back to back race days. Before my A race HM this year I participated in the associated 5k the day before. Kept it easy and enjoyed the race day experience then raced the HM. I felt great for the HM the next day and it got me on that schedule so the early day was easier on the day that mattered.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I've never done back-to-back races before, but my coach had me do a shakeout run the day before the 10K in January, so I figure why not do the 5k at an easy pace, IF I decide to do it. I know she'll put that shakeout run on my schedule.

OR.... you go full crazy and "A" attempt both the 5k and 10k.



J/K, J/K, or am I????

That's what I did for all five of my Dopey attempts. Try and PR all four races consecutively. Came the closest in 2018 with a 5k PR, 10k PR, HM PR, and then only a little under 2 min off my M PR set only a few months earlier (3:14:05 vs 3:15:59). It was fun! Finished in 20th overall out of 7620 runners with a combined 48.6 mile time of 5:46:34.

 

[azrivest]

occurred. I suspected MW would be nuts, but even I probably undersold how nuts it actually ended up being. I don't share that same level of concern for Princess at the moment. I'll have my multiple devices and multiple browsers and feel relatively confident I'll likely be able to get my two 5ks and one challenge. Ultimately, you have to do what makes you the most comfortable with the level of risk in terms of not getting in.

My goal is mainly the Challenge, so I keep telling myself I should be okay.

I have a longshot dream of registering the 4 of us for the 5k, but it's not do or die.

 

[striker1064]

OR.... you go full crazy and "A" attempt both the 5k and 10k.

View attachment 663835

J/K, J/K, or am I????

That's what I did for all five of my Dopey attempts. Try and PR all four races consecutively. Came the closest in 2018 with a 5k PR, 10k PR, HM PR, and then only a little under 2 min off my M PR set only a few months earlier (3:14:05 vs 3:15:59). It was fun! Finished in 20th overall out of 7620 runners with a combined 48.6 mile time of 5:46:34.

I have been wanting to try this for a while. I may attempt it for Princess! My projected 10k pace is a pretty significant PR off my last seriously attempted 10k, so I wouldn't even have to go all-out to achieve that one (but come on, if I'm doing this, I'm doing it).

 

[DopeyBadger]

I have been wanting to try this for a while. I may attempt it for Princess! My projected 10k pace is a pretty significant PR off my last seriously attempted 10k, so I wouldn't even have to go all-out to achieve that one (but come on, if I'm doing this, I'm doing it).

As weird as it may seem, my PR still stands as my 11th marathon (3:14:05) in Oct 2017. I ran a 3:15:59 during Dopey 2018 which still stands as my 3rd best M. I've run four more marathon since Dopey 2018 and only beaten it once (3:15:13 in Nov 2021). So sometimes when you've got it, you've got it, and you should go for it. There's still that voice that says "what could have been if you hadn't "A" raced the other three races prior to Dopey 2018", but I'm happy with how it turned out in the end.

 

[Lindsey17]

So I've never done a runDisney race before and after watching the fiasco of yesterday unfold I'm a little worried about what Princess will bring. Based on cost and other factors I think my husband & I decided to only run 1 race. Right now leaning towards 5K so we'll have Friday night and all Saturday to enjoy the parks. I'm also hoping to do the sunrise yoga. Should I just check out if I get the races in my cart and go back for the yoga or will I go into another queue? Worried about having to add too many things and not getting anything.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

OR.... you go full crazy and "A" attempt both the 5k and 10k.

View attachment 663835

J/K, J/K, or am I????

That's what I did for all five of my Dopey attempts. Try and PR all four races consecutively. Came the closest in 2018 with a 5k PR, 10k PR, HM PR, and then only a little under 2 min off my M PR set only a few months earlier (3:14:05 vs 3:15:59). It was fun! Finished in 20th overall out of 7620 runners with a combined 48.6 mile time of 5:46:34.

We'll see. If it's a princess at the top of my list, for the 5K, I'll try to sign up. Either way, I'm coming from Denver so hello oxygen!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Should I just check out if I get the races in my cart and go back for the yoga or will I go into another queue? Worried about having to add too many things and not getting anything.

The current system holds nothing for you until you checkout. So if you add the two 5ks to your cart, and then continue to go back and add the yoga, then the 5k race could sell out before you checkout. You'll finish your yoga registration, and then attempt to pay for all three (two 5ks and yoga) and it will inform you that the 5ks have sold out. It'll kick you back to the start of your registration.

If you instead finish the two 5ks, and then pay. It'll kick you out of the system and you'll have to rejoin the queue to get into yoga.

If it were me, I would focus on the 5ks and then pay. Yoga has been offered twice so far (Princess 2022 and Springtime 2022). It sold out in 3.5 hrs for Princess and months, if that, later for Springtime. You have a high probability based on the past to be able to register for Yoga without issue if you do it after the registration begins. The 5k on the other hand sells out much much quicker. The 5k should be your sole priority on the first run through.

Registration Run-Down w/ Images! (A comprehensive run-down of the registration process) & Part 2

 

[Lindsey17]

The current system holds nothing for you until you checkout. So if you add the two 5ks to your cart, and then continue to go back and add the yoga, then the 5k race could sell out before you checkout. You'll finish your yoga registration, and then attempt to pay for all three (two 5ks and yoga) and it will inform you that the 5ks have sold out. It'll kick you back to the start of your registration.

If you instead finish the two 5ks, and then pay. It'll kick you out of the system and you'll have to rejoin the queue to get into yoga.

If it were me, I would focus on the 5ks and then pay. Yoga has been offered twice so far (Princess 2022 and Springtime 2022). It sold out in 3.5 hrs for Princess and months, if that, later for Springtime. You have a high probability based on the past to be able to register for Yoga without issue if you do it after the registration begins. The 5k on the other hand sells out much much quicker. The 5k should be your sole priority on the first run through.

Registration Run-Down w/ Images! (A comprehensive run-down of the registration process) & Part 2

Thanks so much for the info. I think that will be my approach then and what I was leaning towards.

 

[Philsfan77]

New to all of this as we've never had a trip planned that fell on a run disney event.

Wife and MIL would like to do the 5K, 10K and sunrise Yoga. Wife may attempt the entire challenge, but not sure on that. In general, how tough is the general registration process? Should they be ok registering that day for those events or prepared for possible disappointment? They are also considering joining clubrundisney when it opens in May...does the early registration window for club run disney guarantee a slot or still a dice roll even with that membership? Would probably buy the gold membership for early access to the expo.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

In general, how tough is the general registration process? Should they be ok registering that day for those events or prepared for possible disappointment?

There’s data somewhere about historical sell out rates, but for MW those were blown out of the water this year. I would go in assuming it will be tough and then if it isn’t then hooray.

They are also considering joining clubrundisney when it opens in May...does the early registration window for club run disney guarantee a slot or still a dice roll even with that membership?

The CrD sign up in May won’t have its benefits start until October. So the early registration won’t benefit this year’s princess but next year. But if you sign up for Princess successfully you’ll get whatever other benefits for the race itself you have.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Wife and MIL would like to do the 5K, 10K and sunrise Yoga. Wife may attempt the entire challenge, but not sure on that. In general, how tough is the general registration process? Should they be ok registering that day for those events or prepared for possible disappointment?

Just a few posts up (link).

They are also considering joining clubrundisney when it opens in May...does the early registration window for club run disney guarantee a slot or still a dice roll even with that membership? Would probably buy the gold membership for early access to the expo.

If you purchase Club runDisney on May 3rd 2022, then the membership is good from October 1st 2022 to September 30th 2023. So as it relates specifically to Princess Weekend 2023, you will not get any sort of registration benefits because Princess registration is in June 2022. But you would get early Expo access with a Gold membership since Princess occurs Feb 2023 and that falls within your membership window of Oct 2022 to Sept 2023.

The registration benefits of a Club runDisney membership purchased on May 3rd 2022, would be good for Wine and Dine 2023, MW 2024, Princess 2024, and SS 2024. But the expo entry benefit would be good for Wine and Dine 2022, MW 2023, Princess 2023, and SS 2023. In order to get the benefits of both registration and early expo access for a single weekend requires you to have two years of memberships.

When you are given the registration benefit as a Club runDisney member, it is a guaranteed entry. There is no rolling of dice. 2022-2023 Gold allows one registration per race weekend for only yourself, and 2022-2023 Platinum allows two registrations per weekend for only yourself (you can't use the two to purchase one HM bib for yourself and one HM bib for your spouse).