These races are selling out insanely quick!

[roomthreeseventeen]

Also, election day is never, ever a Monday. It is mandated to be the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

 

[mking624]

I think people are overlooking two important reasons for a quick sellout:

1) the pace minimum is 16 minutes per mile. The average person in decent health can walk that fast or faster. Would I ever do a non-Disney half marathon and run the whole thing? No way! But, an opportunity to run and walk at a slower pace? Sure, sounds fun!

2) Election Day is the Monday before the race. We picked that week as a vacation week because my kids will only miss four days of school instead of five. Then, I saw I could do the race while I was already there, so why not?

Really, these two factors may be a HUGE contributing factor in non-runners and regular vacationers signing up.

I honestly don't think those are really that big of a deal in terms of contributing factors to the quick sell out. This will be the third year W&D is on the same weekend. However, this is the first year it sold out this quickly. Since 16mpm is standard across the Disney races, that would have affected the registration of W&D long ago. I highly doubt everyone JUST learned about it right in time for W&D opening up registration the other day. Elections take place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November, as pointed out. This year it is on November 4th. But I don't see it having any more of an affect on the race than the last two years. I mean I was there in 2012, a presidential election year...and the race didn't have a super fast sell out.

If either of those are contributing factors, I would say they are minimal factors.

 

[cewait]

I know the numbers jump around by the different races, but the elites seem to be included in the consecutive numbering of the Corral Assignments released; even with a ~20 or so gap, it wouldn't cover the difference of 567 bibs listed for the Dopey, though.
.

We are agreeing on the relative size. I am the one who posted 7500 last April for the Dopey size. I was just pointing out the elite to main pack gap that is not always so obvious. Even with that I am a little off on the gap since the perfect 22 marathoners run with their original bib numbers; all less than 1000...

I appreciate the original post as I find it telling on how each course is measured by the race director in terms of folks on course. It is something I have always thought of doing but never go around to running. I have run every course on the list and have opinions on what is crowded and what is not. I find the DL courses feel much more crowded than the WDW - possibly due to the parks being the first thing on the course.

Thanks for pulling the numbers

 

[Castle2Castle]

I have run every course on the list and have opinions on what is crowded and what is not. I find the DL courses feel much more crowded than the WDW - possibly due to the parks being the first thing on the course.

Our experience on both coasts has been that bottlenecking was worst in the parks. And for the races we've done anyway, you spend a solid 2-3 more miles on open roadways in WDW versus Disneyland before entering the first park, giving more time for runners to separate. Add to that Disneyland's pathways seem generally more narrow than WDW, and I could certainly see that being the case.

I was thinking to myself that the lower numbers were probably due to the need to clear the streets for permits, but in thinking about the (perceived) congestion differences, that could also be a factor.

 

[Figment1990]

1. Have you ever tried to walk a 16 minute mile? I'm a 2:10 half'er, and my walking pace is about 20 minutes/mile.

2. I've never heard of a school district in the Northeast that had election day off.

Our school districts have been off for Election Day for as long as I can remember (30 years) and I can send you our school calendar for the last 5 if you'd like. Perhaps we're not the "northeast" exactly but western pa definitely has off for Election Day. Just sharing.

 

[cewait]

Our experience on both coasts has been that bottlenecking was worst in the parks. And for the races we've done anyway, you spend a solid 2-3 more miles on open roadways in WDW versus Disneyland before entering the first park, giving more time for runners to separate. Add to that Disneyland's pathways seem generally more narrow than WDW, and I could certainly see that being the case.

I was thinking to myself that the lower numbers were probably due to the need to clear the streets for permits, but in thinking about the (perceived) congestion differences, that could also be a factor.

I do not feel the bottle neck at WDW in the parks; especially since the Jan causes have been revised. The exception are the goobers who stop at the bottom of the Castle ramp for photo ops.

I the last days of the old course, the two starts merged at mile 3.3 just behind Mexico/Norway. With the relative speed of both sides it was not uncommon to have the 4:15 marathoners merging with the 5:30 runners. That was a mess.

 

[Nole95]

I do not feel the bottle neck at WDW in the parks; especially since the Jan causes have been revised. The exception are the goobers who stop at the bottom of the Castle ramp for photo ops.

I the last days of the old course, the two starts merged at mile 3.3 just behind Mexico/Norway. With the relative speed of both sides it was not uncommon to have the 4:15 marathoners merging with the 5:30 runners. That was a mess.

We were in corral H for the marathon this year and did not experience any course bottlenecks within the parks. I think the closest thing to a bottleneck was the canal underpass right before the Contemporary Resort. Even then we were through pretty quick.

 

[Figment1990]

I do not feel the bottle neck at WDW in the parks; especially since the Jan causes have been revised. The exception are the goobers who stop at the bottom of the Castle ramp for photo ops.

I the last days of the old course, the two starts merged at mile 3.3 just behind Mexico/Norway. With the relative speed of both sides it was not uncommon to have the 4:15 marathoners merging with the 5:30 runners. That was a mess.

For princess I started in corral g and felt the bottleneck only on the exit/entrance ramps which were narrow. In wine and dine the worst bottlenecks are along the walkway from DHS to the boardwalk and in 2012, the entrance to animal kingdom. Thankfully, they fixed most of the animal kingdom issue in 2013. I didn't experience crowding issues during tinkerbell, where I started in B. that was a very nice race. Yesterday I was worried that with the quick sellout disney would try to increase the size of the wine and dine race in the future and I think that's what kinda worried me. But now that I think about it they probably have crowding constraints with this particular course and hopefully that will have them keep the race around 14k. I'm gonna say something ridiculous but ill throw it out there. If they did two princess weekend type runs, or if they made one of the races of the year more expensive and kept it small, gave it more laid back chance of getting merch without having to stay on property 3 days ahead so that we could properly rest up before and then enjoy time AFTER I would pay that. It's a crazy idea that I'm sure people will hate me for saying but it would be nice. Doesn't have to be for every race, maybe just one. I don't know why it bugs me so much but I really wanted a stupid tink mug and a princess wine glass and I could not get either bc I could not justify paying for an extra night lodging and extra day off work when I also knew I would end up wanting to sit in the hotel room all day to rest up anyway. What good does that do disney if I'm not eating at their restaurants or buying park tickets or Mickey ice creams, or any of that and it wasn't fair to my family for whom this was our vacation. So we chose to stay longer after the race and I did not get a wine glass....

Anyhow, sorry for the tangent just some of my rambling thoughts.

 

[QVCshopper]

1. Have you ever tried to walk a 16 minute mile? I'm a 2:10 half'er, and my walking pace is about 20 minutes/mile.

2. I've never heard of a school district in the Northeast that had election day off.

Yes, it's about 3.8 miles/hour on my treadmill. I know because I was walking that pace today. I have an ACL replacement and basically no meniscus in my one knee, so even trying to do the half is a huge accomplishment for me. Right now, I am training for a 10 miler using a couch to 5k, and have finished 2 miles in under 29 minutes so far. Of course, I hope to improve as time goes on.

And most schools close here for election day because they don't want outsiders near the kids. I'm in PA, and it's quite common--was that way at both my old and new district.

 

[Mariannekay]

This is my first Disney Half and I'm so excited that I got in, I had no idea it would sell out so quickly! I have to say that my main reasons for wanting to run this one is the fact that it's a half that runs through Hollywood Studios, and because it's a night race. Do any of the other half marathon run this course?

 

[Castle2Castle]

Do any of the other half marathon run this course?

No. The January 1/2 and Princess 1/2 both loop EPCOT to Magic Kingdom. Tower of Terror 10-Miler runs to the gates of Animal Kingdom but only actually runs in Hollywood Studios. W&D hits the most parks outside of the full marathon.

 

[cewait]

No. The January 1/2 and Princess 1/2 both loop EPCOT to Magic Kingdom. Tower of Terror 10-Miler runs to the gates of Animal Kingdom but only actually runs in Hollywood Studios. W&D hits the most parks outside of the full marathon.

From a pure historian perspective, there is one other half course that has never been used. It was laid out to the the Princess course during the inaugural year but a huge ground swell of protest forced a change. It was hard to believe that the Princess race would not have gone through a castle. It's path is the Indy Track to DAK, DHS, Epcot and finish. I wonder if they will ever dust it off.

 

[Figment1990]

No. The January 1/2 and Princess 1/2 both loop EPCOT to Magic Kingdom. Tower of Terror 10-Miler runs to the gates of Animal Kingdom but only actually runs in Hollywood Studios. W&D hits the most parks outside of the full marathon.

Shhhhh. Don't give away the secret!

 

[makelab]

I'm surprised Wine and Dine took over 24 hours to sell out. I just wonder at what point runners will stop registering for Disney races. I'm reading that this undercurrent is going on now. Cost, stress of registration, crowded courses.

The night race is very popular and the smaller corrals, with more corrals overall, have mitigated the crowding quite a lot. And although the after party can get crowded, it is a nice experience. Each runner gets a drink at the end of the race and $10 to spend on whatever inside. Stress of registration? AP and DVC don't have it. It's not ideal to have to register the first 24 hours, but I don't think it's stressful. I hate to see the cost rising, but if I default to one race a year, wine and dine will be it. I think $250 may be the point at which I start considering to reconsider.

 

[FFigawi]

I do not feel the bottle neck at WDW in the parks; especially since the Jan causes have been revised. The exception are the goobers who stop at the bottom of the Castle ramp for photo ops. I the last days of the old course, the two starts merged at mile 3.3 just behind Mexico/Norway. With the relative speed of both sides it was not uncommon to have the 4:15 marathoners merging with the 5:30 runners. That was a mess.

The merge was sometimes a mess, but I loved the old course. Running around World Showcase in the dark with the fire torches lit up was something special.

 

[sunshinecruise]

I don't know why it bugs me so much but I really wanted a stupid tink mug and a princess wine glass and I could not get either bc I could not justify paying for an extra night lodging and extra day off work when I also knew I would end up wanting to sit in the hotel room all day to rest up anyway. What good does that do disney if I'm not eating at their restaurants or buying park tickets or Mickey ice creams, or any of that and it wasn't fair to my family for whom this was our vacation. So we chose to stay longer after the race and I did not get a wine glass....

Anyhow, sorry for the tangent just some of my rambling thoughts.

I wish that you could pre-order the merchandise. I would even be happy to pay shipping, if I could get what I wanted. We got to the PHM expo this year on Friday afternoon and so much was already gone.

I did see the wine glasses, but I looked at the shirts first and when I went to pick up a wine glass, they were all gone. My dh was also going to buy a "My Favorite Princess is my Wife" T-shirt, but the only shirts left were all size Small.

I just don't understand why they don't have more merchandise? We were there on Friday afternoon and I know that some people who were running the PHM didn't arrive until Saturday.

It seems like a no brainer to have lots of merchandise available for everyone, they would make so much more money!

 

[cewait]

The merge was sometimes a mess, but I loved the old course. Running around World Showcase in the dark with the fire torches lit up was something special.

Yeppers, I miss BOTH the early morning and often foggy run through Epcot at mile 3 and the smaller race crowds that went along with the old course.

 

[mking624]

I wish that you could pre-order the merchandise. I would even be happy to pay shipping, if I could get what I wanted. We got to the PHM expo this year on Friday afternoon and so much was already gone.

I did see the wine glasses, but I looked at the shirts first and when I went to pick up a wine glass, they were all gone. My dh was also going to buy a "My Favorite Princess is my Wife" T-shirt, but the only shirts left were all size Small.

I just don't understand why they don't have more merchandise? We were there on Friday afternoon and I know that some people who were running the PHM didn't arrive until Saturday.

It seems like a no brainer to have lots of merchandise available for everyone, they would make so much more money!

A couple things come to mind.
First, sometimes people buy more than one of the same thing, so that is going to limit availability. Wine glasses are a great example of this, because not too many people ever buy just *one* wine glass. They usually at least get two to have a small set, sometimes more.

Second, when it comes to outside vendors, they can't pull from a stock room. They are limited to the space they have, which means they are limited in what they can bring and sell.

 

[bumbershoot]

I do not feel the bottle neck at WDW in the parks; especially since the Jan causes have been revised. The exception are the goobers who stop at the bottom of the Castle ramp for photo ops.

Just going from my experience with the WDW Half, I thought that goober-caused bottleneck could be stopped if there were some way to let everyone know that there would be an area at the bottom for people go to into to wait for pictures. People were stopping and taking them in the middle of everything, because they didn't know about that area at the bottom.

They had signs and people yelling about it at the bottom, but you can't hear that at the top, or inside the castle, or when you're still in FL.

 

[faneuil]

I wish that you could pre-order the merchandise. I would even be happy to pay shipping, if I could get what I wanted. We got to the PHM expo this year on Friday afternoon and so much was already gone. I did see the wine glasses, but I looked at the shirts first and when I went to pick up a wine glass, they were all gone. My dh was also going to buy a "My Favorite Princess is my Wife" T-shirt, but the only shirts left were all size Small. I just don't understand why they don't have more merchandise? We were there on Friday afternoon and I know that some people who were running the PHM didn't arrive until Saturday. It seems like a no brainer to have lots of merchandise available for everyone, they would make so much more money!

Stupid thing is, I'll probably see some of this stuff at the outlets when I go tomorrow.