Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend 2022 (Nov. 3-6, 2022)

[Tiggerette]

Ugh! I have to work on Thursday. I was planning on going to the expo after work, when there is historically far less lines. Now, I have to use the frakkin virtual queue, which means I have no clue when I'll get called in. I can't wait around at the expo for whenever the "boarding group" would roll over to my number. Ugh!

Do y'all think that the will honor a prior queue number later in the day, rather than forfeit the right to enter? For example, if I'm #527, and they have already called through 600 or higher, would I be allowed in once I arrived at the expo?

 

[1lilspark]

Since they make reference to "if spots remain in the virtual queue" it will be interesting to see if spots run out.

When they had dooneys I used to line up early to get mine and was usually in the first 5 people in the line. I will say most of the people around me weren't even running the races they were just local folks buying stuff to resell.

After standing in line last year for Princess and Springtime Surprise only to find lots of stuff picked over with people sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by huge piles of merch it was a little disenchanting. I agree that I would love to see the first round go to those with bibs even if it is limited to 2 each.

It will be interesting to see when/if queue space sells out for Thursday, how long waits will be when called, and how picked over things get

Looking through my reports from last season brings up interesting stats:

Wine & Dine:
Arrived day one “slightly after general public opening” waited 35 mins to get into arena got pre ordered 10k pin/magnet set as well as spirit jersey and AP water bottle tervis

Sister got 10k magnet and spirit jersey didn’t get a shoe ornament but later found out that only those who pre ordered got one and the rest were off loaded at cast connection as they arrived late

Marathon Weekend:
Arrived just after noon opening day 2…. Walked right in got pre order 10k pin/magnet and AP water bottle tervis everything was picked through to the point they were selling shelf signage at $50 each

Springtime Surprise
Arrived 1035 due to bad I4 traffic
2-2.5 estimated wait for merchandise once got in all that was left for 5K was I did it pins /shirts … lucked into a CM putting a handful of magnets on shelf…. CMs telling runners to get magnets at marketplace co op (different/more expensive ones) and to ask cashiers if there were any pin go backs

Ended up with 5K I did it pin & magnet and AP logo pin

Heard lots of people were Queuing up after yoga that morning… medal replica pins were already going for $70 on eBay

 

[The Expert]

I do think we can anticipate the queue moving quickly and spaces being open in the afternoon. The crowd is far less than for the normal day crowd at a park, and demand will peak early. If it truly mirrors what we've seen with standby lines in previous years, I can see times being readily available by early afternoon. And yes, I suspect they will honor early times later in the day.

 

[GreatLakes]

This is an interesting thought. On the surface, Disney doesn't seem to care who buys the merch as it's selling out either way. But there is definitely a customer experience issue they are trying to solve for with this queue. By using VQ, they are able to manage the line, but they are also able to see WHO is in line. With that data, this could possibly be step one to improving the runner experience with expo merch. I certainly hope so!

Maybe we will get a new leadership team that cares about customer experience in the future and with the guts to remind Wall Street that stockholders are after customers and employees in importance, and there are publicly traded companies that do that so it isn't impossible, but it isn't happening with the current team and sadly that includes Josh D'Amaro.

 

[azrivest]

Interesting change with the virtual queue. I hope its not a complete disaster. Our flight lands around 1 pm on Thursday and we were planning to head to expo after checking into French Quarter. I wonder what the virtual queue will be like that time of day.

I'm in about the same boat as you. I'll be really pi$$ed if I can't get into the Expo that day. I'm not too anxious about merch, but I won't be able to join the queue at 7:30 since I'll be 1500 miles away.

 

[Naomeri]

Ugh! I have to work on Thursday. I was planning on going to the expo after work, when there is historically far less lines. Now, I have to use the frakkin virtual queue, which means I have no clue when I'll get called in. I can't wait around at the expo for whenever the "boarding group" would roll over to my number. Ugh!

Do y'all think that the will honor a prior queue number later in the day, rather than forfeit the right to enter? For example, if I'm #527, and they have already called through 600 or higher, would I be allowed in once I arrived at the expo?

That’s apparently works with the GotG VQ—just show up anytime after your group is called, so hopefully the systems are consistent. But this is Disney IT after all, and consistency cannot be assumed.

 

[The Expert]

Maybe we will get a new leadership team that cares about customer experience in the future and with the guts to remind Wall Street that stockholders are after customers and employees in importance, and there are publicly traded companies that do that so it isn't impossible, but it isn't happening with the current team and sadly that includes Josh D'Amaro.

Sadly that's probably right. But I am hopeful. With more data available, they COULD skew the queue in favor of those with bibs (without confirming such so as not to drive up 5K registrations). And by doing so, they could eliminate the customer base for the resellers by allowing those who truly want the merch in ahead of them. This would diminish the rate of return, leading to fewer resellers.

BUT not only are we dealing with leadership who doesn't seem to value customer satisfaction, but also relying on Disney IT to figure this out.

 

[PrincessV]

Ugh! I have to work on Thursday. I was planning on going to the expo after work, when there is historically far less lines. Now, I have to use the frakkin virtual queue, which means I have no clue when I'll get called in. I can't wait around at the expo for whenever the "boarding group" would roll over to my number. Ugh!

Do y'all think that the will honor a prior queue number later in the day, rather than forfeit the right to enter? For example, if I'm #527, and they have already called through 600 or higher, would I be allowed in once I arrived at the expo?

I think they probably will, because there are a LOT of us locals and semi-locals who arrive later in the day - I just think things would get pretty ugly if the merch building was empty of traffic and they refused entry because your return time was called earlier!

Which does bring up a new question to me: are they limiting folks to one merch VQ a day? Say you sign up at 7:30am and go to work, your group is called back at 11am, but you won’t get there until 4pm, when the place is empty: would you be able to get another return time on the spot, or are you truly out of luck because you missed your return time?

This is going to be interesting…

 

[fatmanatee]

I'm just irritated that I can't make a plan for that day now (during MW) because I have no idea what sort of time slot we might get. That means no ADR for lunch at Sanaa, which I was planning, unless I can snag one in the morning after we get in the queue.

I could also mean people milling around the expo for longer waiting for their timeslot.

This is really making me wish they had pre-orders available because we've started collecting race/weekend pins.

Preorders (or online sales!) would be really nice at this point. I ordered NYC Marathon merch that will be delivered tomorrow and it’s a major relief to not have to deal with expo stress.

 

[1lilspark]

Preorders (or online sales!) would be really nice at this point. I ordered NYC Marathon merch that will be delivered tomorrow and it’s a major relief to not have to deal with expo stress.

They suspended pre ordering due to supply chain issues

It’s was to be return with springtime surprise but they retroactively added pre orders for princess…

When I first joined the RunDisney fandom I was told pre order if you can especially if you wanted pins, magnet, tervis cups and couldn’t rope drop the expo (this was before wine & dine 2016)

 

[Tiggerette]

I think they probably will, because there are a LOT of us locals and semi-locals who arrive later in the day - I just think things would get pretty ugly if the merch building was empty of traffic and they refused entry because your return time was called earlier!

Which does bring up a new question to me: are they limiting folks to one merch VQ a day? Say you sign up at 7:30am and go to work, your group is called back at 11am, but you won’t get there until 4pm, when the place is empty: would you be able to get another return time on the spot, or are you truly out of luck because you missed your return time?

This is going to be interesting…

I agree. If I understand the current rules (mentioned upthread) with the way VQs are running, you can enter way after your boarding group is called. During Rise of the Resistance VQ boarding groups, if I recall correctly, you were not allowed to return later outside your window unless a cast member was kind enough to let you go through. I'm hoping rD is running like the prior poster mentioned, you can enter anytime after your VQ# is called.

 

[Kerry1957]

• Step 5: You’ll receive a push notification directly to your mobile device when your group is ready to return. This push notification will also present you with a link to your digital entry code. Once received, you will have one hour to arrive at the AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

(bolding mine) Will the one hour limit be enforced? I have no idea.

 

[sandam1]

It appears that I'm in the minority, but I really like this change. Using a virtual queue was actually a suggestion that a lot of people liked in one of the past forum discussions. It's kind of amusing that now that they implemented it, people are freaking out. Personally, I would rather not have to stand in the long stand-by queue and be free to do other things. I know that for Princess 2020, we arrived late morning and still spent almost 2 hours in line to get into the merch area.

Before this announcement, I had kind of resigned myself to spending all of Thursday morning, and probably part of Thursday afternoon, in line. Now I can get up, get my spot in the queue (assuming the tech works which is always a question for Disney), and head to the parks for rope drop. Once my number gets called (or gets close - I'm hoping that there will be a way of telling how close you are), I'm going to grab an Uber and head over. I'm actually getting MORE park time out of this. Winner winner, chicken dinner, IMHO!

As far as only letting runners into the merch area, I will continue to beat my own personal drum on this. I have a friend who travels with me to most race weekends. She isn't a serious runner so sometimes she does the 5K and sometimes she doesn't. But she tailors her vacation time around my running, including getting up at o'dark thirty on consecutive mornings and standing around parking lots to cheer me on. To tell her that she can't come into the merch area with me is the height of insanity (and incredibly rude). And what about people who are traveling with their spouses and/or kids? I think that limiting it to people on your friends and family list in your DME is a step in the right direction to get to a middle ground.

I understand that change is hard, but I think that Disney is actually trying to make the merch area work better. They want people to come in and shop just as much as we want to give them our money. Is it going to work well the first time? Well, that I question given that it relies on Disney IT working properly, but at least they are trying to it on a "smaller" weekend as opposed to Marathon Weekend.

 

[fatmanatee]

• Step 5: You’ll receive a push notification directly to your mobile device when your group is ready to return. This push notification will also present you with a link to your digital entry code. Once received, you will have one hour to arrive at the AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

(bolding mine) Will the one hour limit be enforced? I have no idea.

My hunch is that they’ll be flexible, given the logistics of getting to the expo (would they really turn people away from spending money?), but I’d certainly rather not be the person who tests this if I cared that much about getting merch.

 

[RuntheMouse]

It appears that I'm in the minority, but I really like this change. Using a virtual queue was actually a suggestion that a lot of people liked in one of the past forum discussions. It's kind of amusing that now that they implemented it, people are freaking out. Personally, I would rather not have to stand in the long stand-by queue and be free to do other things. I know that for Princess 2020, we arrived late morning and still spent almost 2 hours in line to get into the merch area.

I like it as well. We didn’t get anything last W&D , we flew in on day 2, but waited in that looooong line for MW. It was stressful and chaotic and very unpleasant for myself and DH. In fact it was so bad that we skipped the merch area for Princess AND Springtime Surprise. So many people complained about the experience that we have to be happy they are at least trying a different approach. At least this gives people a chance at a decent experience.

 

[StarGirl11]

It appears that I'm in the minority, but I really like this change. Using a virtual queue was actually a suggestion that a lot of people liked in one of the past forum discussions. It's kind of amusing that now that they implemented it, people are freaking out. Personally, I would rather not have to stand in the long stand-by queue and be free to do other things. I know that for Princess 2020, we arrived late morning and still spent almost 2 hours in line to get into the merch area.

Before this announcement, I had kind of resigned myself to spending all of Thursday morning, and probably part of Thursday afternoon, in line. Now I can get up, get my spot in the queue (assuming the tech works which is always a question for Disney), and head to the parks for rope drop. Once my number gets called (or gets close - I'm hoping that there will be a way of telling how close you are), I'm going to grab an Uber and head over. I'm actually getting MORE park time out of this. Winner winner, chicken dinner, IMHO!

As far as only letting runners into the merch area, I will continue to beat my own personal drum on this. I have a friend who travels with me to most race weekends. She isn't a serious runner so sometimes she does the 5K and sometimes she doesn't. But she tailors her vacation time around my running, including getting up at o'dark thirty on consecutive mornings and standing around parking lots to cheer me on. To tell her that she can't come into the merch area with me is the height of insanity (and incredibly rude). And what about people who are traveling with their spouses and/or kids? I think that limiting it to people on your friends and family list in your DME is a step in the right direction to get to a middle ground.

I understand that change is hard, but I think that Disney is actually trying to make the merch area work better. They want people to come in and shop just as much as we want to give them our money. Is it going to work well the first time? Well, that I question given that it relies on Disney IT working properly, but at least they are trying to it on a "smaller" weekend as opposed to Marathon Weekend.

Okay so not doing this weekend mainly tracking this to see how it goes. But wanted to comment.

The issue isn’t your random friend. The issue is with the resellers shutting out runners for the sake of turning a profit. I was at 22 Marathon weekend and a lot of things people wanted were gone before end of Wednesday because of said resellers.

At least before we had a level playing field with them. As long as we got there at an appropriate time. Now we’ve completely lost it.

And unfortunately there is no way to differentiate between a reseller and someone who just wants to buy merch.

Like I’m with you I’m glad we have our day back possibly depending on assignments. But the race I’m actually signed up for will be my first big race in my chair. And the idea of I might not be able to get what I want because of this plus the resellers. And since I’m solo I don’t have a ton of VQ options compared to the groups

Is upsetting.

And resellers are an active problem.

 

[sandam1]

The issue isn’t your random friend. The issue is with the resellers shutting out runners for the sake of turning a profit. I was at 22 Marathon weekend and a lot of things people wanted were gone before end of Wednesday because of said resellers.

But how would you propose that you could shut out one without excluding the other? And as far as there being an advantage to a line, I will tell you that we used to do Black Friday sales and the resellers were ALWAYS at the front of the line. They just have the most motivation to spend the time waiting.

I was also at the 2022 MW and was really upset that I couldn't get the Dopey medal replica pin or a jacket. Those were the only things that I wanted and it did put a damper on my experience. But I think that for that weekend, more the fact that Disney just didn't have enough merchandise in stock. I'm hoping that they've gotten their act together at this point and will order appropriately (or as appropriately as runDisney ever has been able to).

 

[StarGirl11]

But how would you propose that you could shut out one without excluding the other? And as far as there being an advantage to a line, I will tell you that we used to do Black Friday sales and the resellers were ALWAYS at the front of the line. They just have the most motivation to spend the time waiting.

I was also at the 2022 MW and was really upset that I couldn't get the Dopey medal replica pin or a jacket. Those were the only things that I wanted and it did put a damper on my experience. But I think that for that weekend, more the fact that Disney just didn't have enough merchandise in stock. I'm hoping that they've gotten their act together at this point and will order appropriately (or as appropriately as runDisney ever has been able to).

And so was I. I’ve always rolled out of bed before the first bus. Because I know what the resellers are like. I’ve been doing races since 2011. This concept is not unfamiliar.

The main issue I have with this is just how random this can feel. I know it’s not technically random. But at least with how it was before I could show up and have realistic expectations of what I could get and could control it.

And going by how the VQs for ROR have gone from my experience or even some of the lightning lanes. You can literally be online at 7:30 and end up with a time slot that puts you all the way back at the end of the day through no fault of your own.

And I don’t know of a solution with your friend tbh. But right if this goes like how the other queues have gone. Then it’s just a flat out crapshoot for people doing the races

 

[The Expert]

And unfortunately there is no way to differentiate between a reseller and someone who just wants to buy merch.

But how would you propose that you could shut out one without excluding the other? And as far as there being an advantage to a line, I will tell you that we used to do Black Friday sales and the resellers were ALWAYS at the front of the line. They just have the most motivation to spend the time waiting.

So follow me here... With this new tech they will be able to track this. If Disney wanted to, they could find out the following:
* Who got a VQ but was NOT registered for a race.
* Who got a VQ but had no MDE connections registered for a race.
* Who got a VQ but did not record any activity on the race course (no photopass pics and no tracking, for the races that are tracked).

Using this information over time, they could determine who repeatedly is coming to the expo but not registered for or participating in the races. They could use this information to put those folks at the back of the VQ line or actively block them from the VQ entirely.

At least before we had a level playing field with them. As long as we got there at an appropriate time. Now we’ve completely lost it.

But they have also lost their advantage! They are at the same mercy as you for a randomized VQ return time. No more guaranteeing they get in BEFORE those who really want that merch. Between this and potentially acting on the data being gathered, rD could eventually eliminate a play on the system to the resellers' advantage, whether or not they buy into a race. And by giving those who really want the merch equal opportunity to access, the odds go up that those who would buy from those resellers will get what they want directly, cutting the reseller market to the point where it (hopefully) won't be worth their effort to try and game the system.

 

[jenhelgren]

My daughter and I are doing the 5K on Friday morning and were planning on staying until early park opening at 8 am to ride Ratatouille. It is our 1st event so we will be further back in the corrals. Would it be best to wait at the front gates or take a bus to Beach/Yacht Club and walk over to the International Gateway entrance so we will be closer to France upon entering? This thought just came to me today, so any help with planning would be awesome, I am slow moving this trip!