-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend adds new 10K race and new 'Glass Slipper' challenge for 2014
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Mad Stitch
Well-Known Member
I was wondering why they didn't add a Dumbo challenge like race to marathon weekend. This is a better solution.
Texas84
Well-Known Member
runDisney is out of control.
You mean another medal for completing the 10K and Half? We're going to have a medal for every character. I say Pluto.
You mean another medal for completing the 10K and Half? We're going to have a medal for every character. I say Pluto.
joel_maxwell
Permanent Resident of EPCOT
They really keep expanding the runDisney franchise. I wish the runDisney franchise would expand into a triDisney. Just sayin
joel_maxwell
Permanent Resident of EPCOT
Anything to enhance the runners experience.... and make more money.runDisney is out of control.
Ariel484
Well-Known Member
I think it's great that they now have 10Ks - good variety of distances available now - but does this mean we can expect ALL race weekends to eventually have 10Ks? I feel like these race weekends just keep getting bigger and bigger (thus more crowded and expensive)...where's the tipping point?
Ariel484
Well-Known Member
THIS. I start to worry more and more that the runner experience is going to suffer BECAUSE they have figured out how profitable these races are. They've been making good changes (reducing the field for some races, being stricter on corral placement) and potentially bad changes this year.
AUPr8Hd
Active Member
Once the inaugural bling goes away, the big draw for runners will be anniversary years. I think non-anniversary years will be slightly more difficult to sell, especially with the current pricing.
In the past 5 years, they have added 3 race weekends (4, if you include Tower). Plus, they've announced new challenges similar to Goofy, i.e. Dumbo, Dopey and now Glass Slipper. Don't be surprised to see another announced for Tink weekend.
Here's a breakdown of the number of finishers over the years, as best as I could obtain from online.
Disneyland Half
2006 - 9,361
2012 - 14,831
Princess
2009 - 6,329
2013 - 22,739
Wine & Dine
2010 - 7,287
2012 - 11,625
Tink
2012 - 11,948
2013 - 10,212
I didn't include Marathon weekend. But, we all know the issues with capacity and crowding surrounding that weekend. These are obvious money makers for Disney. We will see where things go over the next few years.
In the past 5 years, they have added 3 race weekends (4, if you include Tower). Plus, they've announced new challenges similar to Goofy, i.e. Dumbo, Dopey and now Glass Slipper. Don't be surprised to see another announced for Tink weekend.
Here's a breakdown of the number of finishers over the years, as best as I could obtain from online.
Disneyland Half
2006 - 9,361
2012 - 14,831
Princess
2009 - 6,329
2013 - 22,739
Wine & Dine
2010 - 7,287
2012 - 11,625
Tink
2012 - 11,948
2013 - 10,212
I didn't include Marathon weekend. But, we all know the issues with capacity and crowding surrounding that weekend. These are obvious money makers for Disney. We will see where things go over the next few years.
joel_maxwell
Permanent Resident of EPCOT
Me too. I think they are expanding too fast, but hey, they are the business model experts, so who am I to question them.
Im done with them until the prices go down or the numbers of attendance get regulated or go down. Im not running and rubbing elbows with someone after paying $200+ for a half. Nope. Not me.
See above. I have lost interest because of the insane price hikes. I get it... people will still sell it out. I just think this bubble will burst one day. I think that once the "I have to do a Disney race at least once" wears off, i dont see how people can or could continue to enjoy the experience with the increase in numbers of runners and prices.
Those numbers look like gradual trend numbers. The Princess looks like an incredible marketing job. Seriously. I can see where, as stated above, non local women saying, "I want to run at least one Disney race, I want to do the Princess"
I could be way off. I just have a feeling this trend of running will slightly fade a little if prices keep climbing at the rate they have. Id like to see the entry fee for each on the numbers above.
farrellbarrel
Well-Known Member
It makes them money, and it's fun! I really would like to run a half marathon in Disney, and the challenges make it a little more interesting. I wish I could run this in Feb, but I'm sure the rest of the world will want to..
Ariel484
Well-Known Member
The medal is pretty, but I'm just...really not that excited about this idea. It's just another way for them to entice people to do races on both coasts, and as @wdwmagic said above, having more and more of these challenges is making them less special.
I feel like it would be better to add another race weekend at Disneyland. And they need to announce the Disneyland Paris half marathon...I WILL be excited about the chance to do that one (assuming it actually happens at some point).
I feel like it would be better to add another race weekend at Disneyland. And they need to announce the Disneyland Paris half marathon...I WILL be excited about the chance to do that one (assuming it actually happens at some point).
Texas84
Well-Known Member
Even the local runs here in Georgia are increasing their numbers. I think people in the US are finally realizing they need to get off their duffs and this is motivation. Or it could be another fad. I think a lot of us here hope it's a fad.
Ariel484
Well-Known Member
I read your post over the weekend and just came back to re-read it. A couple of thoughts...
1. I agree with you about the appeal of the anniversary years. After running the marathon in 2013 I was pretty sure I wanted to go Goofy the next year, but not fully committed. Once I remembered that 2013 would be the 20th anniversary of the marathon that made the decision a lot easier, and now I'm skipping marathon weekend in 2014 but plan on coming back in 2015 for the 10th anniversary Goofy Challenge medal.
2. It's nuts how much running at Disney has really grown over the past few years. I think it's great that they have so many weekends to choose from - different time periods, different themes, different distances (big thumbs-up for adding 10K and 10-mile races) etc. - but I really cannot get excited about every weekend having a *challenge* of some kind. The challenges they had before seem less special, or something, and I almost wish they'd leave spots for people that want to run the 10K only, the half only, etc. rather than allocating a decent amount to the challenge runners.
3. Those capacity numbers are INSANE. The WDW/Princess Half course (the only one of the 4 you listed above that I have experience with) simply cannot handle 22,000+ runners. It's not safe (people tripping over one another, getting elbowed, etc.) and it's not enjoyable. I think the craziest numbers you have above are for the Princess and Tinkerbell Half Marathons. I had no idea the Princess almost quadrupled in size from 2009 to 2013...yikes! When I ran it in 2011 I think there were maybe 14,000 runners, and I have lots of good memories from that race. It was fun and I don't remember feeling cramped (granted, that was my first-ever race at Disney, so that definitely adds to the happy memories). But compare that to this year when I ran the WDW Half and it's like night and day. The course is exactly the same, but this year there were 22,000+ runners. Everyone came to a complete stop at least 3 times - on Main Street, heading out of the castle, and right when we were leaving the Magic Kingdom. We were all in one giant clump, and on an already-warm day that made conditions all the more hot and humid. And it was hard to try to navigate around people without tripping, getting elbowed, or annoying one another.
Part of the problem was poor runner etiquette (not much Disney can do about this - they put suggestions in the race program but they can't force people to read/follow them
) but those narrow pathways in the parks and just outside the parks (where we often had to make our way along a one-lane road) aren't built to handle those kinds of crowds. It was incredibly frustrating, and I was disappointed to look at the runDisney Facebook page and see many of these same issues happened at this year's Princess Half. I am glad - and surprised - that they are lowering capacity and taking a stricter stance on corral placement. At least they are listening to some of the complaints.The Tink numbers are surprising to me simply because there's a DECREASE there. Did more people get swept or did they already lower capacity for that one? Hmm.
diddy_mouse
Well-Known Member
I like the addition of the 10K distance but I hate the price tag attached. Same thing with the 5K...I don't think I'd ever pay that much for a race. I'd just go ahead and register for the half at that point.
With that being said I still want to run at Disney but it'll be a couple of years before I do so. Curious to see how things may or may not change in that period of time.
With that being said I still want to run at Disney but it'll be a couple of years before I do so. Curious to see how things may or may not change in that period of time.
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
The finishing numbers are always a little fluky in my mind. Looking at the numbers from the 2013 Marathon Weekend (20,734 and 23,148) falls about 6k short of the 50k they were talking about. So either 1 in 10 runners didn't start, or got swept (seems a bit high) or something is off.
Not sure if the numbers for 2012 are quite right. The active.com results here -> http://results.active.com/event_collections/2012-tinker-bell-half-marathon/2012?i=1 indicate 9751 female, and 826 male finishers for a total of 10,577, which is much closer to the 2013 numbers provided. I see the 11,948 as the finishers for 2013 from here -> http://www.trackshack.com/disneysports/results/tb13/ So swapping those two would fall more inline with a slight increase in numbers, or possibly better weather in 2013 so more finishers.
And with the addition of the Dopey, 4 out of 5 years will be an anniversary weekend in January now. Awfully convenient how that worked out.
With the two most recent announcements (The Glass Slipper and the "female" C2C [for lack of a better term]) it's almost as if they have realized that they cannot cram more on the 1/2 or full course, and that the prices are getting mad expensive, and are looking for a way to get more cash from the existing runners.
Not sure if the numbers for 2012 are quite right. The active.com results here -> http://results.active.com/event_collections/2012-tinker-bell-half-marathon/2012?i=1 indicate 9751 female, and 826 male finishers for a total of 10,577, which is much closer to the 2013 numbers provided. I see the 11,948 as the finishers for 2013 from here -> http://www.trackshack.com/disneysports/results/tb13/ So swapping those two would fall more inline with a slight increase in numbers, or possibly better weather in 2013 so more finishers.
And with the addition of the Dopey, 4 out of 5 years will be an anniversary weekend in January now. Awfully convenient how that worked out.
With the two most recent announcements (The Glass Slipper and the "female" C2C [for lack of a better term]) it's almost as if they have realized that they cannot cram more on the 1/2 or full course, and that the prices are getting mad expensive, and are looking for a way to get more cash from the existing runners.