Princess Weekend 2022

[Herding_Cats]

We did not have any issue at our resort.
Talk to our bus driver, very nice man. He said Disney contracted 400 buses for the event. Also they had to start their shift at midnight to determine their routes etc.

What time did you get on your bus, and which resort were you at? I feel like there's getting to be a theme from the people who had bus issues, but I'm testing my theory.

 

[Novatrix]

What time did you get on your bus, and which resort were you at? I feel like there's getting to be a theme from the people who had bus issues, but I'm testing my theory.

I already have a theory. I think it was primarily the Epcot resorts that had issues (as I've heard similar stories from Boardwalk and Swan and Dolphin), and Beach Club's issue was exacerbated by sharing a bus with Yacht Club.

Just because they had 400 buses doesn't mean they had a)enough or b) deployed them effectively.

 

[striker1064]

I already have a theory. I think it was primarily the Epcot resorts that had issues (as I've heard similar stories from Boardwalk and Swan and Dolphin), and Beach Club's issue was exacerbated by sharing a bus with Yacht Club.

Just because they had 400 buses doesn't mean they had a)enough or b) deployed them effectively.

So sorry you had issues! I'm glad you were at least able to get your race in though. I was thinking about you and wondering if you made it when I heard Beach Club was the big one impacted.

Luckily no issues here at Boardwalk when I left, but it doesn't surprise me at all that things went downhill here too.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I already have a theory. I think it was primarily the Epcot resorts that had issues (as I've heard similar stories from Boardwalk and Swan and Dolphin), and Beach Club's issue was exacerbated by sharing a bus with Yacht Club.

Just because they had 400 buses doesn't mean they had a)enough or b) deployed them effectively.

Yeah that's the thread that I've been picking up too (the Epcot-area resorts) AND that if you weren't on the VERY FIRST BUS for a few other places.

 

[Herding_Cats]

It's also pretty amazing to me that with how well the MW bussing seemed to have gone, that it went so off-the-rails for Princess. I get that they had to use HS as a transfer station, but how could it have been soooooo bad?

 

[Novatrix]

It's also pretty amazing to me that with how well the MW bussing seemed to have gone, that it went so off-the-rails for Princess. I get that they had to use HS as a transfer station, but how could it have been soooooo bad?

So my full theory is they didn't plan for enough Epcot resort buses because a) they needed to bus people parked at DHS rather than letting them park at Epcot (atypical for Princess weekend) b) typically, the Epcot resorts buses can make a quick round trip to pick up more people, but with the entrance to epcot going to one lane it took significantly longer to drop-off and return to the resorts. (I was on the bus for at least 50 minutes to go 3.5 miles by car.)

I'd imagine they don't count on the Akl or Wl buses to get more than 2 bus loads due to distances involved.

 

[MissLiss279]

I didn’t have bus issues this morning. I was at AKL-Kidani. I do not think we shared with Jambo (not sure if they stopped there first and there weren’t any/many people from there). I did get to the bus stop just after 2:30, and our bus (presumably the 2nd bus, but maybe the first if they started at Jambo) showed up about 2:35ish and left at 2:45 and we were not full. I don’t know if there were any issues later.

 

[striker1064]

but with the entrance to epcot going to one lane it took significantly longer to drop-off and return to the resorts. (I was on the bus for at least 50 minutes to go 3.5 miles by car.)

Oh yeah - things are coming back to me as I read your posts - I remember being very surprised at how long it took for us to get to the race. It was about 30 minutes. Not sure what the issue was there.

 

[fatmanatee]

It's also pretty amazing to me that with how well the MW bussing seemed to have gone, that it went so off-the-rails for Princess. I get that they had to use HS as a transfer station, but how could it have been soooooo bad?

Was thinking the same thing, I had never stayed on-site for a race before MW last month and service was better than I expected and I was really nervous about how it would be handled. Sorry to anyone who was affected by this, that’s terrible.

 

[Tall Todd]

With that said, they ROYALLY messed up the buses going to Beach Club this morning and I'm sending strongly worded emails to both Rundisney and Beach Club's general manager.

What's the resort GM going to do about any of this? RunDisney and bussing for the event are completely outside of the resorts control.

 

[Naomeri]

I was on a bus at ASMu right at 2:30 and everything worked right. I’ve heard enough bus-related horror stories from all you veterans that I wasn’t chancing it.

I survived the race, I got a bunch of character pictures (I decided I needed a short break every 2 miles or so) and I beat my mom’s boss by 5 minutes

I also spent quite a while questioning the life choices that led me to running a half marathon and then crying down Main Street. And then things got better, especially after the Cinderella and Charming photo stop around mile 7, where I took the time while in line to take the orthotics out of my shoes—it was like switching to a totally different pair of shoes!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Official results if anyone is looking

https://www.trackshackresults.com/disneysports/results/pr/pr22/
Had a good HM this morning. Was at the SS bus stop at 2:40 and to EPCOT by 3:00. The delayed start screwed with my hydration timing, things did calm down. Felt stronger today than I did yesterday. Going into the race I gave myself a MK Castle gut check-in. At that point I’d either continue to max effort the race, or pull back and get some pics. While things were feeling alright, I could tell the difficulty picking up and I needed some short breaks. So I decided to walk the aid stations and stop for pics. I was officially the first person to stop for the Castle photo. Took them completely by surprise and the lady was fussing with her camera for what felt like an eternity. That happened at a few other photo stops as well as they weren’t expecting me. At Jasmine/Apu they didn’t even realize I was standing there, and I was like “hey y’all can we get this going”. Stopping for pics felt like a good choice because I was running pretty quick between stops and then enjoyed the few seconds of rest every once in a while. Checked my surroundings at the finish and was in the clear to do a big jump pic. Finished in 1:35:20, 51st overall, and 8th AG while taking pics. I think that was a Top 4 HM time for me.

For the 10k, I finished in 16th overall and 2nd AG.

 

[Tiggerette]

Our bus experience at AKL-Kidani went well. We got the 3:30a bus, and it was mostly full by the time we arrived. We waited till around 3:45a-ish. We did not go to Jambo. The line into Epcot was long, but moved along. I was very grateful for the DISmeet-up. Thank you for the pro-tips and wisdom/insights!

Because of the delayed start (corral 4), we didn't get to the castle before sunrise. However, the sun was just starting to peak and the colors were this beautiful pastels. I even got a "jumping in mid-air" pic!

I hit a "what in the world is happening" between mile 9 and 10. I was lucky that my running buddy assessed I unknowingly changed my breathing pattern and needed to go back to deeper breathing. Sure enough that helped. I also never ran for more than 8miles at a stretch. My runs used to have breaks, and now I know what my body thinks about going 11+ miles with few stops/breaks. He was also super helpful at the water walks and gummy stingers. I never used them before, and he was right- I needed them, but didn't realize I needed them. I was super lucky to have wise runner with me!

My goals were to 1) Finish Strong, feeling well. 2) Be able to walk in parks/at star cruiser mid-week. I think I accomplished the better part of my goals, and feeling "yeah, it was a good time!" Thanks again for a great meetup yesterday!! Oodles of hugs and celebratory cheers!

 

[furiated]

If take that over the yellow Gatorade at Gaspirilla

Blasphemy! Bring back yellow!

 

[Tiggerette]

Hi y'all if any of you are still at/near WDW this Tuesday, I'm hosting a Mardi Gras Social. Here's the main info in the DIS boards: https://www.disboards.com/threads/mardi-gras-meet-up-tues-mar-1-pofq-9-30am.3872181/#post-63803671

What: Mardi Gras Social (and watch the Mardi Gras golf cart parade)
When: Tuesday March 1, 9:30am.
Where: Meet outside Sassagoula Floatworks (cafe). We'll try to get outdoor table with good view of the parade.
I'll have a King Cake on hand to share at 10am. Other surprises too! If folks want to get "beignets" they're next door at the Scat Cat club.

 

[1lilspark]

Blasphemy! Bring back yellow!

Still yellow is better than white cherry in my defense

 

[furiated]

Still yellow is better than white cherry in my defense

I knew we could find some common ground!

 

[drlorilovesdisney]

Today was great! No bus problems from SSR. After tons of icing and several doses of ibuprofen, my frozen shoulder is about 50% better, so I decided to go for it. Finished in 2:07:33 which is a PR for me by 11 minutes. My initial goal was to finish in 2:15. So excited!

 

[SheHulk]

Hey everybody! I am soooo sorry for all the bus issues. I was very surprised to see @Novatrix behind me at the first character stop. I'd be losing my mind if that was me, you took it better than I would. And then you blasted past me so I hope you wound up having a good race
I, on the other hand, had no issues. Love Pop for race weekends as usual. The food court was open at 2AM and I stopped in there at maybe 2:30 and leisurely (not really) had a coffee & bagel, then strolled out to the buses, which were lined up maybe 10 deep just waiting for people. Got on the bus and it was already mostly full so they took off shortly after. Thank you Pop Century.
I wound up in S1, in the first mini-wave which was definitely a new experience for me. It was neat seeing the action on-stage in person, rather than barely hearing them thru a speaker which may or may not work and a screen that is far away. Much less congestion starting from there, despite my stopping for every character, taking 2 porta potty breaks, etc.
I continued on with my goal of stopping for every character stop or PhotoPass photo op. I only skipped one, Evil Queen, because a) I am just not Team Villain and b) it was in that backstage area right behind Splash Mountain that has the parade floats. I had just stopped soooo many times in MK I couldn't mentally do it again. With all the stops, and pulling off course at 7AM to book a Genie Plus "experience", I finished in about the same time I did for the half in January. I took way fewer photo stops then, but I had started in S5 and experienced a ton of congestion in the early miles.
This might have been my favorite race weekend ever? I've heard all the negativity about Princess Weekend but I didn't pick up on any of that at all. I was in the corral by myself this morning and women were so friendly and chatty all around me. So many women on course complimenting each others' costumes. Race etiquette was better. Everybody was just so nice. Overall it was a great experience. Too bad it doesn't usually line up with my spring break, this was a fluke. Still I'm glad I got to experience it.

 

[azrivest]

No bus issues for me either at CSR

Every morning there were 3 buses waiting at the Casitas stop when I got there at 2:40.

I finished 733rd for the 10k. Not bad considering the amount of runners in the field yesterday. And today my proudest moment was the money shot coming out of the castle before USALand.