Marathon Weekend 2023

[GreatLakes]

While I understand where you are coming from on this, for races the size of rundisney and the sheer number of people traveling from out of town, I totally understand why they don't advertise emergency packet pick-up. It would 100% get abused. I can't blame them at all for doing everything in their power to get people to the expo in advance of race day. In fact, it's super nice of them to offer it at all. For the Houston HM/marathon, which is a similar size to a disney race, there is no race day pickup and no emergency pickup. Their version of emergency pickup is to allow a runner to pick up 1 additional bib for someone else but they have to have the other runners confirmation and a copy of their ID.

I'm surprised they even still do race morning packet pickup. If I were a gambler I would have bet they did away with that years ago.

 

[azrivest]

It's similar to a canned response in terms of faxed room requests.

Disney IT is squarely in 2002 rofl

(I don't think they do faxed room requests anymore tho, they use email now...)

 

[disneymomof8]

Unfortunately I think this has become widespread throughout the entire corporation and isn’t isolated to rD. There appears to be little support or guidance from above and it leaves front-facing representatives unable to help and burnt out and exasperated trying to diffuse situations for which they have no solutions. Best case scenario the person on the other end is disappointed in, but accepting of, the bad news. Worst case, they get screamed at. Not condoning bad treatment but I don’t think they’re being put in positions to succeed.

I think many Disney fans, myself included, have felt the erosion of the Disney experience (Magic, some may call it). I know they’re a corporation and it’s always about the numbers, but it’s much less ambiguous now.

i’m dating myself by saying this. does anyone remember the days where your medal got you into a park for free on monday after race weekend??? can you imagine that now??? my new mindset is no longer which park or parks i’ll visit in a day, but how many days can I enjoy without going to one?? resort only vacation with disney springs mixed in? the hassle of reserving the next time i can use the bathroom is quite depressing. i almost feel like i’ll only be in the parks while running through them. I won’t pay a nickel beyond the ticket that gets me in. So, what’s the point anymore? It’s both sad and enraging at the same time. Disney needs to rain down pixie dust on themselves to bring back the magic

 

[jmasgat]

i’m dating myself by saying this. does anyone remember the days where your medal got you into a park for free on monday after race weekend??? can you imagine that now??? my new mindset is no longer which park or parks i’ll visit in a day, but how many days can I enjoy without going to one?? resort only vacation with disney springs mixed in? the hassle of reserving the next time i can use the bathroom is quite depressing. i almost feel like i’ll only be in the parks while running through them. I won’t pay a nickel beyond the ticket that gets me in. So, what’s the point anymore? It’s both sad and enraging at the same time. Disney needs to rain down pixie dust on themselves to bring back the magic

Or even the more recent days when volunteers for the half and full got a one day park ticket to use as soon as our shift ended. Now they've outsourced the volunteer management and give no incentives. It is one of the reasons I canceled my volunteer shift this past MW. I've volunteered enough at Disney races to feel like I've given back to the race (in a non-monetary support way)

The whole value proposition is one of the reasons I don't see myself doing any RD races anymore. I used to enjoy the races AND the WDW vacation. But it's not worth the money anymore.

 

[fatmanatee]

i’m dating myself by saying this. does anyone remember the days where your medal got you into a park for free on monday after race weekend??? can you imagine that now??? my new mindset is no longer which park or parks i’ll visit in a day, but how many days can I enjoy without going to one?? resort only vacation with disney springs mixed in? the hassle of reserving the next time i can use the bathroom is quite depressing. i almost feel like i’ll only be in the parks while running through them. I won’t pay a nickel beyond the ticket that gets me in. So, what’s the point anymore? It’s both sad and enraging at the same time. Disney needs to rain down pixie dust on themselves to bring back the magic

When I first started doing these in 2016 (at DL) I assumed the race cost included a park ticket, given how expensive it was, and boy I was in for a surprise.

 

[GreatLakes]

i’m dating myself by saying this. does anyone remember the days where your medal got you into a park for free on monday after race weekend??? can you imagine that now??? my new mindset is no longer which park or parks i’ll visit in a day, but how many days can I enjoy without going to one?? resort only vacation with disney springs mixed in? the hassle of reserving the next time i can use the bathroom is quite depressing. i almost feel like i’ll only be in the parks while running through them. I won’t pay a nickel beyond the ticket that gets me in. So, what’s the point anymore? It’s both sad and enraging at the same time. Disney needs to rain down pixie dust on themselves to bring back the magic

I thought that was a one off in 2011. That was the year I did my first Disney full and it had the desired effect. We planned to fly home Monday but stayed the extra day to use the free park. They more than made up for the free admission with our eating and drinking that day.

 

[disneymomof8]

I thought that was a one off in 2011. That was the year I did my first Disney full and it had the desired effect. We planned to fly home Monday but stayed the extra day to use the free park. They more than made up for the free admission with our eating and drinking that day.

hahaha. for sure! but it was still a nice thing. call it psychological i guess. like charging $10 for overnight resort parking. it grates on me to no end, whereas if the room rate were $10 more per night, i’d think nothing of it in the grand scheme of things. paying for fast passes after years of being free. now pay to ride on top of that too. mickey is certainly drinking some fine wine with all that cheese!!

 

[GreatLakes]

hahaha. for sure! but it was still a nice thing. call it psychological i guess. like charging $10 for overnight resort parking. it grates on me to no end, whereas if the room rate were $10 more per night, i’d think nothing of it in the grand scheme of things. paying for fast passes after years of being free. now pay to ride on top of that too. mickey is certainly drinking some fine wine with all that cheese!!

It was and that was an example of something I mentioned up thread. On paper the cost of the "free ticket" I'm sure showed up on a balance sheet but that isn't what should be looked at. They need to look at the incremental spend I made in the parks which included one additional night in a resort hotel. I know they made more on me than they spent on my free ticket.

Whomever green-lit that had the right idea. Disney needs to stop looking at each individual cost center inside Disney and look at the big picture. I've incurred 100% of the cost of projects while other departments realized 100% of the profit but it doesn't matter. At the end of the day all that matters is their profit was greater than my cost. We are one company, not a collection of departments.

 

[disneymomof8]

It was and that was an example of something I mentioned up thread. On paper the cost of the "free ticket" I'm sure showed up on a balance sheet but that isn't what should be looked at. They need to look at the incremental spend I made in the parks which included one additional night in a resort hotel. I know they made more on me than they spent on my free ticket.

Whomever green-lit that had the right idea. Disney needs to stop looking at each individual cost center inside Disney and look at the big picture. I've incurred 100% of the cost of projects while other departments realized 100% of the profit but it doesn't matter. At the end of the day all that matters is their profit was greater than my cost. We are one company, not a collection of departments.

absolutely right

 

[Dom497]

It was and that was an example of something I mentioned up thread. On paper the cost of the "free ticket" I'm sure showed up on a balance sheet but that isn't what should be looked at. They need to look at the incremental spend I made in the parks which included one additional night in a resort hotel. I know they made more on me than they spent on my free ticket.

Whomever green-lit that had the right idea. Disney needs to stop looking at each individual cost center inside Disney and look at the big picture. I've incurred 100% of the cost of projects while other departments realized 100% of the profit but it doesn't matter. At the end of the day all that matters is their profit was greater than my cost. We are one company, not a collection of departments.

Exactly. If they gave me a free ticket for Monday I'd end paying for the extra night and food inside the park. They'd make their money back on the free ticket no problem.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Good morning, RunDisney All-Stars! (Aren’t we better than All-Stars though? At least Pop!s, maybe even Animal Kingdom Lodges ): I didn’t ask for this honor, but it was getting a little late in the day so I figured I’d jump in with a Sundays are for Disney. Hopefully I’m not stepping out of line (although I’m known to be a habitual line-stepper).

First off, Happy Mother’s Day to all you mother runners out there! I was trying to think of a Sundays are for Disney question that would tie in the Holiday but would still apply to almost everyone and settled on: What is your favorite memory with your family in the parks (if it’s with your mom, as a mom, rD adjacent, non-rD; everything works, there are no wrong answers)?

SAFD: I don’t have a ton of recollection of my two family trips as a kid. I remember a few things, like riding Splash Mountain a bunch and of times in the rain, vague memories of our hotels and the parades, and misbehaving at a souvenir photo booth. What I do remember vividly is two weeks before our second trip my dad slipped on some ice and shattered his ankle (multiple surgeries, plates and screws all for ver the place). In hindsight, the idea of my mom dealing with him in a wheelchair, my two siblings and myself, all of the details of the trip (getting to flights, hotels, parks, etc.) and managing to keep our vacation magical displays nothing short of the amazing woman she is.

When we started coming back to the parks concurrent with our participation in rD she has finished the 5k and 10k during Marathon Weekend from 2014 to 2020 and, despite rupturing her Achilles in 2021, came back for the 5k in 2022 and will be doing the 5k again in 2023. I’m incredibly proud of her and cherish the memories my family has made over this span.

I’ll close with a picture of my mom and dad finishing the 5k together a couple years ago:

 

[nekonekoneko]

SAFD: This was Christmas the end of 1991, so no runDisney, no Fastpasses (paper or electronic), everything was a good ol standby line.

I'm at The Most Magical Place on Earth with my mom, my brother, my aunt, and 3 of my cousins. We're in line for Space Mountain, all 6 of us, and just chatting and whatever people do in line. My mom and my aunt don't want to do any "scary rides," but, somehow, we convinced them to stay in this line with us. Maybe it's because the ride is completely enclosed, they didn't know what was inside.

As we get closer, we hear the screams from the people on the ride, and the moms get a little nervous. We "assure' them that the screams are coming from another ride in the building, and we're on a slow ride!

We finally get on, all 6 of us into one car, and go riding around. By the time we get done, and are in the unloading area, my mom and my aunt look like The Bride of Frankenstein! I think they wanted to kill us, but were too mortified to move!

Needless to say, they were not trusting us, anymore, on any rides that were "safe"

 

[Baloo in MI]

SAFD:

Thank you @Barca33Runner and my apologies for moving a bit slow today. And I don’t know “Good Morning runDisney Pop-Stars” just sounds wriong. Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms!

My Answer:
My mom and I have gone to Disneyland so many times together. First me as a child and later as a young adult and then as a parent And my mom as the grandparent. I have two simple memories that stick out. Watching the Main Street Parade and holding my mom’s hand when I was about 10 years old. And later as a parent watching my mom share an ice cream with my oldest daughter while we were waiting for Fantasmic. They looked so happy and I remember thinking that I would remember the moment. SImple but speacial to me.

Hope everyone has a good week!

 

[jmasgat]

SAFD: I took my kids to WDW for the first time when they were 3 yrs old and 5 months old--without my DH, who is most certainly not a Disney fan. I'm not totally nuts, though, since it was a family visit with at least three other siblings (although I did fly down alone--with connecting flights. Somehow we survived!) We celebrated my daughter's 3rd birthday, niece's 2nd birthday and nephew's 1st birthday. My husband's comment was something to the effect of "they will never enjoy this or remember this, what's the point".

Well, it was great. It was also my first time at Disney. No one can tell me my daughter didn't enjoy herself. Here's two of my all-time favorite pics.

And the 5 month old turns 30 next Saturday! As it happens, he's going to be in L.A., and his partner hasn't been to DL, so they're going there.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

SAFD: my family has taken many trips to Disneyland and Disney World. When my parents did the DL half in 2009, I joined them on the trip, and boy was that strange. We’d been to DL when I was 4, 6, and 9, and then we moved and starting going to WDW. Not only was I dealing with the change in perspectives between the parks, I was dealing with my new height. I’d been 9 the last time I was there and in ‘09 I was 24. It was a little strange since all the ride vehicles used to be bigger to me.

I’ll also tie in to Mother’s Day. My mom and I did the Princess 10k in 2019 and it was a great trip. We went at our own pace and then even skipped the parks on the last day.

 

[pluto377]

SAFD: This is a tough one for some reason. I can't think of anything specific! I do remember one trip with my mom and my nana (my mom's mom) around 1992. My nana had recently been diagnosed with cancer so she was in a wheelchair for the trip and it was her first time at Disney! I have lots of pictures of the trip, but nothing in particular stands out in my mind other than that we had fun and it was my nana's last big vacation before she passed.

As a mom, I've had many good memories with my kids at Disney. I just love each trip and seeing how they react to things differently as they age. We used to spend hours at the Kidcot stations and on the most recent trip they didn't even care about collecting the little cards in each country. We used to stay at AoA because they were HUGE Cars fans, but now we're open to pretty much any hotel. Also on this past trip my youngest was finally 40 inches so it was great to ride some of the big stuff as a family. And my oldest was even brave enough to try Slinky!

Hope all the other moms here have had a wonderful Mother's Day!

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

SAFD: There was a trip when DH and I took both our moms to WDW, along with our two young sons. Neither mom had been in years, not since they had taken us as children. Neither was interested in any kind of thrill ride, but we convinced them that they should ride Primeval Whirl. This wasn’t meanness on our part—DH and I liked the ride, and thought they would, too. As I recall, one side was a bit more of a thrill than the other on that ride (like Space Mountain is), and they got that one. When they got off the ride, they were shaken and wobbly. DH’s mom got us all laughing when she said, “I couldn’t even scream, because I was too afraid my dentures would fall out!”

 

[WillRunForPizza]

SAFD: My family moved to Orlando when I was 10, so I have many, many Disney memories. My mom has always been a big Disney fan and now she is basically a Certified Disney Expert(TM). She is basically the best person to go to the parks with, because she knows exactly where everything is and also lots of random trivia. On my wall is a picture of the two of us in front of the Millennium Falcon, shortly after Star Wars land opened.

 

[BigEeyore]

SAFD: Growing up, my dad was the one who took me to Disneyland, so I don't really have any Disney memories with my mom.
I have been taking my girls to WDW since they were babies! I think what I have enjoyed the most is the evolution of what we spend our time doing in the parks as they have gotten older. When they were really little, it was the Fantasyland rides and parades. A little older, and we spent our time waiting in lines to meet princesses and fairies (anyone remember the Tinkerbell craze from about 10 years ago?). Now they are teens and we do more of the thrill rides. Every trip, we talk about memories from past trips and I love that my girls have that love and appreciation of Disney. I hope they never get tired of going with me!

 

[GreatLakes]

SAFD: I was 13 on my first trip and it was with my parents and brothers. Going back I really fell in love with the parks the year before I went. My best friend went the summer before we did and they took a ton of video and pictures. We spend a lot of time watching and looking at them to prepare for our trip and my expectations were really high going in. That could have set me up for disappointment but I was hooked immediately. There were the three parks back then and from the go Epcot was my favorite. I loved the combination of education and entertainment and the different countries. I have a lot of fond memories from that trip and it was a good week. Nostalgically that is my fondest memory of the parks but it pales in comparison to taking my son and being there with him. He was only 1 the first time we took him (W&D in 2018) so it was really the summer trip last year and the trip this Easter that have become my fondest memories in the park with my family.