Official 2019 Star Wars Rival Run Weekend

What has sold out this year? Princess sold out but then was available again towards the end. Marathon weekend, everything was available until the December when I think the 5k sold out? What is holding people back? Price? Running trend is down? People want something new? People holding out for SWGE to open? Wine and Dine sold out quick but then became available again on Sunday. I haven't checked to see if its sold out again, but seeing as how it sold so fast this year makes me think it has a lot to do with SWGE.
W&D is an anniversary year for 5k and half
 
What has sold out this year? Princess sold out but then was available again towards the end. Marathon weekend, everything was available until the December when I think the 5k sold out? What is holding people back? Price? Running trend is down? People want something new? People holding out for SWGE to open? Wine and Dine sold out quick but then became available again on Sunday. I haven't checked to see if its sold out again, but seeing as how it sold so fast this year makes me think it has a lot to do with SWGE.

5ks and 10ks have sold out this year. The 5k, 10k & half of Wine & Dine originally didn't sell out really any faster than last year, then they opened again. Just the Half and Challenge still open as of now. I don't think SWGE has any impact on these races, maybe, but if it did Wine & Dine would be all sold out and it's not. It may still all sell out, but I think it will be because of runners running not because of SWGE. I'm glad races don't sell out super fast and I have time to think on Marathon weekend after just paying up for Wine & Dine.
 
What has sold out this year? Princess sold out but then was available again towards the end. Marathon weekend, everything was available until the December when I think the 5k sold out? What is holding people back? Price? Running trend is down? People want something new? People holding out for SWGE to open? Wine and Dine sold out quick but then became available again on Sunday. I haven't checked to see if its sold out again, but seeing as how it sold so fast this year makes me think it has a lot to do with SWGE.
There's a very good chance I do SW next year but for me there are three reasons I wouldn't do this one regularly:

1. Price (fact is... if you're coming in from out of state it's a flight+hotel+race+car rental at least, and you're probably going to the parks too)
2. The course is ok. Not much WDW can do on that but as I've mentioned in other threads here I think the DL course is way better, much more bang for your buck, and I really hope they're able to get back at it. I was tempted to do this year's SW race but in the end I couldn't justify the cost for this course. That changes a bit once GE opens.
3. (Sort of related to 2) With GE opening later this year, I'd much rather wait for that. Good chance everything sells out next year.

I did think about signing up for Wine and Dine but I thought someone mentioned that it won't be going through GE. In any case I don't want to take the chance of signing up expecting GE and not getting it, and I would have to think that at least the 10k and half will be going through there next year, maybe even the 5k if they can figure something out.

Overall though, I think there's less enthusiasm for return runners here and you're not getting enough replacement runners to make up for it.
 
I can't unhear that! I will be doo-doo-doo ing all day now!! LOL
Just when I had finally gotten it out of my head... :faint:

Congratulations on finishing! I still remember how convinced I was that I would never complete my first half marathon, even on race day itself when I concluded that I would either finish the thing or fail spectacularly.

Thank you! Yes... that's pretty much exactly how I felt race day. XD

My wife has none of her finish line photos posted

I thought it was just me. I have the ones post-medals, some along the course, but none of my finish line ones. Did your wife's finally appear?

They could have us run a 1 mile loop over and over and if it was full of SW characters, music, and video clips, I'd be perfectly happy!

Same. The battle sequence in the beginning was my absolute favorite!

Saw plenty of spectators on the BW, and CMs had incoming DHS day guests cheering as we passed the entrance plaza.

Aside from guests already in DHS and those at BW, I was slow enough that there were plenty of CMs/guests cheering through WS too. But I didn't notice too many people on the roads. Don't know how much of that was because I was slow or due to the new rules.
 


I'm back from my vacation and had a great time at the race! My observations:
  1. Merchandise - ok, this is my main gripe. The design quality and product quality (for the most part) are bad. I WANTED to spend more money and I just couldn't find anything I liked well enough to buy. This applies to the Star Wars merch and the runDisney merch. Bleah.

    I would like a race shirt that says "STAR WARS HALF MARATHON," the date, and runDisney/Walt Disney World. With the words large enough to read. I got a cartoon, on a race shirt that barely mentions the race or location. If they did a basic "Star Wars" logo and fonts, or classic art, that would be GREAT. They could do that every year and I'd be happy.

    And again I do not like Disney's new mileage magnets that do not look like runner mileage magnets. The old designs with the usual oval shape, prominent mileage number, and added mickey ears were iconic. Why did they ditch that? What are they doing? Are these designers consulting with runners at all??

  2. Race - I really enjoyed the race (I did the half)! Always love runDisney races. I find them well organized and I love running through WDW property. I had fun w/ the post-race photo ops and generally felt lucky that it was just hot, and not raining! But....

  3. Course cheering and entertainment - I definitely noticed Disney's new policy of "no spectators" along the course. It felt dead and barren without the spectators and I felt there were fewer entertainment areas.

    I didn't like it at all. I saw and heard officials in yellow jerseys on bikes telling spectators they had to leave, and it was a giant bummer. A huge part of the fun of participating in an organized race comes from the spectators/fans! It took a lot away from the race in my opinion.

    I wonder if something happened that caused this change? I also noticed what seemed like more police along the course. Then again, maybe there were not more police... maybe they were just more noticeable as they were literally the ONLY on-course spectators! I'd like to find out if they are going to continue this policy or if it was a one-time event due to a specific situation.

  4. Medals - Loved the medals, agree that they are even nicer in person!
 
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This was my second half marathon (the first being last year's Dark Side): I'm a transplant from doing 10K's at Disneyland (where I'm local). I figured that I still wanted to do Disney runs but if I was going to travel I'd push for the half. So I did last year and wanted to do so again this year. Some stuff I just want to say:

1) I'm definitely in the camp of "merch was meh" this year. I bought a finisher shirt, but I'm not a huge fan of it. There were a number of items I liked "except for one thing" about them, and though I did buy a couple of things, nothing stood out to me enough to feel like it was a "good get."

2) I like the medal way better than last year's Phasma-head medal.

3) On a personal note, the race itself was a mixed bag for me. Some other friends wanted to join in the fun, and this turned out to be a big mistake. Nobody really wanted to hang out outside the race, and it really killed a lot of my enthusiasm. Why bother traveling from around the country to WDW if we're not going to hang out and see each other? Between that, the race being two weeks closer to a conference I have to work every year (which makes training harder that week), and injuring my toe in mid March, my motivation to train tanked hard. I did train some, and I did finish, but 7 minutes slower than last year. I'm pretty sure I'm going to do it again next year, but I think I'm back to it being a solo pursuit. This group thing was definitely "it seemed like a good idea at the time," even though it most definitely was not.

4) Most amusing moment: the run-walk-run 3:15 group catches up to me on the way out of AK. As we go by the front entrance and turn into that really tiny pinch point near the bus stop, the pace leader (who has of course been doing this repeatedly) yells out "RUN!", but of course there's no running at that point since everyone is sardines in that pinch. She says "no really, RUN!", but physics and common sense of "don't trample other people" win out and nobody actually does so, instead I hear some exasperated laughter from the runners and then the time expires and she calls for a walk, and I like to think that even she knew that particular cadence was kind of a hopeless callout....
 


I was surprised by a couple of things... I did not get a cooling towel at the finish of the half. I got one at W&D when the temps were a lot lower. I am wonder if maybe they ran out by the time I finished? And no gospel choir. Is that typical for SW?
 
I was surprised by a couple of things... I did not get a cooling towel at the finish of the half. I got one at W&D when the temps were a lot lower. I am wonder if maybe they ran out by the time I finished? And no gospel choir. Is that typical for SW?
I finished pretty late and they had cooling towels, but it would be easy to miss them, I think. They were right after medals and the med tent. Nope, never a gospel choir for SW. That's strictly a Jan and PHM thing.
 
I'm back from my vacation and had a great time at the race! My observations:
  1. Merchandise - ok, this is my main gripe. The design quality and product quality (for the most part) are bad. I WANTED to spend more money and I just couldn't find anything I liked well enough to buy. This applies to the Star Wars merch and the runDisney merch. Bleah.

I forgot to mention about the merchandise but agree 100%! No one in our group bought a thing and we looked hard to find something.
 
I finished pretty late and they had cooling towels, but it would be easy to miss them, I think. They were right after medals and the med tent. Nope, never a gospel choir for SW. That's strictly a Jan and PHM thing.
We really took our time, stopping for every character, mile marker and photo opportunity. Finished just after 9am and they were still giving them out.
 
I finished pretty late and they had cooling towels, but it would be easy to miss them, I think. They were right after medals and the med tent. Nope, never a gospel choir for SW. That's strictly a Jan and PHM thing.
Thanks for the info! Maybe we walked right past them. Lol It would be cool if they had a choir at all the races.
 
I forgot to mention about the merchandise but agree 100%! No one in our group bought a thing and we looked hard to find something.

We didn't get anything at the expo because the lines (early Thursday) were utterly insane, but I picked up a hat and a magnet after the half. I didn't care for this year's Kessel Run shirt so much, and the "I Did It!" finisher shirts just don't do it for me. I saw some folks running in the finisher shirts, which always struck me as tempting fate.
 
I think I regret not getting the Rebel spirit jersey. Can someone tell me what price they were at the expo? And does leftover merchandise ever show up on Disney websites?
 
I thought it was just me. I have the ones post-medals, some along the course, but none of my finish line ones. Did your wife's finally appear?

I emailed the Photopass people. They were able to find our post-race medals pics, but none of my wife's finish line pictures. All her other pictures turned up fine.
 
My wife was eyeing those, although I didn't check the price. I was hoping they might show up in the merch tent Sunday morning, but no joy.

Bummer! I forgot to check the merchandise tent that day, thanks for letting me know that would have been a bust.
 
I emailed the Photopass people. They were able to find our post-race medals pics, but none of my wife's finish line pictures. All her other pictures turned up fine.

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll try my hand at contacting Photopass. Is there a specific rD email you used or just the generic Photopass email?

Maybe we walked right past them.

It's easy to miss if you're in a sea of people. Cool Core/Heat Sheets is past the medals on the LEFT, across from Medical. When I finished, it looked like they were starting the process of packing it up, but we were still able to get one without a problem.

the "I Did It!" finisher shirts just don't do it for me. I saw some folks running in the finisher shirts, which always struck me as tempting fate.

It was a pass for me too. I would like them a lot more if it just had the design and "Finisher" without the "I Did It!" I kept looking at the back and liking it and then turning it around to the front and being like "ugh." Not a fan of the phrasing. They tried to change it up last year with the "I Conquered It!" line, but I still wasn't convinced.

The only merch I got was the Half pin and the SweatyBands for Half and Race Weekend. I really, really wanted that stainless Tervis but the first one I picked up - and several others - had a bunch of deep scratches cutting through the design to the stainless underneath. And that was from it basically just sitting on a shelf. In thinking of how I tend to treat my water bottles, all the scratches I would accumulate probably would've drove me crazy if it was the design coming off. I need something that will "wear nicely" like my Tervis water bottle from last year, which has some scratches on it that you can't really see because its clear lol

And as far as buying/wearing "I Did It!" shirts ahead of time... I agree one hundred percent, lol. Bad idea. o_O

And does leftover merchandise ever show up on Disney websites?

If you get really lucky, some race merch has been known to turn up at the outlets.
 

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