Downward trend in runDisney?

[SheHulk]

Wow there was a huge drop this year for marathon weekend. Full marathon finishers dropped from 20k to 11k. The half didn’t dip nearly as much it dropped from 20k to 18k. Dopey was also down from about 7200 to 4900. That also means almost 45% of marathon runners were doing Dopey.

Holy moley!

 

[Nole95]

Wow that’s massive. Hard to follow the 25th it seems. Will be interesting to see how it sells next year. Wine and Dine sold out in 18 and Princess has sold out for 19 I believe. Maybe it’s time for some thematic changes to marathon weekend?

I was thinking about this just this morning. Assuming this downward trend of runners continues or stays about the same, what are some things rD can do to maybe encourage more people to attend? Here are a few things I thought about this morning.

When I have looked into the Space Coast Marathon in the past, they have a pretty cool looking multi year race challenge. If you run three races in four years, you get a challege medal. If you run all four races over four years, you get an additional challege medal. I would think rD could implement something like this fairly easily, and people would be all over it.

Look into mixing up at least the half marathon course. Probably easier said than done because of course certifications. Part of the reason I am running the Star Wars Rival Weekend this year is that I have never run the course before that starts in the MK parking lot. If it were the same course as Marathon Weekend and Princess, I would probably pass.

Change up the theming of some of the races each year. Maybe have the 10K be Toy Story themed one year, Incredibles another year, Minnie, etc.

Looking at other rD events, change W&D back to a night race. That was the first rD race I ever did, and it was unique to be able to run that late and then stay in Epcot late into the night celebrating that accomplishment. I will not run it again in its current form, as it seems like every other race weekend.

With Pandora now being complete at AK, I do not see why they cannot bring back the Expedition Everest Challenge. I never did that race, but it is one I would look into doing if it were ever brought back. With all the AK construction complete for now, I do not see why this cannot happen. I know it would mean closing AK early one night, but that is one night of the year.

 

[Krandor]

Wow that’s massive. Hard to follow the 25th it seems. Will be interesting to see how it sells next year. Wine and Dine sold out in 18 and Princess has sold out for 19 I believe. Maybe it’s time for some thematic changes to marathon weekend?

I’m not sure what you would do though. I think marathon weekend works best with it being the classic disney characters. Micky Minnie Donald goofy. I liked Pluto for the 5k myself.

Would something like “frozen marathon weekend” work? I’m not sure.

 

[Krandor]

I was thinking about this just this morning. Assuming this downward trend of runners continues or stays about the same, what are some things rD can do to maybe encourage more people to attend? Here are a few things I thought about this morning.

When I have looked into the Space Coast Marathon in the past, they have a pretty cool looking multi year race challenge. If you run three races in four years, you get a challege medal. If you run all four races over four years, you get an additional challege medal. I would think rD could implement something like this fairly easily, and people would be all over it.

Look into mixing up at least the half marathon course. Probably easier said than done because of course certifications. Part of the reason I am running the Star Wars Rival Weekend this year is that I have never run the course before that starts in the MK parking lot. If it were the same course as Marathon Weekend and Princess, I would probably pass.

Change up the theming of some of the races each year. Maybe have the 10K be Toy Story themed one year, Incredibles another year, Minnie, etc.

Looking at other rD events, change W&D back to a night race. That was the first rD race I ever did, and it was unique to be able to run that late and then stay in Epcot late into the night celebrating that accomplishment. I will not run it again in its current form, as it seems like every other race weekend.

With Pandora now being complete at AK, I do not see why they cannot bring back the Expedition Everest Challenge. I never did that race, but it is one I would look into doing if it were ever brought back. With all the AK construction complete for now, I do not see why this cannot happen. I know it would mean closing AK early one night, but that is one night of the year.

I do agree that Disney needs some more unique races like expedition Everest, night tot (well tot in general) and night w&d. Then all being the same minus marathon weekend I think does hurt.

After a few tries I do like the current Star Wars course. 3 parks in a half is good. I still say they should put the 501st alone Osceola parkway between ak and hs.

 

[FFigawi]

I was thinking about this just this morning. Assuming this downward trend of runners continues or stays about the same, what are some things rD can do to maybe encourage more people to attend? Here are a few things I thought about this morning.

When I have looked into the Space Coast Marathon in the past, they have a pretty cool looking multi year race challenge. If you run three races in four years, you get a challege medal. If you run all four races over four years, you get an additional challege medal. I would think rD could implement something like this fairly easily, and people would be all over it.

Look into mixing up at least the half marathon course. Probably easier said than done because of course certifications. Part of the reason I am running the Star Wars Rival Weekend this year is that I have never run the course before that starts in the MK parking lot. If it were the same course as Marathon Weekend and Princess, I would probably pass.

Change up the theming of some of the races each year. Maybe have the 10K be Toy Story themed one year, Incredibles another year, Minnie, etc.

All good ideas. To me, though, the one thing I believe would help registration numbers increase again is reducing the cost of the weekend. The increase in race fees has slowed recently, but that's not really the driver of total costs. The hotels, park tickets, and other associated expenditures are. They're all increasing much more than the races themselves. Outside of the big anniversary years, it's getting harder and harder for people to justify marathon weekend from a cost vs value perspective.

 

[Krandor]

All good ideas. To me, though, the one thing I believe would help registration numbers increase again is reducing the cost of the weekend. The increase in race fees has slowed recently, but that's not really the driver of total costs. The hotels, park tickets, and other associated expenditures are. They're all increasing much more than the races themselves. Outside of the big anniversary years, it's getting harder and harder for people to justify marathon weekend from a cost vs value perspective.

That is an idea. Since registration is now under Disney maybe offer packages of race plus room plus tickets. Doesn’t have to be big discounts but people like packages. No reason they couldn’t offer them these days.

 

[camaker]

All good ideas. To me, though, the one thing I believe would help registration numbers increase again is reducing the cost of the weekend. The increase in race fees has slowed recently, but that's not really the driver of total costs. The hotels, park tickets, and other associated expenditures are. They're all increasing much more than the races themselves. Outside of the big anniversary years, it's getting harder and harder for people to justify marathon weekend from a cost vs value perspective.

That is an idea. Since registration is now under Disney maybe offer packages of race plus room plus tickets. Doesn’t have to be big discounts but people like packages. No reason they couldn’t offer them these days.

While I would love to see these things happen, there’s no incentive for Disney to do it. Disney attendance overall has been increasing by leaps and bounds recently, to the point where they’re using ticket costs, at least, as a crowding control mechanism. Add to that the massive attendance influx expected with the Galaxy’s Edge opening and there’s no driver to use cost to lure runners back to RunDisney. I could potentially see them increasing the amount and type of swag as a draw, since the increased cost of that could be isolated to the rD business unit, unlike park/ticket discounts.

 

[FFigawi]

While I would love to see these things happen, there’s no incentive for Disney to do it. Disney attendance overall has been increasing by leaps and bounds recently, to the point where they’re using ticket costs, at least, as a crowding control mechanism. Add to that the massive attendance influx expected with the Galaxy’s Edge opening and there’s no driver to use cost to lure runners back to RunDisney. I could potentially see them increasing the amount and type of swag as a draw, since the increased cost of that could be isolated to the rD business unit, unlike park/ticket discounts.

Agree 100%. While it'd be nice if they took steps to lower the overall cost of race weekend, there's no reason for them to do so. As long as the race itself runs close to breaking even, the additional revenue from hotel rooms, park tickets, food & beverage, etc., is basically free money.

 

[tidefan]

Looking at other rD events, change W&D back to a night race. That was the first rD race I ever did, and it was unique to be able to run that late and then stay in Epcot late into the night celebrating that accomplishment. I will not run it again in its current form, as it seems like every other race weekend.

This! I would love to run a night race. It gets tiring having them all in the morning...

 

[Krandor]

While I would love to see these things happen, there’s no incentive for Disney to do it. Disney attendance overall has been increasing by leaps and bounds recently, to the point where they’re using ticket costs, at least, as a crowding control mechanism. Add to that the massive attendance influx expected with the Galaxy’s Edge opening and there’s no driver to use cost to lure runners back to RunDisney. I could potentially see them increasing the amount and type of swag as a draw, since the increased cost of that could be isolated to the rD business unit, unlike park/ticket discounts.

Even if there was no or little discount I still think a package could help bring people in knowing here is my cost for race tickets and hotel combined.

 

[jaxonp]

Ok don’t lower the cost but offer new incentives. Here’s a few ideas:

Include a jacket or limited edition shirt or something extra if you register by X date.

A new theme for 5k, 10k and half. It could also still be classic fab 5 vs villains to switch it up. Sort of like how Star Wars is being done this year. Goofy and Dopey remain the same.

New challenge medal for people who run multiple RD weekends.

Do a night 5k or Half that ends at Epcot to drink around the world.

 

[jaxonp]

Also seems like people are choosing Princess over Marathon with Princess selling out. Perhaps Princess weekend should switch with Star Wars weekend so the two biggest race weekends aren’t so close to each other.

 

[makelab]

Do a night 5k or Half that ends at Epcot to drink around the world.

this is what W&D originally was. would love for it to go back to a night race and start a little earlier.

i think they could do so much to make each and every race weekend more enjoyable for the participants and still make plenty of $$. what i think we have seen the past few years is that they don't care about the former, only the latter.

 

[GreatLakes]

Cost is the biggest barrier so fixing that is what they need to do. It could be lowering cost (unlikely) or closing the perceived gulf between cost and value. Some ideas:

• The Marathon Monday promotion they did in 2011 is something they should do. Free admission to a park costs nothing and they make it back with the in-park purchases and the people that decide to stay another day or two in order to take advantage of it.
• Moving W&D back to a night race with the after party directly after to make it unique again.
• Having an in-park after party for other races much like they do for W&D now. You could do an evening EMH for finishers only on Marathon weekend, something after hours in DHS for Star Wars, etc.
• Provide more to the runners. There are races that offer gym bags, jackets, posters, and more than a t-shirt

All this is assuming they want to increase the size of the field though. These races started as a way to get people to the parks at slow times and while there are slower times than others they don't really need to attract people. In the end I feel we are due for another recession. We have gone too long with a growing economy and need a correction. This will cause a dip in attendance and some deals and the people who are prepared for the coming recession can take advantage of them. That is really when we might start to see some deals and additions to try and get runners back in larger numbers or at last slow the decline.

 

[Nole95]

All great ideas, but unfortunately I do not see rD making any effort to fix the gulf between cost and value. The only way I see that happening is if numbers stay stagnant or continue to fall.

Races are already not selling out like they use to. You can still register for the Princess Half Marathon, and for Star Wars, everything other than the 10K is still available. rD use to have some pretty unique races (night W&D, Tower of Terror, Everest), but not so much anymore. At some point, they will need to figure out a way to entice people to get coming back or get excited for the next Disney race.

 

[achang2001]

definitely better swag for cost of registration.
My first runDisney race there were discounted park tickets at the expo. It would be nice to bring that back.
I like the idea of EMH for runners one night, kinda like a moonlight magic event they do for dvc members; maybe the Thursday night of the 5k race from 8p-11p for thise staying onsite plus 5 friends/family members. It’ll get people into town to get to the Expo and pick up their race packets early and give us the feeling of a novel new perk!

 

[jaxonp]

definitely better swag for cost of registration.
My first runDisney race there were discounted park tickets at the expo. It would be nice to bring that back.
I like the idea of EMH for runners one night, kinda like a moonlight magic event they do for dvc members; maybe the Thursday night of the 5k race from 8p-11p for thise staying onsite plus 5 friends/family members. It’ll get people into town to get to the Expo and pick up their race packets early and give us the feeling of a novel new perk!

Agreed 100%

Better swag and an rd after hours event should be implemented ASAP!

 

[KSkywalker17]

How low would participation have to get before Disney drastically cuts the race calendar or even scraps Run Disney all together? We’ve all heard “there’s no slow season anymore” and with SWGE coming, will Disney need these races to fill hotels in 5 years?

I fear Disney at some point may say they don’t need rd anymore or may not feel it’s worth the cost.

 

[FFigawi]

How low would participation have to get before Disney drastically cuts the race calendar or even scraps Run Disney all together? We’ve all heard “there’s no slow season anymore” and with SWGE coming, will Disney need these races to fill hotels in 5 years?

I fear Disney at some point may say they don’t need rd anymore or may not feel it’s worth the cost.

Assuming the races themselves operate at or around break-even, I doubt Disney will outright cancel the WDW races. Bringing in over ten thousand people for a weekend helps the corporate bottom line with only marginal additional costs. If entries for marathon weekend drop to 1000 for the 5k and 10k and 2500 for the half and full, then yes, in that unlikely scenario they might reconsider their options.

 

[Nole95]

I don't think they would ever get rid of marathon weekend. That is their marquee event and has been around for 25 years. I don't see the marathon ever going away. They could take some of the other events from that weekend away if they dropped to really low numbers, but still keep the marathon.

In the future, the other weekends are up to debate. As long as they make money or break even, they will probably stick around.