Recent runDisney Survey

[StartedByAMouse]

Hi, all -

Yesterday, I received an email invitation to do an online survey about runDisney. Lots of standard, "Which races have you run?" type of questions but there were a few that I thought were interesting to share here.

One asked, "For some runDisney racing weekends, it is possible certain premium experiences or special benefits could be offered, which would involve an additional price. Please indicate which ones below you would be interested in."

• Early entry into the Expo
• Preferred corral placement
• Exclusive early morning access to certain theme park attractions for friends/family while their runner is in the race
• Early registration for races
• runDisney Party at a Water Park
• VIP transportation to the start line
• 'Behind the scenes' tours of the race
• Exclusive access to rare Disney Characters
• Exclusive dining experiences
• Child care services
• Guaranteed ability to purchase New Balance shoes
• Meet & Greets with running industry experts and celebrities
• VIP corral access - reserved port-o-lets, food and beverages, etc.
• Exlusive 'Welcome Reception' (including gourmet food/wine pairings, pre-opening shopping at the runDisney merchandise store, Disney character meet & greets, and special themed gifts (e.g. duffel bag, luggage tags, etc.)
• Would not be interested in any of these for an additional price

Another question asked about themes. "Now we'd like to get your opinions on some ideas for new runDisney themed races or events at the Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort. Please indicate how appealing each idea or event would be to you, using a scale from 1 to 10, where 10 means it is "Extremely Appealing" and 1 means it is "Not At All Appealing."

• A Pixar themed race
• A Villains themed race
• Adding a second half-marathon to a given event weekend
• A 1-Mile Family Race for all ages
• A Race specifically themed for Tweens (kids age 9-12)
• A non-traditional distance race (e.g., 10 miler, 15k, etc.)

And the last slide that I thought might be of interest was for merchandise. "Now please think about the different types of running-related or runDisney-themed merchandise you've seen at prior events or would be interested in seeing at future events. For each category of race-related merchandise below, please indicate whether it's something you have purchased at event(s) in the past, have not purchased but would be interested in the future, or you have no interest in that category of race-related or running-related merchandise."

• Accessories (socks, scarves, headbands, etc.)
• Handbags/Wallets
• Women's apparel
• Men's apparel
• Apparel for children under age 4
• Apparel for children 4-7
• Apparel for children 8-12
• Apparel for children 13-17
• Caps/hats for children
• Caps/hats for adults/teens
• Pins
• Sunglasses
• Footwear
• Cosplay/Costume pieces
• Candy and consumables
• Souvenirs (key chains, magnets, photo albums, postcards, mugs, etc.)
• Stationary (autograph books, pens, stickers, etc.)
• Dolls/ Plush characters (such as stuffed animals)
• Toys/Games/Glow or light-up toys
• Home decor (picture frames, clocks, kitchen accessories, towels, tableware, etc.)
• Watches for adults
• Watches for kids
• Jewelry for adults
• Jewelry for children
• Seasonal (such as Christmas ornaments)
• Collectibles (snow globs, figures, artwork, crystal, etc.)
• Media (books, movies, video games)
• Accessories for mobile devices (phone cases, earbuds, etc.)
• Weather items (cooling towels, umbrellas, ponchos, etc.)
• Hydration items (water bottles, etc.)
• Other

I always like taking these surveys, even though I think my preferences don't necessarily match the mainstream. Anyway, thought some of the questions about premium experiences and possible themes were interesting to see what kind of thought process goes into planning for runDisney events.

 

[Keels]

I just finished mine!

I feel like the Preferred Corral could be a slippery slope, but the VIP corral thing didn't sound much more than Race Retreat plus front of corral access whenever you want to enter.

I didn't pay for the W&D Welcome Event, but I would now do it for any other race going forward.

I do like the options of Pixar and Villains, but since I don't have kiddos, the rest didn't really move the needle for me one way or another.

 

[wilkeliza]

Haven't gotten one yet.

@Keels VIP Corral sounds a lot like the Runners World package for marathon weekend.

Didn't another running company try preferred Corral and it was a mess. They had so many people buy them who weren't anywhere near a B corral runner that they ended up saying Preferred meant you could skip up 2 corrals. People were pissed as people in the way back had bought it thinking they would get to run in B.

Villains is just Tower of Terror. I so wish they would bring Tower of Terror back as it was my favorite race!

 

[Ariel484]

I haven't gotten this yet. I've been vocal elsewhere on this board about not liking them introducing things where people pay extra for early expo/corral access. My opinion still stands on that. ESPECIALLY the corrals - why have the rest of us submit proof of time if they're going to let anyone, regardless of pace, buy their way into a higher corral?

Pixar, Villains and Night races - YES PLEASE!

 

[Keels]

They did miss the one glaring issue - I think there should be runner-exclusive Expo access - though I'm not sure how you can do that without opening up bib pickup before the Expo/official merch itself.

 

[DVCFan1994]

I just got this but haven't done it yet. Interesting to know what kind of info they are looking for feedback on. I am against buying access to corrals. I think that is a safety issue. The expo access I have mixed feelings on. I find it annoying in three events I have not been able to get items I wanted because they were gone before I got there. Particularly since I am always there the first day. So, I might be willing to pay for early access. But likely only once. I will say I got randomly selected for the free VIP expo access for Avengers and I thought that was great. Big timesaver. But, honestly I am not sure if I would pay for it. Might depend if I had a tight schedule or not. For instance in February I'll be at WDW for 6 days for GSC. I have spare time, don't really feel pressed to be quick at the expo. If it were a shorter trip and I was looking to save time, I might feel differently.

 

[Ariel484]

They did miss the one glaring issue - I think there should be runner-exclusive Expo access - though I'm not sure how you can do that without opening up bib pickup before the Expo/official merch itself.

I can't see them doing that. They don't care who buys the merch, they just care that people - anyone - buy it.

Like I said, haven't gotten the survey yet but from the original post it looks like rD is mostly interested in what we want to purchase from them merchandise-wise and what premium experiences we're willing to pay for. Very small section on the actual race experiences themselves. It just seems greedy to me.

 

[courtneybeth]

I'd love for them to change up the themes. Villains race and Pixar race would provide a plethora of medals options - I think Tinkerbell is a bit too narrowed to 'change it up' every year. I'd love if that went to Villains instead of Tinkerbell so we'd have Princess on one coast and villains on the other. Imagine medals with Evil Queen, Queen of Hearts, Gaston , Hades, Ursula, et all instead of repeating Tink designs over and over again.

But hey - just one person's opinion. Shared this on the survey that I got.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Preferred corral placement

No. No. No no no no no. No no no. Please God no. No no no.

Like I said, haven't gotten the survey yet but from the original post it looks like rD is mostly interested in what we want to purchase from them merchandise-wise and what premium experiences we're willing to pay for. Very small section on the actual race experiences themselves. It just seems greedy to me.

I haven't received it either, but it is very disconcerting that it seems primarily focused on new ways to extract money from runner's pockets.

 

[SunDial]

I'd love for them to change up the themes. Villains race and Pixar race would provide a plethora of medals options - I think Tinkerbell is a bit too narrowed to 'change it up' every year. I'd love if that went to Villains instead of Tinkerbell so we'd have Princess on one coast and villains on the other. Imagine medals with Evil Queen, Queen of Hearts, Gaston , Hades, Ursula, et all instead of repeating Tink designs over and over again.

But hey - just one person's opinion. Shared this on the survey that I got.

I have not seen this survey yet. I would love a Villians themed run but I think it should be on the east coast. sooo much closer to home.

 

[IamTrike]

I think they talked about a similar VIP package on the Mickey miles podcast recently. They didn't mention preferred corral placement. That's the only thing on this list that really seems like a glaring issue. We're seeded into corrals for safety reasons. Allowing people to buy there way around that is Disney exchanging cash from some to make the race less safe for many others. It seems just for legal purposes Disney wouldn't do something like this.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

I got this survey email today and completed it. Even though it was a small section, I was happy to see the question about interest in other themes. I love the ideas of Pixar and Villains. I wish there had been a Pirate theme option. I think that would be cool. I also like the idea of adding a second half marathon to the same weekend. Opens the field up to twice as many people.

Totally agree on the part about preferred corral placement. Definitely not a smart idea.

 

[FFigawi]

We're seeded into corrals for safety reasons. Allowing people to buy there way around that is Disney exchanging cash from some to make the race less safe for many others. It seems just for legal purposes Disney wouldn't do something like this.

No. No. No no no no no. No no no. Please God no. No no no.

1000x this! Preferred corral placement is a disaster waiting to happen. Comrades offers something similar with their charity program. Raise enough money, or just pay it all yourself, and you get put in a forward corral. All this does is add a few thousand people who barely could do their 5-hour qualifier in front of tens of thousands who qualified between 3:40 and 4:20. The resulting road congestion in the first few hours in the dark after the start was very dangerous. The same thing would be likely to happen at Disney.

I haven't received it either, but it is very disconcerting that it seems primarily focused on new ways to extract money from runner's pockets.

I'm all for them taking money from people's pockets for all these extras and nice-to-haves. With any luck, that'll keep their entry fee increases to a moderate level.

 

[bumbershoot]

A non-traditional distance race (e.g., 10 miler, 15k, etc.)

Uh, Disney, don't you already HAVE a 10 miler? Thought it was just off for construction. Hmm.

Now please think about the different types of running-related or runDisney-themed merchandise you've seen at prior events or would be interested in seeing at future events.

My Vinylmation Mickey MEDAL back!!!!! Best souvenir ever.

I can't see them doing that. They don't care who buys the merch, they just care that people - anyone - buy it.

But they should. They COULD. They could care, because WE care. It could be one teensy thing they do to show us that they care about us. The merchandise is going to get purchased anyway; it might as well be by, oh, I don't know...the people actually participating in the events????



While I'm not into buying your way into a corral you don't belong in (I'm not a fan of being trampled), they did something at RnR Vancouver that I truly appreciated. For those of us with a long estimated time AND who were in the last corral, we had the option of starting BEFORE the first corral. We started half an hour before the official race start. I will not get into the snots who did NOT have the last corral on their bibs, who just wanted to start early, and who RACED off from the start when we were told that this wasn't for fast runners at all.

About 5 minutes before the elites came through, a truck and bikes came through slowly telling us to get over to the right side. We all complied, of course, and then the winners just came blasting through. It was a sight! First the wave of the fastest men, then the fastest women came through. Just amazing.

They were right behind our front corral so they knew what was happening. I was "sorry not sorry" for those in later corrals, who didn't read everything (I read everything LOL) and didn't know where all these slowpokes came from once they started showing up. Crossing one bridge going back towards downtown there was some congestion, and I got the feeling that they were wondering how a run/walker got so far ahead of them in the first place. Eh, best to read all the pre-race info, isn't it, fast folk?

Anyway, THAT was a great help for me, and it was truly inspirational to see the really fast runners out there. I did finish a little faster than the corral was really for (my 1:1 ratio is really helping me not just crash) so I'm not sure if I would take advantage of it in the future, but who knows?

So I'd support rD doing that. But I'd really need more enforcement of who gets to enter that corral. (some women that I walked from the bus to the start with heard about it from me as we were walking, and just followed me right in, even though I clearly stated that it was for the LAST corral people...I felt awful about that)

hope I get the survey.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

They did miss the one glaring issue - I think there should be runner-exclusive Expo access - though I'm not sure how you can do that without opening up bib pickup before the Expo/official merch itself.

My wife generally travels to my races with me, and our children when they can. We always go to the race expos together. I see a lot of couples at the expos, and many only have one bib pickup bag, so only one runner. It just isn't like Disney to break up families. Sales aside, I just don't see this happening.

 

[cavepig]

No survey here but I agree with the NO to Preferred Corrals, that is just dumb!

I probably wouldn't purchase any special things anyway, these races are already pricey enough.

Pixar themed would be fun and well basically any new races added would be cool to spice it up and give more options during the year!

My Vinylmation Mickey MEDAL back!!!!! Best souvenir ever.

Yes, I only I have 1 vinyl medal for Everest & wish they had kept making them, such a cool little item!

 

[Barca33Runner]

I'm all for them taking money from people's pockets for all these extras and nice-to-haves. With any luck, that'll keep their entry fee increases to a moderate level.

I can definitely get on board with this mentality. My only concern is that it may be difficult to add value to the experience for people willing to pay for it without somewhat diminishing the experience for those who don't purchase the extras. I think that's why there has been a mostly negative reaction here to preferred corral placement; it's not just something you purchase for your own enjoyment but something that can actively interfere with the enjoyment (and safety) of the race for others.

 

[FFigawi]

I can definitely get on board with this mentality. My only concern is that it may be difficult to add value to the experience for people willing to pay for it without somewhat diminishing the experience for those who don't purchase the extras. I think that's why there has been a mostly negative reaction here to preferred corral placement; it's not just something you purchase for your own enjoyment but something that can actively interfere with the enjoyment (and safety) of the race for others.

Well, yeah, that's why the first half of my post was so against paying to move up to a forward corral. If people want to pay extra for easier access to a porta potty or to the expo or the other things on that list, I'm all for that. Should reduce the lines for the rest of us.

 

[EDS19]

One additional question I thought was interesting was about what Characters are important for you to see:

• Disney characters "Dressed up" like Avengers Characters
• Avengers Characters
• Disney Princesses
• Tinkerbell
• Regular Disney Characters (Mickey, Donald, etc.)
• Star Wars Characters
• Disney characters "Dressed up" like Star wars characters

I was excited that they are kicking around the idea of Disney Characters dressed up like Avengers Characters. That would be a fun addition to the Avengers races.

 

[ANIM8R]

My Vinylmation Mickey MEDAL back!!!!! Best souvenir ever.

I specifically put this in the open-ended comments for merchandise! I'm so glad I got them when they did have them.