On April 17, 2016 I ran the Inaugural RunDisney Star Wars – The Dark Side Half Marathon at Walt Disney World in Florida. After not doing a RunDisney event for two years because they have just got so expensive, being a Star Wars Junkie, this race had me from the announcement.
The race weekend started on Thursday and included Kids Races, 5k, 10k, and the half marathon. Since I only participated in the half marathon, we drove down on Friday and stayed until Monday. When we arrived on Friday, we went to the race expo at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex.
ESPN Wide World of Sports
Me with the Race Medal Backdrop
Star War van rocking out Star Wars themed music
Race Weekend Itenerary
We are here!
Packet Pickup
The Storm Troopers Greet Us!
Here we are at my stop….
The race bib I have waited for…
We met up with our friends Matthew & Kira at the expo.
The race expo even had Storm troopers marching around the complex.
When we went to leave, the storm troopers started pursuing us. We were able to shake them eventually.
Editorial Moment
All in all it was the typical RunDisney race expo. After two years of not doing a RunDisney event, I see why. Nothing has been done to change things. Why RunDisney when we attend the expo on the second morning, that all the race merchandise is all sold out and picked over. Yet, when we go on Ebay we see numerous people selling the merchandise at double the price? I know you are all about the money, but how about giving the race participants a chance to buy some of the gear. How about simply selling merchandise to only people with race bibs? How about limiting people to a max of 2 items. It is very disappointing. However we complain about this after every race and yet you do nothing. Please respect your running audience and give everyone a chance to have some race merchandise.
Sorry for the rant be it is very frustrating. Stay tuned soon for the race recap of the Star Wars – The Dark Side Half Marathon.
IMHO, if they are selling out, they need to manufacture more merchandise. With the price of the race, that shouldn’t be too much out of Disney’s pocket. I don’t think you should have to have a bib to buy or set limits. Some people might want to buy a shirt for everyone in their family, and anyone should be allowed to attend a race expo and buy things (I go to the Bridge Run expo, even in the years I didn’t do it- I just wanted to shop). To me it’s just not right to sell race merchandise on Ebay… I’ve even seen medals for sale on there. I guess the race can’t stop people but you’d think other runners would have the respect not to do that. These races are a lot of money to not have a great experience.
Exactly… normally runners respect runners. Problem is, anyone can get into the race expo, so people at ESPN WWOS can just stroll in and by the race specific merchandise. So not cool!
It was definitely frustrating that weekend to see people wearing shirts for the half that I really liked but couldn’t buy since they were already sold out at the expo.
I really can’t think of a good way to control this at the expo, especially with the crowds. Maybe runDisney should set up an online store for merch that you can only access with a bib number? Similar (but different) to how they have the commemorative items set up, if that makes sense. Then all the runners would have an option to get the merch that they want, and they can still have stuff at the expo for ebayers and people who decided they want something else.
Add it to the pre-order when we register, like they do with the race pin. Other than showing bib to check out at the expo, that is my only other thought. Just give us all a chance. 🙂
I feel your pain about the race merch. After running the Chicago Marathon last year, I know it’s possible to sell merch online. They do that. I’ve noticed that the NYC Marathon does the same. So, maybe runDisney could follow suit? I mean, if they have an online ordering option, then sell outs at the Expo wouldn’t be a big deal. It would also be a way for Disney to make even more money out of these events. You know what I mean? I also feel like they should hold off on the “I Did It” shirts until at least the finish line/family reunion area of any race and offer them after the race is over online. I mean, it always has felt strange when I’ve purchased an “I Did It” shirt for a race I haven’t started yet. However, since I know I won’t be able to purchase such a shirt after the race, I buy it anyways. It still doesn’t feel completely right.
Such a good idea! But my question is why isn’t RunDisney even thinking about things like this. Do they just don’t care? Troubling…. I agree on the “I Did It” shirts! I saw people wearing the half shirt on Saturday in the parks before the race had even taken place. SMH! I would fell that would be jinxing myself or something.
Disney is really going all in on the Star Wars franchise… which is cool to see until issues like you’ve raised start to rear their head. I’ve only run two Disney races with minimal merch purchase, so I had no idea this kind of thing was going on. Buying someone else’s race medal on eBay? Talk about absurd. I’m afraid, though, based on everything I’ve witnessed and on stories from friends who work/worked at Disney, that making money is their primary, secondary & tertiary motivation, and the races are just another cash cow to milk for all it’s worth. And I’m guessing that as long as their races continue to sell out within hours of opening registration, they’ll have no incentive to change their ways. On the other hand, if they can sell more then you have to believe they’ll start offering more. Hope none of this spoiled the race itself for you!
Thanks for the comments Mike. You nailed it. That is precisely it. If it’s selling out, why change or improve the experience!