3/10: His & Hers

[Al Lutz]

Kevin compares Disney World Half Marathons, discuss it here...

DIRECT ARTICLE LINK: MiceAge.com - A different look at Disney...

[ameeg]

I did the ESPN 5k this year, and I have to say it left alot to be desired. It was well organized as you can expect from disney. Even though it was only 1500 people, there were moments along the course that were too narrow. I think the biggest peeve I had about the race, was how hard it was to get into my corral and the amount of people who in certain finish times that should not have been. I spent most the race passing people, and finished a min and half off my pr. That is just me being competitive. The princess half looks more fun.

[KevinYee]

Reader L.T. sent this to me by email:

LOVED the article on the Princess Half. You nailed it on the head – for the price and based on the usual Disney running event experience, it was underwhelming to say the least. Sadly, I won’t be flying back from Washington State to do it again (but like you, I WILL be earning my Coast-to-Coast in September at Disneyland!).

A few more little items just because you will listen and Disney will not:

·Scheduling a major event such as a half marathon the weekend of Daylight Savings wasn’t exactly brilliant planning. For those on the East Coast, the change in time wasn’t as ugly as for those from say, the West Coast, who were already running on a 3-hour time difference.

·The music. I overheard more than one person threaten to shoot out a speaker if they heard the rap version of “Zippy Do Dah” one more time. For those of us who were bused in two hours before the event (and especially those of us who did the 5k and heard it all before on Saturday), it was excruciating. Yeah, it’s a Disney event but come on…

·They changed the host hotel (value) without notice of change going out weeks later in the newsletter (and not calling out it as changed – it was just listed as if it had always been that way…). I talked to more than one person who made their reservations at the original host hotel and didn’t notice until Movies had filled up that they were at the wrong hotel to receive transportation.

·Not all the hotel employees knew about the event transportation, especially to the expo on Friday. There seemed to be a lot of confusion on that point. Many people were told the pre-race instructions were wrong and were sent to Hollywood Studios to catch the bus from there or were told to take a taxi.

·They changed the race route and didn’t make the change known until very close to the event. I’m not the only one very disappointed that we didn’t get to race around the Richard Petty race track to start the run!

·They changed the special mouse ears you could pre-order – they went from the advertised (and available when registering for the half) Inaugural Disney Princess Half Marathon ears to cheap, black 5k / kids race ears (and they didn’t tell the poor volunteers at the expo of the change). Eventually, they tried to pawn off plain pink ears with Minnie Mouse on them to anyone who complained. Wooo.

·There was a LOT of room at the expo for display of costumes and a photo op but they had only three cash registers for official race gear, little room for the cashiers to work, and lines that quickly backed into the tiny official merchandise area making it difficult to get through. And even though I’m a small-size runner, I noticed how few items were available in sizes other than Large (and they were cut small). Just looking around the expo it appeared they missed a key demographic in their ordering.

·The most amusing thing was hearing that familiar excuse of “it’s an inaugural event” to pass off blame. As you pointed out, they successfully host these runs on a very regular basis. They know better.

[RumRunner31]

I know this has nothing to do with the bulk of the article, but did anyone else find it interesting that Prince Naveen from the Princess and the Frog was so prominently featured in that 10 mile marker?

[BC_DisneyGeek]

Now I have am image of Snow White peeing in the bushes etched in my brain.

Thanks a lot Kevin...

[pussnboots]

Originally Posted by RumRunner31

I know this has nothing to do with the bulk of the article, but did anyone else find it interesting that Prince Naveen from the Princess and the Frog was so prominently featured in that 10 mile marker?

Yes... They're getting ahead of themselves a little, aren't they. That movie might flop — what if it offends people? Some people may even overreact and post hissy fits on YouTube.

Although it's hard not to get excited for the comeback of 2D animation.

[Dreamer81382]

Originally Posted by RumRunner31

I know this has nothing to do with the bulk of the article, but did anyone else find it interesting that Prince Naveen from the Princess and the Frog was so prominently featured in that 10 mile marker?

And right there on the Mile 13 marker? Good old Princess (changes her name for politically correct reasons).


Yeah, they are probably going to milk the new "diverse" Prince and Princess for all they're worth. Not to say they're making like the RNC and "jumping on the Obama train" .. but it's funny that the movie isn't even out yet and they're trying to push the characters XD

I agree.. the movie could be a total flop, though I doubt that would stop the character marketing.

[sediment]

In fact, my eyeballs still haven't recovered from the sight of seeing Snow White hunched over, her skirt hiked up, urinating in the forest because no other option was left to her. I'm pretty sure this is not what Disney had in mind when they advertised a princess half marathon. This one woman was far from the only participant to be dressed up in character, but she stuck in mind, since it's not everyday you see Snow White in a compromising position.

Trauma therapists were standing by at the finish line....

[Noctourne]

I thought that the characters were tastefully put in. It wasn't like they had "GO SEE PRINCESS AND THE FROG!" or anything of the like. It actually took me a few looks to notice Prince whatever-his-name-is, but I was purposefully looking for Tiana, so she stood out.

[BassBone]

Just a fiddly, nitpicky note, but saxophones are woodwinds, not brass.

[KevinYee]

Yeah, I was musically-challenged in this report. I also misspelled taiko drums. I blame the disfiguring effects Miss Micturating Snow White had on my corpus callosum.

[BassBone]

Originally Posted by KevinYee

Yeah, I was musically-challenged in this report. I also misspelled taiko drums. I blame the disfiguring effects Miss Micturating Snow White had on my corpus callosum.

I'm glad you had to see that and not me.

[kindagoofy]

Kevin,

You state the Burma-Shave style questions would have been more appreciated if you wouldn't have had music, which begs the question: are you an i-Pod or Zune guy? I've got a copy of your "101 Things You Never Knew About Walt Disney World" riding on the i-Pod. Don't let me down.

[KevinYee]

Oh, it's definitely an iPod (in this case, a 2GB iPod mini). We sport an iPhone around the house, but we have a much older iRiver that we used to use for jogging music.

[kindagoofy]

^ Yeah! I win the bet and keep the book! Thanks for the info.