Marathon Weekend 2023

[furiated]

Ok, well I see a lot of thumbs up on facilitating SAFD this year. So I will follow Lee’s lead and send out the first question on Sunday. If you have any ideas for questions please send my way. Apologizing now for my grammar!

I'm guessing I'm in the minority as someone that hates SAFD. But the reason is because it clogs up the Marathon Weekend thread. People coming to try to get info about the race weekend have to sift through pages of What's your favorite Disney movie, and things that have nothing to do with Marathon Weekend (usually anyways). I do appreciate when folks being their replies with a SAFD tag so I can skip by them, but man, sometimes I have to skip pages and pages. I'll see that the thread has new activity and think Oh, do we have a registration date? Medal pics? Course maps? Nope. Just SAFD stuff.

So since we're in a period of transition, I thought I would ask: Could we move SAFD to its own thread? That way, not only is it not clogging up the Marathon Weekend thread, but other folks could join in. Someone that's only interested in Princess weekend might never look in the Marathon Weekend thread and miss out.

Anyways, that's my tiny rant as a lurker who has been reading these threads mostly silently for years, feel free to vehemently disagree

 

[azrivest]

SAFD:
On our last trip in August 2019, my daughter didn't speak English yet (we live in Quebec). She loved meeting all the princesses but was a bit abashed because she couldn't communicate verbally with them.

One afternoon, we waited over 45 minutes in the baking hot sun to meet Merida in MK. To her amazement, Merida said a few words in French to her. DD still talks about how Merida can speak French to this day. And it made for one of the best pics of our entire vacation. Look at that little girl's smile!



(I know I shouldn't post a pic of my baby girl, but I can't help it. I love this pic so much)

 

[camaker]

I'm guessing I'm in the minority as someone that hates SAFD. But the reason is because it clogs up the Marathon Weekend thread. People coming to try to get info about the race weekend have to sift through pages of What's your favorite Disney movie, and things that have nothing to do with Marathon Weekend (usually anyways). I do appreciate when folks being their replies with a SAFD tag so I can skip by them, but man, sometimes I have to skip pages and pages. I'll see that the thread has new activity and think Oh, do we have a registration date? Medal pics? Course maps? Nope. Just SAFD stuff.

So since we're in a period of transition, I thought I would ask: Could we move SAFD to its own thread? That way, not only is it not clogging up the Marathon Weekend thread, but other folks could join in. Someone that's only interested in Princess weekend might never look in the Marathon Weekend thread and miss out.

Anyways, that's my tiny rant as a lurker who has been reading these threads mostly silently for years, feel free to vehemently disagree

Right now there's a huge lull in Marathon Weekend content as we wait for information like registration dates and it will be 8-9 months before we get to see medals/themes and longer than that to any real race info like the event guide. This thread would likely be near inactive 90% of the year if we were to take SAFD content out of it and would fall out of use and far down the threads list, likely resulting in new threads being opened rather than having one compiled thread.

I vote that we keep the current format.

 

[FFigawi]

Right now there's a huge lull in Marathon Weekend content as we wait for information like registration dates and it will be 8-9 months before we get to see medals/themes and longer than that to any real race info like the event guide. This thread would likely be near inactive 90% of the year if we were to take SAFD content out of it and would fall out of use and far down the threads list, likely resulting in new threads being opened rather than having one compiled thread.

I vote that we keep the current format.

Agreed. SAFD is part of what makes this thread and marathon weekend what it is.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Right now there's a huge lull in Marathon Weekend content as we wait for information like registration dates and it will be 8-9 months before we get to see medals/themes and longer than that to any real race info like the event guide. This thread would likely be near inactive 90% of the year if we were to take SAFD content out of it and would fall out of use and far down the threads list, likely resulting in new threads being opened rather than having one compiled thread.

I vote that we keep the current format.

This pretty much sums up my thoughts.

There’s not much of an “asked and answered. Didn’t you see it 37 pages ago?” vibe here. I think people are pretty happy to answer any questions when they feel like they have a helpful response; whether it’s been asked 0 times or 100.

I understand the issue, I guess I just never thought of it as much of a problem.

 

[camaker]

Agreed. SAFD is part of what makes this thread and marathon what it is.

Would you be willing to update the first post in the thread with registration info when it becomes available and maybe add links to the event guide and medal reveal posts/sites when available, maybe like the Princess thread has? That would make it easier for people to see if basic info has been released without having to scroll through lots of pages.

 

[FFigawi]

Would you be willing to update the first post in the thread with registration info when it becomes available and maybe add links to the event guide and medal reveal posts/sites when available, maybe like the Princess thread has? That would make it easier for people to see if basic info has been released without having to scroll through lots of pages.

You'll need to remind me

 

[Naomeri]

Would you be willing to update the first post in the thread with registration info when it becomes available and maybe add links to the event guide and medal reveal posts/sites when available, maybe like the Princess thread has? That would make it easier for people to see if basic info has been released without having to scroll through lots of pages.

That seems like a great compromise.

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

I'm guessing I'm in the minority as someone that hates SAFD. But the reason is because it clogs up the Marathon Weekend thread. People coming to try to get info about the race weekend have to sift through pages of What's your favorite Disney movie, and things that have nothing to do with Marathon Weekend (usually anyways). I do appreciate when folks being their replies with a SAFD tag so I can skip by them, but man, sometimes I have to skip pages and pages. I'll see that the thread has new activity and think Oh, do we have a registration date? Medal pics? Course maps? Nope. Just SAFD stuff.

So since we're in a period of transition, I thought I would ask: Could we move SAFD to its own thread? That way, not only is it not clogging up the Marathon Weekend thread, but other folks could join in. Someone that's only interested in Princess weekend might never look in the Marathon Weekend thread and miss out.

Anyways, that's my tiny rant as a lurker who has been reading these threads mostly silently for years, feel free to vehemently disagree

I think most of us who are regulars on this thread very much enjoy SAFD. It helps us get to know each other and form bonds that translate into fun conversations and encounters on MW. If you are strictly interested in information about the event, there are other places to look, such as the rD site itself. This thread is populated by a community of folks who enjoy talking about Disney to others who also enjoy Disney, and by runners who encourage and support one another. SAFD also serves the purpose of getting newbies into the conversation and into the group. Thank you, @Baloo in MI for making sure it continues.

 

[luv2cheer92]

After the marathon a couple weeks ago I think I was just out of it. I started walking down the lightning lane line for Peter Pan without realizing it. As soon as I did I went to turn around, the CM said "is it just you?". I said yes and she let me through that line. So I got to avoid a 60 minute wait. I have experienced and witnessed sooo many over the years, though it has seemed to increase quite a bit in what I've seen over the past year or two.

 

[Bree]

SAFD is a tradition. It needs to stay

 

[JS71]

So I wouldn’t have had a great response to this (not a complaint just nothing major stands out)….until October 2021. The night before we were supposed to drive home I developed a pain in my side and a fever. Around 2am I went to the urgent who then sent me to the ER who then sent me to the hospital because my appendix wasn’t gunna make the driver back to Ohio. But we were supposed to be out of our room at the boardwalk and driving home just as I was going into surgery. The Disney part of this comes in 2 parts.

Part 1) my wife went to the front desk and explained the not so great situation we just found ourselves in and they just extended our stay for two nights, no questions, no concerns, same room just hey this is a bummer this is one less thing for you to worry about which in and of itself is incredible.

Part 2) after they came to visit me at the hospital after surgery they were waiting for an elevator and a cast member asked how their day was going my 10 year old replied “pretty terrible actually” and explained the whole surgery situation (or so I’m told I was asleep in the hospital). The cast member asked for our room number and my wife just assumed they would send flowers or something (which also would have been super generous and unnecessary). About an hour later a boardwalk cast member called and asked if they could take the kids on a shopping trip to the gift shop. They picked the kids up, walked them to the gift shop and told them to go nuts. They didn’t go crazy but that also wasn’t really the point. The cast members knew they had some worried kids who could use a fun distraction and my wife could use a minute to rest. Mission accomplished. The kids had so much fun and for a glorious hour forgot they even had parents let alone one in the hospital.

As a follow up ran I my 3rd fastest marathon earlier this month 2.5 months after having my appendix out so it turns out an appendix isn’t super necessary for marathon running.

 

[SarahDisney]

SAFD:
This is the perfect question because one of my best CM moments (I don't know if I'd call it pixie dust, but definitely "this is why we go to Disney") happened last week.

As some of you know, I can't eat most Disney food (including anything prepared in their kitchens), but Disney has pre-packaged airline-style meals available (by request) that they heat up for me. Usually these meals are available at 1-2 locations in each park. I went to Disneyland last week for the first time in almost 10 years, and it took us some stress and a while to discover where we could get these meals (let me tell ya ... guest relations was useless, apparently all they do is just tell you to look at the app). We discovered that Smokejumpers Grill at California Adventure had meals for us, so we made plans to go there for dinner. Well, when we went, they were closed. Oops.

We went to another restaurant (Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill) to see if maybe they happened to have some in the back, knew of another restaurant that would have, or could get into the Smokejumpers kitchen to get meals for us. The chef we spoke to didn't really know anything that could help us, but he got the area chef for Pacific Wharf to see if maybe he knew something. The area chef has a group chat with all of the chefs in DCA, so he sent out a message to see if anyone had meals for us. Both he and the restaurant chef stayed with us and chatted with us as he waited to hear back from other chefs. Eventually he did hear back from a chef at Wine Country Trattoria (or as the chefs called it, Tratt), which was closed, but they had meals for us and the chef was still there. So the area chef walked over there, got the meals, and brought them back to Cocina, where he heated them up for us. The whole process probably took at least 30-45 minutes but these chefs stayed with us the whole time and really went above and beyond to make sure we had food.

I am currently trying to track down an email address for Disneyland Guest Services so that I can send an email about this (and a few other really good cast encounters), so if anyone has that email address, please share it!

 

[GreatLakes]

SAFD:

I'm going to go a slightly different route with this because it highlights what I think is a failure of vision for the current management team.

Back in the early 2000s when my friends and I were freshly out of college or had just started in our trade one of our friends was going through a divorce. She had a 5 year old kid that was having a hard time with it and she was too. One day she woke up, decided her daughter needed a distraction, and in the morning instead of driving her to school just drove her to the airport. She had no idea. She got on a plane and came to visit a few of us that live in FL and spend a few days at Disney. We all took off and pitched in a bit and it has become one of my best memories from my time in FL. Disney didn't really do anything "extra" but they didn't have to, it was magical because it fulfilled a need at the time.

Unfortunately I think it would be very hard to do that same trip if we were all in that position today. It is much harder to be that spontaneous with Disney, at least if you care about seeing nearly as much as we saw then. We were able to afford it, and stay on property with very little notice, much easier than 20-somethings at the beginning of their careers could now. That was the trip that made that 5 year old a WDW fan for life and without it I'm not sure they would have been big Disney park fans. How many kids now are never going to be introduced to Disney while they are young to stoke that love?

Anyway, a bit of a rant but it is the most magical thing I've experienced at a Disney park.

 

[PrincessV]

There’s not much of an “asked and answered. Didn’t you see it 37 pages ago?” vibe here. I think people are pretty happy to answer any questions when they feel like they have a helpful response; whether it’s been asked 0 times or 100.

FTR, even if my answer is always "we won't know until a day before, if that!", I NEVER get tired of answering weather questions! Truly. Sometimes if I have time, I'll even jazz it up with real-world examples! That's how strong my love is.

 

[huskies90]

I'm guessing I'm in the minority as someone that hates SAFD. But the reason is because it clogs up the Marathon Weekend thread. People coming to try to get info about the race weekend have to sift through pages of What's your favorite Disney movie, and things that have nothing to do with Marathon Weekend (usually anyways). I do appreciate when folks being their replies with a SAFD tag so I can skip by them, but man, sometimes I have to skip pages and pages. I'll see that the thread has new activity and think Oh, do we have a registration date? Medal pics? Course maps? Nope. Just SAFD stuff.

So since we're in a period of transition, I thought I would ask: Could we move SAFD to its own thread? That way, not only is it not clogging up the Marathon Weekend thread, but other folks could join in. Someone that's only interested in Princess weekend might never look in the Marathon Weekend thread and miss out.

Anyways, that's my tiny rant as a lurker who has been reading these threads mostly silently for years, feel free to vehemently disagree

Well, I am with you and agree it should be it's own thread for all the reasons you state. Also, making a separate thread opens it up to other runners who may not be running MW but would want to join in. The SAFD information is great and fun, but I agree it is a pain sifting through it all to find discussion about marathon weekend. I made the same suggestion as you 2 years ago when Lee asked if we should continue SAFD...Like you said, we are the minority here, so, oh well...

https://www.disboards.com/threads/marathon-weekend-2021.3786394/post-62344824

 

[Herding_Cats]

On the topic of pixie dust....I will say that on one trip we made there were some pretty awesome non-CMs that really made our trip memorable. On our first morning at AoA 2 women insisted on buying our entire family breakfast, cupcakes, etc because they were checking out that day and had leftover dining plan credits. "Get more" they kept telling us. Also, same trip, I had a woman in the checkout line at one of the shops in HS strike up a conversation with me, and when we got up to the register to pay she snatched my hat out of my hands and insisted on paying for it.

 

[camaker]

Well, I am with you and agree it should be it's own thread for all the reasons you state. Also, making a separate thread opens it up to other runners who may not be running MW but would want to join in. The SAFD information is great and fun, but I agree it is a pain sifting through it all to find discussion about marathon weekend. I made the same suggestion as you 2 years ago when Lee asked if we should continue SAFD...Like you said, we are the minority here, so, oh well...

https://www.disboards.com/threads/marathon-weekend-2021.3786394/post-62344824

For what it's worth, there's no requirement that you be running MW to participate in the thread or SAFD questions.

 

[huskies90]

For what it's worth, there's no requirement that you be running MW to participate in the thread or SAFD questions.

True. But if a person is not running marathon weekend, they probably are not checking the MW thread. Like, I almost never open the Princess Weekend thread because I am not running that weekend...

 

[lookingforsunshine]

But if a person is not running marathon weekend, they probably are not checking the MW thread. Like, I almost never open the Princess Weekend thread because I am not running that weekend...

I read all the threads even if I’m not participating in a race but I also have a bit of an obsessive personality.