1. Since we've been reading blogs, there have been countless ones written on how to register for these coveted Disney races. Have your Active.com account ready, know your shirt size, have your proof of time ready, etc, etc. We've had all this ready since the day after we came back from PHM this past February (because we knew we wanted to go back and run again). Did this help our registration process go easier? NO
2. I think everyone who tried to register on Tuesday would agree that there was definitely something wrong with the Active.com site. I am not exaggerating when I say my sister and I (both at separate computers) filled out the race registration at least a dozen times before it went through) Of course when 25,000 plus people are on a website all at once, there are bound to be problems. I am the least computer savvy person when it comes to computer programming but wouldn't you think that a site that invites SO much traffic would have their crap together and make sure it can support the traffic properly? Again, I don't even know if this is possible, but its a thought.
3. I feel awful for the runners who wanted to sign up for this race but couldn't due to a lack of not being quick enough on the computer or basically just because the site had given them so many problems and they just couldn't get through in time. We were on the registration site at exactly noon and it took us an hour and 20 minutes before we were registered. When we were done, the GSC was 95% full! I couldn't believe it!
(I did hear through the grapevine that since there was such a problem on the Active.com site that some runners were double and triple registered. Once that gets taken care of, it might open up some more spots. I don't know if this is factual info or not. It might just be a way for people to still believe in the Disney magic and have some hope. Either way, keep your eyes out on the Run Disney site and other social media venues!)
4. We signed up for the WDW Marathon and Tower of Terror Races earlier this year and had no problems. I do believe this Princess Race is the most popular!
So is there a better solution to all this Princess pandemonium? ( I was thinking about this on my run yesterday).
*Register by last name: If your last name begins with A-M you register from noon till 3pm. ( only so many spots would be allotted for these folks). Then runners with the last name N-Z would register from 3:30 -6:30pm. The same amount of spots would be allotted to them too.
Of course this like any other solution could cause some drama. For example, My sister has a last name that begins with a "B", so she would register early. I would have to wait till round 2. If she got in and I didn't, that would turn our girls trip into a solo trip for her. Which to be honest, could have happened this week anyway.
*Take turns: Now this one is really a long shot, but instead of letting the same people register year after year, what if Disney said you can't do the same race 2 years in a row? Meaning if you did PHM or GSC last year, you would have to sit it out this year and let others participate. If this meant that other runners who have been dying to run this race and could not get in would be allowed to have their chance at running, I would gladly give up my spot! This would just give me more incentive to try a different Disney race I hadn't run yet.
I suppose this would cause a ruckus no doubt and we would have people signing up under different names. Of course you would have to show ID to pick up your race stuff, but still I wouldn't see runners appreciating this new rule!
So, congrats to all of you who survived the first step of Princess pandemonium, registration.
Now the next step is getting through the expo! (that's a whole other post)
Do you think there are any other solutions to this problem, or is it what it is?