The MousePlanet Mailbag is a regular compilation of some of our reader feedback and writer responses that may be of interest to our readers. We encourage you to drop your questions, opinions, or comments to us in care of our mailbag.
As it snows outside here in the Northeast, thoughts turn to the warm Disney parks. With only one month until the Walt Disney World Marathon, two readers wrote in answers to last week’s mailbag question regarding race etiquette.
Jeffery H. writes:
Disney Sports Attractions should definitely include a primer on race course etiquette in their final race instructions and online postings.
I support and applaud all levels of athletes who participate in the Walt Disney World races, but slower runners and walkers should definitely follow some basic rules:
If you are not seeded into a corral according to your previous performance times by race officials, then place yourself in the pack accordingly. If you plan on running slowly or are walking the race, please start in the back.
If you are with a group, please do not run/walk more than two abreast.
Slower athletes should stay to the right, or follow race instructions as to course rules. (some courses may have slower athletes stay to the center of the course, allowing passing on both sides. I prefer to have slower traffic to the right, so that I can pass on the left.)
Walkers: please be careful of the trajectory of your arm swings. I’ve gotten nailed several times in close quarters due to an overextended arm swing.
If you are running, then decide to walk, or need to stop for any reason, please move to the side of the course before doing so.
Pay attention to what’s going on around you. Athletes using mp3 players are nowhere near as dangerous as the group of walkers who are stretched across the course five abreast, deeply engaged in conversation, totally oblivious of the race going on around them. Perform shoulder checks frequently, staying aware of the constantly changing runner flux around you.
Bill McD. writes:
I have been a runner for 37 years, both competitive (near the front of the pack) and recreational (toward the middle and, more recently, back of the pack). I have run hundreds of road races of all distances and sizes, from a handful of runners at a local 5K, to mega-marathons like Disney. While I truly welcome the influx of non-competitive runners and walkers, I must admit to a great deal of frustration over the behavior and attitude of a small minority. My concerns are over safety and enjoyment during the race.
If you are a slower runner or walker, please be honest about your ability and line up at the start in the proper place. Especially at races (like Disney) that start before sunrise, it is extremely dangerous for a faster paced runner to come up on a “stroller” and have to come to a halt or dodge to one side. Even worse are the groups of slow runners or walkers who stretch out across the road and make it impossible to pass. Very inconsiderate. Please folks, place yourself properly and everybody will have the room to run and walk safely.
As for headphones and iPods, they are a liability issue for race directors. (I organize a road race in my home state.) Larger races that must invest in liability insurance usually have it written into the contract that no headphones, baby strollers, in-line skates, bicycles, etc. are allowed. All for safety reasons.
While I can appreciate the enjoyment of running with music, personally, I can’t imagine wearing headphones during a race. After all, you signed up, paid a huge entry fee and trained for months (hopefully) to participate in a big event. So why isolate yourself from all that is happening around you by shutting out the world with headphones? There is a rhythm and flow to a road race that can only be appreciated if you tune in to what is happening on the course, with spectators and with other runners.
In the next set of letters staff writer Lani Teshima answers reader mail about marathon volunteering as well as Club 33.
Tonya writes:
I’m trying to register to cheer for this marathon but the information you gave was not clear enough, I clicked on a link and it said not available. Can you help me so I can register myself and my friends to be a “cheering squad” for the marathon?
Glad to hear that you are interested in being a cheering squad for the marathon. It’s folks like you who make a difference to participants who would otherwise face a pretty lonely road.
I am not exactly sure what article of mine you were reading, or which link you were trying to click. That doesn’t really matter, however, since it sounds like you are not actually interested in running the marathon yourself, but that you want to be a spectator. Spectators do not need to register for anything at all. The main thing you need to know about in advance is where you want to stand and cheer on your friends. You can do that by talking to your friend who is running, and deciding in advance where would be the best place(s) for you.
If on the other hand you want to volunteer your time and officially register with Disney as an event volunteer, you can go to their Web page (link) and sign up for a preferred event and shift you would like to work.
Tonya replies:
I wasn’t really wanting to just be a spectator… but more of a volunteer. We have done this for the past four years where we were on a list to cheer on runners and they gave us Disney tickets for our efforts.
If you are interested in signing up as an official volunteer, you want to go to the Web link I sent you in my previous email. Decide which activity you want to volunteer for—for the WDW marathon weekend, you have a choice of the Fitness Expo (where volunteers help distribute participant shirts, etc.), the half-marathon, which is held on Saturday, or the full marathon, held on Sunday.
The earlier you sign up, the better options you will get for which shift will work for you.
Catherine H. writes:
I have been a fan of Disneyland for years, and I read your article and interview on a Club 33 member. I have been trying to get on the list for Club 33, but they have closed their waiting list. I know that he has a membership, and extends his membership for fanatics like myself. I was wondering if perhaps you could contact him for me and ask if it possible of letting me go there for my upcoming birthday.
I know this is very difficult, and I would understand if you decline my request
We respect the privacy of Club 33 members, and do not participate in nor encourage the arrangement of obtaining club access. The discussion of pleading / asking for club access is periodically brought up in our MousePad discussion board, and a general sentiment seems to be that members do not extend invitations to people who are not their close friends. Because a member is responsible for their guests’ behavior, they are very careful to avoid sponsoring people who—let’s be honest here—are perfect strangers to them. All it takes is one or two bad experiences (for example, sponsors have to pay for no-show guests) to sour it for everyone.
If you are interested in getting a peek, you might consider looking into the Walking in Walt’s Footsteps walking tour. Although I am not exactly sure what its current itinerary is, people have reported in the past that the tour included visiting the foyer of the club.
I’m sorry I can’t be of any assistance to you, but as you can imagine, we get special requests regularly, and it’s something we simply do not participate in.
Finally, our MousePlanet staff answer reader questions on the weekly MousePlanet Disneyland Update.
Pat E. writes:
I read in your Disneyland update about the 2 extra days free ticket offer. I called the Disneyland resort for more information but the lady said that they had no knowledge of any offers like that. The disneygo website had no information either. We live in northern California and will be arriving in LA on January 5. The offer begins on January 7th but the tickets must be purchased ahead of time. Can you give me any help with how I can arrange to purchase the special offer tickets when I get there or where I might find out more information.
I assume you are asking about the 2008 “2 Days Free” offer? (link) According to the information we have, the promotion doesn’t begin until January 7. I wouldn’t expect to be able to purchase these special tickets before that date, and as noted the on-site ticket sellers can’t sell these and probably won’t know anything about them. They should be available for purchase on the Disneyland.com Web site later this month or in early January. We’ll update the description of that offer in the weekly Disneyland Resort update when we have more information.
Steve B. writes:
I don’t know if anyone noticed this, but there is something a bit odd about that liquor license application notice posted at Disneyland. It actually says “Walt Disney World”, and not Disneyland on it. Thinking that you might have mixed up some photographs, I looked closely and found that the address does indeed say Harbor Blvd., so it must be posted in California and not Florida.
Yes, the license is issued in the name of “Walt Disney World”, because most of the entertainment events that would need the license fall under the aegis of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. The sign itself is definitely posted outside Disneyland.
Steven C. writes:
I was riding the Lilly Belle at Disneyland on Saturday December 8th around 11:30 am (on the Walk In Walt’s Footsteps Tour) when the train was stopped for about 20 minutes at the New Orleans Square Train Station. The cast member who was riding with us (I believe her name was Kelly) said that a guest got on the tracks and had gone into the Jungle Cruise. She also said that when something affected operation of the Jungle Cruise that it also affected the trains. Can you confirm that this happened as described? I am curious why Jungle Cruise operation would affect the trains running.
Sounds exciting! We haven’t heard anything about this incident but will poke around to see what we can find out. As to why a problem on the Jungle Cruise might affect the Disneyland Railroad, well, the DLRR tracks through Adventureland do run very close to a section of the Jungle Cruise river, so it might just be a safety issue. Or, the cast member might have meant that since the guest was reportedly on the DLRR tracks—and—in the Jungle Cruise show area, both attractions were affected but not necessarily related.
