Whats up with the Delays for Marathon Weekend??

[JB22]

Given the announcement today, whats the scoop?

 

[rteetz]

Speculation/rumor is they are moving away from Active.com

 

[JB22]

That would make sense, why let someone else take a piece of the cheese when you can eat it all yourself

 

[camaker]

As I just posted on another thread, I think RunDisney has decided to tap into the “Active Fees” revenue stream.

 

[rteetz]

As I just posted on another thread, I think RunDisney has decided to tap into the “Active Fees” revenue stream.

Obviously runDisney had some sort of agreement with Active and likely had to pay them something to use their service. Do we think they will actually have a registration fee as large as Active had? I don't think they will.

 

[camaker]

Obviously runDisney had some sort of agreement with Active and likely had to pay them something to use their service. Do we think they will actually have a registration fee as large as Active had? I don't think they will.

Hard to say. I’d like to think they’d pass some of that savings along, but at the same time Active has demonstrated that the market will bear that level of fees and it’s difficult to see RunDisney leaving money on the table.

 

[rteetz]

Hard to say. I’d like to think they’d pass some of that savings along, but at the same time Active has demonstrated that the market will bear that level of fees and it’s difficult to see RunDisney leaving money on the table.

We could see a price increase without the Active fees but going over the race fee + active fee could shut people out. People already don't run Disney because of the costs. I am just not sure we see a large Active fee since Disney isn't using that service anymore (at least we think they aren't).

 

[camaker]

We could see a price increase without the Active fees but going over the race fee + active fee could shut people out. People already don't run Disney because of the costs. I am just not sure we see a large Active fee since Disney isn't using that service anymore (at least we think they aren't).

I doubt they’ll exceed the current total registration fee + race fee structure. But they still have to pay the costs associated with implementing their own registration system whether it’s developed in house or bought off the shelf/custom designed. They wouldn’t be pursuing this if they didn’t plan on cashing in.

 

[rteetz]

I doubt they’ll exceed the current total registration fee + race fee structure. But they still have to pay the costs associated with implementing their own registration system whether it’s developed in house or bought off the shelf/custom designed. They wouldn’t be pursuing this if they didn’t plan on cashing in.

They’ll already save money that they can out towards their new system by not using active. I’m just skeptical they would have a such a large registration fee like Active had.

 

[Keels]

So, basically how Active works is either you license the technology and host it on a private/proprietary server or you allow Active.com to host it for you (thus, saddling them with the responsibility for covering security, bandwidth, etc. etc. that comes with hosting a purchasing/registration database of this sort), but allow them to collect fees on top of registration. Either way, Active is getting a cut from the races - currently, it's all of us runners that foot the large part of the bill.

That said, the Active platform does provide a lot of useful - albeit non-proprietary - features ... like automating bib distribution, the verifier tool for Proof of Time, as well as a historic database of registration data. I don't think RunDisney would be dumb enough to try to build & maintain their own platform when one is readily available for implementation on an existing web platform.

But going back to maybe Princess? of last year, RunDisney has slowly started migrating documents and things from the basic directory on RunDisney.com to a secure platform housed within Disney.Go.Com (the secure directory for Parks & Resorts). There are other reasons that RunDisney might license the technology and house it privately as well ... first being unfettered access to data mining (ie. now, RunDisney doesn't have to share any registration information or personal registrant data with Active.com, nor are they required to have an opt-in to receive messages from Active.com to conclude registration), as well as expanded communication opportunities - like higher levels of whitelisted emails (newsletters, race-specific mailings). Starting with a STRIDE Newsletter in September 2017, and going heavily through W&D and Marathon Weekend - all emails and notifications switched from originating via the Active.com email system to being sent by a new RunDisney email address under the Disney Destinations email account. This easily explains why we've been receiving more and more emails from RunDisney than ever before - it's because mailboxes recognize emails from DisneyDestinations.com as more reliable than something from an annexed .active.com email account.

 

[rteetz]

Starting with a STRIDE Newsletter in September 2017, and going heavily through W&D and Marathon Weekend - all emails and notifications switched from originating via the Active.com email system to being sent by a new RunDisney email address under the Disney Destinations email account. This easily explains why we've been receiving more and more emails from RunDisney than ever before - it's because mailboxes recognize emails from DisneyDestinations.com as more reliable than something from an annexed .active.com email account.

I have definitely noticed this part.

 

[taffy]

Id also add they have had several hicups with the registration process over the last few years which they have taken some flak for. By taking control they are better placed to deal with things like the registration system crashing on the first day.

 

[SarahDisney]

This may just be wishful thinking on my part, but ... I wonder if they're doing an overhaul of the website. Building a new website could include a new registration (either something they built or active's tech hosted on their server, which I didnt know was a thing until today). They could have started with the email server and be slowly building and migrating to the new site.

This is probably all wishful thinking. But until I know its definitely not happening, I'm going to hold out hope. Its 2018 ... there's no reason why anyone should have a site that's that bad on mobile.

 

[Ariel484]

Registration delays just seem to be the norm with runDisney, lately...

 

[Anisum]

I for one think it's good for them if they get away from Active but I also hate Active. Their "enter your credit card again" to get subscribed to their membership is sly. I know several people who accidently ended up with a membership because they were rushing to register and didn't read the fine print.

Another thing is Active is a pain for some things, like signing up for multiple races that aren't part of a challenge. If they can fix that it would be nice.

 

[cavepig]

Interesting on the email thing as we have emails back from 2014 from race registrations & reminders to register all from "Disney Destinations". "Active" sent a receipt but we have the "Disney Destinations" email as well saying we are registered. I haven't noticed any change on that.

At least it says all races for the season will be as scheduled, but I'm sure the speculating will be interesting into June on all the reasons

 

[Keels]

I’m not sure what EMS (event management system) Wide World of Sports uses either - if they leave it up to the league/group to handle event management or if they have some basic structure they use.

This could be a small part of an overall change in registration and event management on Disney Sports’ part.

Or, RunDisney could just suck as always and this is yet another #FakeNews excuse.

 

[Keels]

This is probably all wishful thinking. But until I know its definitely not happening, I'm going to hold out hope. Its 2018 ... there's no reason why anyone should have a site that's that bad on mobile.

Exactly - and there is nothing at all similar as far as UI/UX between the desktop and mobile/app version.

 

[Bree]

I never get emails from runDisney. Nada. Nothing. Zip. Not even for races I’m registered for! I’ve signed up on runDisney for emails with three different emails. I must be blacklisted.

 

[BikeFan]

Hard to say. I’d like to think they’d pass some of that savings along, but at the same time Active has demonstrated that the market will bear that level of fees and it’s difficult to see RunDisney leaving money on the table.

I think the market is beginning to speak on the matter of Active and their fees. I'm finding fewer and fewer events are using Active, and they've lost a bunch of very big races, such as Chicago and Marine Corps. If they lose RunDisney, that would be huge.