I'm glad they announce the themes in advance now, it does affect my decision re: which races to run. It is helpful since I can't usually do them all, though I'd like to! (And I loved Star Wars race weekend, hopefully that returns someday.)
That being said, I actually prefer when runDisney races had more consistency. I definitely preferred Chef Mickey/Epcot every year to whatever Wine & Dine IP melange is happening now (more races beyond Marathon weekend should feature Mickey!). So I don't mind at all if they do the same princesses.
I liked when the Princess half design was simply repeat variations of tiaras that said "Disney's Princess Half Marathon," for example! The medals were shiny, pretty, usually did
not fall apart, featured the race/Disney name prominently, and looked like actual
metal medals! That's all I need.
I have several of those medals/shirts, and I love them. Those shirts are quality and have held up to years of wear.
In general I wish they'd focus less on changing themes, and more on the quality of the basics (a semi-consistent race logo, better medals, better race shirts, bring back key name-branded merch items, hire a freaking clothing/merch designer with a better sense of athleticwear style for heaven's sake, what are they even doing). So much of it is junk, or junky-looking now and it was not that way in the past.
If they'd bring the basics back up to par with ~10+ years ago, I'd pay way more!!