Run Disney in other states

[ppete1975]

It dawned on me this morning that since you only run near actual attractions and buildings and near the landscaping, that the location of run disney really shouldnt matter.
They could easily make photo opps and have their characters travel to other states. And then host events in other states (example Dallas, Boston, NY) they would still have all the Disney magic but be able to be done in areas that are farther away. It would be a cash cow if done correctly, especially in running cities.

They could even have special medals for how many states you did in a year, or all time.

 

[LAKid53]

It dawned on me this morning that since you only run near actual attractions and buildings and near the landscaping, that the location of run disney really shouldnt matter.
They could easily make photo opps and have their characters travel to other states. And then host events in other states (example Dallas, Boston, NY) they would still have all the Disney magic but be able to be done in areas that are farther away. It would be a cash cow if done correctly, especially in running cities.

They could even have special medals for how many states you did in a year, or all time.

The issue is...and this was one of the negatives for the DLR races...that you have to get local permissions to close roads, provide LE, etc. Neighborhoods in Anaheim didn't like their streets closed Sunday AM. Or the noise of runners at 7AM.

WDW races have the advantage of running on streets & property under the control of TWDC.

I'm not 100% positive, but these issues may have been responsible for the end of the DLP Half. @Swissmiss, is that your understanding?

 

[Swissmiss]

The issue is...and this was one of the negatives for the DLR races...that you have to get local permissions to close roads, provide LE, etc. Neighborhoods in Anaheim didn't like their streets closed Sunday AM. Or the noise of runners at 7AM.

WDW races have the advantage of running on streets & property under the control of TWDC.

I'm not 100% positive, but these issues may have been responsible for the end of the DLP Half. @Swissmiss, is that your understanding?

Technically it is still on hold (no official announcements) but I think it was @RunningKoen who once said this was a big issue.

I volunteer for an organisation that puts on several large races and triathlons and having volunteered for many years I know and have had conversations with pretty much everyone in the organisation and road closures are really difficult and sometimes they don’t even have approval until just days before a race weekend. Or approval that was given gets revoked. Or road works which get scheduled without someone having checked all necessary calendars.

In theory it is a great idea but the implementation would be tricky.

 

[ppete1975]

The issue is...and this was one of the negatives for the DLR races...that you have to get local permissions to close roads, provide LE, etc. Neighborhoods in Anaheim didn't like their streets closed Sunday AM. Or the noise of runners at 7AM.

WDW races have the advantage of running on streets & property under the control of TWDC.

I'm not 100% positive, but these issues may have been responsible for the end of the DLP Half. @Swissmiss, is that your understanding?

california had that issue, but it also seemed to be more of the board being against disney as well (odd how florida is folowing that). In other cities, nobody cares. They will shut down tons of streets for races, and most cities are proponents of running events.

Add in bringing the Disney name to your town in an event that would sell out in hours. Then again Disney has changed its strategy in promoting itself in other cities that dont have a park. Look at D23, why are none of the events in major metropolitan areas like Dallas.

 

[Demarke]

I *think* (don’t have enough experience to know for sure), that it may often times be easier for local non-profit races to get the approvals to close roads and such than for profit entities. I’m sure Disney could grease enough wheels to get it done, but if it drops their profit margin down significantly giving a cut to the cities and charities that co-sponsor them being there, they may not see enough value to try off-site (aside from by their parks in Anaheim and outside of Paris).

The Rock n Roll series seems to have hit that issue in a lot of places (ex. Savannah), but I’ve also heard criticism of their management, so who knows.

It may be a Catch-22 where the cities big enough to give Disney a big crowd don’t want the hassle or want too much in return, while the cities that would love to host may not be big enough to attract the crowd they want.

 

[Rteetz]

Never will happen. Races are such a logistical nightmare at Disney and even more so in larger cities. I also do not think you would see the popularity in other places. The whole draw is running in the parks. Disney would not truck characters around the US/World. That only adds more costs to an already costly event.