Official 2018 Star Wars - Light Side Half Marathon Weekend - Cancelled

I've been stalking this thread because I feel like I will hear an update about Light Side/Tink here before rD announces anything. And I joined so I can post. Tomorrow is Friday and close to the middle of the month; how likely is it rD will announce the races are canceled at the end of the day and then run for the hills for the weekend?

Also, I sent an email to rD, not expecting a response b/c they haven't responded to anything asking about Light Side or Tink. My email gave some feedback about how they may have too many races and how they may want to consider getting rid of races that are less popular. For instance, I don't remember the Super Heroes run ever selling out, so I suggested that one. And Wine and Dine isn't as popular anymore since they changed it to the morning, so I suggested that one as well. I also told them that Tink would sell out if they moved it a week before or a week after Mother's Day (and admitted I'm a Tink legacy runner so I would be heart broken if they canceled it).

I suggested cutting down on those two less popular races, I'm sorry if you really like those races, would help the others sell out. I did get a response today that said, Please be advised that we have reviewed your recent correspondence and have forwarded your correspondence to another area within our company. Please note the response time may vary based on the nature of your inquiry. I'm not sure if that's good or bad or them just placating me.

Sorry for the long post.
 
I've been following this race saga with interest since I have been toying with the thought of entering. My question for everyone - when do you think the "drop-dead" date for them to open registrations is? I'm thinking that if we haven't heard anything by four months before the race date that it just isn't happening (and we're at 5 months tomorrow).

Thoughts?
 
I've been stalking this thread because I feel like I will hear an update about Light Side/Tink here before rD announces anything. And I joined so I can post. Tomorrow is Friday and close to the middle of the month; how likely is it rD will announce the races are canceled at the end of the day and then run for the hills for the weekend?

Also, I sent an email to rD, not expecting a response b/c they haven't responded to anything asking about Light Side or Tink. My email gave some feedback about how they may have too many races and how they may want to consider getting rid of races that are less popular. For instance, I don't remember the Super Heroes run ever selling out, so I suggested that one. And Wine and Dine isn't as popular anymore since they changed it to the morning, so I suggested that one as well. I also told them that Tink would sell out if they moved it a week before or a week after Mother's Day (and admitted I'm a Tink legacy runner so I would be heart broken if they canceled it).

I suggested cutting down on those two less popular races, I'm sorry if you really think those, would help the others sell out. I did get a response today that said, Please be advised that we have reviewed your recent correspondence and have forwarded your correspondence to another area within our company. Please note the response time may vary based on the nature of your inquiry. I'm not sure if that's good or bad or them just placating me.

Sorry for the long post.

I think they're just placating you, RE: the email. No offense but if they make any reductions to the schedule, they already have a pretty good idea of which race should be cut first. They have a lot of options... Wine and Dine doesn't seem like it would be as popular as a lot of the others. They could do Marvel at DL, Star Wars at DW in the future. They could do a Pixar weekend. Anything can happen if they want to freshen things up.
 
I've been following this race saga with interest since I have been toying with the thought of entering. My question for everyone - when do you think the "drop-dead" date for them to open registrations is? I'm thinking that if we haven't heard anything by four months before the race date that it just isn't happening (and we're at 5 months tomorrow).

Thoughts?

Their best asset is that they've done this a million times before and Disney is a well organized machine (which, of course, makes it weird that they've been so quiet about this). Honestly? It's hard to say. They might need to get sponsors in line, the charity organizers will be an issue, and there has to be a deadline with the city. Otherwise, you have a lot of merch to design and order and other random things.

It's worth noting that they still haven't removed the Tink event from their site, even though it happened three months ago. By this point they usually have the date for next year's event on the site.
 


I think they're just placating you, RE: the email. No offense but if they make any reductions to the schedule, they already have a pretty good idea of which race should be cut first. They have a lot of options... Wine and Dine doesn't seem like it would be as popular as a lot of the others. They could do Marvel at DL, Star Wars at DW in the future. They could do a Pixar weekend. Anything can happen if they want to freshen things up.
I thought they were just placating me too...but I was hoping for more. Oh well.
 
I've been stalking this thread because I feel like I will hear an update about Light Side/Tink here before rD announces anything. And I joined so I can post. Tomorrow is Friday and close to the middle of the month; how likely is it rD will announce the races are canceled at the end of the day and then run for the hills for the weekend?

Also, I sent an email to rD, not expecting a response b/c they haven't responded to anything asking about Light Side or Tink. My email gave some feedback about how they may have too many races and how they may want to consider getting rid of races that are less popular. For instance, I don't remember the Super Heroes run ever selling out, so I suggested that one. And Wine and Dine isn't as popular anymore since they changed it to the morning, so I suggested that one as well. I also told them that Tink would sell out if they moved it a week before or a week after Mother's Day (and admitted I'm a Tink legacy runner so I would be heart broken if they canceled it).

I suggested cutting down on those two less popular races, I'm sorry if you really like those races, would help the others sell out. I did get a response today that said, Please be advised that we have reviewed your recent correspondence and have forwarded your correspondence to another area within our company. Please note the response time may vary based on the nature of your inquiry. I'm not sure if that's good or bad or them just placating me.

Sorry for the long post.

The piece of the puzzle that we don't know is how many runners Disney needs at a given race weekend to make money. I feel pretty certain that they don't need a sell out to turn a profit and as long as they are getting enough runners to make a profit there's no reason or incentive for them to cancel races. While I do think there are a lot of races, the plus side of that is that it ensures that there should be a theme for everyone versus cutting a "less popular" race weekend which could result in them completely losing fans of that theme that aren't necessarily drawn to the remaining themes.
 
As the Harper Lee quote goes: "It's better to be silent than to be a fool." Disney is doing just that now. You may think they're being foolish for not letting the public know anything, but sometimes it's just better to just keep your mouth shut until you can finally announce something with certainty.

We have seen with the Expedition Everest Challenge that they can take runs away. My thought though is that they announced that the last one would be the last. I can't see them cancelling a race after they've already announced it and have signups (SWLS). With Tink, I think they're just doing the logical thing in keeping hush until SWLS is sorted out. It wouldn't make sense to announce a date and open registration for the next DL race when the preceding one has wrinkles to iron out. Handle that first one first, then all others will get back on track. The fact that Tink doesn't have any dates or other information also falls into the Harper Lee quote too.
 


Though I am hoping we'll hear something this month, I think its more realistic that they're waiting to see how the Disneyland Half goes. I fully expect an announcement within two weeks of that race.

If they announce that SWLS is cancelled, I might sign up for Avengers. Its a terrible weekend for me but I dont want to not runDisney for that long!
 
I've been following this race saga with interest since I have been toying with the thought of entering. My question for everyone - when do you think the "drop-dead" date for them to open registrations is? I'm thinking that if we haven't heard anything by four months before the race date that it just isn't happening (and we're at 5 months tomorrow).

Thoughts?
Okay, so...their Training section on the website is all Galloway plans. The beginner Galloway plans for the half and challenge are 20 weeks...with the Light Side date, that would have them starting mid-September. I would think/hope they'd have registration done in such a way that someone could start using a beginner plan "on time."

Granted, I would have thought/hoped they'd have announced something when registration originally opened, sooo...?? :confused3
 
The piece of the puzzle that we don't know is how many runners Disney needs at a given race weekend to make money. I feel pretty certain that they don't need a sell out to turn a profit and as long as they are getting enough runners to make a profit there's no reason or incentive for them to cancel races. While I do think there are a lot of races, the plus side of that is that it ensures that there should be a theme for everyone versus cutting a "less popular" race weekend which could result in them completely losing fans of that theme that aren't necessarily drawn to the remaining themes.
You make excellent points. I don't want to see any of the events cancelled. I suppose I was trying to give them feedback based on the rumors that have been swirling on the cancellation of the DL events. I'm personally feeling extra impatient this year because I bit the bullet and signed up for the Princess Half hoping to get the Pink C2C; but as others have pointed out already, there was no guarantee that would be offered again in 2018.
 
I've been following this race saga with interest since I have been toying with the thought of entering. My question for everyone - when do you think the "drop-dead" date for them to open registrations is? I'm thinking that if we haven't heard anything by four months before the race date that it just isn't happening (and we're at 5 months tomorrow).

Thoughts?

I don't know... runDisney France just finally opened bib-only registration less than three months out from their race and they appear to be FAR less organized. I don't expect rD USA to do the same, but these can be put together rather quickly, especially if marketing and merch design elements have been going along as usual behind the scenes. The city deadline, as we found out thanks to the excellent snooping earlier on this thread from @Keels, is 30 days out for permits.
 
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I would say the latest we would hear something would be September 12th.

I'm following the Facebook group which is also doing a lot of investigation into this. We know it isn't the city causing the problems. Its most likely RunDisney/Disneyland upper management.

If nothing is said by Sept 12th - I'm going to request my refunds for my registrations & merchandise. 8 months is pretty nice for them to be holding my money making interest without answers. If they don't refund - I'll dispute through my credit card.
 
If nothing is said by Sept 12th - I'm going to request my refunds for my registrations & merchandise. 8 months is pretty nice for them to be holding my money making interest without answers. If they don't refund - I'll dispute through my credit card.
I think that's totally reasonable on your end. It is 100% not okay to hold your money like that for so long.
 
I would say the latest we would hear something would be September 12th.

I'm following the Facebook group which is also doing a lot of investigation into this. We know it isn't the city causing the problems. Its most likely RunDisney/Disneyland upper management.

If nothing is said by Sept 12th - I'm going to request my refunds for my registrations & merchandise. 8 months is pretty nice for them to be holding my money making interest without answers. If they don't refund - I'll dispute through my credit card.

Just to play Devil's Advocate, though, what will be the rationale for asking for a refund at this point? rD is very clear that registrations are non-refundable and the event is still listed on their website and being advertised as being run on the dates that you signed up for. The only case really being made for a refund is based on online speculation that the race MAY not be run and the fact that others have not been allowed to register yet. They haven't held your money any longer at this point than they would have if registration had opened normally.

I 100% understand the frustration with the situation, especially as I had considered running it next year for Kessel Run. I just think you're going to have a hard time making the case for a refund in the absence of an official cancellation as they have not yet failed to deliver on anything to you at this point.
 
Just to play Devil's Advocate, though, what will be the rationale for asking for a refund at this point? rD is very clear that registrations are non-refundable and the event is still listed on their website and being advertised as being run on the dates that you signed up for. The only case really being made for a refund is based on online speculation that the race MAY not be run and the fact that others have not been allowed to register yet. They haven't held your money any longer at this point than they would have if registration had opened normally.

I 100% understand the frustration with the situation, especially as I had considered running it next year for Kessel Run. I just think you're going to have a hard time making the case for a refund in the absence of an official cancellation as they have not yet failed to deliver on anything to you at this point.

Outside of the website - the race isn't listed anywhere anymore. The website just says stay tuned. No longer on Facebook and the silence is deafening. Not listed in the event guide of Disneyland Half either.

Can you really blame the online speculation with the way RunDisney has handled this? I've been at the races since the first year as this was our legacy race. This is extremely unusual from their normal behavior.
 
Outside of the website - the race isn't listed anywhere anymore. The website just says stay tuned. No longer on Facebook and the silence is deafening. Not listed in the event guide of Disneyland Half either.

Can you really blame the online speculation with the way RunDisney has handled this? I've been at the races since the first year as this was our legacy race. This is extremely unusual from their normal behavior.

Oh, I definitely can't blame the online speculation given the complete radio silence from RunDisney on this. As they say "nature abhors a vacuum" and rD has most definitely created a vacuum that has invited speculation. I also don't blame you or anyone else for wanting a refund. I was just pointing out that it may be difficult to make the case for one, especially if you have to go the cc dispute route, given that rD has not yet failed to deliver what you paid for. Good luck either way!
 
Not listed in the event guide of Disneyland Half either.

Not running this years Disneyland Half but took a look at the program since it's digital. The program says "Race Availability" as opposed to an "Upcoming Schedule". If registration isn't available at the time of its creation, why should it be listed? Clearly Disney spun it in a way that doesn't say if it's happening or not.

"Better to be silent than to be a fool!" I feel like I can say this quote with every post in this thread.
 
Not running this years Disneyland Half but took a look at the program since it's digital. The program says "Race Availability" as opposed to an "Upcoming Schedule". If registration isn't available at the time of its creation, why should it be listed? Clearly Disney spun it in a way that doesn't say if it's happening or not.

It's precisely this. Note that Princess Half Marathon is not listed on the guide because all the events for it are currently sold out. It's not a list of upcoming races but races with current registration availability.
 
I see so much speculation here and elsewhere, let's keep in mind:
  • We know construction isn't going to be an issue as Disney hasn't been given any permits for the new parking structure, let a lone the new hotel.
  • The reason they haven't been given the permits is the current mayor and city council are pretty much anti Disneyland and a large part of that is what they see at Disney nickel and diming the locals every chance they get lately, it doesn't sit well when they do that a d then ask for things that will negatively impact the locals.
  • Given these two facts, my guess is that they won't get permits for the races either unless changes are made in the city council, which would be in November if any of them or the mayor are up for reelection and even then we would be talking January before the changes took place.
Given all of that, I would say there is a strong g chance that races will be cancelled and/or postponed.

But this is pure speculation on my part based on what I see as someone who lives near Disneyland and the general attitude in the area.
 
I would say the latest we would hear something would be September 12th.

I'm following the Facebook group which is also doing a lot of investigation into this. We know it isn't the city causing the problems. Its most likely RunDisney/Disneyland upper management.

If nothing is said by Sept 12th - I'm going to request my refunds for my registrations & merchandise. 8 months is pretty nice for them to be holding my money making interest without answers. If they don't refund - I'll dispute through my credit card.
Just remember you usually only have 90 days to contest the charge.
 

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