RunDisney's Success By The Numbers

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

According to my source's numbers for last weekend's Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon, there is zero reason to believe the RunDisney events won't continue to be both popular with visitors and a moneymaker for The Walt Disney Company.

The participation breaks down like this:

*26,000 Half Marathon runners

*8,000 5K runners

*2,000 Kids Races participants

*40,000 overall attendance at this weekend's events

If there was $300 spent on WDW property for each person participating, the Disney Company made twelve million dollars from this weekend's events.

That is likely a conservative dollar figure considering what a Disney-goer could spend over the course of a weekend. One could easily spend $300 on accommodations and entry fees alone.

The next RunDisney event is the Tower of Terror Ten Miler scheduled for October 4-5, 2013.

Edited to correct sentence declaring the breakdown of particpation.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Wow.

As we will soon learn in a new TR, the TCD gang ran the 5K this past Saturday morning.

They announced that there were 8000 runners there.

I couldn't believe the crowd of people.

That was only 8000, and the half-marathon the next day had more than three times that number of runners.

I can't even imagine what the start of that race looked like.

Next year, I will need to go and see for myself.

I'll say this: the event was incredibly well organized, and we had zero issues getting to and from where we needed to be. They have this down to a science.

TCD

[Judy in Texas 150]

The Tinkerbell Half marathon at Disneyland assigned runners to a corral and then the groups started 15-20 minutes apart. My daughter and her husband were in the last group, E maybe?. It was a really loooong morning for the spectators. Disney makes money off those supporting runners by asking us to join the "chEAR Squad". I was a mid level person which got me a t-shirt, a noise maker, and a chEAR Squad blanket. I think it was about $65. I didn't much care for the 5:30 am start.

[Family of Bears 98]

I ran the princess half a few years ago before my knees went out and I still say it is one of my all-time favorite memories. I don't know why, it was freezing, you wake up at 3am and stand at the start line frozen for an hour just to run for a couple hours, but to run up main street and through fantasyland and then through the castle and to finish up in Epcot with the crowds cheering you on, it really was unbelievable. I was so tired at the end in Epcot, I actually yelled out to the crowd that was watching, "am i almost done?" and some of them started going alongside me and letting me know how far I had left. It was awesome. So I totally see the draw to this stuff. If I was able, I would be in every single race. I get why some people don't like the inconvenience to others, but other than that, I think it can bring in otherwise "non-disney" people who love to run and give them the disney bug :)

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I ran the princess half a few years ago before my knees went out and I still say it is one of my all-time favorite memories. I don't know why, it was freezing, you wake up at 3am and stand at the start line frozen for an hour just to run for a couple hours, but to run up main street and through fantasyland and then through the castle and to finish up in Epcot with the crowds cheering you on, it really was unbelievable. I was so tired at the end in Epcot, I actually yelled out to the crowd that was watching, "am i almost done?" and some of them started going alongside me and letting me know how far I had left. It was awesome. So I totally see the draw to this stuff. If I was able, I would be in every single race. I get why some people don't like the inconvenience to others, but other than that, I think it can bring in otherwise "non-disney" people who love to run and give them the disney bug :)

Wow, you make it sound like so much fun.

Just kidding.

That is a great story about someone running alongside you.

My girls were inspired by the fun they had running the 5K and by the ladies we saw coming back to our hotel on Sunday morning after the half.

They want to do the half next year.

We sure weren't freezing this year. It was in the 70's on Saturday morning, and it got up to 89 that afternoon!

TCD

[ftwildernessguy 778]

Wow.

As we will soon learn in a new TR, the TCD gang ran the 5K this past Saturday morning.

They announced that there were 8000 runners there.

I couldn't believe the crowd of people.

That was only 8000, and the half-marathon the next day had more than three times that number of runners.

I can't even imagine what the start of that race looked like.

Next year, I will need to go and see for myself.

I'll say this: the event was incredibly well organized, and we had zero issues getting to and from where we needed to be. They have this down to a science.

TCD

So that means the TCD gang was responsible for 900 bucks alone out of the 12 mil the Mouse took in on this event.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

So that means the TCD gang was responsible for 900 bucks alone out of the 12 mil the Mouse took in on this event.

Well, we did it a bit cheaper since we know what we're doing.

But, it wasn't a cheap trip.

TCD

[Lou... 3,118]

And that's the reason Disney is in the running business $$$$$.

They schedule the running events during lulls in attendance in order to somewhat level off the peaks and valleys in attendance.

It's working rather well, not to many lulls anymore.

[Grumpy and Grandma 739]

According to my source's numbers for last weekend's Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon, there is zero reason to believe the RunDisney events won't continue to be both popular with visitors and a moneymaker for The Walt Disney Company.

There were 26,000 participants which breaks down like this:

*26,000 Half Marathon runners

The local news said it was a sellout at 30,000 runners , largest ever.

[Lou... 3,118]

The local news said it was a sellout at 30,000 runners , largest ever.

You mean the local hacks. The local media is horrible. I never bother watching it or reading it. Wouldn't you think that being so close, they could get it right?

26,000 participants in the 1/2 marathon is the number that WDPR is reporting in their 1/2 page story on "The HUB".

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

After running the Rock n Roll half in Vegas, I was so sore (for days) that I said that I would NEVER do another one again. But this thread is giving me the itch. Darn you!