It seems as if there has been a lot of Disney Parks news over the last couple of weeks that is getting a lot of conversation. Just in case you haven’t visited the forums and witnessed some of the crazy debates happening, I thought I’d post a quick “wrap-up” of the biggest recent announcements.
runDisney Cancels Disneyland Races
Rumors have been going around for the last several weeks about this, and yesterday, runDisney made it official. They have cancelled ALL scheduled Disneyland races in 2018 and will NOT be scheduling races in 2019 or 2020, at least at this time. They will be refunding all race fees already paid for the races scheduled (and nearly sold out) that had already had early registration. Normally, there are four race weekends at Disneyland each year, with an estimated 25,000+ people per weekend. The races are usually held during slower season, and bring in a ton of revenue, both for Disney and the Orange County local economy.
Officially, runDisney is stating that all the construction happening at Disneyland/California Adventure for the next few years (Star Wars Land, new Hotel at Downtown Disney and The Disneyland Eastern Gateway) are the reason the races have been cancelled. The races usually go right through the parks; that’s part of the attraction, and runDisney states they are concerned that the quality of the race experience would be negatively impacted by the construction.
Rumors abound that the root of the cancellations, however, are at least partially the result of pushback from the City of Anaheim. At Walt Disney World, all races occur completely on Disney property. A significant portion of each of the longer races is on roadways outside the parks, but they are Disney owned roadways. At Disneyland, the parks are smaller, and the amount of property that Disney actually owns is much smaller. For this reason, Disneyland has never hosted a full marathon; the longest races hosted by runDisney at Disneyland have been half marathons. The half marathon has a significant portion take place on the streets of Anaheim, and requires a lot more coordination with city and county services. There have been some complaints in the last couple of years about the runDisney race series at Disneyland by seasoned runDisney participants, and lots of rumors that Anaheim is not happy that they don’t get a bigger slice of the Disney revenue pie. All we know for sure is what runDisney says in their official statement, which bases the decision completely on the Disneyland expansion construction.
I’ve never been Disneyland nor competed in a race there, but completing a Coast to Coast challenge is on my bucket list, and I’d targeted 2020 for that. Very disappointing for the thousands of runners that planned to race at Disneyland over the next few years, myself included. Obviously, with runDisney events at Disneyland cancelled for the foreseeable future, the Coast to Coast challenges are also cancelled. Officially, runDisney is using the term “hiatus”, so perhaps we will see these races return at some point in the future. runDisney makes a LOT of money for Disney with these events, so it’s hard to believe they won’t return to Disneyland in some form eventually, but who knows?
runDisney has stated there are no plans to cancel or change the runDisney events at Walt Disney World or Disneyland Paris.
The final race scheduled for Disneyland will be the Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend taking place November 10-12, 2017.
How do you feel about this news? Are you affected? Will you plan a race at Walt Disney World or Disneyland Paris to replace a cancelled race at Disneyland?
Walt Disney World Will Welcome Dogs at Some Hotels
It was announced last Friday that some hotels at Walt Disney World are rolling out a pilot program this week that will allow guests to bring their dogs on vacation with them. There will be a limit of two dogs per room, and the dogs will be required to be leashed when outside the room and the dogs must have proper vaccinations (and, one would assume, proper documentation of those vaccinations).
Visitors who choose to book rooms for themselves and their dogs will pay an additional $50-$75 per night for the privilege, depending on the hotel. The fee is for extra cleaning, and additional amenities that Disney will be providing for those booking a “dog” room, including a mat, bowls for food and water, ID tag, puppy pads and plastic disposable bags and maps of green spaces for the dogs to exercise and presumably “do their business”. At this time, the hotels offering this option are: Art of Animation Resort, Port Orleans Riverside Resort, the cabins at Fort Wilderness Resort and the Yacht Club resort.
Most likely, this new option is in response to a growing trend in the travel industry to offer pet-friendly accommodations. Disney hasn’t released many specifics, but I’m assuming they have set aside specific areas at each of the participating resorts that will be “dog” rooms, and those rooms will be the only rooms that will allow guests with dogs, to help protect guests with allergies and phobias.
I was really surprised at the vehement response to the announcement, on BOTH sides. Many dog lovers are SUPER excited, and seem to have been waiting YEARS for this news. On the other side, many guests are worried that dogs will overrun the resorts, the resorts will be damaged and people won’t pick up after their dogs. They are worried about dogs barking and “ruining” the magic. They are worried that Disney will allow guests without dogs to unsuspectingly book a “dog” room and fall victim to allergies from residual dog dander. All manner of catastrophic worries have been put forth…While I understand the fears that people with extreme allergies and/or dog phobias have, I have a lot of faith in Disney. I believe the “dog” rooms will be kept separate and won’t be given to “unsuspecting” non-dog guest who might suddenly go into anaphylactic shock from traces of dog dander. For people with extreme allergies, the best-case scenario will be to avoid these four resorts. For the time being at least, these four resorts are the only ones allowing dogs. At least for now, I’m willing to withhold judgement and see how it goes.
For those guests who want to bring their dogs on vacation, but not share their room with their pets, “Best Friends Pet Care” has been a Disney property staple for years, and is a resort on Disney property for pets (NOT owned or operated by Disney). They offer discounts for Walt Disney World Resort guests.
NOTE: Service dogs have always been accommodated by Disney. Service dogs have always been allowed in the theme parks, on Disney transportation, and in Disney resort hotels.
What do you guys think? Are you excited to book a “dog” room at one of these resorts? Do you take vacations to get away from your pets or your neighbor’s dogs? I’d love to hear from you!
Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings to be a Series on Freeform
I’m not sure how many of you saw the “Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings” special that ran in May on Freeform (owned by ABC, which is owned by Disney), but it was a BIG success for the network, receiving the highest rating for any unscripted TV special on that network so far. Hosted by Bachelor alum Ben Higgins and his then-fiancé, Lauren Bushnell (they have since split), the special featured events at Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Wedding Pavilion.
[Note from an actual former Disney bride: the events shown were pretty expensive, over the top events, and the special didn’t really provide accurate information about the way Disney prices events, or the actual limitations imposed by Disney Fairy Tale Weddings in the real world. It was lovely to look at, and for couples dreaming of a Disney Wedding, certainly provided inspiration and fantasy fodder. Just know that they dangled a lot of very pretty carrots that your average couple would NEVER be able to afford.]
Following up on the success of the special, Disney has moved forward with creating a series that will focus on weddings and engagements at Disney Destinations around the world. So far details have been limited, but it sounds as if Disney may work with Disney Fairy Tale Weddings couples and perhaps “enhance” or “add magic” to their existing plans. Regardless of exactly what they are doing, I’m sure it will be lovely and a weekly infomercial for Disney Fairy Tale Weddings. I’m not quite sure how I feel about it; I was a little frustrated with the special, even though it was gorgeous.
But, obviously, I’m a fan of Disney Fairy Tale Weddings, and love thinking about my own Disney wedding, so I will definitely give the show a chance and see how it goes. The show is set to premiere in the spring and will run for seven episodes.
How about you guys? Will you watch the show?
Increased Partnership and Presence with Orange County Sheriff’s Department
For the fiscal year that began October 1, 2017, the agency that provides governmental services to Walt Disney World’s property has approved a multi-million dollar spending increase to hire Orange County Sheriff’s Deputies. This is the second year to see significant increases in this budget. Last year, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which includes Disney cities Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, doubled its annual public safety budget from $7 million per year to $13.7 million, following the terrorist attack at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub. This year, the budget increased again to $15.8 million. While Disney and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department do not disclose how many deputies patrol the resorts for security reasons, the impact on resort guests is that you WILL see more police presence in and around Disney theme parks and resorts.
Unfortunately, we live in scary times, and Disney hosts millions of guests from all over the world every year. Disney is a symbol of America to many people worldwide and as such, is a potential target. Disney has long been a world leader in the area of security, and I suspect there are many security measures in place that are unseen that we will most likely never know about. Orange County Sheriff’s Department Deputies in uniform are more visible certainly, than many measures Disney has in place, but sometimes, more visual measures are necessary and help serve as a deterrent. Many guests argue this police presence “ruins” the magic, and I certainly understand that perspective. However, I am more concerned with the safety of my family and our fellow park and resort guests and will happily comply with whatever security measures are necessary to protect us, within reason. The presence of more police doesn’t concern me, although personally, I’m a fan of the invisible shield technologies in Star Wars…can we maybe get that?
How do you feel about the security measures in place at Disney? Do they make you feel safer or more insecure about your safety?
That’s I have for today for news and updates. I’m working on a vacation planning update that I’ll post later this week. We are down to less than thirty days now!!
Happy Dreaming!
Brooke