Have we reached the saturation point?

[Keels]

I think Star Wars Dark Side is about to go away/be rethemed ... so, my official answer is now Yes.

What if they bring back the Everest Challenge in April now that construction is done??

 

[rteetz]

I think Star Wars Dark Side is about to go away/be rethemed ... so, my official answer is now Yes.

What if they bring back the Everest Challenge in April now that construction is done??

Good question. Maybe a Pandora themed race? I doubt there is enough interest in that though.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Are they back tracking on the registration dates? Or is something else up?

https://twitter.com/rundisney/status/839588942076866562

Hmmm... weird...

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I think Star Wars Dark Side is about to go away/be rethemed ...

Why?

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Good question. Maybe a Pandora themed race? I doubt there is enough interest in that though.

This.

 

[rteetz]

Why?

Its not selling well. I think Saturation and the fact there are two star wars weekends doesn't help.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Its not selling well. I think Saturation and the fact there are two star wars weekends doesn't help.

I still don't think we've proven any "saturation" based on actual data... as limited as it is...

I could certainly see 2 SW themed races being an issue over time, though.

 

[rteetz]

I still don't think we've proven any "saturation" based on actual data... as limited as it is...

I could certainly see 2 SW themed races being an issue over time, though.

True, I don't think we will ever see actual runDisney data but its obvious they are trying to change things up for more appeal starting in 2018.

 

[Ariel484]

They have axed race weekends before...I wouldn't be surprised if Dark Side is next.

 

[cavepig]

But a lot of races aren't selling out, to axe darkside after only 2 years seems quick .

They may be changing the kessel and themes of each, who knows.

Who knows but I would hope they give it more than 2 yrs, superheroes hangs around and it doesn't sell out and look at Tink it's still open too.

Yeah they axe races and I see it happening but I would think they would give it a few more years especially with a new movie coming out in Dec.

Everest had what 8 yrs and how long did Tower last including when it was the 13k, more than 2.

 

[cavepig]

And we don't know why they ended Everest, it didn't go into the construction areas at all, I think it was due to wanting a bigger race weekend and Everest was very small and brought in less money.

 

[Ariel484]

And we don't know why they ended Everest, it didn't go into the construction areas at all, I think it was due to wanting a bigger race weekend and Everest was very small and brought in less money.

I agree - it seems like a weekend with 5K/10K/Half is more profitable for them vs. a weekend where there's one main race.

I definitely think Tink struggles as well...not sure if it's the fact that it's the same theme each year, or that it's in Mother's Day...who knows.

 

[cavepig]

People have already pre registered for west coast Star Wars , some counting on An east coast Star Wars to get kessel and only reason they signed up for west coast. So if they ditched it there would be some very upset people so I would hope they would announce last chance to get the star wars coast to coast before it goes otherwise It's poor business all around.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

I don't get the jump from "Light Side registration delay" to "Dark Side is being cancelled". They've already released schedules with Dark Side included for 2018 and people might be planning for it like @cavepig mentioned. If they cancel it for next year, they better announce it at the same time the changes for Light Side are made public so people don't go in hoping to do Kessel Run. Sure, in the long run 2 Star Wars races may not be necessary, but it's only been 2 years for Dark Side. I don't think it would get cut that fast.

 

[Ariel484]

I mean...people planned for Wine & Dine a few years back and then they changed the date for Tower of Terror. They had info on their website about nighttime Wine & Dine last year and didn't change that until the day of registration.

I'm not looking to argue about this, but it's not unprecedented for them to change stuff.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I keep hearing statements like "the races aren't selling" -- I think this is premature:

1. They just recently changed how they deal with TA's -- far fewer inventory is going through them. Not sure that comparing selling rate pre and post-TA change is valid.
2. They just started selling races WAY EARLIER. Unclear how that might impact things going forward.

I think that we will only be able to tell after the races when we find how many registered/raced. Then we'll have some actual data.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

I'm not trying to start an argument either, and I'm not saying Dark Side is totally safe for 2018, but I just think people are jumping the gun and making assumptions that have no basis. And riling people up for no reason.

If you ask me, even though it's not "Light Side," calling it the Resistance Run still leads toward distinguishing two sides. In my opinion, at least for one more year, I'd be more inclined to lean toward a corresponding name change for Dark Side.

 

[Ariel484]

Not trying to rile anyone up. Goodnight all.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Just because any race is not sold out does not mean that runDisney is looking to get rid of it altogether. If a race can hold 18,000 runners and sells 16,000 bibs is runDisney worried? After all, at least some of those 16,000 are going to buy park tickets, stay on property, buy food on property, buy race merchandise, etc. Especially because there is no guarantee that the new theme will perform any better. They noted this year that 13,000 runners were in the Star Wars 10K and 16,000 in the Half. Based on course crowding and similar numbers in other years, those numbers are close to capacity.

I'm not convinced that the Kessel Run is going away either. In The Force Awakens, Rey refers to the Falcon as the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 14 parsecs before a grumpy Han corrects her to note it was less than 12 parsecs.

It's far more likely that the slight theme change from rebel to Resistance has a lot more to do with the new movies. This year the 10K merchandise was focused on Rey, Finn, and BB-8. Aside from Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Disneyland Star Wars Half weekend has now honored every prominent hero from the original trilogy. Chewbacca was the theme of the Half medal in 2015 with Yoda on one side of the Rebel Challenge medal, Luke in 2016 with R2-D2 on one side of the Rebel Challenge medal, Han and Leia in 2017 with C-3PO on the Rebel Challenge medal. I think the slight change just allows them to bring Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and more into merchandise, medals, etc.

Dark Side can keep its name and theme since the new films refer to the Dark Side. Could the medals change? Absolutely. Should they change? There's an argument for that. I'm not saying they get a radical overhaul every single year, but if they want to keep previous runners interested in coming back, new medals can help that. In other words, the Kessel Run stays, but maybe the Millenium Falcon changes from year to year. Still the Falcon, but not the same one.

Look at what happened when they revealed the new Tinker Bell medals.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Not trying to rile anyone up. Goodnight all.

I apologize, I'm not trying to direct that at anyone or say it was anyone's intention. I just think starting these conversations leads to those results. People getting nervous and concerned that a race they're planning on may be cancelled.