race

Disney’s Planes Attempts Takeoff

by John Frost
August 9, 2013August 9, 2013

Disney’s Planes, set in the world of Pixar’s cars, started as Direct to Home Video project from DisneyToon Studios with most of the animation work done out of India via Prana Studios. At some point in the process the powers that be decided that the home video market wasn’t strong enough to support more releases and that the movie would need to be upgraded to a theatrical release. There isn’t one clearly identifiable moment but the shift in intensity is obvious between the start and end of the movie.

How can you tell? The world building got richer, the main character got a new voice with more of a spine, featured characters became multidimensional, supporting characters either fade into the background or gain more importance to the plot. It definitely makes for a stronger film, even if it has a bit of a multiple personality disorder.Read More »Disney’s Planes Attempts Takeoff

Princess Half-Marathon Weekend adds New Race and More Fun

by John Frost
May 1, 2013April 30, 2013

Although I personally have yet to partake in any runDisney events, I’ve been pleased to be invited to cover a few. All of them have their own quirks and styles, but there is something that unites them all and that’s the magic of running at Disney. That element turns out to be so popular, even with 7 race weekends throughout the year, runDisney can’t keep up with the demand. But that’s okay, they continue to add new opportunities to their existing races, such as broadening the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World Resort next year by adding a 10K and a new two-race challenge.

The Princess 10K gives runners of various levels more opportunities to run through Disney theme parks and receive a specially-designed finisher medal. And runners looking for an even bigger challenge can sign up for the 10K on Saturday and the Half Marathon on Sunday (19.3 miles total) to earn the inaugural Disney Glass Slipper Challenge Medal to go along with medals from each individual race.Read More »Princess Half-Marathon Weekend adds New Race and More Fun

Inaugural Tower of Terror 10-Miler Crowns First Winners

by John Frost
October 1, 2012September 30, 2012

Although we’ve covered many RunDisney events here on The Disney Blog in the past, this was the first event I personally attended. I was impressed with the amount of organization and the number of volunteers required for a race like this. I also understand better… Read More »Inaugural Tower of Terror 10-Miler Crowns First Winners

Disneyland Greets Thousands in Half-Marathon, Event Highlights

by John Frost
September 3, 2012

Congratulations to the athletes and organizers of what sounds like another successful running of the Disneyland Resort Half Marathon. More than 17,000 registered runners, including actor Sean Astin (The Goonies, Rudy, The Lord of the Rings), traveled down Route 66 through Cars Land for the first time, along with passing through Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Angel Stadium and the streets of Anaheim. All along the route, runners were greeted by cheering fans, Disney characters, music and live entertainment.

Here are some of the highlights from the race:

The men’s winner was Jimmy Grabow, from the appropriately named Running Springs, CA. He won the Disneyland Half Marathon in record fashion, finishing in 1:05:29. Grabow’s time was nearly two minutes faster than the previous mark, set by Paul Ngeny (1:07:24) in 2011.

Cindy Lynch, of Cardiff, CA, captured the women’s title, finishing with a time of 1:24:45. She was followed by Kellie Nickerson (1:26:29), who earlier this year captured the inaugural Tinker Bell Half Marathon at Disneyland.

This year’s sold-out half marathon field included runners ages 14 – 78 from all 50 states and 19 countries. The Disney Blog’s own Lauren S. was a runner in the event and she’ll be jumping in shortly with her account of the day. In the meantime, we have three more videos below the cut, including an interview with the race winners and Sean Astin.

Disney World bringing back Tower of Terror Race in 2012

by John Frost
December 22, 2011December 22, 2011

Disney’s popular runDisney division has some big news… a return of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror event. It features a new 10-mile race that will echo the original Tower of Terror 13K race held in 2009. The new race debuts Sept. 29, 2012 and is the sixth signature runDisney event and the second nighttime race at Walt Disney World. In order to make room for this event, the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend will shift to early November.

Reviving the scarily popular Twilight Zone Tower of Terror theme, runDisney unveiled its newest race today, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler Weekend, which debuts next year at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando. As with all runDisney events, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror race weekend will involve a variety of events, including a 5K and Kids’ races, plus a Health and Fitness Expo, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney.

Watching this footage from the 2009 Tower of Terror 13K race, I hope they’re able to capture what everyone says was a great atmosphere throughout the park.

ABC and ESPN Sign New Deal with IZOD IndyCar Series, will Host Indianapolis 500 Through 2018

by John Frost
August 10, 2011

If you were born in the last 50 years, the only Indianapolis 500 broadcast you’ve ever known has been on ABC. A new deal between IZOD IndyCar series and Disney will ensure that this Memorial Day weekend television tradition will continue. A new six-year rights agreement will keep the Indianapolis 500 on ABC through 2018, extending one of the longest-running relationships between a sporting event and a television network past the half-century mark.

ESPN on ABC will broadcast the 500 Mile Race for the 48th consecutive year on May 27, 2012, and, with the new agreement taking effect in 2013, also will televise the 100th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in 2016.

“The Indianapolis 500 and ABC have been together since 1965 and we are very proud to extend the relationship with this new agreement,” said George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports. “The 500 is a uniquely American event and a Memorial Day tradition, and we especially look forward to televising the 100th edition of the race in 2016.”

As part of the new agreement, ABC will be the exclusive broadcast network partner for the IZOD IndyCar Series from 2013-2018 and will continue to televise four races each year in addition to the Indianapolis 500. The worldwide presence of the Indianapolis 500 and the series on television will continue as ESPN also has international syndication rights for all IZOD IndyCar Series races.

“IndyCar is very excited about our continued relationship with ABC,” said Randy Bernard, CEO, IndyCar. “This allows the series long-term growth on the network. This new contract also helps us expand our presence around the world with ESPN representing our international rights. I want to thank ABC for their strong confidence and commitment in our brand and series. This deal will help our series, team owners, sponsors and fans for the long term with a much more solid foundation.”

Disneyland Half Marathon ready to run

by John Frost
August 25, 2009

The Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend has reached capacity for its 4th consecutive year. That’s 18,000 participants taking place in various events around the Sept 4-6 weekend. Something to keep in mind if you’re going to be at the park that weekend. If you are running, I’m looking for a corespondent to report on the experience for The Disney Blog.

The full press release is after the jump:
Read More »Disneyland Half Marathon ready to run