Disney just sent me an email saying their upcoming race will have a substantially shortened bike leg because of road repairs. They say this is within USAT guidelines for an ID event. What they aren’t telling people is that they screwed up. They control all the roads. Why are they promising to deliver a full ID race when they can’t deliver? One hand doesn’t know what the other is doing?
Frankly, after the mini-mess they made of the Half IM, I find it very irritating that a company as large as Disney can’t deliver a quality product. What kind of people are running that company? Why should we ever sign up for another Disney event? Why should WTC consider them for an IM? I was thinking it might be doable-Disney putting on an IM-but now I am skeptical.
Does anyone have any better information?
Why is USAT sanctioning such races? They should pull the sanction from this one, and pronto, IMHO.
If Disney didn’t have control of the roads your argument might have some modest merit. Inasmuch as they OWN and control the roads, I fail to see why their feet shouldn’t be held to the fire.
They aren’t offering refunds and USAT is very lax with race directors who pull this sort of thing. This isn’t the first time its happened.
Thanks for the correction. (That’s what I meant to say-ID)
Regardless, if reflects very poorly on Disney. They control the roads, not the county or state. They simply failed to coordinate road repairs with the race director’s staff. And now they expect us to be happy about it?
If they can’t deliver what they advertise, then they should offer refunds. In fact, that should be a USAT RULE, absent some natural disaster or uncontrollable event. Which isn’t the case here.
Yes, but I doubt it’s Fred’s fault. Disney knew he was putting on a race and failed to tell him the roads were going to be closed. I know Fred is an old school kind of guy-and I usually like that-but I doubt this one is his fault. (He has messed up a few distances before.)
And, by the way, those loose USAT rules on distances are being used by the race directors to justify their sloppiness rather than just in circumstances where it is warranted, such as with a sinkhole developing in a road, or the state deciding to pave a section of road and not tell anyone. And maybe that’s another reason why race directors shouldn’t sit on the BOARD of USAT.
Did they give any details about road the repairs? I’m wondering because one of the big sprints down here has its bike course cut from 18 miles to 8 about one in every three years because hurricanes keep rendering the coast road unuseable or just plain gone.
My first thought was that DW might be dealing with problems from Charley, and they’ve got to take care of said problems in as timely a manner as they can.
Races don’t have to be the same set of distances. In fact, I’m opposed, as Dan is, to them being the same set of distances all of the time.
What I’m not opposed to is good planning and dealing fairly with racers.
Disney failed to plan properly. This wasn’t something unforseeable and they aren’t delivering what they promised. Refunds are in order to those who want them.
I don;t care what they call it, this is how it is STILL being advertised on the Disney site:
"DISNEY’S INTERNATIONAL DISTANCE TRIATHLON
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Disney’s International Distance Triathlon will start at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. The 1.5K swim will take place at the North Beach with the first transition staged under the shadows of the monorail beams just north of the main tower. The second transition, the bike to run, will be staged at Epcot® before the 40K bike. The entire 10K run will take place in and around Epcot®. The final portion of the run will take athletes around the World Showcase Lagoon, into Future World, past Spaceship Earth, to the finish line just outside the main entrance of Epcot®."
Maybe Robert should send back E-mail announcing that he will be paying 20% less than the standard room rate at their hotel, due to circumstances beyond his control.
I doubt the road problems were the result of Charley. Disney’s road are kept in very good shape anyway. I live in Orlando, so I’m not unfamiliar with the area.
The Disney message didn’t give the cause of the road repairs. Basically, they said we can shorten your race so we are and you aren’t getting any money back. (I emailed them and asked if they were giving refunds. No response.)
This has been a long festering problem between age groupers and the race directors. It doesn’t raise it’s ugly head too often, thankfully, but the race directors have been given too much leeway in my view.
It was advertised as a 40K bike, but they are delivering, as I recall, about 5 miles less. I’m not upset with the change as much as I am with the high handed way it was delivered and the stupidity of Disney. I am becoming convinced they aren’t to be trusted to put on a race.
How did you get from “road repairs” to “building of a highway”? I am limited here, to reading this thread–do you have information from outside the thread about “building of a highway”? Also, if it really is “building a highway”, it was most certainly a known matter when they advertised the race. Further, they are still advertising it as 40K bike.
What if they changed the Disney Marathon to 25 miles? To be consistent, you have to answer “No big deal”.
We don’t like our distances jerked around with AFTER we sign up. Its like a contract.
The bottom line is that Robert is correct. Disney is not a small time operation, like a local race. Disney does not take the triathlon seriously. There only interest is filling the park and their hotel rooms. That’s fine. We’ll keep it in mind before registering for a Disney event.
If Terry is a race director, he has probably emailed Fred or one of his assistants about this matter and gotten more information. I don’t expect Fred to respond here. Regardless of whether they are making repairs or putting in a highway to heaven, Disney owns the roads. It’s a distinction without a difference.
If USTA continues to allow race directors to contract away the racer’s rights (done on the entry form) without compensation, then USTA is not serving the racers but the race directors. For me, this is a clear cut case of where the USTA has historically failed its membership because of HEAVY race director influence.
Take your ax against Disney and race directors and grind it elsewhere. You’re pouring a hell of a lot of emotion and vitriol into an essentially worthless effort. None of this changes the fact that this is still a race.
I’ve been putting on multi-sport events for over 20 years and I can remember many times that I have had to change the course for a number of reasons. Road races, triathlons, parades or any type of event that use public roads are at the bottom of the list when it comes to repairing roads.
Three days before one race, I was told that 4 miles of my bike course had just been torn up for construction. No one from the county, city or state had bothered to look at the permits pulled for this road use before sending the trucks in to destroy the road.
We had the race - used another road - added about 5 miles to the bike course. Things happen - athletes need to understand that RD’s, most of the time have no control over the situation. (Even Disney)
By the way - the bike course at Disney goes off property on roads maintained by Orange County. They are required to have a permit for use of these roads.
They have announced the change and made changes to the course - the race will be held and athletes will have a great time.
Do you actually know if the portion of the bike that is closed is closed because of work by Orange County or the State?
FWIW, I helped put on triathlons at one time, so I’m thoroughly familiar with the difficulties race directors face. I’m not anti-race director by any means. BUT, if a race director screws up, the USAT members shouldn’t have to pay for it.
If it turns out that this was beyond the control of Disney then I will be happy to remove my objection. However, Disney had the opportunity to explain whose fault it was in their email and DIDN’T. I would suggest that a reasonable inference may be drawn that Disney is at fault.
