RunDisney Registration Tips
You are thinking about signing up for a RunDisney race…EXCELLENT!
But there are a few VERY important things you need to know and a few tips to make the process less-stressful for you.
First, you need to know that many RunDisney races will sell out in less than an hour and registration opens to all the general public at the same time. Those looking to participate in a RunDisney race weekend will want to look at the RunDisney website to learn when registration will take place. Most races open registration 9-10 months in advance so you need to plan ahead. Back in the day, travel agents were actually able to register clients for RunDisney races but sadly, this is no longer the case, so people will need to register themselves.
Second, have all your information including your full payment method ready to go. You will need to have your legal name, address, shirt size, estimated pace and more ready to go when you go in to register for a RunDisney event. Note that I do NOT recommend you put in your proof of time (check out another blog post about what that means) during registration so if you are going to have a proof of time, just select the fastest time that does not require proof to speed up the process. Payment will be required in full when you register and you can only use 1 payment method so make sure your credit card or a Disney gift card is ready to go. You are not registered until you see the confirmation screen (screen shot that!) and/or you receive your confirmation email.
And third, block off plenty of time on registration morning for the registration process. Registration always scheduled to open at 10am Eastern time on the date of that race weekend’s registration date, however, I suggest being on and ready by 9:30 that morning. The website has been known to crash, registration dates or drop times get rescheduled or you can just be sitting in the queue for a while waiting for a chance to try to register. Most people registering will have multiple tabs ready to go to try to get into a queue and don’t panic if you see an hour plus wait- wait times will jump around a lot during registration.
What happens if you aren’t able to register on registration day? The two easiest options are 1) register with a charity (you can find which charities will have bibs available through the RunDisney website) or 2) you can sign up for an app called Telegram to notify you if Disney releases more registrations at a later date. There are times where a few additional bibs will drop (this could be due to someone cancelling for medical reasons, a charity giving back bibs, etc) and with the Telegram app, you receive a notification and then can go to the RunDisney website to try to register. You need fast fingers and to be ready to go at a moments notice for this one.
Once you are registered for a RunDisney event, officially, your registration is non-refundable and non-transferrable (so you cannot have someone else run/participate in your place). On very RARE occasions when someone has a health reason to be unable to participate, RunDisney has offered a partial refund when you reach out to them but this is very much on a case by case basis and should not be anticipated or expected.
Want even more tips for registration? Book your RunDisney racecation with me (the $200 deposit is fully refundable up until 30 days prior to your trip date so if you don’t get in, we can always cancel) and I will send you RunDisney tips along the way including tips and a reminder for registration.