I can’t believe it either, but it’s true: runDisney race registration just gets buggier and more competitive with each passing registration day.
WELCOME TO runDISNEY RACE REGISTRATION MADNESS CENTRAL
If you are reading the blog, you belong to a very niche group of elite individuals who… read this blog. Seriously. I’d say I average around a hundred hits a day, and that’s fine! FROA is my little passion project because I like to write; I harbor no illusions that it will someday become a money-making juggernaut. I appreciate each individual reader that much more.
There is one time, however, when my cache consistently skyrockets – and that is around runDisney race bib drops. I see a slight bump beforehand as hopefuls search for Club runDisney and registration queue information. After bibs sell out, I get as much as five or six times the usual traffic as the unlucky seek to discover how to register after the fact.
No one is sadder than me about the second elimination of Disneyland runDisney races; I’ll miss the extra eyes!
I’VE NEVER SEEN runDISNEY RACES SELL OUT THIS FAST
As I’ve noted in other posts, runDisney race bib demand historically ebbs and flows. At the beginning of my runDisney journey back in 2013, I signed up for the 2013 Princess Half Marathon a mere three months or so before the race itself. Back then, races just didn’t sell out as quickly.
Sadly, the insanity began very shortly after, with bibs selling out within a day for most weekends in the mid to late 2010s. By the end of the decade, though, things were starting to slow down considerably. Erika forgot about registering for the 2018 Wine & Dine Half Marathon weekend and was able to wander in and register for the challenge a couple hours after bibs dropped. I switched from the WDW Marathon to the Goofy Challenge weeks after registration day.
Even as we began to emerge from the pandemic era with the 2021 Wine & Dine Half, things weren’t that bad. Wine & Dine, Marathon, and Princess registrations were all comparatively chill for the 2021-2022 season.
I had hoped this was an indication that we were entering a new era of fairly lowkey registration days. And yet somehow, each subsequent bib drop seems to be getting WORSE, with this year’s race registrations being the worst I’ve ever seen.
NOT TO MENTION TECH SNAFUS
And the above only takes into account the rush of eager applicants. We didn’t even touch on the technological challenges that plague runDisney’s registrations. Thus far we’ve suffered major delays and complete reschedules, as recently as June of 2024 when Disneyland Half registration was postponed for a week. Also the frequent error pages and site crashes that tend to mar the proceedings. This year’s Princess Half registration, as you will soon see, was not without its hiccups.
That’s as good a segue into my anecdotal evidence as any! Let’s roll the tape:
WDW MARATHON WEEKEND REGISTRATION OBSERVATIONS
By my recollection, no undue weirdness occurred during 2026 WDW Marathon Weekend’s bib drop – no site crashes or delays.
However, bibs sold out at record speeds, and I know this because I took down the stats. Bibs generally go on sale at 10am on drop day. During 2025 WDW Marathon Weekend registration, all bibs were gone by 11:59am. For 2026, all bibs were gone by 11:15am! That’s 45 minutes sooner! Yowza!
Not to mention, for the first time ever, I saw my estimated wait time go UP.
I myself got in around 10:50am, missing my desired Goofy bib by just a few minutes. Dopey was still available, but I wound up stringing together my own F(ake G)oofy Challenge with separate half and full bibs.
DISNEYLAND HALF MARATHON WEEKEND REGISTRATION OBSERVATIONS
I never had any intention of signing up for Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend, but I did jump into the registration queue just to see how it went. runDisney had recently announced that the Disneyland races were going back on hiatus after this particular weekend, so I was anticipating a double-cluster.
Upon entering the queue, it seemed my theories would pan out as expected – I had a couple browsers going, and they all started off with wait time estimates of over an hour.
I was finally able to enter around 50 minutes after the drop… literally as the Dumbo Double Dare challenge bib sold out, so if I’d been gunning for that I would’ve been SOL. The 5K and 10K had sold out before that, leaving me with the half, yoga, and kids’ races to choose from.
This is pretty darn quick. However, I was surprised to see half marathon bibs stick around for a bit. They didn’t sell out until around 8:30am the next day.
PRINCESS WEEKEND OBSERVATIONS
Princess registration last month was a bit of an odd one. A lot of site crashing led up to 10am, and then when the appointed time rolled around… nothing happened. The queue didn’t open on the dot the way it usually does.
Then something unprecedented happened: we got a holding screen.
This stayed up for ten minutes or so, after which the queue finally kicked off and everyone was placed in line.
KIND OF.
See, following my own advice, I had multiple screens up for multiple chances at drawing a good position. My Mac had Chrome and Safari open. My PC had Chrome and Explorer open. And then I had one more instance of Safari open on my iPhone.
My two Safari browsers, one on my Mac and one on my iPhone, immediately entered the line, with the usual queue loading screen appearing. My Chrome and Explorer windows stayed teal… AND NEVER SWITCHED. By 11:51am only yoga was left and I just closed all outstanding windows.
By some miracle, my Mac’s Safari instance got me in under 20 minutes, and I was able to grab not only a challenge bib for myself but also two friends. The runDisney gods giveth and the runDisney gods taketh away.
I’d like to float the theory that the new holding page was not fully browser-tested, and Chrome was buggy while Safari thankfully was not. As counterpoint, though, Becky was in there with me with the multiple teal screens; she said all but one eventually entered the queue including her Chrome windows. So I don’t know. But my new bit of registration advice is this: hedge your bets and use a variety of web browsers.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, only the half and yoga were available by 11:30am or so.
WHAT ABOUT SPRINGTIME SURPRISE?
I considered holding this post for after Springtime Surprise registration, but I (clearly) already had plenty to say on the topic. Besides, historically Springtime Surprise 10 Miler and Challenge bibs are the least popular of the lot – the last couple years they’ve been open for weeks.
I’m not sure why; you’d think the shorter distance would be friendlier. Maybe it’s the time of year, or the fact that it’s the last race weekend of the runDisney race season. Perhaps more hardcore distance runners balk than newbie runners emerge. Anyway, if things are different this year I’ll update this post.
WILL runDISNEY EVER SLOW DOWN?
I keep asking myself this question and answering “yes.” I gotta admit, however, recent events continue to suggest that I am, with increasing embarrassment, WRONG.
Rather than spin my wheels is this philosophical quagmire, I throw the question to you. Do you see your consumption of runDisney race bibs slowing down? Because I don’t. 😅
Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Threads @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!