You’re never gonna believe this, but I think I’ve done it. I think I’ve figured out how to fix our runDisney race registration problems. Will Disney listen to me? Unlikely, but not impossible…? Regardless, I figure it can’t hurt to lay it out.
WAIT, WHAT ARE OUR runDISNEY RACE REGISTRATION PROBLEMS?
My runDisney pros could be forgiven if they responded to this question with a facetious “What AREN’T our runDisney race registration problems?”
In case you’re new to runDisney (or haven’t runDisney in a long time), don’t worry. Imma make like Inigo Montoya and sum up:
runDisney race bibs have become increasingly, wildly popular, to the point where it has become difficult to get ANY bib, let alone the bib of your choice. To have any chance at all, you need to be there before the drop date and time, which is already an obstacle for people who are otherwise busy during the window. And even when doing everything right, you can easily walk away empty-handed.
At the same time, runDisney introduced Club runDisney, a pay-to-play membership wherein the higher tiers hand out guaranteed registrations. Meanwhile, public bib sales have been historically plagued by glitchy tech and perceived unfair practices. This has been getting worse and worse as time passes, not better.
OKAY, SO WHAT CAN runDISNEY DO ABOUT IT?
Something, as they say, has got to give. But what? Many call for a lottery, but that would be extremely complicated given the complex nature of runDisney’s multi-race weekends.
Others say that you shouldn’t be allowed to register for friends, but how would runDisney enforce that with parents registering their kids, families with differing surnames, roommates or people in the same coffee shop sharing an IP address, etc.?
The community also calls upon runDisney to improve their tech, which has often fallen victim to breakdowns. Yet even as WDW Marathon Weekend 2027’s bibs sold out in record time, the virtual queue system itself did its job without crashing.
The real question is one of demand management. Race business is booming. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that there simply aren’t enough bibs to go around. All we can do is hope the runDisney fad recedes a bit.
In the interim, though, what runDisney DOES need to fix is the process, which is demonstrably stressful, potentially time-consuming, and arguably unfair.
SO WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?
I’ll start by laying out my proposal in basic terms, and then we can discuss variations in a separate section. Here’s what I suggest.
STEP ONE: CLUB runDISNEY GETS THEIR USUAL FIRST DIBS
I myself am not a fan of Club runDisney on principle, but I know that there are many who disagree. Regardless, given that it’s making them money, I would be utterly shocked if runDisney slayed their own pet dragon. Club runDisney is undoubtedly here to stay.
(Platinum is up to $993 before taxes now, btw.)
As I understand it, Gold Club runDisney members get one guaranteed bib per race weekend, and Platinum members get two. If they want more than their respective allotment, they have to join the fray with the plebes. This all remains unchanged.
Club runDisney members have (let’s say) one week to secure their bib(s).
STEP TWO: THE BIB LOTTERY
“But Jenn!” you cry, because you are a longtime reader of this blog. “You said a runDisney bib lottery would never work!” I did say that; just stick with me here.
All right, so step two is the lottery. A certain percentage – for this thought experiment let’s say half – of the remaining bibs are eligible for distribution by lottery. Each individual is permitted to enter a lottery for ONE bib type. That is to say, you can enter the lottery for a Dopey bib, but if you choose that lottery, you CAN’T also enter the lottery for Goofy.
If you have kids or other dependents, you may enter them as well; ideally the system would group you in an all-or-nothing capacity if requested. You may also enter friends and family. However, lottery names and registration names if you are selected MUST match. No transfers.
The public has (let’s say) one week to enter the lottery.
STEP THREE: THE DRAWING
The bib lottery logically ends with a drawing, and the lucky chosen ones are sent an email with the good news that they have been selected and can now pay for and subsequently secure their bib. They have (let’s say) one week to do so.
If they do NOT complete their purchase in the allotted time, their bib goes back into the pool. Remember, no transfers; the name you wrote on the hat you threw in the ring must match the name you attach to your form which must match the ID you show at bib pickup. And if you changed your mind about which bib you want, no switching that either. You’ll have to take your chances on step four.
STEP FOUR: THE USUAL runDISNEY WAY
The remaining bibs – both those held back plus what was left unclaimed from Club runDisney and after the lottery – go on sale in the fashion we have become accustomed to. Those who do not have the bib(s) they want for whatever reason must load the runDisney website at the published date and time and enter the virtual queue. Early queue entrants are assigned a number at random, and anyone who is late is placed at the back of the line. Once all remaining bibs are gone, they’re gone.
And I know that’s going back to what we hate! BUT. As a large number of bibs were distributed by the lottery first, you have less competition in the queue. Heck, get lucky in the lottery and you might not even need to be there.
Now, admittedly, there would be fewer bibs available – but that’s actually a GOOD thing. No, really! Because by running out faster, and with fewer people for the system to work through, you wouldn’t be sitting there waiting nearly as long. The major time suck has been downgraded to a minor time suck, and you can get started looking for a charity bib sooner if it’s not your day. Or, you know, go back to work or whatever.
VARIATIONS
I kinda like the way I have it all set up for its simplicity and generalized fairness. However, there are many variations you could weave into this system.
runDisney could choose to allow an individual to enter multiple lotteries if they liked, and then limit them to only ultimately purchasing one. (Or not, but one lottery bib per person is most fair.)
Another option would be to have a singular lottery pool and let those selected purchase any bib they wanted. I prefer it as I laid it out originally, as this maintains a more or less even number of each bib in each step, but a singular pool would still be an improvement.
runDisney may also wish to permit Club runDisney members to enter the lottery… or if they want to be extra fair, Club runDisney members could be ineligible for lottery entries for themselves. The final bib drop would of course be open to everyone.
runDisney could choose to massage the number of each type of bib distributed during the lottery depending on the size of the pool, this being a real-time indication of demand. This would be achievable by breaking up or gluing together different challenge bibs. More satisfied customers is a win for everyone!
Finally, I threw out some timeframes for lottery entry, bib claim, etc., but they could be anything. A month, two weeks, three days, whatever. Personally I think 48 hours is the reasonable minimum, but I’d be open to at least hearing arguments to the contrary.
ADDITIONAL TIERS
Additional tiers of registration would thin out the pool even further and make each individual sale less congested.
runDisney could add an additional presale tier for Annual Passholders and/or DVC owners like they used to. I would be surprised if they did this, as it would potentially compete with Club runDisney. On the other hand, I know I would see this as a major perk and reason to buy an AP in perpetuity, as it would add serious value in my estimation. I’m sure I’m not alone in this. So maybe……..?
More realistically, perhaps AP/DVC people could get an extra lottery entry or something, to be put in the same pool or a different pool or dealer’s choice. I’d definitely be tempted! I know that feels a little pay-to-play as well, but given the number of applicants I would be surprised if a singular extra entry was statistically meaningful. Happy to be corrected if someone wants to do some math!
Another potential tier? Last year’s runners – or perhaps people who have run a given race X number of times. For example, if you’ve done the Dopey Challenge (let’s say) five times (cumulatively or in a row, depending), you can get a Dopey bib early.
LOOK, I KNOW IT’S NOT PERFECT
I don’t pretend that my proposed system solves every problem, renders registration painless, and magically makes the whole system 100% fair. But I do think it would make things substantially less painful and substantially more fair while taking into account runDisney’s unique challenges.
And that’s not nothing, you know? Should you have suggestions for improvement, by all means, lay ’em on me.
YOU CAN HAVE THIS ONE, runDISNEY
I recognize that I am a tiny hobby blogger in a vast ocean of Disney internet, not an influencer or celebrity or other important voice that runDisney is more likely to heed. runDisney race bibs sell out faster than ever of late, so by purely capitalist measures there’s no motivation for them to change anything at all.
Then again, this is Disney we’re talking about – and I’d like to think they still care about customer service. Between the tech glitches and speedy sellouts, the runDisney faithful are frequently unhappy. It would be a lovely good faith gesture if they took real steps to smooth out the process. They can use that sweet sweet Club runDisney money to pay for the additional infrastructure. 😁
I hear that the Dopey Challenge was willed into existence by a group of Goofy Challengers who liked to run the 5K too (this was before they added the 10K) and called themselves Dopey. Eventually runDisney caught up and made Dopey official.
Thus I am not be entirely quixotic when I say: runDisney, if you want it, you can have this system, gratis. Let’s make four-step race registration official!
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!