Why I Hate Club runDisney

Hello! I initially planned a slightly different angle for this post, but as I wrote it, I discovered that a lot of my beef was ultimately with Club runDisney. So instead of my straight-ahead post about some of runDisney’s ongoing issues they seem to be ignoring, we’ll be doing something of a two-parter: one, problems I think runDisney COULD solve but are actively deciding not to because two, they’d rather you throw MORE money at them in the form of Club runDisney instead.

But before I do, let me explain a few things.

SOME CAVEATS BEFORE WE START

Please don’t misunderstand: I LOVE runDisney. It is one of my favorite activities in the entire world, and a frequent highlight of my year if not my life – no exaggeration. My second Dopey-completing WDW Marathon might be my best day ever so far.

I am also aware that no one is entitled to runDisney in any capacity, be that the race itself or anything related to it. A runDisney bib is not a human right. You could even say any discourse around it is a thought experiment as much as anything else.

But just because you love something doesn’t mean it is immune to critique. Just because something amounts to what we might refer to in shorthand as a first world problem doesn’t mean it can’t be subject to scrutiny.

IS runDISNEY A LUXURY GOOD?

Finally, I know that runDisney is a unique beast among distance races. I would even admit that I understand, to a degree, why runDisney races are as expensive as they are by comparison to others and why some their more unusual rules are in place. However, if runDisney races had kept pace with inflation, they would be less expensive than they are today.

Case study: the 2013 the Princess Half Marathon cost $165. This means that at a 45% rate of inflation [ew], the 2027 Princess Half Marathon should cost $239.33. When registration opens next month, the half will be $269. That’s not a MASSIVE difference, but it does mean an additional $30 bucks per runner is dropping into the runDisney bank account than inflation (which is, as I’m sure we’re all well aware, already off the rails right now) requires.

Given that we are paying a pretty penny for what amounts to an admittedly niche version of a luxury experience, we can reasonably expect white glove treatment. And yet runDisney has made some, shall we say, odd operational choices over the years. I might even go so far as to declare that they are actively choosing not to solve surmountable problems… in some cases for one particular selfish reason.

Let’s dive in!

runDISNEY RACE REGISTRATION IS SPOTTY AT BEST

Much has already been said about the insanity of runDisney race registration days – by myself included. In fact, a couple weeks ago I suggested a potential hybrid solution that (prepare to be shocked) gained no traction whatsoever. Eh, I knew it was a long shot. 😅

The crux of the issue is NOT something that runDisney can fully control: supply and demand. There simply aren’t enough bibs to go around. We can only hope runDisney someday wanes in popularity a bit… but not so much that they shut the whole thing down, of course. Balance!

Nevertheless, that doesn’t change the fact that technology glitches are not uncommon and there are any number of ways to “cheat.” I put “cheat” in air quotes because on the one hand, leveraging knowledge anyone can obtain with a little research is just smart strategy.

On the other hand, runDisney could easily implement ways to make the playing field more even – or at least less painful in terms of time and energy required – and has chosen not to. As long as the bibs continue to sell out, why bother, I guess? Or maybe they’re trying behind the scenes, in which case some transparency around that would go a long way.

ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR BIB, YOU’RE LOCKED IN

Let’s say you were lucky enough to secure a race bib. It’s very expensive – the whole trip is very expensive – but you’re very excited! It’s gonna be totally worth it! It always is!

But then disaster strikes. You suffer a serious injury or other medical emergency. A financial issue forces you to cancel your trip. You discover an unavoidable date conflict. Or perhaps most common of these scenarios, you wind up sick just as race weekend looms.

Whelp, there’s nothing you can do except MAYBE write to customer service and hope you luck out with a sympathetic Cast Member. You’re gonna have to really sell your story, though. Per the official runDisney terms of service, there are NO refunds or transfers. And while it is not explicitly said, only implied, they also no longer permit deferrals.

Per this reddit thread, it would appear the deferral options dried up sometime in 2016/2017. It’s an interesting read as the various commenters debate why they should even as others explain how it would cost not just runDisney but also Walt Disney World money.

THIS ARGUMENT DOESN’T 100% HOLD UP, THOUGH

Basically the argument is that since there’s a whole tourism economy surrounding a runDisney race trip, runDisney would lose too much money in hotel, food, park tickets, etc. if people were allowed to defer.

I mean, maybe that’s true? Admittedly I haven’t been briefed by their accounting department. I would point out, though, that on those rare occasions runDisney drops additional bibs, they get snapped up in MINUTES, whereby “minutes” I mean “less than two.” Believe me, I’ve been there.

Which means that there’s a long line of people happy to take the place of the deferring runner. This also applies to bib transfers, another feature many major races offer but runDisney does not. They do allow transferring a single race bib to a challenge bib where available with an additional fee. Why not do the same for deferrals and transfers? The technology already exists; it can’t be that hard. Or if there is a definitive reason, why not be transparent about it?

WHY CAN’T runDISNEY OFFER RACE INSURANCE?

Okay, let’s say we accept that runDisney’s crunched the numbers and they would actively lose money on deferrals and transfers. Fine. Here’s one I genuinely do not get: why don’t they offer race insurance?

Where is the risk on their part? The insurance broker takes it on. Almost every other major race includes an insurance option built into registration. Disney itself offers it on vacation packages, so why not races? They could probably even arrange for a cut of the insurance cost and/or some sort of deal for the title of Official runDisney Insurance Provider. Seriously, can anyone explain this one?

CORRAL WOES

The runDisney corral system is, shall we say, imperfect. The organization has made many changes over the years that seem to have sped up the overall start process, but the corrals themselves are in my experience a total crapshoot. The corrals are simply too crowded, to the point where it can be dangerous with faster runners weaving between slower who somehow wound up in front of them. I suspect the POTs that comprise each corral are too broad, but as runDisney has not made those POTs public I can’t be sure. In fairness, I’m sure they are somewhat dependent on the spread of POTs each individual field submits.

I am not a race organizer and this suggestion may be stupid, but I think it might help to further subdivide the corrals, either by suggestion or requirement. Perhaps through color coding to indicate where in the corral someone your speed should be positioned in the overall corral group? Open to other ideas, obviously!

Cynically, I know that runDisney is no longer incentivized to keep tweaking. Hold please; we’re almost there.

runDISNEY DOESN’T PROPERLY CONTROL MERCHANDISE AVAILABILITY

Another consistent issue runDisney denizens encounter is the feeding frenzy over race merch. The shopping crowds can be so aggressive that runDisney now makes hopefuls join a virtual queue to access the official merchandise area on the first day of any given race weekend’s expo. And I get why; before the VQ, lines were ridiculous.

Once again, we’re looking at a supply and demand issue. Yet in this case, I think runDisney deserves rather more of the blame. Their handling of the race merchandise situation is questionable from multiple angles.

To begin, they only recently began requiring buyers to display a Dopey bib in order to buy Dopey-branded items… on expo day one. Other than that, there are no purchasing limits. eBay pirates are known to run rampant. Why not implement item limits per person and empower Cast Members to make exceptions on a case by case basis?

runDISNEY MERCH ITSELF CAN BE QUESTIONABLE

Now about the race merch itself. Quality can be hit-and-miss, but I would argue that the greater problem with runDisney’s clothing items in particular is sizing. I’ve been swimming in a small and barely squeezing into a medium, and I know this is not a unique experience.

I also wonder why runDisney has yet to clock which sizes sell out fastest and scale production accordingly. I am often interested in clothing that I ultimately pass on because my size is already sold out. You would think they’d have a selfish interest in figuring out those ratios.

Still, at least you have the power to inspect and try on in-stock items when shopping the floor. You may wish to circumvent the mad dash for your preferred merch with preorder. Not so fast! Preorders are ILLUSTRATIONS, not pictures of the merch. You must commit to a size, and oh yeah, details may change in the final product including color swaps. I wouldn’t mind so much if runDisney permitted returns on preorders, but they do not. I find that rather wild when all the buyer has to go on is concept art.

TRANSPARENCY WOULD GO A LONG WAY

I mentioned this sporadically throughout this post, but I would argue that the biggest issue with all of this is a lack of transparency. WHY are things the way they are? We have frustrating experiences and we have theories as to the reasons behind it; we think, by consequence, that we know how runDisney could make it better, they just won’t. That’s this whole blog post in a nutshell.

But we don’t really know, and that’s a huge part of the problem. If we could just understand the logic behind a lot of their decisions, it would be a long way to smooth ruffled feathers. It’s the sitting in the dark that rankles.

Don’t worry, though; they might not tell us much, but they do tell us many of these issues can be magically waved away with one more swipe of the credit card…

CLUB runDISNEY JUST SPACKLES OVER THESE PROBLEMS FOR MONEY

Okay, guys, now we get to the part of the post where I really step in it. Can I be honest? The more I think about it, the more I kinda hate Club runDisney.

WAIT I CAN EXPLAIN.

Please understand that if you are a member of Club runDisney – if you love Club runDisney – I am NOT attacking you. As I just spent an unreasonably amount of words averring, runDisney is not without its problems, and Club runDisney solves a lot of those problems. Why not join if you have the means?

But from where I’m sitting, Club runDisney really only amounts to throwing money at runDisney for the privilege of… throwing money at runDisney.

Let us not forget that Club runDisney’s membership is limited. You’re already fighting tooth and nail just to get in, exactly as you often are to get a race bib. And people who are already Club runDisney members get first dibs the next year. Thus the sequence increasing looks a little something like this:

THE CLUB runDISNEY SEQUENCE

Find full runDisney perks and prices on the official site. Pricing below is accurate at time of publishing. All those numbers are before taxes, by the way.

Step one: join Club runDisney at the Silver membership level. What does this get you? A club jacket and not much else for $295, aka more than a single race bib.

Oh, it does win you one other crucial thing: access to Club runDisney membership renewal before the general public. So one year after dropping $295, you can now proceed to

Step two: join Club runDisney at the Gold membership level. Now you’re getting some real perks! Your entire $639 American dollars (plus the $295 last year; did you forget about that?) now also get you one guaranteed race bib per weekend as well as first access to official race merch at every race weekend’s expo.

OR

You could instead, for ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS (technically $999, but do I look stupid to you, Disney?), you could get all those Gold membership perks PLUS two guaranteed bibs per weekend, first dibs on merch, your own special packet pickup at the expo, AND upgraded corral placement. If you don’t have a proof of time, you’re now automatically bumped to the first POT-less corral.

And there are other things you get, at varying levels of potential interest depending on what you value.

But hold on a minute…

WHAT ARE YOU REALLY GETTING WITH YOUR MEMBERSHIP?

If you stop to think about it, all of these membership perks are amount to extremely expensive line skipping.

Have trouble and/or hate the stressful, frequently glitchy process of getting a bib? Give runDisney money to skip the line to give them MORE money for your bib.

Want to get your race merchandise before the hordes descend and take whatever they want in the first hour? Give runDisney money to skip the line to give them MORE money for your souvenirs. (By the bye, I hear the Club runDisney presale hour is nuts in and of itself.)

Frustrated by opaque corral placement rules or can’t get into* a higher corral yourself? Give runDisney money to skip over your fellow runners into a higher corral, no effort required! There aren’t a lot of runners receiving this perk so it probably doesn’t contribute to the overarching crowding problem, but it’s still handing over more money for special treatment.

And what are you going to do – join every single year and give them this money in perpetuity? How many Club runDisney race jackets do you realistically need???

* No shame in a lower corral! But you are paying your way out of it.

AS PER USUAL, IT’S ULTIMATELY A QUESTION OF VALUE

The only real value-adds I can see are the Club-exclusive virtual races, assuming you like that sort of thing, and at the Platinum level the special bib pickup. The rest just amounts to runDisney pointing to Club runDisney to sidestep problems instead of taking steps to actually solve them. Why should they? Club runDisney is way more lucrative!

Your fellow runners who do not join Club runDisney due to cost or bad luck in the virtual queue or being an obnoxious pedant who bitterly refuses on PRINCIPLE (I’m a delight, dang it) are left out in the cold by consequence. runDisney whisks inventory away from the masses for their favored big spenders. The club’s most valuable assets come from taking from one group to give to another.

It’s not even like there are no other avenues for guaranteed bibs; just run for charity if you don’t want to fight in the virtual queue. Why are we creating tiers of importance? Why are there haves and have-nots?

WHAT ABOUT LIGHTNING LANES? HOW IS THAT ANY DIFFERENT?

Well hold on a minute, you may be thinking. Paid line skipping is hardly a new phenomenon in the world of Disney attractions. You’ve used Lightning Lanes and Multi Pass; how is this any different?

First of all, I also kinda hate paid Lightning Lanes. 😅 But also, while ride capacity is also finite, it isn’t nearly AS finite as race bib availability. There are only a set number of bibs over the course of a few race weekends to be had. Lightning Lanes and Multi Pass buy you a shorter wait, but they don’t buy a percentage of access. Everyone has the option to get in the standby queue, and everyone who does so will get to ride eventually barring mechanical issues or similar. Don’t make it one day? Come back tomorrow.

Similarly, I know DVC and AP holders used to get early registration, but that feels different me. It was a pressure-free perk you could use if you chose to, not the main thrust, and anyone could buy into either at any time.

CLUB runDISNEY COULD BE COOL

I don’t necessarily object to the idea of a Club runDisney that provided actual value that did NOT affect nonmembers. Dedicated bib pickup? That seems genuinely cool without taking away from anyone else. I don’t really care about having a designated club bib, but why not? Exclusive access to buying only the club merch you want (again, are you going to wear ten different club jackets regularly?) makes sense without baking the overconsumption right in. I know some races have packages where you get breakfast and exclusive bathrooms and that kind of thing. Sounds good! Heck, that means a subsection of runners are NOT competing with the hoi polloi for their basic resources. Everyone could win!

But instead runDisney has chosen to make it about distributing the important stuff unevenly to those willing to pay for the privilege. And I think that sucks.

WE COULD PUT AN END TO IT (BUT REALISTICALLY WON’T)

There’s a very simple way we could put a stop to Club runDisney: boycott. Don’t buy it. Nobody join. Refuse to let runDisney divide us.

But it’s never gonna happen. Not because people don’t care about fairness, but because it’s too hard to reach the totality of the possible customers. I’m a hobby blogger, not an influencer. And even if the anti-Club runDisney movement did somehow take off, it wouldn’t reach everyone. Some people would buy it, in which case some people would have an advantage, in which case people who could also get that advantage would say well if they have it then I may as well have it too, and they would be right. It only works if we ALL say no. I just don’t see it. Wanna join? Go ahead; it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

Heck, if you want to provide a rebuttal in the comments, have at it. This is not a black and white issue. If you’d like to argue for the defense, go for it!

ANY OF THIS COULD CHANGE IN THE FUTURE

Oh well! These are only what T.S. Eliot might refer to as thoughts of a dry brain in a dry season. Like I said at the top, it’s not that deep. No one deserves a runDisney race bib. Society is stratified by nature. You either play to win or you lose.

Or… you divest. Myself, I am working on becoming less emotionally invested. It is a privilege to have the time and mental space to worry about something so trivial in the first place. There will be other years and other races (one hopes). When Princess registration drops next month, I will join the virtual queue and cross my fingers. If I don’t get a bib, I’ll turn to charity. If there are no charity bibs available, well, what can ya do. I’ll find a different race to run. It’ll be okay.

I do hope, though, that runDisney won’t let Club runDisney remain the panacea for the few. I look forward to seeing what improvements they make for the future!

P.S. “You’re just jealous!” I wish I were just jealous; that would’ve taken significantly less time and effort to explain. 😅

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!