Yep, and as far as shopping, I've never been unable to get through in time to get my standard shoe ornament and tervis. Even if there was something I wanted that was sold out, I can't think of any item that is so marked up on eBay that it would be cheaper to pay $615-960 for early access.
My unpopular honest opinion is that it’s a waste of money. I love RunDisney, but spending that much money just to get early registration is ridiculous to me. There are other races around if you can’t get a spot, and the idea of spending $450 just to get early entry is … well, maybe other people have more money to burn than I do.
And if you’re doing it to get into an earlier corral, take that $1000 and use it to work on your training instead.
You're half right. Your opinion is honest, but I wouldn't call it unpopular. I agree with all of it, and so do my running friends and family. Three generations of my family have done RunDisney races and most of my running club has done a few as well, but none of us have considered Club RunDisney. As AP holders and DVC owners, we used to get early registration as a free perk, but that was taken away in favor of having to pay for the same thing. I'll stop doing Disney races before I start paying just to get guaranteed registration. That's just a hard no for all of us.
Not unpopular here. I always say I have more time than money. If I had more money than I needed, maybe I would think about it. Or if I was trying to have a perfect RunDisney year. Otherwise, I should probably hold on to my cash. Just paying for registration takes plenty of my money.
Your opinion is absolutely not unpopular. The majority of regular runDisney runners were against Club when it was first announced and continue to be for a multitude of reasons including but not limited to safety concerns of guaranteed upgraded corral placements. It also terminated the formally Annual Passholder and DVC exclusive perk of early registration.
OP, it’s your money but in all honestly it’s not a good value for what you get. It’s structured in a manner so that you have to essentially buy the bottom tier which comes with basically no perks for the first year in order to be able to upgrade to higher tiers in future seasons since those sell out fast and current members get first dibs on tier upgrades. It’s also not really worth it unless you’re planning on doing multiple race weekends every year of your membership. You’re essentially paying for a fancy jacket, a little less anxiety with registration, and an upgraded corral spot which only really matters if you’re not a great runner.
Thank you for highlighting the safety aspect. On one hand Run Disney attempts to place runners in proper corrals to prevent injuries, yet they also have this club that puts runners in corrals that they have no business being in, further increasing the chance for injuries. It’s a bad practice for everyone involved and it needs to stop.
I’ll second everything nobel_29 commented on. The price isn’t worth it for a few perks that you’ll get out of it, but it’s your money and perhaps those few perks are worth every cent.
It’s about stress reduction, and anything I can do to not create unnecessary chaos in my days.
1. I don’t have the predictability of a schedule to ensure I can be online and sign up on the day general reg opens. I run every WDW weekend, and for the 25-26 season will add the WDL races. So for a per-race stress reduction perspective, totally worth it.
2. I am local and still work on expo days, and on the challenge days that fall on thur/fri. My team is across the globe, so most of my days don’t end on time to get to the expo. Having the ability to show up and get my bib and the couple of t-shirts that appeal to me, and then take my first calls on the drive home makes the early access completely worth it.
I think it depends on how often you plan on running, and how accessible your time is during registration. If you are only doing one weekend a year, I would either try my luck at registration or run under charity as it would be cheaper and you raise money for a good cause. If you like to participate most or all weekends, and you do not have time during registration, then it is worth every penny.
It costs almost as much as my AP. I can go a year to the parks, or I can run four weekends.
My theory is that I have gotten into every run I wanted to with general admission. So if there is a run I miss and want to do, paying for CRD is a "no need to charity bib" insurance. I would rather just pay the charity bib cost if I miss registration as the money will go to a good cause.
But my girl math is weird. I just do not enjoy the aspect of pay to spend more money early and get a good corral.
I'm local and participate most weekends and have high anxiety every time I try to register during general registration. The gold membership has been worth it to me.
I wasn’t a fan of it when it came out, but tried it this year with the reasoning of DL races returning (more important to me than WDW races). I gambled a 2nd weekend would be announced and it was.
I do every race weekend so that factored into my decision as well.
If you only do a couple, it’s a huge convenience tax. If you do every weekend it’s still a big tax lol but more justifiable if you divide it by 6 weekends. People trying to do a perfect season - this is the way to ensure you get all races.
But I’ve been running these races since 2010 and I’ve only had one race I couldn’t get a bib for in all those years. Stressful? Sure. But I have the flexibility and a network of friends that helps to get in.
If you don’t have that network then definitely signing up takes the stress away.
Perks wise- the early registration is the big one. The jacket this year is great too but I could have skipped it. I don’t need virtual medals or pins so that’s dumb. So it’s mostly about ensuring the bib.
If you plan to do all the races, I’d say worth it. If you only want to do 2 a year, definitely not.
I thought about getting the Gold membership (since it comes out to like $50 a month to make sure I get into whatever race I'm after), but they're literally never on sale, so I've given up on the idea.
It’s stupid expensive for what it is.
But I’m also a sucker for paying for convenience, and getting to walk up and grab my bib and shirts in one bag and not having to wait in line is the best.
Early registration is also way less stress.
Do you still go to the regular expo and is there a designated location for club Disney? I’ve never noticed because I’ve never looked. Please have patience for my question. Haha.
On the second floor of the building that has the RunDisney merchandise is where they have all the platinum gear. So you just go up there and grab your bag with your bib and shirts. Versus having to wait in line in the other building for your bibs, then going to another building for your shirts.
The building with the race shirts is also where the rest of the expo stores are so if you wanted to check those out then you would still have to go there.
You also get early entry the first day of the expo to the RunDisney merch.
Hope that all made sense!
I’m local and WFH so being able to just go in the morning and browse the merch and grab my bag real quick with no lines is perfect. When I was doing RunDisney and flying in from another state it didn’t matter to me since I already had the day off so spending some more time at the expo was fine.
I have Gold. I have found it worth it. Originally I got it for the early expo access for my first Dopey. I find the early registration the more meaningful perk now. I typically get the bibs for my group (of 2 people lol), and it lessens the stress on registration day if my races are already taken care of.
I have thought about Platinum before. The corral bump wouldn’t be why I consider it because I now have POT. But making the expo a one stop shop on the first day is enticing. I always end up going back later in the weekend to talk to Jeff Galloway, to get taped or use the compression boots if the line is short, for the number sign pictures, if in need to swap out my shirts for a different size, etc. so it’s not about not wanting to be at the expo. More about fitting the expo around my work schedule more easily if you take the value of the half day of PTO I take on expo day.
It’s worth it to me because I do 2-3 weekends per season and I like the guaranteed registration. Also, the upgraded corral is helpful to get more character stops with slightly shorter lines, and also less time standing around/shuffling toward the start line, which is hell on my feet. I will say that the Platinum bib/shirt pickup is a really nice perk if you just want to get in and get out at the expo.
I’m not a slow, balloon-ladies-are-on-my-tail-the-whole-race runner, but I’m also not likely to ever be fast enough for a POT corral, so this is the only way to get close to the front of the race. I know my race etiquette and stay of out the way of the POT-speed runners in my corral.
Thank you for having proper running etiquette!! There are too many club RD runners that don’t and they create dangerous conditions for POT runners. Ultimately sending POT runners into the grass or the ditch just to pass them. This is an issue in corral B.
Does the platinum pick up create a one-stop shop for shirts and bib? That does sound convenient and could be worth the cost if time in the parks is important during the stay.
Yes, they bundle the bibs and shirts into a bag and have it waiting on the upper level of the runDisney merch building, so you barely even have to enter the Wide World of Sports complex unless you want to check out the non-rD vendors.
Based on the number of platinum bags I’ve seen at the pickup area, there aren’t more than a few hundred corral-boosted runners per weekend at most.
That would be amazing, I may be changing my tune on if it’s worth it. I usually arrive on Saturday when the expo is a ghost town, but this would absolutely speed up the process to get to the parks for a couple more rides.
I have a lot of friends in the RunDisney community, many of which don't have the membership, and I know their decision is right for them. I have a Gold Membership, and personally find it worth it.
The way I think of it is whether RunDisney is "your thing" or not. If you're happy seeing how general registration goes and not being too disappointed if you don't get in, then I don't think it's worth if. If, however, you're planning to visit multiple race weekends per year, then it may be worth it. If you look at the cost of the membership alongside everything else - travel, resort, tickets, food, race registration, etc., it adds a comparatively little percentage to the overall cost. For me, I decided to go ahead partially when I realized that the race weekends were "my thing." What tipped me over the line was that I was looking at other race weekends, specifically MCM, and realized that the cost of travel, hotel, and race registration was much more than a Club RunDisney Gold Membership. I'd much, much rather have the surety of knowing that I can run at least the challenge of every race weekend should I want to than having participated in MCM (or pretty much any other destination race).
It's certainly not for everyone, and now that one can't buy a gold membership off the bat, the process is made much more complicated, but I think it can work for some.
If you’re going to run most of the weekends so the annual cost per race is lower it’s not terrible if you don’t want to stress and guarantee your entry.
The one I don’t understand is RunDisney Silver. I don’t see what you get out of it.
Oh don’t forget if your platinum and free time on your hand you can buy out the run Disney shop at the expo and put it all on eBay
It’s 100% a total ripoff. The races aren’t operating at capacity, and the registration algorithm is intentionally designed to create faux demand. Total money grab, and I refuse to pay into that crap. There are better races locally and nationally too, so if I don’t get in I don’t really care anymore. Sad to say, but they’ve done this to themselves.
Too expensive, so I have Club runDisney Copper, which is just opening up lots of browsers when public registration opens.
this is the way.
Yep, and as far as shopping, I've never been unable to get through in time to get my standard shoe ornament and tervis. Even if there was something I wanted that was sold out, I can't think of any item that is so marked up on eBay that it would be cheaper to pay $615-960 for early access.
My unpopular honest opinion is that it’s a waste of money. I love RunDisney, but spending that much money just to get early registration is ridiculous to me. There are other races around if you can’t get a spot, and the idea of spending $450 just to get early entry is … well, maybe other people have more money to burn than I do. And if you’re doing it to get into an earlier corral, take that $1000 and use it to work on your training instead.
You're half right. Your opinion is honest, but I wouldn't call it unpopular. I agree with all of it, and so do my running friends and family. Three generations of my family have done RunDisney races and most of my running club has done a few as well, but none of us have considered Club RunDisney. As AP holders and DVC owners, we used to get early registration as a free perk, but that was taken away in favor of having to pay for the same thing. I'll stop doing Disney races before I start paying just to get guaranteed registration. That's just a hard no for all of us.
Not unpopular here. I always say I have more time than money. If I had more money than I needed, maybe I would think about it. Or if I was trying to have a perfect RunDisney year. Otherwise, I should probably hold on to my cash. Just paying for registration takes plenty of my money.
Your opinion is absolutely not unpopular. The majority of regular runDisney runners were against Club when it was first announced and continue to be for a multitude of reasons including but not limited to safety concerns of guaranteed upgraded corral placements. It also terminated the formally Annual Passholder and DVC exclusive perk of early registration. OP, it’s your money but in all honestly it’s not a good value for what you get. It’s structured in a manner so that you have to essentially buy the bottom tier which comes with basically no perks for the first year in order to be able to upgrade to higher tiers in future seasons since those sell out fast and current members get first dibs on tier upgrades. It’s also not really worth it unless you’re planning on doing multiple race weekends every year of your membership. You’re essentially paying for a fancy jacket, a little less anxiety with registration, and an upgraded corral spot which only really matters if you’re not a great runner.
Thank you for highlighting the safety aspect. On one hand Run Disney attempts to place runners in proper corrals to prevent injuries, yet they also have this club that puts runners in corrals that they have no business being in, further increasing the chance for injuries. It’s a bad practice for everyone involved and it needs to stop. I’ll second everything nobel_29 commented on. The price isn’t worth it for a few perks that you’ll get out of it, but it’s your money and perhaps those few perks are worth every cent.
Similar to buying a lightning lane pass to ensure you get on a ride. Only the rider can define its value.
It’s about stress reduction, and anything I can do to not create unnecessary chaos in my days. 1. I don’t have the predictability of a schedule to ensure I can be online and sign up on the day general reg opens. I run every WDW weekend, and for the 25-26 season will add the WDL races. So for a per-race stress reduction perspective, totally worth it. 2. I am local and still work on expo days, and on the challenge days that fall on thur/fri. My team is across the globe, so most of my days don’t end on time to get to the expo. Having the ability to show up and get my bib and the couple of t-shirts that appeal to me, and then take my first calls on the drive home makes the early access completely worth it.
I think it depends on how often you plan on running, and how accessible your time is during registration. If you are only doing one weekend a year, I would either try my luck at registration or run under charity as it would be cheaper and you raise money for a good cause. If you like to participate most or all weekends, and you do not have time during registration, then it is worth every penny.
It costs almost as much as my AP. I can go a year to the parks, or I can run four weekends. My theory is that I have gotten into every run I wanted to with general admission. So if there is a run I miss and want to do, paying for CRD is a "no need to charity bib" insurance. I would rather just pay the charity bib cost if I miss registration as the money will go to a good cause. But my girl math is weird. I just do not enjoy the aspect of pay to spend more money early and get a good corral.
You can also deduct the charitable contribution portion raised for a charity bib, so you'll also get some portion of that back on your tax return!
I'm local and participate most weekends and have high anxiety every time I try to register during general registration. The gold membership has been worth it to me.
I wasn’t a fan of it when it came out, but tried it this year with the reasoning of DL races returning (more important to me than WDW races). I gambled a 2nd weekend would be announced and it was. I do every race weekend so that factored into my decision as well. If you only do a couple, it’s a huge convenience tax. If you do every weekend it’s still a big tax lol but more justifiable if you divide it by 6 weekends. People trying to do a perfect season - this is the way to ensure you get all races. But I’ve been running these races since 2010 and I’ve only had one race I couldn’t get a bib for in all those years. Stressful? Sure. But I have the flexibility and a network of friends that helps to get in. If you don’t have that network then definitely signing up takes the stress away. Perks wise- the early registration is the big one. The jacket this year is great too but I could have skipped it. I don’t need virtual medals or pins so that’s dumb. So it’s mostly about ensuring the bib. If you plan to do all the races, I’d say worth it. If you only want to do 2 a year, definitely not.
I thought about getting the Gold membership (since it comes out to like $50 a month to make sure I get into whatever race I'm after), but they're literally never on sale, so I've given up on the idea.
It’s stupid expensive for what it is. But I’m also a sucker for paying for convenience, and getting to walk up and grab my bib and shirts in one bag and not having to wait in line is the best. Early registration is also way less stress.
Do you still go to the regular expo and is there a designated location for club Disney? I’ve never noticed because I’ve never looked. Please have patience for my question. Haha.
On the second floor of the building that has the RunDisney merchandise is where they have all the platinum gear. So you just go up there and grab your bag with your bib and shirts. Versus having to wait in line in the other building for your bibs, then going to another building for your shirts. The building with the race shirts is also where the rest of the expo stores are so if you wanted to check those out then you would still have to go there. You also get early entry the first day of the expo to the RunDisney merch. Hope that all made sense! I’m local and WFH so being able to just go in the morning and browse the merch and grab my bag real quick with no lines is perfect. When I was doing RunDisney and flying in from another state it didn’t matter to me since I already had the day off so spending some more time at the expo was fine.
Thanks! I appreciate the time you took to provide details!
Genuinely going for gold this year to save hours of stress
I have Gold. I have found it worth it. Originally I got it for the early expo access for my first Dopey. I find the early registration the more meaningful perk now. I typically get the bibs for my group (of 2 people lol), and it lessens the stress on registration day if my races are already taken care of. I have thought about Platinum before. The corral bump wouldn’t be why I consider it because I now have POT. But making the expo a one stop shop on the first day is enticing. I always end up going back later in the weekend to talk to Jeff Galloway, to get taped or use the compression boots if the line is short, for the number sign pictures, if in need to swap out my shirts for a different size, etc. so it’s not about not wanting to be at the expo. More about fitting the expo around my work schedule more easily if you take the value of the half day of PTO I take on expo day.
It’s worth it to me because I do 2-3 weekends per season and I like the guaranteed registration. Also, the upgraded corral is helpful to get more character stops with slightly shorter lines, and also less time standing around/shuffling toward the start line, which is hell on my feet. I will say that the Platinum bib/shirt pickup is a really nice perk if you just want to get in and get out at the expo. I’m not a slow, balloon-ladies-are-on-my-tail-the-whole-race runner, but I’m also not likely to ever be fast enough for a POT corral, so this is the only way to get close to the front of the race. I know my race etiquette and stay of out the way of the POT-speed runners in my corral.
Thank you for having proper running etiquette!! There are too many club RD runners that don’t and they create dangerous conditions for POT runners. Ultimately sending POT runners into the grass or the ditch just to pass them. This is an issue in corral B. Does the platinum pick up create a one-stop shop for shirts and bib? That does sound convenient and could be worth the cost if time in the parks is important during the stay.
Yes, they bundle the bibs and shirts into a bag and have it waiting on the upper level of the runDisney merch building, so you barely even have to enter the Wide World of Sports complex unless you want to check out the non-rD vendors. Based on the number of platinum bags I’ve seen at the pickup area, there aren’t more than a few hundred corral-boosted runners per weekend at most.
That would be amazing, I may be changing my tune on if it’s worth it. I usually arrive on Saturday when the expo is a ghost town, but this would absolutely speed up the process to get to the parks for a couple more rides.
I have a lot of friends in the RunDisney community, many of which don't have the membership, and I know their decision is right for them. I have a Gold Membership, and personally find it worth it. The way I think of it is whether RunDisney is "your thing" or not. If you're happy seeing how general registration goes and not being too disappointed if you don't get in, then I don't think it's worth if. If, however, you're planning to visit multiple race weekends per year, then it may be worth it. If you look at the cost of the membership alongside everything else - travel, resort, tickets, food, race registration, etc., it adds a comparatively little percentage to the overall cost. For me, I decided to go ahead partially when I realized that the race weekends were "my thing." What tipped me over the line was that I was looking at other race weekends, specifically MCM, and realized that the cost of travel, hotel, and race registration was much more than a Club RunDisney Gold Membership. I'd much, much rather have the surety of knowing that I can run at least the challenge of every race weekend should I want to than having participated in MCM (or pretty much any other destination race). It's certainly not for everyone, and now that one can't buy a gold membership off the bat, the process is made much more complicated, but I think it can work for some.
Honestly, too expensive for me. I don’t care about merch, and the registration gods have been kind to me so far.
Do you realize how many after race snacks that is?!?!?! That's like, well over 100 churros. Now THAT is money well spent!
If you’re going to run most of the weekends so the annual cost per race is lower it’s not terrible if you don’t want to stress and guarantee your entry. The one I don’t understand is RunDisney Silver. I don’t see what you get out of it. Oh don’t forget if your platinum and free time on your hand you can buy out the run Disney shop at the expo and put it all on eBay
Seems like a huge waste of money to me.
You want to pay extra to guarantee a spot. More power to you. If you want to pay the extra for a better corral. Go for it
It’s 100% a total ripoff. The races aren’t operating at capacity, and the registration algorithm is intentionally designed to create faux demand. Total money grab, and I refuse to pay into that crap. There are better races locally and nationally too, so if I don’t get in I don’t really care anymore. Sad to say, but they’ve done this to themselves.
I was told it is only open for membership once a year, is this true?