Update 3.29.16 No More Deferrals? | runDisney

Update 3.29.16:  The deferral link is now live!

Deferrals
 Side note: A friend called this morning and was told no deferrals.  A few hours later she received a call back stating they would be happening in limited numbers. 

Deferrals still may be going away according to another high level rundisney employee today.  “We are looking at all options at this point”.  Keep this in mind going forward. 

Deferrals:  it’s a big topic for runners.

Many races do NOT offer them.  Some races are very generous with their deferral policies. And some, like runDisney, fall in between.

Or at least, it did.  Some new, not yet confirmed in writing, information has come out that the runDisney community may need to be aware of before the next race registration.

Which is next week, by the way.

I wasn’t sure I was going to share this since I try to stick to rumors I know to be coming true.  If you read it here, there’s an excellent chance I know what is coming down the line.  I don’t want to start any unnecessary panic among runners.

Buttttt… this has been a hot topic of discussion in the Facebook groups recently.

Maybe, in this case, it is only fair to let the consumer know what’s up.

Or what might be up.

Or at least, what might be coming up?

I sound wishy-washy.  I know, I know.  Bah, I hate writing posts like this for that reason. It feels like something is happening, and it looks like something is changing, but I can’t quite say for certain what or why these changes are being made.

Who knows at this point.  runDisney hasn’t sent anything out through official channels other than individual phone calls placed by the running community.  Until they do, just be aware that this *might* be a change in a long-standing deferral policy at runDisney.

Star Wars Dark Side- NO Deferrals For This Race

Maybe.  (Remember, this is not confirmed until it’s on the website or sent out via email/social media.)

Typically the deferral link would have been opened by now.  It usually goes live on the runDisney website about six weeks before the race.  You pay a fee, and you get a nice little email after a few days confirming your deferral status.

When registration opens for the following year, you use a coupon code and get signed up, paying any price difference that may have happened.

The process is simple. I had to do it last year for my Goofy bib.

But the link has not shown up at all. So what gives?

Runners wishing to defer have made phone calls and sent emails over the course of the past two weeks.  Here’s where things get interesting.

The most recent information (on Tuesday) coming from runDisney staff stated that NO deferrals would be given for this race.

But before we panic, let’s remember the most fun aspect of runDisney:  staff members don’t always have all the details.  I know that sounds insane, but it’s been proven time and time again for those of us who runDisney often.  The front line staff is often the last to know what’s happening.

This may be true in this case because as soon as this information was shared, other runners wishing to defer made their own phone calls.

And were told an entirely different story by a different cast member.

This new staff member stated that deferrals would be open on April 14th.

You know the first day of the expo.  Whaaaa???

Hmmmmm….

Call me crazy, but I’m going to put more weight on the first situation being more likely.

If you look on the runDisney website, virtually any mention of deferring any races has been scraped off.

I poked around and did not find it mentioned on any of the upcoming race weekends.

What I did find was the newly updated registration policy.  This shows up under every race weekend now.

As you can see, deferral opportunities are not mentioned at all.

I am confident that deferrals were referred to in previous versions of the policy, and I know they were mentioned on the FAQ page.

Additional information shared by runners indicated that staff was not sure if this would be the policy going forward or not.

Hopefully, runDisney will be sending out an official notice on this very big change to their policies.  Soon.

Like, before Wine and Dine goes on sale, hint-hint. 

Wine and Dine Deferral Links

Many runners deferred their Wine and Dine registration for the 2015 race.

Typically those runners have gotten word from runDisney by now that they are ready to accept their registrations for 2016.  Deferred runners are still waiting on those emails.

Calls to runDisney as well as emails have proven frustrating.

One runner was told emails would be sent by Thursday of last week.  A follow-up call today indicated sometime next week.

Another runner shared an email that stated REFUNDS would be given to runners who are no longer able to use their deferrals since the race weekend has been completely changed up. 

Refunds?  What?!

Madness.  As you know, that is something runDisney just does not do.

But maybe they will in this case since the race was changed from a Saturday night to a Sunday morning and some runners were banking on that Saturday night race.

ETA: I’ve seen reports that some deferral emails and links have been sent to runners later on Tuesday. No official word on refunds, however.  

The only thing we know for sure is that something isn’t business as usual when it comes to deferrals.

While I try to be very careful with rumors, I feel like this one has some meat on it.

This is a heads-up to those of you who register first and figure out if you can actually go later. You may have banked on using the deferral process in case your plans fell through.  This is just a warning that you may not be able to count on that process for future races.

What do you think about the deferral process for races?  Should they be allowed?