Why Join Club runDisney in 2025? Is It Worth It?
You can join Club runDisney and have access to a load of race-related perks. Cool? Definitely. Or Maybe. Depends on how you want to look at this. One of the perks included is essentially paying for better runDisney corral placement… and that’s got the runDisney community talking. Here’s how you can join Club runDisney, why you might want to, and why it just may not be for you. I joined last year and can see some benefits to being part of the club that’s made for me and you! Let’s discuss if joining Club runDisney is worth it.
Alright, we have to talk about this. There’s a lot to unpack with Club RunDisney and our emotions and thoughts have run all over the place. When it was first announced, it was a hard NO from me.
But after a few years of watching how it unfolded, and then dipping into the Club myself last year, my hard no is a soft yes?
So take a deep breath, settle in, and I’ll break down the pros and cons of the Club runDisney membership.
And yes, I will discuss the upgraded pay-to-play runDisney corral placement issue.
Table of Contents
What is Club runDisney?
runDisney introduced Club runDisney, a new membership opportunity for runners. Want to be a member of the club that’s made for runners like you and me?
You can: you just gotta pay for it.
When Does Club runDisney Registration Open?
The 2025 Club runDisney Memberships will go on sale to the general public on August 1, 2024, at 10:00 AM ET.
That is, if there are any slots still available after current members renew. More on this in a minute.
Visit the runDisney.com website at 10 am to purchase your club registration.
How Long is the Club runDisney Membership?
From its inception, Club runDisney has been a one-year membership program that runs from October 1 to September 20 every year.
But that is changing for 2025 and beyond.
On April 16, 2024, runDisney announced that the Club would be transferred to a calendar-year product. It will now be valid from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025.
Changes To Club runDisney (April 2024)
runDisney recently sent an email to current Club members stating that there would be changes in the program for the 2025 race season.
The most significant change at the moment is that the program will be based on the calendar year.
All current Club members have been extended membership through December 31, 2024. From the email:
Beginning in 2025, Club runDisney Memberships will span a traditional calendar year, beginning on January 1st and concluding on December 31st of the same year. This is different from our current season, which begins on October 1st and concludes on September 30th of the following calendar year.
As a courtesy to you, one of our current Members, this means you’ll receive a 3-month extension to your current Membership, at no cost to you, which will now expire on December 31, 2024. There is no action required on your part—all current Members will automatically receive the additional 3 months of Membership.
With this extension, Gold & Platinum Members will receive additional benefits, including early access to the runDisney Merchandise Shop at the 2024 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend. Platinum Members will also have access to Club runDisney Headquarters for expedited bib pick-up, as well as enhanced start group placement for the aforementioned race weekend.
I Want To Run Princess 2025. Should I Join Club runDisney?
We’re breaking it down for you.
What you pay for as a NEW club member does not go into effect until January 2025.
You are not a member until January 1, 2025.
You are not eligible for any perks until that time.
This means that all registrations that happen before that date will NOT receive early registration. However, anything that goes on sale after January 1, 2025, WILL receive early registration.
No, you will not get Club early registration access for Princess 2025. You should only sign up for the Club runDisney package IF you plan on running the 2026 races.
What Membership Levels Will Club runDisney Offer and Which Ones Get Better runDisney Corral Placement?
There are three membership levels:
1. SILVER Club runDisney Membership Price $289.00 (2025 prices)
Benefits include:
- Member Welcome Kit: Member Jacket (size chart), Club runDisney Magnet, Membership Card, Club runDisney Virtual 10K Medal
- Tier 1 pricing year-round for available runDisney Races**
- Exclusive 2025 Club runDisney Virtual 10K*
- Club runDisney designation on race bibs**
- Early access to renew your Club runDisney Membership before sales open to the general public
2. GOLD Club runDisney Membership Price $635.00 (2025 prices)
Benefits include:
- Member Welcome Kit: Member Jacket (size chart), Club runDisney Magnet, Membership Card, Club runDisney Virtual 10K Medal, Club runDisney Member Pin
- Tier 1 pricing year-round for available runDisney Race
- Exclusive 2025 Club runDisney Virtual 10K
- Club runDisney designation on race bibs
- A guaranteed opportunity to purchase one race registration in each race weekend through early registration
- Club runDisney Expo Experience including early access to runDisney Merchandise Shop
- Early access to renew your Club runDisney Membership before sales open to the general public
3. PLATINUM Club runDisney Membership Price $993.00 (2025 prices)
Benefits include:
- Member Welcome Kit: Member Jacket (size chart), Club runDisney Magnet, Membership Card, Club runDisney Virtual 10K Medal, Club runDisney Member Pin
- Tier 1 pricing year-round for available runDisney Races
- Exclusive 2025 Club runDisney Virtual 10K
- Club runDisney designation on race bibs
- A guaranteed opportunity to purchase two race registrations in each race weekend through early registration
- Club runDisney Expo Experience including:
- Club runDisney Headquarters with convenient packet pick-up
- Early access to runDisney Merchandise Shop
- Early access to renew your Club runDisney Membership before sales open to the general public
- Upgraded corral placement
Who Is Club runDisney For?
In theory, for everyone- I mean, that’s what runDisney is hoping for, anyway. They are a business; they want to be profitable, and the more people that sign up for this membership, the more profit they earn.
If you have the money, this club is for you!
And we totally get that from a business perspective.
But in reality? We think this membership program probably works for a specific subset of runners.
Who is Club runDisney for?
Here are some possible “avatars” of the ideal Club runDisney member (nothing scientific, just us guessing based on what we know about the product, the culture, the perks, and the costs involved).
- DVC Members. These folks are already sold on Disney vacations for life and are likely AP holders. Their race weekend financial output is likely much smaller each race weekend than non-DVC runners. They likely have some disposable income to spend on membership since they are not paying for a room and ticket package for each race weekend.
- Big runDisney Fangirls and Guys. Since the perks associated with the membership include things like club jackets and special bibs for races, this would appeal to those mega-fans of the culture.
- Groups of friends or families. Those who want to guarantee entry to a race or the same corral and who love to shop at the expo will benefit from this membership program.
- Back of the Pack Runners. There’s no other way around this: some of us back of the packers would pay a little more to get a time cushion on the course from the runDisney Balloon Ladies. Pay almost $1000 for that perk? Time will tell- but yes, you can now pay for better runDisney corral placement. More on this in a minute.
Who Is Probably NOT Going To Buy Club runDisney?
We think many long-time runDisney participants might not be interested in this. If they know the registration process and have that down, they probably don’t need to spend the extra cost.
Many don’t need a special jacket or bib designation (it’s a tiny “C” for Club) to show their runDisney love.
They’ve been there and done that enough that they know the value of a race weekend for them is the relationships they’ve fostered from the community and the on-course experience we get.
Give runners more characters on the course! That’s what we get excited about.
But the devil is in the details, as they say, and for a one-time-a-year runDisney Runner, there doesn’t seem to be a huge amount of tangible value vs the cost being charged.
We can’t say we’d recommend it to a one-time-a-year first-time runner.
Paying For a Better runDisney Corral Placement: Join Club runDisney
There is nothing- and we mean NOTHING- more discussed in runDisney circles than race corral placements. Or start groups as they are sometimes called.
And this is the most problematic and controversial aspect of the program.
Start Group placement is earned by submitting proof of time if you think you will be finishing faster than 2:30 for a half marathon.
If you buy the Platinum Club runDisney package, you will be eligible for a corral upgrade simply by paying for the membership fee.
And guys? runDisney had this out in a post-race survey before.
So there are absolutely people who are interested in this option. That’s why it’s been added to this program.
Who Would This Upgraded runDisney Corral Placement Impact?
According to the FAQs, if you earn a higher corral via your proof of time, you will keep that corral.
In other words, this isn’t an across-the-board bump for all Club runDisney runners.
For the 2024 Marathon, all eligible Club runDisney members were seeded in Corral B.
There are some changes with proof of time in effect for the 2024-2025 races, so I think there could be a change to this policy as well. Club runners may get put in Corral C instead of Corral B due to these changes, but we won’t see that happen until the Wine and Dine race weekend.
Is this a good plan? Is this fair? Is this worth it?
Want to discuss this more? Join the No-Guilt Disney Facebook group.
Have More Questions?
Join the No-Guilt Disney FACEBOOK Group
Need More runDisney Tips?
- How To Run A PERFECT runDisney Season
- runDisney At Disneyland: Everything You Need To Know Before 2025
- Tips For Race: runDisney Advice For Newcomers
- Best runDisney Restaurants To Fuel Up Before Races!
- runDisney Gift Guide For Your Disney Obsessed Runner
- runDisney: The Ultimate Guide to Magical Miles
- The Beginner’s Guide to runDisney: Tips For 2024-2025
Patty Holliday has been running Disney since 2011. She knows just about every tip, trick, and hack there is to cover the runDisney Magical Miles at Disney World and Disneyland. She knows every mile isn’t *always* magical- but with training, tips, and a little bit of pixie dust, they can be a lot of fun! You can also find her at noguiltlife.com and noguiltfangirl.com
What are the Tier 1 year-round pricing for races?
Tier 1 pricing is the original pricing offered to runners. So AP, DVC and general public get Tier 1 until a certain date (I want to say 2-3 months after the race goes on sale). At that point, it goes up a Tier to the next level.
This could change, but that’s how it has been in previous race weekends. Star Wars has been increased since the races opened to the public, for example.