runDisney Referrals Revisited

If you’ve followed my running status over the past six months, you know I had to defer Disney’s Princess Half Marathon which took place in February (I was 35 weeks pregnant at the time). I wrote a post all about the first part of my deferral process here, but now that it’s all said and done, I am going to revisit and let you know about the second part of the deferral process.

When we left off in part one, I’d received an email from runDisney letting me know that an official registration email would be in my inbox two weeks before outside registration opened for the event.  

Sure enough, on June 28^th that email came through to my inbox complete with instructions on the registration process. Included in the email was an official link which was specialized to me and my information. It was also a onetime link that couldn’t be used again for an additional registration. Also, the email instructed me that I could only re-register for the same event I’d registered for the previous year (in my case, it was the Glass Slipper Challenge). I was only credited the amount I paid for 2016’s race and since the Glass Slipper Challenge for 2017 went up an additional $15.00, I was responsible for that additional amount. 

The process was super easy and in no time, I was registered! Yay!

Deferral registration opened on July 5^th and stayed open for two weeks. If I would have missed that timeframe, my registration would have been forfeited.

On one hand, it was nice to already have my registration in place and not freak out about getting into the race on registration day. However, I didn’t like all of the additional fees that came along with the deferral process. For the Glass Slipper Challenge, I paid an additional $70 to defer (this total includes the deferral fee and the additional costs for 2017’s registration). For the 10K, we paid an additional $65 to defer (this total also includes the deferral fee and the additional costs for 2017’s registration). Overall, I’m not sure the deferral fees were “worth it” for the 10K, but I’m definitely glad they were in place for the Glass Slipper Challenge!

Oh yes, this might have happened, too. Whoops. 

I honestly hadn’t even considered the possibility of Brayden doing the Diaper Dash until I browsed the registration page on Tuesday. After reading up on it, I just couldn’t help myself! I’m even more excited now for Brayden’s first trip to WDW AND his first runDisney event! Yay! 

Have you ever deferred a runDisney event? Has your little one ever done the Diaper Dash?

Deferring a runDisney Event

Happy hump day, everyone! Yes, I'm still here...no baby yet. I know I was MIA for two days but this time change has really messed with my already sleepy brain!

I also want to take a moment to thank you guys for being so patient with me through my non-running pregnancy related hiatus I've had to take since December. I miss it so much, the thought of a run occasionally haunts my dreams. It won't be much longer, though...I can't wait to get back out there! :)

When we first began timing everything out in our minds regarding our pregnancy, I realized that I would be around 34 or 35 weeks pregnant for Princess Weekend/Glass Slipper Challenge. While that would be ok for some, the thought of everything to do with the travel aspect of our trip freaked me out. Combined with the fact that I was put on a strict "no running or extra walking" status by my OB at the end of December, I knew Princess was definitely out of the equation.

Thankfully, all of this took place in just enough time for me to defer. However, runDisney's site does not offer much information about the deferral process, so I began searching google for information. I also reached out to Kathryn for advice (she recently deferred another runDisney event as well). She said that she emailed runDisney (via their contact page) and asked for the specific deferral date, then placed that date in her phone so she wouldn't forget it. That sounded like a great idea to me, so I went with it!

Within a few days, I had a response from the runDisney team that their 2016 Princess deferral date would be on January 5th and would appear beneath the "Registration tab" on the Princess portion of their site. A flat fee of $55 would be charged to my credit card for the deferral, regardless of which race I was deferring ($55 for the 10K, $55 for the Half, $55 for the Glass Slipper Challenge). 

A few days before January 5th, I picked through their website to make sure I had a good feel for it. I had no idea how many people would deferring the race at the time, but I did hear that it fills up quickly and I wanted to make sure I was able to take care of it all! (Not only was I deferring, so were my dad, mom, and husband.)

On January 5th, I began checking the website at 6 a.m. This was not necessary as the deferral link did not show up under the registration tab until later on in the morning. I do believe it was around 11 a.m. central time when I found it (same as when registration for most runDisney events opens).

Right away, I received an email from runDisney saying they received my submission, but nothing was final yet.

It wasn't until February 11th when this email arrived, saying that my deferral was confirmed and I would receive another email two weeks before the 2017 Princess races go on sale that would allow me to officially register for the event. 

Deferrals are only good for the EXACT same event registered for initially. For example, I registered for the 2016 Glass Slipper Challenge, so I will have to defer to the 2017 Glass Slipper Challenge when the time arrives.

Please note: A deferral from a runDisney event does not mean that you receive a "credit" or your money back into your bank account. Basically, your registration fee will be "applied" to the next year's registration fee - and if prices for the next year's races have gone up or changed at all, you'll be responsible for the extra sum. 

In all, this wasn't an easy process as I'm pretty sure runDisney doesn't necessarily WANT people to defer (I can imagine the nightmare with how many runners they have for each event), but it really was doable!

For part two of my experience with the runDisney deferral process, click here.

Was I happy to defer Princess 2016? Absolutely not...but I definitely had good reason, and my prize will be waiting for me in just a few short weeks! :)

Have you ever had to defer a race or event? Was the process an easy one?