Club run disney

[The Expert]

I'm an inaugural member (Oct 2020- Oct 2021), but chose the silver level because we still had AP/DVC early registration at that time. That went away shortly after and I was stuck. The only perks I received as silver were the jacket, a virtual medal and a quarter-size bib designation for the races I attended. We did get grandfathered in to the next year's membership (Oct 2021- Oct 2022) for no extra cost, so I ended up with the next year's jacket and virtual medal, which was nice.

I was torn on whether to just drop out or upgrade when my renewal email came today. IMHO Silver was not at all worth the cost. At in-person races there was literally nothing but that little bib acknowledgement for Silver or Gold members. They've since added early registration and early expo access for Gold, both of which are worth it to me. I ultimately upgraded to Platinum for the corral bump, and for the extra early race registration as I'm considering doing all the rD races one of these seasons.

For those of you waiting to register as new members, my email indicated I had until May 2nd to renew or upgrade. This seems to align with the May 3rd opening for new registrations that we were told at the expo.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

I ultimately upgraded to Platinum for the corral bump, and for the extra early race registration as I'm considering doing all the rD races one of these seasons.

I think I’ll be with you. Maybe we can chill in the corrals together. Which races are you doing again? I’m contemplating getting the Disney CC and paying it off immediately so I can get $300 “off” because $800 is so much though… does anyone here have experience with a Disney CC?

 

[Jwild10]

What does early entry to merchandise mean for MW? Do you get in on Tuesday vs Wednesday with the Club?

 

[luv2cheer92]

What does early entry to merchandise mean for MW? Do you get in on Tuesday vs Wednesday with the Club?

It's like an hour early on Wed. (The time may be different, but its definitely Wed).

 

[luv2cheer92]

I'm an inaugural member (Oct 2020- Oct 2021), but chose the silver level because we still had AP/DVC early registration at that time. That went away shortly after and I was stuck. The only perks I received as silver were the jacket, a virtual medal and a quarter-size bib designation for the races I attended. We did get grandfathered in to the next year's membership (Oct 2021- Oct 2022) for no extra cost, so I ended up with the next year's jacket and virtual medal, which was nice.

I was torn on whether to just drop out or upgrade when my renewal email came today. IMHO Silver was not at all worth the cost. At in-person races there was literally nothing but that little bib acknowledgement for Silver or Gold members. They've since added early registration and early expo access for Gold, both of which are worth it to me. I ultimately upgraded to Platinum for the corral bump, and for the extra early race registration as I'm considering doing all the rD races one of these seasons.

For those of you waiting to register as new members, my email indicated I had until May 2nd to renew or upgrade. This seems to align with the May 3rd opening for new registrations that we were told at the expo.

The website was updated to say the May 3rd date a week or two ago.

 

[Livelovedance]

I think I’ll be with you. Maybe we can chill in the corrals together. Which races are you doing again? I’m contemplating getting the Disney CC and paying it off immediately so I can get $300 “off” because $800 is so much though… does anyone here have experience with a Disney CC?

I have a Disney CC. Originally the no fee card, then I was offered a promotion at some point to upgrade to the premier version. Very simple card, just don't forget to get that $300 off you'll be paying an annual fee. I think its $49, so it's still $251. Before I had DVC I liked the ability to book trips with it and have the 6 months 0% financing. There are better credit cards out there, but there are some perks that make it a nice card. I don't put a lot of spend on it, but the rewards dollars add up over time.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

There are better credit cards out there, but there are some perks that make it a nice card. I don't put a lot of spend on it, but the rewards dollars add up over time.

Thanks for the feedback. I think I’ll get it since I have several trips coming up, including a cruise, and the small food/merch discounts will be nice.

Does anyone know what time in May 3rd CrD will open?

 

[camaker]

I think I’ll be with you. Maybe we can chill in the corrals together. Which races are you doing again? I’m contemplating getting the Disney CC and paying it off immediately so I can get $300 “off” because $800 is so much though… does anyone here have experience with a Disney CC?

I have the Premier version of the Disney CC and love it. I put literally everything that I spend onto the card and pay it off every month. As a result, even with the annual fee I come out ahead on the purchases that get me 2% back. The only downside that I've found is that if you're saving up points for something big (like a cruise), points do expire after a certain time. They're good about letting you know when that's coming up so you can download them to a card for use, though.

 

[Livelovedance]

I have the Premier version of the Disney CC and love it. I put literally everything that I spend onto the card and pay it off every month. As a result, even with the annual fee I come out ahead on the purchases that get me 2% back. The only downside that I've found is that if you're saving up points for something big (like a cruise), points do expire after a certain time. They're good about letting you know when that's coming up so you can download them to a card for use, though.

Definitely! I don’t use it a lot because I have other cards with higher rewards, but I use it for the 2% category spend if another card isn’t offering a better reward at that time. It’s a chase card so don’t forget to check the chase offers for limited time promotions as well.

 

[striker1064]

I think I’ll be with you. Maybe we can chill in the corrals together. Which races are you doing again? I’m contemplating getting the Disney CC and paying it off immediately so I can get $300 “off” because $800 is so much though… does anyone here have experience with a Disney CC?

You can do a lot better than the Disney CC. This is a topic well beyond the scope of this thread so I won't dive too deeply, but just as a couple examples the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Freedom Flex cards both have the same $200 bonus as the Disney CC, but the rewards are significantly better. If you have a fair bit of spend and do some travel, the Chase Sapphire Preferred has an elevated bonus (but also has an annual fee, although the card is worth it in spite of that).

I'd encourage you to check out the I love credit cards thread on the Budget Board if you're interested in reading more.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I'm gonna go off-topic for this thread for a hot second.

You can do a lot better than the Disney CC. This is a topic well beyond the scope of this thread so I won't dive too deeply, but just as a couple examples the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Freedom Flex cards both have the same $200 bonus as the Disney CC, but the rewards are significantly better. If you have a fair bit of spend and do some travel, the Chase Sapphire Preferred has an elevated bonus (but also has an annual fee, although the card is worth it in spite of that).

I'd encourage you to check out the I love credit cards thread on the Budget Board if you're interested in reading more.

THIS. That thread in the Budget Board is incredibly helpful, although there is a whole new set of acronyms to learn over there. (How helpful? We had booked an 8-day cruise for 6, with one room being a balcony, including the automatic tip, plus round-trip airfare AND a hotel for 2 nights before and 1 hotel the night after. There are strategies to accrue a LOT of points if you have the everyday spending to hit all the MSRs. DH is an electrician and wire prices have been insane, so we didn't have a problem with these. But if you're going to be aggressively earning points there are definitely things to consider.) I got a card last January that gave me 5x points at grocery stores for a YEAR. When feeding 4 kids (and 2 are teens) this was an easy way to get a lot of points without having to do a big spend to get a "minimum spending requirement" bonus in the first few months.

I think I’ll be with you. Maybe we can chill in the corrals together. Which races are you doing again? I’m contemplating getting the Disney CC and paying it off immediately so I can get $300 “off” because $800 is so much though… does anyone here have experience with a Disney CC?

I am considering adding a Disney CC (once I finish looking through all the details and into annual fees) simply for the discount at the expo. With DH doing 2 races and myself doing Dopey, that's going to be 7 pins @ $18-ish each, that's going to be $130 in just pins. Plus a hopefully-not-hideous spirit jersey. And finisher shirts. And who knows what else they'll come up with to sell us.

 

[Livelovedance]

You can do a lot better than the Disney CC. This is a topic well beyond the scope of this thread so I won't dive too deeply, but just as a couple examples the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Freedom Flex cards both have the same $200 bonus as the Disney CC, but the rewards are significantly better. If you have a fair bit of spend and do some travel, the Chase Sapphire Preferred has an elevated bonus (but also has an annual fee, although the card is worth it in spite of that).

I'd encourage you to check out the I love credit cards thread on the Budget Board if you're interested in reading more.

I'm gonna go off-topic for this thread for a hot second.

THIS. That thread in the Budget Board is incredibly helpful, although there is a whole new set of acronyms to learn over there. (How helpful? We had booked an 8-day cruise for 6, with one room being a balcony, including the automatic tip, plus round-trip airfare AND a hotel for 2 nights before and 1 hotel the night after. There are strategies to accrue a LOT of points if you have the everyday spending to hit all the MSRs. DH is an electrician and wire prices have been insane, so we didn't have a problem with these. But if you're going to be aggressively earning points there are definitely things to consider.) I got a card last January that gave me 5x points at grocery stores for a YEAR. When feeding 4 kids (and 2 are teens) this was an easy way to get a lot of points without having to do a big spend to get a "minimum spending requirement" bonus in the first few months.


I am considering adding a Disney CC (once I finish looking through all the details and into annual fees) simply for the discount at the expo. With DH doing 2 races and myself doing Dopey, that's going to be 7 pins @ $18-ish each, that's going to be $130 in just pins. Plus a hopefully-not-hideous spirit jersey. And finisher shirts. And who knows what else they'll come up with to sell us.

Absolutely this. I learned everything I know about credit cards from that thread years ago. I know credit cards aren’t for everyone, and not everyone uses them the same. I’m an “open a card that has value long term” person, vs a chasing opening bonuses person. Even with my strategy I’ve saved so much money thanks to everyone there! I haven’t read that thread in a long time but it’s definitely worth a read if you’re serious about credit card perks.

 

[The Expert]

I think I’ll be with you. Maybe we can chill in the corrals together. Which races are you doing again? I’m contemplating getting the Disney CC and paying it off immediately so I can get $300 “off” because $800 is so much though… does anyone here have experience with a Disney CC?

Sounds fun! I'm doing W&D 5K and my second Dopey in January. I have another trip during Princess but may be up for Spring Surprise if I like the themes/distances.

As for the CC, it's been well covered, but we do use ours to book the races and anything else we buy that is Disney-related. I use the points card as my expo and souvenir money at the parks.

 

[ValW]

I am a Platinum member and renewed. For me, the totally stress free racing was worth every penny, but I love running at Disney and plan and doing all the race weekends. Since questions and answers are kind of spread out through this thread, I thought I would try to put them in one place:

**. Club membership is ONLY for that club member (no you can't share)
** GUARANTEED registration - 1 for Gold, 2 for Platinum
** 2 race registrations will allow the club member ONLY to sign up (ie: Challenge & 5K). This was the only issue I faced previously. (Platinum only)
** Early access to the expo is 1 hour prior to opening on the first day of the Expo (Gold & Platinum).
** Platinum lounge is open 1 hour prior to early expo access and stays open for the duration of the Expo. This area is bib/shirt pickup, special picture opportunity, and drinks (soda, water, Powerade) (Platinum only)
** Upgraded corral (Platinum only). This was GREAT! No stressing about POT.
**. All memberships get Club Jacket, virtual 10K, and Club designation on bib. We received jackets and medals in October/November in 2020. 2021 was little different timing due to obvious reasons.

Membership runs from Oct 1, 2022 to Sept 30, 2023 so will be as follows:

Early expo access, upgraded corral (Platinum), platinum lounge, Club designation on bib:
Wine & Dine 2022
Marathon Weekend 2023
Princess Weekend 2023
Springtime Surprise 2023

Guaranteed Registration (not just early, but GUARANTEED):
Wine & Dine 2023
Marathon Weekend 2024
Princess Weekend 2024
Springtime Surprise 2024

Hope this helps a little bit. ~Val

 

[Naomeri]

Thanks for the great rundown Val! And thanks to everyone discussing the Disney Visa card, you sold me. I had been using my Apple card for Disney, but I was only getting 1% cash back, so 2% rewards is twice as good, and that statement credit is helpful too.

 

[DianaMB333]

I am a Platinum member and renewed. For me, the totally stress free racing was worth every penny, but I love running at Disney and plan and doing all the race weekends. Since questions and answers are kind of spread out through this thread, I thought I would try to put them in one place:

**. Club membership is ONLY for that club member (no you can't share)
** GUARANTEED registration - 1 for Gold, 2 for Platinum
** 2 race registrations will allow the club member ONLY to sign up (ie: Challenge & 5K). This was the only issue I faced previously. (Platinum only)
** Early access to the expo is 1 hour prior to opening on the first day of the Expo (Gold & Platinum).
** Platinum lounge is open 1 hour prior to early expo access and stays open for the duration of the Expo. This area is bib/shirt pickup, special picture opportunity, and drinks (soda, water, Powerade) (Platinum only)
** Upgraded corral (Platinum only). This was GREAT! No stressing about POT.
**. All memberships get Club Jacket, virtual 10K, and Club designation on bib. We received jackets and medals in October/November in 2020. 2021 was little different timing due to obvious reasons.

Membership runs from Oct 1, 2022 to Sept 30, 2023 so will be as follows:

Early expo access, upgraded corral (Platinum), platinum lounge, Club designation on bib:
Wine & Dine 2022
Marathon Weekend 2023
Princess Weekend 2023
Springtime Surprise 2023

Guaranteed Registration (not just early, but GUARANTEED):
Wine & Dine 2023
Marathon Weekend 2024
Princess Weekend 2024
Springtime Surprise 2024

Hope this helps a little bit. ~Val

This is great thanks!

 

[Philsfan77]

I am a Platinum member and renewed. For me, the totally stress free racing was worth every penny, but I love running at Disney and plan and doing all the race weekends. Since questions and answers are kind of spread out through this thread, I thought I would try to put them in one place:

**. Club membership is ONLY for that club member (no you can't share)
** GUARANTEED registration - 1 for Gold, 2 for Platinum
** 2 race registrations will allow the club member ONLY to sign up (ie: Challenge & 5K). This was the only issue I faced previously. (Platinum only)
** Early access to the expo is 1 hour prior to opening on the first day of the Expo (Gold & Platinum).
** Platinum lounge is open 1 hour prior to early expo access and stays open for the duration of the Expo. This area is bib/shirt pickup, special picture opportunity, and drinks (soda, water, Powerade) (Platinum only)
** Upgraded corral (Platinum only). This was GREAT! No stressing about POT.
**. All memberships get Club Jacket, virtual 10K, and Club designation on bib. We received jackets and medals in October/November in 2020. 2021 was little different timing due to obvious reasons.

Membership runs from Oct 1, 2022 to Sept 30, 2023 so will be as follows:

Early expo access, upgraded corral (Platinum), platinum lounge, Club designation on bib:
Wine & Dine 2022
Marathon Weekend 2023
Princess Weekend 2023
Springtime Surprise 2023

Guaranteed Registration (not just early, but GUARANTEED):
Wine & Dine 2023
Marathon Weekend 2024
Princess Weekend 2024
Springtime Surprise 2024

Hope this helps a little bit. ~Val

Someone in another thread mentioned that you have to be a member for 2 years to get the perks of the membership. If we were to join this year when it opens, would that put us in position for say 2025 to be the first time to use it?

 

[Naomeri]

Someone in another thread mentioned that you have to be a member for 2 years to get the perks of the membership. If we were to join this year when it opens, would that put us in position for say 2025 to be the first time to use it?

That’s not what they meant. They meant you would need to be a member for 2 years to get all the perks on all the race weekends because of the way the membership period falls in the year. If you sign up next week, you won’t get any perks until October 1st of this year, so you wouldn’t get the perks of early registration for Princess Weekend in June, or for Springtime Surprise in August.

But you would get the early access to the merchandise area and the upgraded corral placement (if you do platinum) for all the races this season, and you’d get early registration for all of the races for next season (2023/2024), but unless you renew your membership, you wouldn’t get the expo access and corral boost for next season.

 

[jpeterson]

Someone in another thread mentioned that you have to be a member for 2 years to get the perks of the membership. If we were to join this year when it opens, would that put us in position for say 2025 to be the first time to use it?

I think they are referring to the fact that if you want early registration and the race day benefits for a single race you would need 2 years of the service. Because the club membership runs from October - September, you wouldn't be able to get early registration and early expo access/corral placement for the same race without having it for 2 consecutive years.

Edit: What Naomeri said

 

[FFigawi]

I think they'd have a riot on their hands if people had to wait 2 year for benefits