Bibs from Acclaim

[Keels]

It really depends on a race-to-race basis it seems. The packages for Disneyland Half this year were really expensive (they included a two-day hopper, Anniversary Party ticket, pin, and the bib cost), so Acclaim let you purchase in two payments.

But for other races, you have to pay the bib fees up-front and then put down a hotel deposit. When I bought my bib for PDC, it was really close to race so all I had to do was pay for the bib (I ended up deferring anyway).

My friend looked at buying a bib into W&D and ultimately passed because she wouldn't know if she could make it. The cancellation policy for W&D was something like 50% before a certain date.

I think, if you have a specific race and certain scenarios in mind, it wouldn't hurt to give Jim a call and ask him specifically about what options might be available to you.

 

[samc]

Question -
I had planned to use Acclaim for star wars 2016 so I filled out the pre-registration info and email-sign up on their website. On Monday I called & they hadn't received race info from rundisney yet....so since I could do early registration on Tuesday I went ahead and signed myself up. Do I need to check the cancellation policy for Acclaim? I wasn't technically registered & haven't paid them???

TIA!

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Question -
I had planned to use Acclaim for star wars 2016 so I filled out the pre-registration info and email-sign up on their website. On Monday I called & they hadn't received race info from rundisney yet....so since I could do early registration on Tuesday I went ahead and signed myself up. Do I need to check the cancellation policy for Acclaim? I wasn't technically registered & haven't paid them???

TIA!

My understanding from them is that you are NOT registered for anything or subject to ANY cancellation fee until you call them back and give a credit card to book.

 

[bumbershoot]

Acclaim has bibs now.

I don't think doing the pre-registration request obliges you to anything.

 

[keahgirl8]

I know this is kind of an old thread, but I'm thinking about doing this now. How exactly does the process go?

 

[Z-Knight]

Basically Disney designates several travel providers that get race bibs that they can sell separate from the runDisney site. Typically the bibs are packaged with either park tickets or hotels or both, but they are never really only race bibs - so basically you have to get the whole package
These packages are determined by disney and so the travel providers sell them that way. Usually though these packages are good deals and can have discounted rates on hotels or park tickets and usually the number of minimum hotel days or ticket days is based on which bib you want and for even the major races like Dopey in Disney World that minimum is low - like 3 nights.

The best part about this is that the travel providers will put you on a list and if you are early enough to contact them and pay deposit then you have almost a guarantee of getting the race. They usually get their bib allocations early - like 2 weeks early just like annual pass holders etc. The main benefit is you get entry into the race early and dont have to sit at computer when registration opens and hope that you get into the queue and dont miss out. With the main races selling out so quickly the travel providers will likely always be my first choice.

 

[Z-Knight]

They also take care of the registration for you so there is very little for you to do - so awesome and stress free - usually. I'm the exception because I was totally stressing because my last name starts with a Z so I was last to get registered.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I know this is kind of an old thread, but I'm thinking about doing this now. How exactly does the process go?

The best part about this is that the travel providers will put you on a list and if you are early enough to contact them and pay deposit then you have almost a guarantee of getting the race. They usually get their bib allocations early - like 2 weeks early just like annual pass holders etc. The main benefit is you get entry into the race early and dont have to sit at computer when registration opens and hope that you get into the queue and dont miss out. With the main races selling out so quickly the travel providers will likely always be my first choice.

Just FYI, the process has changed a bit with Acclaim wrt the race registration. Acclaim holds you a spot in their allocated block, and once they receive it from Disney, they send you a link to register yourself via Active -- basically the same registration process as when you register yourself. It worked well for me.

Note that we just received the link for Star Wars Half on Jul 7, while early registration for the race opened Jun 2, and regular registration opened Jun 17. Acclaim turned around the link from Disney as soon as they received it. I share this just because I know I was at least somewhat stressed until I was able to officially register through Active and received that confirmation email! All went well, just took a while.

Also note that for Star Wars Half, Acclaim DID NOT hear back from Disney confirming their block until AFTER early registration began. Hopefully this is an anomaly, but it did cause me heartburn...

 

[keahgirl8]

Hmmmm...well that kind of makes me nervous.

 

[Z-Knight]

which part - I think this is a no brainer if you definitely wanted to get a bib. I would be more nervous waiting for the registration to open and hoping I get it. With the travel providers as long as they tell you that you have a bib with them then you are safe - especially since they are official Disney providers so they are not some fly-by-night outfit. The nervous part is just waiting for the official active.com registration but that is a formality. And if now they just send you the link that is fine - I mean you still have the registration and don't have to worry about being in a queue.

Just my $0.02

 

[keahgirl8]

which part - I think this is a no brainer if you definitely wanted to get a bib. I would be more nervous waiting for the registration to open and hoping I get it. With the travel providers as long as they tell you that you have a bib with them then you are safe - especially since they are official Disney providers so they are not some fly-by-night outfit. The nervous part is just waiting for the official active.com registration but that is a formality. And if now they just send you the link that is fine - I mean you still have the registration and don't have to worry about being in a queue.

Just my $0.02

I know I won't like the waiting. Though I have never read a bad review about Acclaim, so I'm sure it will be fine. I just like all my ducks to be in a row!

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I know I won't like the waiting. Though I have never read a bad review about Acclaim, so I'm sure it will be fine. I just like all my ducks to be in a row!

I'm with you, but I also agree with Z-Knight.

This was my FIRST TIME EVER using a travel agent FOR ANYTHING! So, needless to say, trusting them to secure my bib was NOT an easy move. I was all set to go with Acclaim a couple of weeks before early registration, but when they didn't get their block confirmed by Disney in time for early registration to begin, I couldn't help it -- I went on and tried to get all my races myself (which I told them ahead I would do if they didn't get their allocations in time). I was able to get 7 out of 8 total races. I circled back with Acclaim and got the 8th, ultimately, through them, since they got their confirmation from Disney before regular registration opened. I ended up also booking a hotel through them (even though I didn't need to with this race), and will get our park tix through them as well.

Now that I have experience with Acclaim, I think I could resist the urge to register myself, and hold off for them. My concern is less with Acclaim, actually, than it is with Disney. They never know exactly if/how their process with Disney will change -- apparently it has been in flux. But they have a long track record with Disney, and have gotten allocations for years and built a good relationship.

I'm a control freak, so this was NOT easy for me... but I would try Acclaim again for another race. In fact, I'm thinking about Wine & Dine 2016 to get a Coast-to-Coast...

 

[Z-Knight]

I can vouch so far for Acclaim totally - they are super nice but they are typically deluged with people so it takes a while sometimes to get the registrations processed. Maybe that now they don't have to do it themselves by hand and instead forward the link to you then it will be faster and even easier. My only experience long was waiting for them to get back to me about Dopey for the marathon in 2016 and it took a while because they processed each registration by hand and it took 10 minutes per, so it took a while. My name starts with a Z so I was at the back of the list and didn't get mine entered until even after the regular registration opened - but I still got it. I was scared that they may have missed me but it's just that it takes a while.

They usually get their allotment early so it is surprising that they didn't get it for the races you tried. If that is the case you did the exact correct think and do the signup yourself if they don't have the allotment and then go back to them.

I'm a control freak too but I also wanted to make sure I got the Dopey spot and so I took the chance - especially after hearing how the Dopey sells out in under 2 hours, I didn't want to take the chance of not getting it because I had computer problems or simply didn't get a spot in the queue.

 

[keahgirl8]

I'm with you, but I also agree with Z-Knight.

This was my FIRST TIME EVER using a travel agent FOR ANYTHING! So, needless to say, trusting them to secure my bib was NOT an easy move. I was all set to go with Acclaim a couple of weeks before early registration, but when they didn't get their block confirmed by Disney in time for early registration to begin, I couldn't help it -- I went on and tried to get all my races myself (which I told them ahead I would do if they didn't get their allocations in time). I was able to get 7 out of 8 total races. I circled back with Acclaim and got the 8th, ultimately, through them, since they got their confirmation from Disney before regular registration opened. I ended up also booking a hotel through them (even though I didn't need to with this race), and will get our park tix through them as well.

Now that I have experience with Acclaim, I think I could resist the urge to register myself, and hold off for them. My concern is less with Acclaim, actually, than it is with Disney. They never know exactly if/how their process with Disney will change -- apparently it has been in flux. But they have a long track record with Disney, and have gotten allocations for years and built a good relationship.

I'm a control freak, so this was NOT easy for me... but I would try Acclaim again for another race. In fact, I'm thinking about Wine & Dine 2016 to get a Coast-to-Coast...

Thanks so much for your input! I think you and I are a lot alike. Considering the fact that the race I want has been sold out for a long time, and I decided last minute (last minute by runDisney standards anyway) to do it, that will probably help my anxiety. It's not like I'm watching it fill up while I'm waiting.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

The nervous part is just waiting for the official active.com registration but that is a formality.

It was a bit more than this, this year for Star Wars Half. It was that when early registration opened, Acclaim did not even have a block/allocation of bibs confirmed with Disney -- they didn't know how many they were going to get. So, I had the choice of 1) trying early registration myself and seeing what I could get, using Acclaim as backup, or 2) letting early registration just come and go, WITHOUT yet knowing if I was assured a bib through Acclaim.

Acclaim does NOT set one aside for you until they:
1) receive confirmation of their block from Disney
2) send out an email to all who filled out pre-registration forms
3) first ones to call after their email are first served, and when their allocation is all spoken for, that's it

I'm told that NORMALLY, these steps 1-3 happen before early registration even begins -- AWESOME in that case! That didn't happen here. So when early registration opened, I didn't have ANY guarantees from Acclaim -- and understandably so, as they awaited confirmation from Disney. I had nothing to lose to try to get all my races on early registration day. Whatever I didn't get, I then had 2 chances to get: 1) if Acclaim came through in time BEFORE regular registration (which they did), and/or 2) grab the remaining races myself at regular registration.

I could deal with waiting for the Active link after Acclaim had their block, took my credit card number, and sent me a confirmation. It wasn't EVERYTHING, but it was enough to tide me over. The more nerve wracking part was waiting to hear from Acclaim leading up to early registration and them still not having what they needed from Disney.

Again, though... after my experience with them, I have a much greater comfort level with Acclaim. Still nothing to lose to try early registration on my own, IF they don't have their bib allocation in time from Disney.


ETA: I posted this before I saw Z-Knight's last post -- I think we're all totally on the same page!!

 

[Z-Knight]

you were right to do what you did. Like I said, they usually get their allotments before so this was an abnormality and I wouldn't have taken the chance either. If they had guaranteed spots already (usually 2 weeks early) then I would definitely have gone with them first and only waited for registration if they ran out.

In the end it worked out for you so that is awesome.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Thanks so much for your input! I think you and I are a lot alike. Considering the fact that the race I want has been sold out for a long time, and I decided last minute (last minute by runDisney standards anyway) to do it, that will probably help my anxiety. It's not like I'm watching it fill up while I'm waiting.

I wish you luck!!

you were right to do what you did. Like I said, they usually get their allotments before so this was an abnormality and I wouldn't have taken the chance either. If they had guaranteed spots already (usually 2 weeks early) then I would definitely have gone with them first and only waited for registration if they ran out.

In the end it worked out for you so that is awesome.

Thanks! Yes -- I think we're both totally on the same page.

 

[keahgirl8]

Looks like we were all posting at the same time! I'm thinking about going for it!

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Looks like we were all posting at the same time! I'm thinking about going for it!

Look forward to reading here that you got what you needed and are all set!

 

[Z-Knight]

Hey does anyone have their Marathon Weekend hotels yet from Acclaim? I'll need to call them next week but just checking if they got back to any of you yet. BTW, I did fill out my hotel request a couple of months ago.