Volunteering for a Disney Race is a great way to be involved in the Disney Magic even if you don't want to run the races. My sister and I traveled to WDW last year so she could run the Disney Marathon. Since neither one of us was participating in the Goofy Challenge, we thought we would be a part of it through volunteering. We were both volunteers for the Half Marathon on Saturday and then I was a "Semi" volunteer for the full marathon on Sunday. You can read our complete story of our crazy volunteer experience HERE.
It's waaay to early in the morning for this!
Here are a few things you should know Before signing up to volunteer.
( I can only speak for volunteering at Run Disney events at WDW, I can not say how things operate at DL)
1. If you are a volunteer, you will have to get up VERY Earlier. We were up and out of our resort room by 2:15 am.
*Note: We volunteered for the first shift because we wanted to have the rest of the day to go to the parks. There are later shifts, but then you are required to stay later in the day.
2. If you are a volunteer, you have to provide your own transportation. We had to call a cab ( call the night before) and we had a rather expensive cab ride!
3. The volunteer meet up point is a parking lot in DTD.
4. Once you get to the volunteer point, you will be separated into groups ( based on what you signed up to volunteer for)
5. You will be provided with a great Disney windbreaker ( yours to keep), a flashlight, and a bag of snacks.
*Note: You will want to keep all personal items to a minimum I would just bring a phone/camera or anything you can stash in your pocket, no backpacks or bags.
6. After you gather all your goodies, you will then board another shuttle bus that will take you to your volunteer location along the course. You can Read our story to see where we got to volunteer HERE.
7. When our first shift of volunteering was over, we were allowed to go help others with their shift, so we did. We got to hand out medals and that was one of the best jobs ever!
The runners are so grateful. We got so many "THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING". People are so emotional. They want to hug you, they want you to take their picture, and some look as if they just want their medal and they are ready to collapse. We had one young man come through and he refused to take a medal! I thought maybe he felt that he didn’t deserve it because he didn’t finish the race, but clearly he had finished, I saw him come through with the rest of the runners and it was fairly early in the race so he made a good time. I don’t know what his deal was. I know there were some celebrities running this race such as Allison Sweeny, Drew Carey, that guy who played Samantha’s neighbor in the first Sex in the City movie ( don’t remember his name) and a few others, but I didn’t hear or see any of them come through. But then again, I am so horrible with celebrity sightings, I doubt I would recognize them anyway!
*Note: We did not get anything extra for volunteering for 2 jobs. We just did it because we wanted to.
8. When your shift is over, you have to go back to the DTD area and "Sign out". There is a shuttle that will take you back to the volunteer point.
9. Once you are back at the volunteer tent at the DTD parking lot, you have to sign some paper work and then you get a one day park pass ( if your job was eligible for one).
*Note: as of right now, only Marathons and Half Marathon volunteer jobs are eligible for a free park pass. 5Ks and 10Ks are not, but they work off of a point system.
10. Once you sign out and get your park pass, you are free to leave. However, there is no transportation from that point back to your hotel. You will have to call a cab, or do what we did. We walked through the parking lot and through DTD to the Market Place and waited for one of the resort buses. We had to a wait a fairly long time just because we kept getting the wrong information as to which bus stops were operating at what times. But even though we had to wait a bit, it was still better than paying for a cab!
Other volunteer opportunities are available at the Health and Fitness Expos. Volunteers for the expo are required to put in so many hours. Volunteers receive points for the hours they put in. They can then redeem those points for a park ticket. Instead of a windbreaker jacket, expo volunteers receive a T-shirt.
If you are traveling with family or friends to a Run Disney event and they are not planning on running, this is a great way for them to be involved ( and earn some free Run Disney swag and a park ticket). And not only that, these races ( as many do) depend on the generosity of volunteers!
* There are certain age requirements for volunteers depending on which volunteer job you sign up for. Volunteer opportunities open up a few weeks before the event. Volunteering is now closed for the WDW Marathon weekend, but the PHM weekend has just opened up. Click HERE to register or for more information about volunteering!
Have you ever volunteered at a race?
This post is part of a Run Disney Blog Hop. Make sure to check out the other posts to learn some interesting facts about Run Disney events!
It's waaay to early in the morning for this!
Here are a few things you should know Before signing up to volunteer.
( I can only speak for volunteering at Run Disney events at WDW, I can not say how things operate at DL)
1. If you are a volunteer, you will have to get up VERY Earlier. We were up and out of our resort room by 2:15 am.
*Note: We volunteered for the first shift because we wanted to have the rest of the day to go to the parks. There are later shifts, but then you are required to stay later in the day.
2. If you are a volunteer, you have to provide your own transportation. We had to call a cab ( call the night before) and we had a rather expensive cab ride!
3. The volunteer meet up point is a parking lot in DTD.
4. Once you get to the volunteer point, you will be separated into groups ( based on what you signed up to volunteer for)
5. You will be provided with a great Disney windbreaker ( yours to keep), a flashlight, and a bag of snacks.
*Note: You will want to keep all personal items to a minimum I would just bring a phone/camera or anything you can stash in your pocket, no backpacks or bags.
6. After you gather all your goodies, you will then board another shuttle bus that will take you to your volunteer location along the course. You can Read our story to see where we got to volunteer HERE.
7. When our first shift of volunteering was over, we were allowed to go help others with their shift, so we did. We got to hand out medals and that was one of the best jobs ever!
The runners are so grateful. We got so many "THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING". People are so emotional. They want to hug you, they want you to take their picture, and some look as if they just want their medal and they are ready to collapse. We had one young man come through and he refused to take a medal! I thought maybe he felt that he didn’t deserve it because he didn’t finish the race, but clearly he had finished, I saw him come through with the rest of the runners and it was fairly early in the race so he made a good time. I don’t know what his deal was. I know there were some celebrities running this race such as Allison Sweeny, Drew Carey, that guy who played Samantha’s neighbor in the first Sex in the City movie ( don’t remember his name) and a few others, but I didn’t hear or see any of them come through. But then again, I am so horrible with celebrity sightings, I doubt I would recognize them anyway!
*Note: We did not get anything extra for volunteering for 2 jobs. We just did it because we wanted to.
8. When your shift is over, you have to go back to the DTD area and "Sign out". There is a shuttle that will take you back to the volunteer point.
9. Once you are back at the volunteer tent at the DTD parking lot, you have to sign some paper work and then you get a one day park pass ( if your job was eligible for one).
*Note: as of right now, only Marathons and Half Marathon volunteer jobs are eligible for a free park pass. 5Ks and 10Ks are not, but they work off of a point system.
10. Once you sign out and get your park pass, you are free to leave. However, there is no transportation from that point back to your hotel. You will have to call a cab, or do what we did. We walked through the parking lot and through DTD to the Market Place and waited for one of the resort buses. We had to a wait a fairly long time just because we kept getting the wrong information as to which bus stops were operating at what times. But even though we had to wait a bit, it was still better than paying for a cab!
Other volunteer opportunities are available at the Health and Fitness Expos. Volunteers for the expo are required to put in so many hours. Volunteers receive points for the hours they put in. They can then redeem those points for a park ticket. Instead of a windbreaker jacket, expo volunteers receive a T-shirt.
If you are traveling with family or friends to a Run Disney event and they are not planning on running, this is a great way for them to be involved ( and earn some free Run Disney swag and a park ticket). And not only that, these races ( as many do) depend on the generosity of volunteers!
* There are certain age requirements for volunteers depending on which volunteer job you sign up for. Volunteer opportunities open up a few weeks before the event. Volunteering is now closed for the WDW Marathon weekend, but the PHM weekend has just opened up. Click HERE to register or for more information about volunteering!
Have you ever volunteered at a race?
This post is part of a Run Disney Blog Hop. Make sure to check out the other posts to learn some interesting facts about Run Disney events!
