Hello and welcome to my Dopey Challenge 2025 trip report! Today I’d like to talk about the costs associated with being a Dopey Challenger. Read all the entries in this report here. Onward!
WDW Marathon Weekend is special to me. Although I’m not one of the diehards who register for the Dopey Challenge every year, I had an amazing time completing my second Dopey. I made memories and enjoyed experiences that I would readily describe as priceless.
Except, when you get right down to it, running Disney does have a price. Outside of the bib itself that price is variable, but unless you’re a true local, you’re going to have to shell out additional money for travel, accommodations, food, etc.
To that end, I thought it might be helpful to break down how much money I spent on my Dopey Challenge trip. If you’re thinking about doing Dopey but want to know what it’ll take before you commit, you’ve come to the right place!
TALLYING DOPEY: MY METHODOLOGY
I will be exploring my Dopey costs through a couple of lenses. First, my actual costs: that is to say, what I in fact paid out, noting but not adding things like using points for free flights or having friends who can get me an Annual Pass discount. That done, I will also adjust that tally for if I didn’t have these discounts/mitigators available.
I will also divide these costs into two categories: musts vs. extras. You are going to need a bib, a hotel, a flight (theoretically you could drive but most won’t), and food. You don’t need souvenirs or expo buys or race costumes, but making such purchases is common.
I’ve combed through my Disney Visa records to ensure that I’ve caught everything I bought to get to or while in Walt Disney World. Not all of it will be relevant to everyone, but I hope it will give others an idea of what kind of bill you can expect to field.
Incidentally, I’m counting anything I bought expressly for or during my Dopey trip. For example: my red running skirt, no, because I already owned it. My black striped running skirt, yes, because I bought it specifically for my marathon race costume.
Please note to that all my numbers are for a single person. While I did have trip buddies, none of us are tied together financially. Couples and families will necessarily have different final financial hits.
Having established context, it’s time to deal myself some psychic damage! Let’s see how Dopey a hole I dug myself. Starting with…
DOPEY NEEDS
Race bib. No two ways about it; if you wanna run Dopey, ya gotta buy that bib. (Or run for a charity but that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms.) For 2025, a Dopey bib cost $688. Divided evenly, that’s $172 per race. I have a post tackling runDisney pricing, but for now, we’ll just take that for what it is and move on. (For funsies, in 2015, a Dopey bib cost $564.95. That’s a 21.8% increase.)
Hotel. I split an Old Key West one bedroom villa with three friends, for which we rented DVC points at significant savings to Disney’s rack rates for non-DVC members. We arrived on Wed, January 8, and left on Mon, January 13 for a five night stay at a flat rate of $2,541. My share of the room came to $635.25. We did not end up adding insurance, but some may wish to as rented points cannot be refunded.
Flight. A small subsection of runners may prefer to drive for various reasons, but for most of us, the best way to get to Orlando is to fly. I used Rapid Rewards flights to secure a seat with Southwest for free. I did choose to shell out $50 for Early Bird seating assignments. Southwest doesn’t charge for checked bags or carry-ons and I didn’t purchase anything on board, so my total spent in this section stays at $50.
Ride to/from the airport. I elected to use the Mears bus service to my resort upon arrival, which came to $17.60 after fees. For most individuals flying solo, this is your most cost effective option.
I don’t like to use Mears for my return trip, as for some unknown reason Mears classifies Puerto Rico as international and tries to make me get on a bus four hours before my flight. PR is America, guys! We don’t have to go through customs! Please consult an encyclopedia* or Wikipedia or your favorite Boricua and get it together!
* Make sure it was published after 1898.
Anyway, for my return trip to the airport I called an Uber. After tip that choice ran me $39.91. Obviously that’s a lot more expensive than Mears, but it does come with comparative autonomy.
Some might consider park tickets required. I didn’t go to the parks on this trip, so no money spent there.
Category total: $1,430.76
FUELING UP
Food is also a need, but it’s such a BIG need I’m giving it a separate section.
We ate at a lot of table service restaurants, which are more expensive than counter service restaurants by their very nature. On the other hand, you could argue that the price to quality ratio is better at table service restaurants. Some qualified for AP discounts applied by tablemates. I also ate leftovers for dinner on two separate occasions, stretching the budget.
Were I to do this right, I would parse out alcohol and only include food in this section. I didn’t drink all that much alcohol on this trip, though, and I never bought any bottled water/soda, which adds up quickly at Disney. If you’re trying to use this post as a blueprint for yourself and don’t plan to drink at meals, mentally knock a few Jacksons off this total.
With that out of the way, here’s my tab:
Earl of Sandwich, $11.12
Two Wetzels soft pretzels, $16.67
Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’, $56.36
Enzo’s Hideaway, $60.26
Summer House, $43.91
California Grill, $181.52
1900 Park Fare, $87.10
I also supplemented with Gideon’s (see below) and my race snack boxes.
Category total: $456.94 (Approximately $76/day)
DOPEY EXTRAS
These are the things you could readily avoid buying if your primary goal is staying frugal.
Souvenirs are BIG at runDisney races and tend to sell out quickly. I like to tell myself that any merch I miss out on is money not spent. I did buy one thing: a WDW Marathon Weekend water bottle bag, which I see practical use for. It was $50 full retail, but Becky bought if for me with her AP discount, bringing the cost down to $40.
There is much available to buy at the expo. I purchased a hat (rain popped up in the forecast) and compression socks, but the monetary damage will be tallied in the costumes segment below.
I had two race beers after the marathon, separate from any restaurant bills so I include them here. The initial beer was $15.75; the cup refill was $9.
Traditionally I bring Gideon’s Bakehouse treats home from any Orlando trip. I went once for some post-race cake and again for cookies. Receipts came to $49.25 and $58.58. Part of the first trip was stuff for Becky but she later covered me for something else so it all evens out.
Another runDisney trip tradition is that Erika and I shop the Uniqlo at Disney Springs. I made purchases on two occasions, totaling $15.87 and $37.17.
Also at Disney Springs, I made a silly little impulse purchase in a cute Ron Jon Surf Shop sticker at the price of $3.18. On the flip side, it kept me from buying a much more frivolous and expensive Ron Jon tank top. In the immortal words of Liz Lemon: sometimes to prevent monkey business, we must create it.
Category total: $228.80
RACE COSTUMES
Race costumes are obviously completely optional. They’re particularly popular at runDisney events, but you won’t stick out if you elect not to wear one; plenty don’t. You’re welcome to wear the running clothes you already own and spend zero dollars.
Wearing a costume does make it more fun for some, and you don’t necessarily need to shell out big money for enough trappings to make you a recognizable character homage. Here’s what I spent to put mine together.
I’m not counting kinesio tape, my knee strap, or race fuel, as these items are part of my regular running and race kits. You may choose to add them to your budget if you so desire.
The 5K: Barrel. The base layers (sports bra, pants, long sleeved shirt, socks, shoes), white skirt, and Barrel doll I already owned. My mask was made out of glitter foam sheets I had on hand. I get free Amazon gift cards through a health and wellness program provided by my job, so by using those I got the rib tank and bone arm warmers/leg warmers for free. The hair bow was $7. Total: $7.
The 10K: Figment. I didn’t use anything I didn’t already own except for the rainbow hair bow. Total: $7.
The Half: Berlioz. I already owned the shoes, sports bra, tank, crop leggings, arm warmers, skirt, scarf, and kitty ears. I bought the hat at the expo for $37.63, and the socks likewise for $20. The hair bow was $7. Total: $63.63.
The Marathon: The Mayor. I owned the pants, sports bra, socks, shoes, and wooden dowel already. The long sleeve shirt from Uniqlo is accounted for in the “extras” section. The spider was free using an Amazon gift card. The Mayor face printout was $2. I used an iron-on letter V for the “shirt” the spider clipped to; the letter pack was purchased previously. The Mayor hat and ribbon came in a set for $28.99 after tax and shipping. The skirt was $29 with my Sparkle Squad discount. And as you are well aware by now, the hair bow was what? That’s right, $7! Total: $66.99.
All my pre-race throwaway layers were sourced for free.
Category total: $144.62
THE TOTALS
So what, in the end, did I spend on my Dopey Challenge experience?
Necessities (bib, flight, hotel, airport transport): $1430.76
Food: $456.94
Extras: $228.80
Costumes: $144.62
Grand total: $2,261.12
Cheap? Not by any standards. I don’t pretend that’s not a fair amount of money. And I don’t claim I kept things as close to the bone as I might have. Given that runDisney is my primary hobby and travel destination, however, it’s not a horrific abuse of my discretionary income. I am privileged to be in a position where I can make the choice.
I did have a couple mitigators as I mentioned at the beginning. I’d have to add around $300 (if not more) to my final sum if I needed to buy airline tickets outright. I’d also tack on another $60 or so to account for Annual Passholder discounts borrowed from others. Theoretically my total could be more like $2,600 if I was in WDW without passholders and devoid of airline points.
WHERE COULD YOU CUT COSTS?
I didn’t exactly keep my wallet shut during my Dopey endeavor, but I’d argue I wasn’t wanton either. Still, there are ways you could potentially cut down on costs.
runDisney requires all participants pick up their race bibs a day in advance of their event. For those doing Dopey, that means you MUST arrive the Wednesday before the race. However, you could leave on Sunday after the marathon is complete. The only caveat there is that Disney resort check out time is 11am. If you can’t get a late checkout and you aren’t super duper fast, that logic might not work out.
If I had taken the Mears bus service to the airport, I would’ve saved around $22.
As noted above, I used reward points for free flights. You could also use reward points for other items, depending on what systems you’re enrolled in. I’m not sure if I’d want to stay in an off site hotel myself, as I prefer runDisney’s built in race transportation, but that’s not to say you can’t find alternate ways to make it to the start (which may incur their own costs).
You could request Disney gift cards for holiday and birthday gifts. If you have a Disney Visa, you could apply your Disney dollars here. (I have both, but I’m saving them for Princess weekend.)
We got a good deal on our hotel suite, but we didn’t get THE cheapest accommodations. Four adults could theoretically cram into one standard hotel room at an All Star resort, which tend to run around $200/night. You’d sacrifice space and amenities, but if money is of the essence it might be worth it to you.
You could put a hard stop on any extras: no souvenirs, no expo buys, no costumes; nothing from the optional segment. And of course you could tighten up your food purchases, avoiding alcohol and eating only at counter service restaurants. You could even order groceries to your room, although depending on where you’re staying your options for preparing it may be limited.
IS THE DOPEY CHALLENGE WORTH IT?
Now for my catchphrase: value is subjective. Whether the Dopey Challenge is worth it is up to you. To me, it IS worth it… just not as an every year thing. Although there are more reasons for that than just money. (Dopey takeaways post still to come!)
Regardless, I hope this budget breakdown has helped you calculate YOUR value differential. How much do your spending habits mirror mine? How much do you enjoy runDisney races? The Dopey Challenge gets a lot of deserved hype in the runDisney community, but it’s not for everybody and it might not be for you. That’s okay! It’s not always for me either!
At any rate, I’m glad I put together this post, if only to reckon with my own spending and apply my “value is subjective” maxim across my splurges. I might do this for Princess weekend too. Whatever money I don’t spend at a given race weekend is money I can spend on the next!
Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Threads @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!