Yesterday registration opened for the 2016 Tinkerbell Half Marathon Weekend, which is slated for May 5-8, 2016, at Disneyland.

I really wanted to participate again in this race, since it’s the Fifth Anniversary and I’d be five-for-five in running.

I also wanted to do the Pixie Dust Challenge, which is where you run a 10k one day and a half marathon the next.

But here’s the problem: Run Disney races have become so popular that they usually sell out, and quickly.

Case in point: the 2015 Wine & Dine Half Marathon sold out in a scary half hour. 

I managed to secure two spots in the Wine & Dine for Spouse and myself, but it involved setting a reminder alarm, panicked screen refreshing, etc.

So yesterday I was prepared for the worst. 

With a full roster of A.M. duties, I tried to efficiently pace my day so that I could carve out a niche of time right when registration opened at 11 A.M. Central.

At 11:01, I was at my computer and headed to the Run Disney site.

I was prepared for what happened next, which is that I was directed to a queue to register. Sometimes this queue takes up to 20 minutes, and you need to be ready when it’s your turn.

I was in line less than a minute, though, and quickly got directed to the registration.

By 11:03, I was in the Pixie Dust Challenge. Score!

Curiosity got the best of me, though, so I kept refreshing the registration page during the day.

By 11:30 A.M., the Pixie Dust Challenge was 70% full.

By 11:50 A.M., the Pixie was 75% full and the half marathon by itself was 50% full. The 10k was 70% full.

Day’s end showed the Pixie at 80% full and the half marathon still clung at the halfway mark.

Today, the Pixie is at 85% capacity, the half is still at 50%, the 10k is sold out, and the 5k is 99% full. The kids’ races are sold out.

So, how do you secure a spot? I still haven’t figured it out 100%, but here are a few tips I’ve learned over time:

• Sign up for a Run Disney email reminder. They’ll send you a message about a week out from registration.
• Set multiple alarms and reminders for registration.
• Go to the website early and keep refreshing until registration opens.
• Sign up for an Active.com account ahead of time (it’s free), so the entry can be pre-populated with some of your information (address, age, etc). This considerably speeds up the registration process.
• Don’t forget your Active.com password! This happened to me once and it took several attempts for me to get it right. This time, I was ready.
• Have your credit card in hand. They want payment at the time of registration.
• Follow Run Disney on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. They’ll often have extra reminders there, too.
• Consider buying an annual pass to Disneyland or Walt Disney World. Annual passholders and Disney Vacation Club members get a two week head start on registration. Lucky them!