Marathon date questions

[Hair_Razor]

So I am planning on taking my son to Disney for his Birthday which is January 10th. Since you can go free to one park I am trying to carefully narrow down which park to go to. I know the Marathon is that day, so my question is which park will be the best (read least crowded) for that day?

We will avoid EMH which is morning at DHS that day.

[ILoveLegos]

I've been on marathon day from 1998 until 2008 - the parks aren't that crowded. Getting to the park (if you're driving) might be a little hettic before 10:00 am (some of the lanes are coned off to accomodate the athletes which can make driving more congested than normal). My experience is that not many people want to do the parks after running 26.2 miles (13 miles for the half marathon). The people who come to cheer the runners on are busy doing that until about 10:00. Besides it's January and you'll find some of your lightest crowds in WDW. Honestly the largest crowds I have ever seen was for the carbo-load in Epcot the evening before the race, but while the athletes were eating I was riding - so it worked out fine. I've always enjoyed congratulating the marathoners (and half marathoners) that I've met in the park after the race - you can spot them by their medals aound their neck.

[Hair_Razor]

Great just the info I was looking for! The driving hint as well I didn't consider that.

[teambricker04]

My DH is running... we are planning on watching outside the parks in order to make it easy to get to and from areas quickly to see him at different points. He should be done running by 10am. After that we will head back to FW and spend the rest of the day relaxing, with the possiblity of parks more around dinner time. Any which way he will be in bed early that night!

Most of our trip this time will be spend doing marathon types of things... the stuff at the sports complex and the kids race as well as a bunch of healthy eating and, yes, carbo loading :) We haven't really planned on our park days yet, but they will be more limited than other trips. I bet most of the runners are this way.

[irish1967]

If you are looking at Saturday, January 10th, that is actually the day of the 1/2 marathon. The one park that is really impacted from your point of view would be EPCOT as the final mile of the 1/2 marathon does go through Future World - which means that the back of the pack (i.e., the part I am in :secret:) is going through after the park opens.

The route goes through MK but it is in the first half so the participants will be through the MK pretty early because of the pacing requirements.

Hope your DS has a great b-day!

[SAHDad]

My DH is running... we are planning on watching outside the parks in order to make it easy to get to and from areas quickly to see him at different points. He should be done running by 10am. After that we will head back to FW and spend the rest of the day relaxing, with the possiblity of parks more around dinner time. Any which way he will be in bed early that night!

Most of our trip this time will be spend doing marathon types of things... the stuff at the sports complex and the kids race as well as a bunch of healthy eating and, yes, carbo loading :) We haven't really planned on our park days yet, but they will be more limited than other trips. I bet most of the runners are this way.

Yeah, the marathon takes a lot of time - not just the running, but the expo as well. This Jan, we had 3 runners (2 marathon, 1 Goofy), and we hit parks every day. Friday, I got up early, ran the 5k, came back and we all went to AK. Sat, I got up early, ran the half, came back and we all went to DHS (I think). Sun, three of us got up early, ran, came back, and were in Epcot by lunch-ish. We stayed in Epcot most of the day, though we did eventually go to DTD to get the medals engraved.

Some runners will go rest afterwards, some will hit the parks, but crowds are generally pretty light. Aside from road closures (which are not much of a problem on Saturday), you shouldn't have any problems.

[A Big Kid]

The day after, and the second day after are even better. All the marathoners are walking slowly and gingerly making it easier to beat them to the front of the line!



OTFS (off-topic funny story):

In 2004, I ran the full. I was sore as you know what the next day.

I was traveling with 4 women so we were late everywhere. The next morning, we had ressies at Cindy's. We got to the gate at our ressie time so I ran like a drunken, bow-legged duck pushing a stroller to the castle to make sure we got seated. After struggling up the hill to the castle and reaching the podium, the CM told me that they typically hold ressies for at least 30 minutes. DOH!

[SAHDad]

The day after, and the second day after are even better. All the marathoners are walking slowly and gingerly making it easier to beat them to the front of the line!


You have to be careful though - some of us go for a run the day after, and we will race you to the popular attractions! :D

BTW - if you see someone sporting a medal, feel free to offer congratulations. They'll almost certainly appreciate it. And if you get the chance to cheer on runners, take it! It's pretty cool to watch runners stream past you, no matter how fast or slow they are going.

[Hair_Razor]

It sound like a really exciting thing to see I will most certainly congratulate any marathoner and cheer them on. I wish I had the gumption to run a mile let alone a marathon. Good luck all racers!!