Park open with Marathon runners running through

[rmgreenesq]

I'm running the WDW Half on Jan 12th. I intend to visit Disney Hollywood Studios (DHS) on marathon Sunday. According to the Disney, the gun goes off for the marathon at 5:30 am, and DHS opens to the public three and a half hours later at 9:00 am.

According to the map, mile 23 and mile 24 of the marathon course pass through DHS. The bulk of the marathon runners will pass through DHS while it is open to the public. If I get there for the rope drop, how disruptive will 20,000 runners passing through be to experiencing DHS as a non-running guest? Should I look to change parks to the Magic Kingdom?

Thanks in advance for any/all advice and opinions.

Rick

 

[DisneyRunnerChick]

We did the half last year and went to Epcot on Sunday. There is some disturbance to walking traffic, though more so between YC/BC and the entrance than in the park and security officials were there to control traffic. However, the park attendance was so low that day, it really wasn't an issue.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it may be a slight annoyance, but if past years are any indication, the park won't be busy enough for it to really matter.

 

[Bookwood]

I don't remember a lot of people in DHS the year I ran the marathon. That being said the runners will block a bit of walking traffic a couple of places in the park you may have to wait for runner to go by before crossing the route. I really don't think it would downgrade my experience at all but then I'd be cheering for the runners while I was park touring!

 

[cewait]

There is a closure and one issue that you will have to deal with, so if your plan is to hit the park hard, schedule another park that day.

The BackStage Tour is closed during the race due to the course using the Tour's tramway road. The Course comes into the park at the Tour then heads over to Avenue of the Americas, Commissary Lane and up Hollywood. At the end of Hollywood, the course makes a left to head backstage , circles behind the gas station/stroller place and takes a cast member exit. All this to say the race bifurcates the park and to head down Vine, or the sound stage areas, you must cross the course. I seriously doubt one would notice the race once away from its path.

I will note that the guests in DHS seem to enjoy the race much more than the Epcot guests. I have never seen an angry guest demanding to cross, or bandit crossing like Epcot. I think it a function of a short path in a high guest area and folks thinking it may be a parade.

 

[ironz]

Funny....with the OP being a runner, it seems odd that people running the very next day might be thought of as disruptive. Seems like a runner would find it interesting to watch the marathoners run through and maybe want to cheer some of us on!

That said...yes, some park navigating will be affected, because runners will be going through DHS up until at least 11 am. (the runners who probably need to most cheers, mind you)

OK...just struck me as odd.

 

[Dug720]

Funny....with the OP being a runner, it seems odd that people running the very next day might be thought of as disruptive. Seems like a runner would find it interesting to watch the marathoners run through and maybe want to cheer some of us on!

OK...just struck me as odd.

I was thinking the same thing...

 

[JeffW]

We went to DHS last year on Sunday.

They had a really smart setup to allow people to cross the course without disrupting the runners. They basically set up an "island" in the middle of the course, so the course split around it. They had employees holding big long ropes, who would divert runners down one side of the island or the other. Non-runners would cross from the edge of the course to the island on the side where it was closed. Once the island was full, they would swing the rope and divert the runners down the other side of the island, then let the people empty from the island and go on their way.

I didn't find that the course made the morning that difficult (assuming you thought ahead so you weren't trying to cross it lots of times), and I really enjoyed seeing the runners. It was a lot of fun to cheer for people, especially when it got late in the morning and the people on the course were just pushing to finish. Every time my 3 year old yelled "good job", it made the runners, and me, smile. The Disney atmosphere crossed with the achievement of the marathon is awesome to watch, even if you don't know the runners.

 

[rmgreenesq]

Funny....with the OP being a runner, it seems odd that people running the very next day might be thought of as disruptive. Seems like a runner would find it interesting to watch the marathoners run through and maybe want to cheer some of us on!

OK...just struck me as odd.

Thank you coach and JeffW for your responses.

ironz - I'm sorry you find my choice of words as odd, but please condiser my point of view. The WDW Half marathon is just one morning of one day of a six day WDW vacation for myself and my non-running family members. I'm the only runner in the family, and although I appreciate the fact that my family members get up at 3:00 am and wait around for hours on end for me to finish races, I know that they would rather be asleep. I would enjoy standing at the rail and screaming my brains out at y'all as you run by, but I think my 10 year old daughter would prefer to ride StarTours.

Also, I have run three runDisney races: Two in California (Neverland 5k and Diz Half) and one in Florida (the Wine & Dine). Every Disney race I've run, the theme parks were closed to the public. I anticipate finishing the WDW Half before the Magic Kingdom & Epcot open to the public, and enjoy the prespective of running through a theme park devoid of other visitors.

I didn't think Disney would open the parks to the public during the marathon and given DHS' location on the marathon route (miles 23 & 24) I was surprised to see a 9:00 am opening time for DHS. The bulk of the runners are going to take more than 3:30 to run the marathon (including me if I were to run a marathon). I though it curious and wondered just how Disney would handle non-running admission paying guests and runners in the same park at the same time.

Rick

 

[ironz]

Oh. I guess all opinions and thoughts were not welcome.

My OPINION is that you should probably rethink going to DHS on Sunday, as it is the park that stands to be impacted the most by runners going through. We go through Epcot later, but the course is primarily through the World Showcase, which doesn't open until 11 a.m., so more of us have a chance to get through there.

Sorry you didn't do your research earlier...to my knowledge, the WDW marathon has always gone through the parks, and they have generally maintained normal operating hours. I would bet quite a few of us enjoy running through the parks when there are park guests there to cheer us on.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

Thank you coach and JeffW for your responses.

ironz - I'm sorry you find my choice of words as odd, but please condiser my point of view. The WDW Half marathon is just one morning of one day of a six day WDW vacation for myself and my non-running family members. I'm the only runner in the family, and although I appreciate the fact that my family members get up at 3:00 am and wait around for hours on end for me to finish races, I know that they would rather be asleep. I would enjoy standing at the rail and screaming my brains out at y'all as you run by, but I think my 10 year old daughter would prefer to ride StarTours.

Also, I have run three runDisney races: Two in California (Neverland 5k and Diz Half) and one in Florida (the Wine & Dine). Every Disney race I've run, the theme parks were closed to the public. I anticipate finishing the WDW Half before the Magic Kingdom & Epcot open to the public, and enjoy the prespective of running through a theme park devoid of other visitors.

I didn't think Disney would open the parks to the public during the marathon and given DHS' location on the marathon route (miles 23 & 24) I was surprised to see a 9:00 am opening time for DHS. The bulk of the runners are going to take more than 3:30 to run the marathon (including me if I were to run a marathon). I though it curious and wondered just how Disney would handle non-running admission paying guests and runners in the same park at the same time.

Rick

They clear out all spectators before the park opens and require them to have a valid ticket to enter the parks after that point. So, no one is getting into the parks for free, except the runners on the course. Yes, as a Marathoner, you do have to dodge those guests from time to time and it does get annoying. Like others have said, I would only go to Hollywood Studios if I was prepared to cheer on runners, and then return later that day for everything else. That is the good thing about a park hopper though...you could visit another park for a while and then head over there later on if you wanted to avoid the runners. It does mean a lot to us to have people cheering us on that were attending to visit the parks...you never know how the kids may react. I saw quite a few having so much fun getting high fives from the runners and cheering us on too. I would say, play it by ear. If it is too chaotic, go back later. I think the key at Disney regardless is being flexible with your plans. Have a Plan A, but have a Plan B too.

I hope you enjoy your visit!

 

[rmgreenesq]

Oh. I guess all opinions and thoughts were not welcome.

Betsy - Where are my manners. Thank you for your response. I wish I'd have figured this out sooner, and not just relied on my experience and assumed that the park would be closed to the public during the marathon. Between the marathon, advanced dining reservations, fast passes, and park hopping, planning a WDW vacation is becoming very complex.

I'll talk to the rest of the family and see what they want to do. Thanks all, and see ya real soon!

RIck

 

[Reep]

See if this link works:
http://binged.it/UZbNIJ

It should show a bird's eye view of Hollywood studios during the marathon. You can see the cones and the course.

 

[chris84bond]

Seems like a runner would find it interesting to watch the marathoners run through and maybe want to cheer some of us on!

That was my problem last year.....and the reason I'm doing the full this year. Saw the people doing the full down the YC/BC walkway and hit me that I could do it....

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

That was my problem last year.....and the reason I'm doing the full this year. Saw the people doing the full down the YC/BC walkway and hit me that I could do it....

Yes! You can! Find the fun.

 

[dreams91]

That was my problem last year.....and the reason I'm doing the full this year. Saw the people doing the full down the YC/BC walkway and hit me that I could do it....

And this is exactly how I signed up for the full. I was rooting on a few friends and decided to stay to root on the very last runner--as they needed even more than my friends.

 

[ironz]

Betsy - Where are my manners. Thank you for your response. I wish I'd have figured this out sooner, and not just relied on my experience and assumed that the park would be closed to the public during the marathon. Between the marathon, advanced dining reservations, fast passes, and park hopping, planning a WDW vacation is becoming very complex.

I'll talk to the rest of the family and see what they want to do. Thanks all, and see ya real soon!

RIck

You'll have fun. Just consider going to MK or AK that Sunday. Or DHS later in the day.
Good thing is, that the parks won't be as crowded as other times of the year, so some of your planning as far as making touring plans might be a little easier.

 

[Bookwood]

You may want to just hit MK sunday if you think the race will impact your day. As a slow marathoner (6 hrs for the full) I was in AK running while guests were "doing" the parks- in other words the park was open while I ran through it, and that to me was way more of a problem than at DHS. That's my take- your mileage may very of course.

 

[cewait]

You may want to just hit MK sunday if you think the race will impact your day. As a slow marathoner (6 hrs for the full) I was in AK running while guests were "doing" the parks- in other words the park was open while I ran through it, and that to me was way more of a problem than at DHS. That's my take- your mileage may very of course.

Remember that AK come 4 miles earlier this year

 

[WhereInFlorida]

All this to say the race bifurcates the park and to head down Vine, or the sound stage areas, you must cross the course.

Bonus points for using "bifurcates" in a posting

 

[MikeofRose&Mike]

I was thinking the same thing...

Ditto