Bus situation for half same for the full tomorrow?

[Lisacope]

The person I am with is doing the goofy and ran the half this morning. We are staying at SSR. He left the room this AM at 3:30am and didn't get on a bus until about 5:00am. He made it to the start but just barely. Did other half runners at other resorts experience this as well? Is this how it is going to be tomorrow morning?

 

[Dennyha]

We are staying at SSR also. This morning, they had a real situation. We've stayed at SSR for past marathon weekends, and I've never seen a line like this morning. I was hoping everyone made it to the starting line in time.

Who knows what to expect tomorrow morning.

 

[drdelsol]

I'm at AKL. Walked down and got straight on a bus at barely after 4 , is was close to 4:40 when they dropped us off. By the time I walked over and through the baggage check it was 4:55. The walk was at a standstill. Made it to the corral just a few minutes before wheelchairs start. Don't remember running into such crowds before but still much better then what you had. Good Luck tomorrow.

 

[FFigawi]

I thought the buses worked well given the traffic. On at 355, off at 5, drop bag, use porta potty with no line, walk to corral, wait 10 minutes, and start.

 

[Dennyha]

This morning at SSR, everything was smooth as silk. Plenty of busses; no long lines.

Yesterday, we were in line by 3:40, and didn't get picked up until 4:20. In that time, one other bus made a pickup. When we left on the bus, the line of runners, waiting for a bus, extended from the bus pickup by the Carriage House down to the brick turn-around where you drive down to the Turf Club. There were tons of people waiting there at 4:20, with no busses in sight.

It looks like someone got the memo today, and everything was managed well.

 

[gotrojansgo]

BCV was great--got out to the bus stop at 340 and I was at the tents by 415. Port-o-lets line was a little longer...but still, everything was very smooth.

 

[drdelsol]

I agree. Huge difference today. 10,00 less runners probaly helped also.

 

[Lisacope]

We had no problem making the bus on Sun from SSR - Left the room at 3:30am and got to the start line with no problem.

 

[cloudnut220]

Wow, what a difference 20 minutes make! I stayed at SSR too and got on the bus at about 3.10. Once it filled up, we left, and I was at the race area well before 4. I'm glad I listened to everyone on here who suggested leaving early!

 

[thyunker]

The Beach Club bus situation on Saturday was horrible! The line for the bus stretched from the bus depot to the main lobby doors. We got in line at 3.35am (which was to the bridge then). The line didn't budge until close to 4.30. We finally made it onto a bus at 4.50. A lot of people ended up in the last corral because of the transportation issue.

Glad to see that they had the issues straightened out on Sunday!

 

[Disfan11]

I'm doing the Princess 1/2 in Feb and staying at the Caribbean Beach.
How were the busses going from there?
Does anyone know how many people participate in the Disney 1/2 marathon verses the Princess 1/2 marathon?
Which one has more participants allowed?
I'm trying to get a feel for the crowds.

 

[verticalchaos]

There are fewer host hotels for the Princess which would lead me to believe it will be slightly smaller. That said, I'm always one who'd rather err on the side of caution and have my butt in line or on the bus as soon as the buses started running. I did that on Saturday from the All Stars - on the bus just after 3. And it left on its schedule not all the way full. The more people insist on waiting until the last minute, the more problems there will be towards the end.

 

[Goofed98]

If it's possible to drive or get someone to drop you off, both days we left BWV at 3:35, and we were parked at Epcot by 3:50. Plenty of time to relax before heading out to the corrals.

 

[SmartGuyCEO]

I stayed at OKW for the weekend. The bus line was somewhat long for the half and short for the full. When my sister and I got on the bus for the half at 3:50a, the Mears rep. said there wasn't a bus sent to SSR because OKW kept filling it up. There was a empty bus behind us which was sent to SSR.

 

[FFigawi]

I'm doing the Princess 1/2 in Feb and staying at the Caribbean Beach.
How were the busses going from there?
Does anyone know how many people participate in the Disney 1/2 marathon verses the Princess 1/2 marathon?
Which one has more participants allowed?
I'm trying to get a feel for the crowds.

We stayed at CBR and had no bus lines whatsoever. Unlike the line out the door at All Star last year, there were maybe 6 people waiting at our bus stop this year.

 

[cewait]

One of the reasons I always say go early is just what happened at SSR on Saturday. While the logistics of moving 27 and 17,000 folks in a couple hours is huge and generally well done, there are a few glitches annually. It is usually at one resort and does not affect other resorts. The great thing is that Mears and Disney send runners around late in the pick up wind ow looking for issues and then sending resources to pick up the straggling runners.

It is a little disconcerning when you are standing in line and able to hear the PA system at the race, but I have never not started due to a Disney transportation issue.

 

[TnTsParty]

We stayed at CBR and had no bus lines whatsoever. Unlike the line out the door at All Star last year, there were maybe 6 people waiting at our bus stop this year.

Fortunately there was no line at All Stars this weekend - I was at Movies for the half and got on the bus at around 3:45 and I think we were pulling into Epcot around 4:15 - the traffic was really backed up getting onto World Drive and then again getting in to Epcot but that wasn't for the buses - one of the reason's I never drive to the start line on Marathon weekend.

For the full I was at Music and I was able to get right on the bus with no line. Took about the same amount of time as the day before.

Then thankfully there was no issue getting back to the resort after both races. I was dreading it because of the lines I saw last year waiting to get on the All Star buses back to the resort. This year they had 2 stops for All Stars to get back - guess they learned from last year.