crowd levels for marathon week

[reefnut]

ok, im planning a trip to disney for jan.6th to the 14th. ive always gone the first week of february and loved the fact that the parks were empty. was just wondering if anyone went last year during marothon week and if it was really crowded. im bringing my girlfreind and she has never been there before so i want to make the most of this trip. we are planning on doing all 4 disney parks, both universal parks and seaworld. thanks

 

[PCFriar80]

ok, im planning a trip to disney for jan.6th to the 14th. ive always gone the first week of february and loved the fact that the parks were empty. was just wondering if anyone went last year during marothon week and if it was really crowded. im bringing my girlfreind and she has never been there before so i want to make the most of this trip. we are planning on doing all 4 disney parks, both universal parks and seaworld. thanks

DW an I ran the 1/2 last year; stayed 1/5 - 1/11. The crowds are not that bad. The busiest it seems to be is around the resorts, pre-race days, Friday and Saturday. The 1/2 is on Saturday and the full on Sunday. There's a 5K mixed in there somewhere, last year at Epcot around 11:00 AM on Saturday, but this year I believe they're moving the 5K to MGM and starting it earlier. The only caution I would give you is if you're driving to any of the parks early on Saturday or Sunday, especially EC expect significant delays to get in to the parking area. The parks are very manageable, and the weather is, well let's say unpredictable. During our stay it was sunny by very chilly (30's) in the morning, Saturday and Sunday, moderated on Monday (60's /70's).

 

[reefnut]

thanks for the reply, like i said this is her first time there so i dont want it to be standing in lines waiting for the rides. im sure i can find out what days the marathon are going to be in each park so i could just plan my park days around that. i know we are staying off site and renting a car so i should be able to avoid the crowds at the resort areas

 

[zoomsharedisney]

I agree with the other poster about the crouds. The weekend of the race, the parks are EXTREMELY crouded and so are the resorts. But come Monday, things are back to normal and most rides have virtually no wait at all. My DH and I were there this past January and most of the Fast Passes weren't even open. We rode Soarin' three times in a 1/2 hour!!!!!

 

[zoomsharedisney]

Oh Yeah...the weather! VERY unpredictable!! We were wearing jeans, sweatshirts, and a windbreaker because it would dip into the 30's at night when we were at the parks. We actually saw people in gloves, scarves, and parkas...but we are from the north where 30 - 40 degrees in Florida feels warm for winter, especially when you don't have the cold artic wind blowing constantly

 

[nowellsl]

I didn't think the parks were that crowded. There were some road closures and we sat in the bus for a while a few times on the way to Epcot.

 

[DisneyDork712]

We rode Soarin' three times in a 1/2 hour!!!!!

Last year the line for Soarin' was 220 minutes at one point!!! We were really glad that we had practically ran to the attraction when we first got there to get a FASTPASS!

I can't wait to go in January. I've never been during such a slow time. I went in October once, and it wasn't that bad. But everyone says that the parks are practically empty in January???

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Parks not too busy for that weekend.

 

[reefnut]

thanks for the replys everyone, i feel alot better about going during the marathon. im getting there on sat, so that sunday might be abit crazy but guess i will figure out witch park to go to that day. might be a good seaworld day. as for the weather i live in new york so as long as there is no snow im sure we will be fine....lol now i guess i have to just sit back and wait. time seems to move so slow where your in a hurry