Did you go to the Star Wars race this year? Tell me about it please.

[BensWife]

I have 2 little boys that absolutely love Star Wars. We went to Star Wars weekends in WDW the summer of 2013. I would love to have them participate in the Star Wars kids run or the 5k in 2016. How crazy busy was it that weekend? I know that it is also MLK weekend. It is also the weekend of my birthday (Jan 19) so I am thinking it would be fun to go. However, I am not big on crowds, so I am a little leery. DH and I went to DLR Thaksgiving week and it was crazy busy - too busy. If you went with kids, did they run with you? I think DH and I would love to try the 5k, but I want to take it seriously and not try to have the kids with us. Did you have someone watch the kids while you ran? Our boys are 5 and 8, so they are the perfect age for the kids run. Do you know if there are deals for the Disney hotels for the run? Any info you can share would be helpful. Thanks!

 

[SMD]

The regular convention rates are available through runDisney, they do sell out fast. Last year was an innaugural, which is always more popular, but Star Wars and holiday weekends are also popular. It was very crowded. Thursday-Monday. Also, in the corrals you will be front to back and shoulder to shoulder with people for at least an hour waiting to start. The park areas of the 5K were packed and you will be bumped repeatedly, especially by kids who don't understand race ettiquette. There were a lot of kids doing the 5K. I've never watched the kids races, but I understand that they sell out quickly.

 

[Malcon10t]

First, the 5yo will need someone 14 or older with them during the 5K. Also, be sure they learn race ettiquette (how to run on the race course.) While I don't run myself, I know a lot of the runners, and quite honestly many first time runners don't understand and can cause accidents/back ups, etc... We bring down a group of kids to run, but my requirement is they must be 10 so I can trust them on the course alone and they all carry GPS capable phones so I can find them. You are talking about putting them on a course with about 5000-6000 other runners. And if they finish before you, what will they do? The finish is in Disneyland Hotel parking lot. It is a LOT of fun, but it is also a big responsibility. Even a very experienced 8yo runner on our team isn't allowed to run solo (he usually runs with a 17yo runner from the team.)

As far as how crowded the park is, it is fairly crowded. We lined up at the Expo for merchandise at 530am on Thursday and we were not at the beginning of the line! Friday morning the 5K race goes off at 530am, you will need to be down for corral line up at about 445am. If you are in the last corral, expect to cross the start line at 550am. Based on a 16 min mile pace time, you should be done well before 7am with plenty of time for hitting the parks when they open at 9am. The parks will busiest between 10am-7pm, it will lighten after that as most of the runners for the challenge and 10K will head out for sleep. Same will go for Saturday. Sunday, the evening will get packed as everyone is done running and busy celebrating. I don't consider it Thanksgiving crazy, but it is very very busy.

 

[pigletliz]

I loved Star War's weekend, but I did the challenge. These might help.

Thread from this year's Star Wars half marathon weekend.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/st...-weekend-check-in-january-15-18-2015.3283189/

Thread for next year.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/st...-in-january-14-17-2016.3413507/#post-53724803