Driving vs bus from SSR for marathon

[El&Asmom]

Just wondering what others experiences have been with buses on race morning. We will have a car, but will be staying at SSR so I could take a bus. I've only run one other Disney race which was the Princess last year. We were at WL, so we had to take a cab to the start. It was fine, but the line to get in was long.
Would it be easier to just take the bus, or drive myself?

 

[cewait]

It depends....

Bus if you do not like traffic, are easily lost on WDW property, do not want to deal with keys. In general, buses are the way to go. They move lots of folks and 'green' the race. They pick you up (I think SSR is one location but others can weigh in if I am incorrect) and drop you up front at the expo. On race day, you are dropped in the Epcot parking lot as well as picked up in the lot. Bus if you want to experience the first sign of post marathon legs - that is the real funny feeling of walking down the steps for the first time post race.

Drive if you are a little more of a control freak or if you are standing for a long period of time with no buses. If the pre-race weather is not so good and your car can serve as a weather hut. Only if you understand how to negotiate your way to Epcot in the dark while not following the signs.

The truth of the matter - for both forms of transportation you need to leave your resort between 3 and 4. Do not think you can sleep in and drive up at the last minute. From the SSR, you need to exit the guard shack on the DTD Buena Vista side of the resort. From there circle around DTD and head towards the Boardwalk resort. Pass the DHS and BW as well as the light by the Swan/Dolphin and backstage DHS. Be in the right lane and exit onto World. Once onWorld, stay in the right two lanes. Traffic may feel slow here but keep right as it will move and you will soon be in Epcot Parking Lot. Once there follow the parking attendants to park. Once parked follow the lights.

Note that about every other to every third year, leaving the parking lot is a mess. Not sure if there is an exact cause, but I have seen the parking lot backed up tight.

I have driven about as much as I have ridden the bus or monorail. Since this is the year where we should have relatively warm temps, I would think the bus is in order.

Though really I am saying it is a personal preference

 

[UGAFan0829]

We've stayed at SSR twice--both time for the Princess. One year we took advantage of the buses, and the other year we drove ourselves. The year that we took the bus, we were at the stop fairly early and there was a bus pulling off just as we walked up that was full. There were only 3 or 4 other runners who were waiting and it was only a matter of minutes before the next bus came along. However, once those of us who were waiting boarded, the bus became full.


The year that we drove, we were able to leave just a tad bit later but not too late as the instructions said that traffic may be bad. Turned out that it wasn't and we had lots of time.

In my opinion, I think driving was more comfortable for us. Didn't have to wait for the bus and were able to go when we were ready. Plus we were able to walk right to our car after the race and again not have to wait for a bus.

 

[El&Asmom]

Thanks for the responses. I'm pretty sure I could navigate around DTD to get to World drive and the race. Just trying to decide if I should let dh keep the car. Maybe that way he could find a Dunkin Donuts and pick me up an iced latte for the finish line.

Still deciding. if it's cold, it may be nice to have the car for hanging out in if there is time before going to the corrals. I might be a bit nervous though worrying about getting myself there rather than letting someone else do the driving.

 

[Dennyha]

We have taken the bus from SSR and OKW for the past 5 years, and I think that riding the bus is part of the experience. It is somewhat surreal to get on the bus with 40 fellow runners and soak up the pre-race apprehension. Everyone is quiet in preparation for the upcoming event (or maybe they're just waking up).
Last year was the only year that the bus was a problem. Every other year, they had plenty of busses. Someone got their wires crossed, and the line for busses grew faster than they supplied busses to reduce the lines. That said, we'll take the bus from SSR again this year.
For SSR, there is only one pickup. It is off to the right of the pool area in front of the Carriage House. There will be a sandwich board sign indicating that it is the bus pickup area for the Marathon events. It is across the street from the Carriage House "official" bus stop.

 

[gsu1988]

I took the bus my first year and drove the next three year. Personally I liked driving over because I had the car to sit in if the weather was bad or if I wanted to catch a little cat nap before heading to the start line. I also liked having the car there after the race. I was not at the mercy of the bus schedules. I could hang out as long as I wanted or I could hop in the car and head back to to get cleaned up. I have never run into any traffic problems but that may because I headed over about the same time the buses begin to run. That is early but again, I have a place to nap. Just my two cents.

 

[runmommyrun]

Last year we stayed at SSR and I took the bus. Highly recommend if you are running solo (hubby and kids did not get up at 2:30 like I did!). There were ample buses. However, I paid for the race retreat and had a warm place to rest before race. Not the case if you don't pay for retreat.

 

[SmartGuyCEO]

I stayed at OKW last year... The bus was filled to capacity and had to skipped SSR.