First Disney trip

[Exile]

I'm taking my two daughters (10yrs and 5 yrs)to disney world in January 08 for our first ( and probably only) trip there. I was hoping to stay at the Contemporary but the only week available is 6-12 (MK view). I have since found out that the marathon is at the end of this week. Should I avoid this week and go with my backup of Feb 3-10 at the Polynesian?

 

[swilphil]

The Contemporary is a fab. resort.

Is there a reason you can't stay there during the marathon?

I thought the marathon started god awful early, like 7 a.m., and had some impact on MK and Epcot. You could avoid the parks that morning. I actually think it would be fun to see part of the marathon.

 

[emh1129]

We were there during the marathon and it only affected us very slightly, and that was because we were at the All Stars, so we relied on bus transportation in the morning. I would think you'd be fine if you're on the monorail.
Have fun planning!

 

[JennyDrake]

We stayed during the marathon for I think 5 years, and it was never a problem in any way. Nice time of year and very low crowds!

 

[Exile]

Just a little worried about a spike in park attendance during marathon week. Thank you for easing my concerns. Going ahead with Res!!

 

[SGB13]

Just a warning, we went to the CR for our once in a life time trip last Nov. It was so magical we are planning a trip back Jan 08!
You will LOVE the CR.
Don't forget to watch the fireworks from your room. It was my favorite part of our trip.

 

[bizarlee]

I've run the marathon the last 5 years and I've always thought, even with the race weekend, the crowds were pretty low. The half marathon is on Saturday and will most likely be over by 10:00AM, and the course only runs through MK and Epcot. The full marathon is on Sunday and goes through all 4 parks, starting with Epcot, MK, AK, MGM and back to Epcot. Probably cleared out of Epcot by 2PM. It's a 6AM start both days, so you probably won't be too bothered by the runners, although they will have the course roped off and you'll need to wait to cross the course til there's a break in the runners - a CM usually assists in this. Finally, most of us go to the parks the day after our race, but as we've just finished 13.1, 26.2 or 39.3 miles, we'll be limping along so slowly, you can easily outrun us to the attractions. We'll be wearing our medals, so be sure to congratulate us as you whiz past us!