Getting to Magic Kingdom on Marathon Day

[redshoepaul]

I went last year the day AFTER the marathon. Saw alot but not tons of people with medals and stuff, so it was obvious they ran. The Pop had almost no runners staying there, which was good.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Sunday the 8th is going to be our first day going to the parks. We have an 8:15 am reservation at Chef Mickeys then we are heading to MK for the day. I don't know much about the marathon and didn't take it into account when planning my ADRs. We have a group of 12 so I don't know if I'll be able to reschedule and we have a bunch of kids going for their first visit so Chef Mickey's is a must to meet the main characters.
What time do you think we should we leave to get to Chef Mickey's on time? I was just planning on taking the bus from Pop to MK, than walk or monorail to the Contemporary.
Thanks for any help!

My guess? Take one of the last spectator buses to Epcot around 5AM. Then take the monorail to TTC. Then take the resort monorail to the Contemporary. You are going to get there early, but you will beat the start of the race. It starts around 5:30AM.

This year I drove to Epcot to watch my husband, son and my husband's friend run in the marathon. I left OKW around 4:30AM (maybe a little earlier). Even with my knowledge of the road closings, I finally got through the police barricade at 5:30 and got to Epcot just as the race started. When the police asked me if I was planning to be stranded at Epcot until at least 9AM, I said yes I knew.

I wouldn't leave any later than 6AM to get to the Contemporary, though, for an 8:15 breakfast.