Hotel Recom for Marathon Weekend with little kids

[Bonnie36]

Okay, I turn to you...DIS gurus. I will be attending Marathon weekend with my husband and twin 3 year olds (they will be 3.5 in January). I am running the Half and DH is running the full. I am trying to figure out the best place to stay. Obviously, we won't get the kids up at 3am so that we can all get out to the starting line...it'll prob just be me and then he will come meet me somewhere along the route in the early am. We will have a car. I am less concerned with the full since it is so much longer that I know I can get out at least a few places to see him run. But knowing that 3 year olds can't get up that early and survive a day in disney - where should we stay so that they can easily access a place to see me run along the half route.

Does it not even matter? Can then just get up about 6 and get somewhere using park transportation or our car to see me run? Or is that not realistic? Are the contemporary/poly/GF our main options here?

Does my question make sense at all??

Thanks in advance for any and all recommendations!!
-Bonnie

 

[minniebeth]

Okay, I turn to you...DIS gurus. I will be attending Marathon weekend with my husband and twin 3 year olds (they will be 3.5 in January). I am running the Half and DH is running the full. I am trying to figure out the best place to stay. Obviously, we won't get the kids up at 3am so that we can all get out to the starting line...it'll prob just be me and then he will come meet me somewhere along the route in the early am. We will have a car. I am less concerned with the full since it is so much longer that I know I can get out at least a few places to see him run. But knowing that 3 year olds can't get up that early and survive a day in disney - where should we stay so that they can easily access a place to see me run along the half route.

Does it not even matter? Can then just get up about 6 and get somewhere using park transportation or our car to see me run? Or is that not realistic? Are the contemporary/poly/GF our main options here?

Does my question make sense at all??

Thanks in advance for any and all recommendations!!
-Bonnie

Having a car will help you get to the Expo for packet pick-up easily (although all the hotels have bus transporations that is really easy too), but won't help you much during the events. Many of the roads are closed and are hard to navigate the mornings of the 1/2 and full. You are better off using resort transportation. Last year on-line, there was a spectator tool to figure out where you can be to see your runner and when based on how fast they run. It's really helpful. I would say, if it's in your budget, that the Polynesian is one of the most user friendly resorts for that weekend with your little ones. You have the monorails right there, where you can walk to the Ticket and Transportation Center. You can see the 1/2 runners run right on the side of the Polynesian, it's a great spot. It's pretty much in the middle of where you want to be, plus convenient for the parks.

We stayed there last year for Marathon Weedend and it was a great location, other than the fact that the mornings of the events were nuts with spectators using it for coffee, food breaks and the bathroom.
That would be my recommendation, but I'm sure that other resorts are wonderfully efficient as well.

 

[ohMom]

going to move to the Events sub-forum for you....

 

[RunningGirl]

If you can swing it I'd stay at the Poly. You can see both races twice - walk over to the TTC using the path and then come back and to the road running in front of the Poly to see him pass by again. You can then jump on the monorail to get to the finish line at Epcot!

 

[Bonnie36]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the thoughts. The poly and GF may be out of the budget, but if we don't hit up the parks much, we may be able to swing it. Trouble is...how can you go to disney for the weekend and not hit the parks.

May end up being pop and they won't see me run. Or, I am working on maybe the contemp. Even that may be too much though. Hopeing for a good deal. Man those rack rates are not cheap!!

 

[jmasgat]

Duplicate

 

[jmasgat]

Bonnie The past few years, there have been general public room-only discounts offered for the hotels that include marathon weekend. Still puts the price of Poly north of $200 though. Another thing to consider is to try and rent DVC points to stay at BLT. If available, you could get a standard view studio for Fri-Sat-Sun, e.g., for 46 points. People rent for anywhere from $10-$13/point, so the total could be pretty reasonable. Check out the DVC board on disboards (although it's dropped off dramatically) or else mouse......owners.....(It won't let me include the text or link!)
Maura

 

[jbucci]

I agree that being on the monorail line would be easiest to see runners and get around in general because you would not have to worry about closed roads which mess up even the Disney buses. Other really nice options would be Boardwalk, Beach Club, or Swan/Dolphin. These are not at good for viewing the half but would be great to catch dad on the full.

Renting DVC points is an option that can work really well. If you are interested, pm me as I have a friend with extra points this year and we are now almost in the 7 month window for marathon weekend (his points are at Saratoga Springs).

 

[FireDancer]

The easiest of course will be the monorail line. If that isn't in your budget or you just can't justify spending deluxe money on a hotel room (and I'm right there with you) try for the Swan/Dolphin. They will be the cheapest way to stay in the Epcot area and that is the second best choice if you can't swing the monorail resorts.

If you guys are going to do the parks on Saturday and Sunday and your husband has park hoppers he can take the kids to the monorail, get to the TTC, jump on the resort monorail, and see you along the road next to the GF and Polly. If he is up early enough and is fast enough he can also see you twice. Once before entering MK and then again after.

Also, on Sunday you will be in a prime spot to see him in the full at least once. The full runs the boardwalk before entering Epcot at the end. You'd also be able to grab the monorail, take it to the TTC, and do the exact same think on Sunday as he did on Saturday before making it back to the Boardwalk to see him run past.

Lastly, I'm not sure how long you are going to be down there and if it will be worth the trouble but if you are going to be down there for 5 or 6 days you could stay at a value for 3 or 4 of them and just stay at a monorail resort Friday night and Saturday night to be there for the races.

 

[cloudnut220]

If you're even considering renting points to stay at Bay Lake, I would advise doing it ASAP so if you rent from a BLT owner you can book now, or if you rent from someone else so you can book RIGHT when the 7 month window opens. I know BLT seems to be in demand for marathon weekend...

 

[DrMomof3]

We stayed at the Poly last year with our 3 kids (they were 6, 4, and 2 at the time) and it was great. My DH and parents walked with the kids to the road and saw me run by. A Garden Wing room at the Contemporary would be less expensive and still allow the non-running parent to walk out to the road with the kids. It's still a pricey proposition! We were able to get a decent discount on our room at the Poly and I think we'll likely try to stay there again. I'm running the full this year and my DH is going to try to run the half so it'll be nice to have the convenience of letting the kids sleep in a bit and walk out to the road.
The whole budgeting thing is hard!
One other thought is to use a Disney-specific travel agent who can keep an eye out for any discounts that come up. The 2012 rates don't usually come out until August so you'll be booking "max" rack rate right now. Using a TA who can apply any discounts that come up may help...

Amanda