How does Jan 7 marathon effect parks/transportation?

[riu girl]

Will be staying at POP and was wondering how the marathon effects park attendance and transporation to and from the parks ?
What park would you reccommend for that day and why?
Thanks
Suzy V.

 

[Bob P]

It has little to no effect on park attendance because the race is early in the morning (starts at 6:AM).

There are some disruptions in transportation, espeically at Epcot, which is where both races will start and finish effective January 2006.

To be more specific: the half marathon is on Saturday the 7th, the full marathon will be on Sunday the 8th.

Bob

 

[jann1033]

Ak was a mess till about 11 in Jan of 04. it was emh day there and some of the main paths were closed off due to runners as were some of the side paths. some of the shows also strted later than normal. din't have any trouble getting there, just once we got there( should have had anice breakfast & skipped emh)

 

[riu girl]

Thank you so much for the information.

I just looked at a map of the half marathon (which will run Jan 7) and it looks like the half marathon will completely skip studios and AK. Since we wil be staying at POP, I am hoping that if we either go to studios or AK we will not have any disruptions of any kind.

Any thoughts?
Thank you
Suzy

 

[Dana_Buckley]

When we were there Jan 2003, MK didn't open early (EMH) as it was suppose to and the buses had to take a different route, from Beach Club. It was aggravating to take so long to get there, then MK didn't even open early, we had to stand around for 30min waiting to get in. So, double check the hours at the hotel before planning on where to go.

Happy planning! Early Jan was a great time to go. Have a great weekend.

 

[Bob P]

Thank you so much for the information.

I just looked at a map of the half marathon (which will run Jan 7) and it looks like the half marathon will completely skip studios and AK. Since we wil be staying at POP, I am hoping that if we either go to studios or AK we will not have any disruptions of any kind.

Any thoughts?
Thank you
Suzy

Hi again Suzy,

This is correct...the half marathon goes form Epcot to the MK and back. AK and the Studios are not involved in the half marathon.

Bob

 

[Deb & Bill]

By the time the runners have gotten to the AK and Disney Studios, they are more spread out. So you won't have mobs of runners going through at the same time. They have 7 hours to complete the marathon and it starts at 6AM. You just need to keep out of the runners' way in these parks.

On Sat, after the 1/2 marathon (which runners have 3.5 hours to complete), they will have the Family Fun Run that begins about 9:30 or 10AM and goes through Epcot. This year, the 1/2 marathon goes from Epcot to the MK and back to Epcot, instead of finishing at the Pluto parking lot at the TTC.

 

[the kabuki]

Stayed at POP during this year's marathon. Almost no effect on traffic and crowds. I think I remember one or two roads that were closed, but easy detours were available.

Wouldn't give it a second thought.

 

[riu girl]

So if I had an ADR for CRT at MK(for around 11 am) I wouldn't have any problem making it to CRT on time? I will be travelling from POP (using Disney transportation)?
It will be our last full day at Disney and really want to spend it at MK. Due to possible early morning traffic issues we will probablynot leave POP until 9:30am.
Does this plan make sense?
Thank you
Suzy V

 

[jann1033]

not being a disney bus driver i don't know how they would reroute the traffic but since it starts and stops at epcot, it seems traffic to mk would be affected ( traffic to ak was fine from pop whe we went, it was the park that was the problem). i'd leave as early as possible as you can always find "something " to do at mk if you are early but wouldn't want to miss your ress. i doubt it would be all clear by 11.( i think they were still in ak at about 10 or later when we went )

 

[ruzer28]

Now, granted this was 9 years ago that I was there during the marathon, but the bus system was a mess! I had to transfer at the TTC to get anywhere from the CBR where I was staying. They rerouted the buses to avoid the marathon route. The parks and resorts were also very crowded. It was enough that I will avoid that week in the future.

 

[Merriwind]

In 2003, I couldn't figure out what all the traffic was on Buena Vista Dr so early on a Sunday morning. It was the marathon-redirected traffic! Seriously, other than some traffic snarls in the a.m., shouldn't be a problem at all.