How to plan park visits during Marathon Weekend?

[berly1657]

We will be in the parks 1/2/17 - 1/8/17. We will not be participating in the runs. Do you avoid the parks where the marathons are going through or doesn't it matter?

 

[sunflare]

The races are pretty much over once the parks open, with the exception of Epcot on the day of the marathon, I believe.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

Yep, the full marathon is the only one that goes into the "park day" hours by any significant margin.

I'd recommend avoiding plans for any super-early-morning activities (PPO ADRs or tours, EMM, EMH, etc) on Saturday/Sunday of the marathon weekend simply because of all the road closures and transportation re-routing, but you can do it if you really want to as long as you leave enough extra time to get there. Disney transportation can be easier than driving yourself at those times unless you know the roads really well, also.

 

[yulilin3]

Street closure happen all around property during the actual marathon day, Sunday, otherwise than that most streets are not affected. All streets are open by 10am on Sunday

 

[mrsR123]

I wouldn't try to rope drop MK Saturday or Sunday due to lane closures. The race is usually clear of MK before opening both days. Epcot will have runners until a bit after opening on Saturday and through early lunchtime Sunday. Lots of CMs will be on hand to help direct traffic inside the park.
If you do see runners, cheer them on! It's a great help at the end of 13 or 26 miles to get some encouragement!

 

[Jaxasaurous]

On Sunday of the marathon, Animal Kingdom will have a few runners in the early morning so it might not be too bad. MGM/Hollywood Studios will have a lot of runners, in the past years the runners entered by the backlot tour and wound their way through the park heading out to the entrance and along the Boardwalk. EPCOT also will be impacted by runners, that's the last park that the runners go through.
Disney knows how to move the runners and guests along the paths so they don't interfere with one another and get trampled.
I didn't run the marathon last year but was cheering on my sister, while I was waiting for her to pass through MGM I was able to walk on a lot of the rides.