I hate you Disney marathon!

[HippieChickadee]

As a multi-time marathoner, it's important to note that 13.1 miles is a half marathon.

But yeah, I can't get worked up about this. It's not like these things are secret. Plan better next time.

Haha, I kept thinking the same thing.

I am going to do the Marathon in Disney some day.

My bucket list is trying to kill me.

 

[mickeycoffee]

Scrooge. You learned your lesson and I suspect that complaining will only waste your own time while someone smiles and nods for you. Next time, check rundisney.com while you're planning your dinner reservations. Had you done that, you might have known to make an earlier dinner arrangement.

 

[GeneralTso]

I love the Disney marathons! They are FANTASTIC!!!
Very well organized and executed like pros.

Dates are announced WELL in advance, road closures with flashing lights are up for days. It's pretty clear that there will be traffic and to plan accordingly.

I've been to Disneyland and WDW during marathons where we weren't participating. We worked it out and no problems. I'm sorry you were blindsided and got stuck. I know that must have sucked, but truly, it could have been avoided.

 

[Magpie]

I had 8 pm reservations at Boma. Disney failed when they did not notify me of the obvious problems caused by this reservation. Look at a Disney map, then look at how I was supposed to travel from AKL to Coronado. Traffic was very heavy, a gps was a liability, and the signs were difficult to see with the traffic and gave me no indication of what travel lane I should have been in. I had no easy way to find my way back to the resort and was getting lost because follow detour isn't much help. They should have had signs directing me to my resort. Seriously, look at a map and you'll see why I was so mad.

So what I'm getting from this is that you got lost for a few minutes, you panicked, and now you want to make someone pay. Seriously, if you can't handle a 40 minute delay at Disney, how do you manage the parks at all? Do you call up all enraged and trying to sound pseudo-legal ("theft of services", really?) every time a ride breaks down, or a line gets backed up?

Perhaps next time you'd be better off taking the resort busses. At least you can be assured you'll get to your destination... eventually.

 

[wonderlanne]

A nightmare 40 minute round about thanks to the marathon detours. Detour took us off property into heavy night time traffic that led us back to even more detours. 5 minutes and 1.2 miles normally.

If they can't hold a marathon without massively inconveniencing other guests than they need to stop.

disneyland and disney world will have rundisney events in january, february, may, september, and november. if you are ever in doubt while planning your trips, you can check at rundisney.com, where they have dates posted well in advance.

i hope your headache goes away.

 

[Unca_Scrooge]

Scrooge broke his glasses playing junior woodchuck games, so I had my sister Hortense driving my blind self around. Now I'm sure you all know that my nephew Donald doesn't get his attitude from his father Quackmore.......

Now I can't say that Hortense didn't take any wrong turns since I'm blind, but she was not a happy duck. Once I regained a new pair of spectacles I reviewed the map and I could see no reasonable path from AKL to the more affordable Coronado springs. I haven't been on this big of a roundabout without those rotten Beagle Boys being involved. Luckily my safe was still safe when I got back to my room.

 

[AmyB2006]

Scrooge broke his glasses playing junior woodchuck games, so I had my sister Hortense driving my blind self around. Now I'm sure you all know that my nephew Donald doesn't get his attitude from his father Quackmore.......

Now I can't say that Hortense didn't take any wrong turns since I'm blind, but she was not a happy duck. Once I regained a new pair of spectacles I reviewed the map and I could see no reasonable path from AKL to the more affordable Coronado springs. I haven't been on this big of a roundabout without those rotten Beagle Boys being involved. Luckily my safe was still safe when I got back to my room.

Wow did this take a strange turn. Did we all fall down the rabbit hole? I'm glad your safe was still safe.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

I don't pay to be massively inconvenienced when I vacation here. Disney had no business scheduling events that ruins things for everyone else. The marathon was only part of the problem, it was how incompetently they handled rerouting traffic that made it worse.

If they canceled a major annual event, wouldn't that ruin things for other people just to accommodate you?

Pro tip: don't plan a trip around major events if you don't want to deal with it. It's not Disney's responsibility to coddle you. Life's tough, wear a helmet.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

Wow, Disney charges $190 to run on their property? I have to say one thing, Disney knows how to make money. Do you get anything for the $190?

It varies from race to race, but runners receive a tech shirt, a medal (Disney medals are very high quality), racing bib, gift card, post-race refreshments, time inside the parks.

While it's considerably higher than your average race, it's a competitive price considering all you get and where you're running.

 

[loveDisneyinTN]

You didn't call yourself Scrooge for nothing!

 

[AlohaDisney]

We had family staying at GF, BLT, AS Sports and AoA this past weekend and each of us had a Traffic Disruption note left in our rooms on Thursday or Friday. Traffic was thicker on Saturday, but we've also been to Walt Disney World when Biden was there and found the road closures to be much more of a disruption with that.

Perhaps you missed the note left in your room about road closures?

 

[Unca_Scrooge]

Nope, no note. I guess they didn't think that people who had Boma reservations were trapped. As far as I can tell. I was supposed to take the south exit, drive all around the outskirts of Disney and enter Disney through the north entrance.
Of course they also neglected to cover the road signs which kept leading you back to the closed road.

 

[mttmilner]

I agree, the races are posted a year in advance and aren't exactly a secret. To the OP, if you feel the need to call Disney and "give them an earful" that's fine. However, as someone who works in customer service, you will be labeled a quack (see what I did there) very quickly and your complaints will fall on deaf ears because they will forget you called as soon as they hang up the phone.

 

[Unca_Scrooge]

I agree, the races are posted a year in advance and aren't exactly a secret. To the OP, if you feel the need to call Disney and "give them an earful" that's fine. However, as someone who works in customer service, you will be labeled a quack (see what I did there) very quickly and your complaints will fall on deaf ears because they will forget you called as soon as they hang up the phone.

I have no interest in complaining to anyone in customer service as I know it is not their fault. But I will find the right person to complain to, and complain I will.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I have no interest in complaining to anyone in customer service as I know it is not their fault. But I will find the right person to complain to, and complain I will.

Good luck with that.

 

[DISaholic's]

It varies from race to race, but runners receive a tech shirt, a medal (Disney medals are very high quality), racing bib, gift card, post-race refreshments, time inside the parks.

While it's considerably higher than your average race, it's a competitive price considering all you get and where you're running.

Also to be noted regarding the price of the races, Disney has sponsered a charity, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, for every running event.

 

[johde]

Looking at the course map for the race, I'll admit the OP probably had one of the worst pair of resorts to try to transport between. AKL was inconvenienced more than other resorts with 2 way traffic on Osceloa Parkway going to and from Animal Kingdom Park. You were traveling to a resort just on the other side of the half marathon course. The only one that might have been worse would have been AKL to All-Stars.

To those of you who said Disney should have done more to avoid inconveniencing other guests. Disney did quite a bit to try and avoid inconvenience for for most onsite guests. Starting with evening EMH at MK until 2:00 a.m. when they already had a MK EMH until 2:00 a.m. the following evening. getting home from MK late was no problem for everyone except AKL and it they had stayed until 2:00 it wouldn't have been a problem either. AK closed at 7:00 So people had no problem road closures at park closing. Epcot closed at 9:00 and DHS at 8:00. Inbound roads may have been blocked but not outbound roads. Of the 13.1 miles of the race, a little over 5 of them were on public roads, everything else was in the parks and on non public roads.

For someone staying at Coronado Springs resorts, had you picked anything else you would have had a minor inconvenience at most. Had you gone to a theme Park, no problem; MK area resort hotel for dinner, no problem; Epcot area resort hotel, no problem. Day at Universal or Seaworld, no problem. In face, the only resort significantly affected by the race was AKL. You just picked the wrong evening to go to Boma. Even with that, when you saw the signs on the way to dinner about the race things could have done. Had you talked to someone at the desk, they could have possibly given you directions to avoid the race on the trip home.

The quickest way for the OP to go would have been 192 to 429 to Western Way. That detour though is only convenient for getting back to Coronado Springs and 429 is a toll road so it would have cost $1.25.

 

[Tormania]

I never understand these type of posts. In life there are events planned that you are not a part of but hey they exist and you work around them. If you were a part of the marathon you probably wouldve been enjoying yourself. Because you were not and it caused you inconvenience it "should be stopped"

These events draw huge crowds, are a money maker for disney, as well as provide enjoyment for many many people.

Im truly sorry that it caused a less than magical experience for you but to suggest it needs to be gone is a pretty selfish view IMHO

Completely agree. It wasn't a SURPRISE flash mob marathon, it a MAJOR event, months in the planning. Don't want to be impacted by it, then go to WDW at another time.

And we wonder why today's kids feel so entitled to everything all the time.

 

[princesslover]

It varies from race to race, but runners receive a tech shirt, a medal (Disney medals are very high quality), racing bib, gift card, post-race refreshments, time inside the parks.

While it's considerably higher than your average race, it's a competitive price considering all you get and where you're running.

You're kidding me, right?

As a runner who has run several half marathons, 10ks, and 5ks, here is what you get in almost *all* races:

Tech shirt
a medal -for half marathons, a really nice medal and high quality
racing bib
chip timing
on course photography
post race refreshments

For about $30-$40 generally.

Yeah, Disney knows how to screw...er, um, make money.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

You're kidding me, right?

As a runner who has run several half marathons, 10ks, and 5ks, here is what you get in almost *all* races:

Tech shirt
a medal -for half marathons, a really nice medal and high quality
racing bib
post race refreshments

For about $30-$40 generally.

Yeah, Disney knows how to screw...er, um, make money.

I run in NYC, and no, we do not get medals and tech shirts for every half marathon for that price. Double that, normally