January Marathon Weekend park suggestions

[ButterflyEffect]

I have a question about park days in the middle of our trip on January 7th and 8th. I currently have a reservation for AK on the 7th, which is the half marathon day. I have a reservation for Epcot on the 8th which is the full marathon. I am wondering if Epcot on the 8th is a bad choice. Should I switch them? Or will being on a bus to AK cause bigger problems (we can skyliner to Epcot). Will Epcot be packed on the 8th after the Marathon? We have been on marathon weekend a few times before but can't remember which parks we did when. Any advice is appreciated since reservations aren't full so I can change things around.

 

[sponica]

I doubt you'll have problems getting to AK on the 7th. I feel like most of the disruptions are on world center drive and going to MK.
I feel like most people who run the marathon probably go back to their hotel first to shower/relax if they do a park that day. Since you can take the skyliner, I wouldn't be too concerned about getting there.

 

[mom2rtk]

We were in Epcot on full marathon day last year. We did that because we wanted to travel there by Skyliner, which was great. Inside the park though it did have some issues until around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. Getting around crossing streets was held up quite a bit, pathways were blocked off, and characters in World Showcase didn't come out until later.

We're trying DHS on full marathon day this year.

 

[Mr. Drauer]

There is no real issue with getting to AK Saturday unless you are staying at an MK resort - World Drive will be blocked in places until about 9:00ish. The course typically goes from Epcot to MK and back to finish in Epcot. Sunday - the marathon will finish through Epcot and go through each park (MK to AK to BB to DHS to Epcot), so runners will be in the park until around 12, and as mom2rtk said, they have set up crossing areas, which you will have to wait at for a few minutes to get across in many places in the park. It is not extra crowded, just extra hassle. Many roads are blocked on Sunday morning, so depending on where you are staying, it makes it difficult, especially if you are relying on Disney buses.

 

[ButterflyEffect]

We are staying at Pop, so getting to Epcot is no worry. I am more concerned about it being extra busy on Sunday afternoon/evening because of extra crowds due to the runners. If it is just that the race is still on at Epcot in the a.m. that doesn't seem like a big deal to me. If it is going to be big lines because lots of runners typically choose Epcot as the place to be after the marathon, I would prefer to switch. I just don't know if that is what typically happens.

 

[ButterflyEffect]

I doubt you'll have problems getting to AK on the 7th. I feel like most of the disruptions are on world center drive and going to MK.
I feel like most people who run the marathon probably go back to their hotel first to shower/relax if they do a park that day. Since you can take the skyliner, I wouldn't be too concerned about getting there.

Thanks for replying! I wondered if everyone is just so beat that they would have a quiet night recouperating!

 

[ButterflyEffect]

We were in Epcot on full marathon day last year. We did that because we wanted to travel there by Skyliner, which was great. Inside the park though it did have some issues until around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. Getting around crossing streets was held up quite a bit, pathways were blocked off, and characters in World Showcase didn't come out until later.

We're trying DHS on full marathon day this year.

Thanks for sharing that experience, it is really helpful!

 

[ButterflyEffect]

There is no real issue with getting to AK Saturday unless you are staying at an MK resort - World Drive will be blocked in places until about 9:00ish. The course typically goes from Epcot to MK and back to finish in Epcot. Sunday - the marathon will finish through Epcot and go through each park (MK to AK to BB to DHS to Epcot), so runners will be in the park until around 12, and as mom2rtk said, they have set up crossing areas, which you will have to wait at for a few minutes to get across in many places in the park. It is not extra crowded, just extra hassle. Many roads are blocked on Sunday morning, so depending on where you are staying, it makes it difficult, especially if you are relying on Disney buses.

Good to know we should be ok with AK if we stick with the current plan! Maybe we just stick with Epcot on Sunday then if crowds aren't affected in the afternoon/evening very much.

 

[nlenguyen]

We were in Epcot on full marathon day last year. We did that because we wanted to travel there by Skyliner, which was great. Inside the park though it did have some issues until around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. Getting around crossing streets was held up quite a bit, pathways were blocked off, and characters in World Showcase didn't come out until later.

We're trying DHS on full marathon day this year.

We are in the same boat going to DHS on Sunday. Not sure if we should change. We will be staying at SSR

 

[mom2rtk]

We are in the same boat going to DHS on Sunday. Not sure if we should change. We will be staying at SSR

I don't know enough about the race routes to know if that's a safe choice or not. We chose DHS because we are staying at Pop Century and can (hopefully) go by Skyliner. Thinking about stopping at Riviera for breakfast on our way there.

 

[Mr. Drauer]

We are staying at Pop, so getting to Epcot is no worry. I am more concerned about it being extra busy on Sunday afternoon/evening because of extra crowds due to the runners. If it is just that the race is still on at Epcot in the a.m. that doesn't seem like a big deal to me. If it is going to be big lines because lots of runners typically choose Epcot as the place to be after the marathon, I would prefer to switch. I just don't know if that is what typically happens.

Runers make park plans just like everyone else - reservatiions in advance, not based upon the race finishing there. Sunday afternoon and evening will be busy at EPcot beacuse A) it's the weekend during Food and Wine and B) the after party lets you get in starting at 5:00.

 

[mom2rtk]

We are staying at Pop, so getting to Epcot is no worry. I am more concerned about it being extra busy on Sunday afternoon/evening because of extra crowds due to the runners. If it is just that the race is still on at Epcot in the a.m. that doesn't seem like a big deal to me. If it is going to be big lines because lots of runners typically choose Epcot as the place to be after the marathon, I would prefer to switch. I just don't know if that is what typically happens.

We were at Epcot marathon Sunday last year. It was busy but not awful. MK will definitely be busy since everyone wants photos with their medals in front of the castle. Photopass lines move slow.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Runers make park plans just like everyone else - reservatiions in advance, not based upon the race finishing there. Sunday afternoon and evening will be busy at EPcot beacuse A) it's the weekend during Food and Wine and B) the after party lets you get in starting at 5:00.

They're talking about the January races, so there's no festival going on, and there's no after-party.



For the OP's question about Epcot on Sunday, the race *usually* finishes around world showcase, and the last of the runners should be coming through by 1pm and it would be like a normal park day after that.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

I have a question about park days in the middle of our trip on January 7th and 8th. I currently have a reservation for AK on the 7th, which is the half marathon day. I have a reservation for Epcot on the 8th which is the full marathon. I am wondering if Epcot on the 8th is a bad choice. Should I switch them? Or will being on a bus to AK cause bigger problems (we can skyliner to Epcot). Will Epcot be packed on the 8th after the Marathon? We have been on marathon weekend a few times before but can't remember which parks we did when. Any advice is appreciated since reservations aren't full so I can change things around.

AK is a total toss up and you can do that park either day. We've been to the parks during Jan races and the marathon in February and we've never noticed any crowd issues that I'd 100% attribute to the races. I'd venture to guess that Epcot will be more crowded on Saturday than Sunday just given that's the norm for that park. I'd stick with your plans and plan your day as you would normally.

 

[ButterflyEffect]

We were at Epcot marathon Sunday last year. It was busy but not awful. MK will definitely be busy since everyone wants photos with their medals in front of the castle. Photopass lines move slow.

This is great info thanks, and it makes sense that runners would want photos with the castle.

 

[ButterflyEffect]

AK is a total toss up and you can do that park either day. We've been to the parks during Jan races and the marathon in February and we've never noticed any crowd issues that I'd 100% attribute to the races. I'd venture to guess that Epcot will be more crowded on Saturday than Sunday just given that's the norm for that park. I'd stick with your plans and plan your day as you would normally.

Thanks so much, I think that is exactly what we will do!

Thanks everyone, my mind is much more at ease now!!

 

[piccolopat]

We also have a park reservation for Epcot on 1/8. DH and I won't have a problem since we'll walk there from our resort but I am concerned about DD, DSIL and DGS. They are staying at Port Orleans. They have a handicap placard and will need both a wheelchair and a stroller. Is there a best time that they should plan on heading over to Epcot to avoid road closures?

 

[mom2rtk]

We also have a park reservation for Epcot on 1/8. DH and I won't have a problem since we'll walk there from our resort but I am concerned about DD, DSIL and DGS. They are staying at Port Orleans. They have a handicap placard and will need both a wheelchair and a stroller. Is there a best time that they should plan on heading over to Epcot to avoid road closures?

I can't help you with best times. I know there were interruptions on marathon Sunday until early afternoon. They just need to pack their patience and don't schedule anything unrefundable that morning.

 

[piccolopat]

I can't help you with best times. I know there were interruptions on marathon Sunday until early afternoon. They just need to pack their patience and don't schedule anything unrefundable that morning.

We can change our park reservations so we are at Epcot on Saturday 1/7 and the Studios on 1/8. Do you think that might work better around the interruptions? I really have no idea of the route these runners take.

 

[mom2rtk]

We can change our park reservations so we are at Epcot on Saturday 1/7 and the Studios on 1/8. Do you think that might work better around the interruptions? I really have no idea of the route these runners take.

I don't know enough about the race course to know which park is best. There might not even be a best park. I think for that full marathon, they run through all 4 parks.