Marathon in January Crowd Levels

[martyshoney]

Have any of you been to DW during the time of the marathon? My in laws were there once and they said they did not find that it affected the crowds but I want to get more opinions on what we can expect. My DD will be 5 on the 7th and I want to be there for that so there is no other time that we could go. I already have CRT booked and BBB for her!! Any info will be greatly appreciated!

 

[dollcollector1]

Have any of you been to DW during the time of the marathon? My in laws were there once and they said they did not find that it affected the crowds but I want to get more opinions on what we can expect. My DD will be 5 on the 7th and I want to be there for that so there is no other time that we could go. I already have CRT booked and BBB for her!! Any info will be greatly appreciated!

We unknowingly were at Disney ,in 04 ,during Marathon Week. I didn't even know what Marathon Week was, until I spotted some people wearing the Marathon tee shirts. We were able to get on the rides with no wait at all and ran right back on them ,if we wanted to ride again. The WL wasn't booked to capacity ,either. I think you should be OK. We had no idea that special event was going on.

 

[MariDisney]

We were there this year duing the marathon and it only impacted us once. We were driving into EPCOT at the precise time that the marathoners were getting close to that park. It took us about 30 minutes from the road to a parking spot and then inside the park was CROWDED...took us forever to get to the Land pavillion. Some areas were roped off for the runners. But within an hour or so they had been through and things were back to normal. So, overall, no impact on crowds IMHO unless your timing is bad. I'm sure you can find out the approximate times they'll be through the various parks.

 

[Calcio]

Be wary on the 7th and give yourself more time.

That is marathon day, and the Magic Kingdom is miles 10-11.5 of the marathon course. The fast runners will enter the MK a bit after 7 a.m., but the tail of the dog will enter up to 9 a.m. At that time the Disney people will close the entrance to the MK so the very last people will come into the park at 9.

With a CRT reservation on Sunday the 7th, I assume early, be aware that the MK will be tougher than normal to get to. The runners come in on the "out" road so the road to the MK will not be blocked, but the whole area will be busy, particularly the ticket and transport area as we will run through that.

Not to scare you, you just need to plan ahead and allow extra time.

And be sure to yell for the runners, they appreciate it.