Marathon Weekend 2019

[Dis_Yoda]

I miss SpectroMagic.

Ply me with enough drinks and put the soundtrack on, and I’m confident I still remember both the butterfly/Fairy Garden routine AND the ostrich/Fantasia routine.

Challenge accepted.

 

[Keels]

Challenge accepted.

27th Mile Spectacular in 2020?

I can probably do multiple roles from the Remember the Magic parade too ...

 

[Keels]

My company is hiring if anyone wants to move to Southwest Florida (and you qualify)

~ HR Manager
~ Welder
~ CNC Machinist (Highly Skilled)
~ Maintenance (Mechanical/Electrical)

Let me know if you ever have an opening in QC, supply chain or process analysis/improvement ... I'm pretty bored these days.

 

[FlashAM7]

It’s not a touchy issue really but there isn’t a good way to stop corral hopping. People who set out to do it are going to do it or at least try. You can set whatever rules and regulations you want but people still cheat the system. People don’t run the full course either, they’ll cut corners on out and backs and such.

This. If people are set on jumping corrals, they will do it. I've heard of people photoshopping their bib, people making fake stickers, physically jumping corrals, you name it.

The bigger problem, in my opinion, is Track Shack themselves placing people in wrong corrals. The line at Runner Relations at the Expo was ridiculously long because runners were placed in the wrong corral.

 

[camaker]

This. If people are set on jumping corrals, they will do it. I've heard of people photoshopping their bib, people making fake stickers, physically jumping corrals, you name it.

The bigger problem, in my opinion, is Track Shack themselves placing people in wrong corrals. The line at Runner Relations at the Expo was ridiculously long because runners were placed in the wrong corral.

I agree on the jumping corrals issue, but I'd be interested to see a breakdown of the reasons runners were at Runner Relations for corral changes before calling out Track Shack as a "bigger problem". Keep in mind that as long as the line may have been at Runner Relations, Track Shack had the task of placing 64-65,000 individual runners into corrals based on my back of the napkin calculations for challenges. The line across all the Expo days would have to have been several thousand runners and be made up entirely of runners Track Shack made an actual error with to have any kind of significance. You have to exclude anyone trying to get a corral changed due to things like: runner has faster PoT now than when registering, forgotten PoT entries, runner mis-entered expected times so they don't match PoT, etc.

Track Shack certainly makes errors. However, a large portion of the "errors" that I see discussed here and in the Facebook groups and elsewhere are traceable to the runner not entering all aspects of the PoT correctly. It's easy to get caught up in the exceptions, especially as they tend to be pretty vocal, but as a percentage I'd bet the true error rate is pretty close to statistically insignificant. Not that that helps is you happen to get caught as one of the isolated issues, though.

 

[Nole95]

This. If people are set on jumping corrals, they will do it. I've heard of people photoshopping their bib, people making fake stickers, physically jumping corrals, you name it.

The bigger problem, in my opinion, is Track Shack themselves placing people in wrong corrals. The line at Runner Relations at the Expo was ridiculously long because runners were placed in the wrong corral.

I'd be curious if they were placed in the wrong corral because they did not enter a POT on time, or did Track Shack flat out make that many mistakes and misplace people? I see there being three scenarios.

1. People who did not enter a POT by the deadline who have a valid POT from prior to the deadline, and are asking to get moved.

2. People who did not enter a POT by the deadline who have a valid POT from a race AFTER the deadline, and are asking to get moved.

3. People who have proof that Track Shack messed up and want to be placed where they should have been all along. I always take a screen shot or print a copy of my registration just in case.

In my opinion, the only ones who have a legitimate reason to be moved are those in scenario 3. The POT deadline is not a secret. It's right on the registration, and I am pretty sure RD sends out a reminder as well about entering one prior to the deadline date. Even if I know I might change my POT later on, I always enter the best POT I currently have.

Seems like RD could save themselves a lot of time and effort by posting a sign at the Expo reiterating the policy. Either it's a rule that no corral changes will be made or it isn't.

 

[PrincessV]

Unfortunately, I'll venture to guess that a large part of the long lines for RR lately is thanks to well-meaning advice given to folks who definitely do not fit the criteria of a Track Shack error to "give it a try - it can't hurt!" (FTR I'm guilty of giving this advice, too, so I'm not judging or singling anyone out!) Years ago, my friend was legitimately mis-corralled due to a TS error and we waited behind ONE person in line at RR - this was before so many were "giving it a try" and RR wasn't being overrun with people requesting corral changes.

 

[Desdemona924]

For last year's marathon, I was placed in N with an estimated finish time entered that should have put me around L; no POT required. I emailed them, stressing that I knew they were probably getting tons of emails and I knew they couldn't make changes. I just asked if I had made some mistake I didn't realize when I registered and could they let me know what it was so I didn't make it again. A few days later I got an email that said take this email to RR and you'll be moved up to L. I did and they did. If I hadn't heard back, I would have just gone to N and not clogged up the line, but I can see people not being happy with that. As I waited, someone from RR was checking with everyone to find out why they were in line and saying that they wouldn't change corrals.

 

[sandam1]

After reading all of the fun and excitement from this year's Marathon Weekend, I am super excited about the possibility of doing my first Disney half marathon in 2019. The mega planner in me is chomping at the bit to start figuring out hotel accommodations which will be a huge part of the budget, but of course Disney doesn't have anything available on-line yet. So I'm looking to those of you who have done past Marathon weekends for some guidance and advice.

Some background - I am the queen of the catastrophic Disney transportation failure. Stayed off-site and had a huge disruption to the parking lot tram at Magic Kingdom. Stayed at Wilderness Lodge, had a long delay waiting for a boat (mid-day on our check-out day). Stayed at Grand Floridian for ONE night, wound up stranded at the Contemporary when a person engrossed in their phone managed to fall into the door and knock it off its track. Yes, I have had VERY bad luck with Disney transportation and am a little snake bit now.

Traveling party will be me and a friend. I'm not sure how many park days we will have, but we will be probably be focusing on the stuff that is new to Disney in the past 3 years or so. Our favorite park is the Magic Kingdom.

Right now I'm considering the Contemporary (walkability to MK and access to the monorail for race transport), Wilderness Lodge (boat access to MK and I just LOVE that hotel), Yacht or Beach Club (walkability) or off-site (getting a rental car). I have a stash of Disney/Target gift cards, which could help bring the cost of staying on-site down a bit. But right now I am seeing some nearby off-site options that look quite nice, are relatively inexpensive, and have nice kitchen set-ups.

So my questions:
- Of my options (Contemporary, WL, YC or BC), which is best for race morning transportation? (Keep in mind my past luck with Murphy's Law)
- If I stay off-site, would the race retreat be a worthwhile investment? If you had the choice of on-site or off-site with race retreat, which would you chose?

For those of you that did the 2018 race, do you mind sharing what you spent per night on your hotel room?

I'm sure that I will have a million other questions, but these are a few of the most basic ones for right now.

 

[FFigawi]

I'd be curious if they were placed in the wrong corral because they did not enter a POT on time, or did Track Shack flat out make that many mistakes and misplace people? I see there being three scenarios.

1. People who did not enter a POT by the deadline who have a valid POT from prior to the deadline, and are asking to get moved.

2. People who did not enter a POT by the deadline who have a valid POT from a race AFTER the deadline, and are asking to get moved.

3. People who have proof that Track Shack messed up and want to be placed where they should have been all along. I always take a screen shot or print a copy of my registration just in case.

In my opinion, the only ones who have a legitimate reason to be moved are those in scenario 3. The POT deadline is not a secret. It's right on the registration, and I am pretty sure RD sends out a reminder as well about entering one prior to the deadline date. Even if I know I might change my POT later on, I always enter the best POT I currently have.

Seems like RD could save themselves a lot of time and effort by posting a sign at the Expo reiterating the policy. Either it's a rule that no corral changes will be made or it isn't.

Well said, @rteetz! If you don't enter a POT by the deadline, you shouldn't be able get your corral changed. Changes should be reserved for those who can legitimately show Track Shack made an error when assigning their corral. The more people from scenarios 1 and 2 keep showing up to the expo and asking for changes, the more likely it is they will stop allowing any changes at all. Kind of like with the people who abuse the emergency bib pickup on race mornings, at some point they're going to take it away.

 

[TeeterTots]

Well said, @rteetz! If you don't enter a POT by the deadline, you shouldn't be able get your corral changed. Changes should be reserved for those who can legitimately show Track Shack made an error when assigning their corral. The more people from scenarios 1 and 2 keep showing up to the expo and asking for changes, the more likely it is they will stop allowing any changes at all. Kind of like with the people who abuse the emergency bib pickup on race mornings, at some point they're going to take it away.

Hypothetically speaking....lol...What if you’re a procrastinator like me and sign up waaaaay after POT deadline? Should I plead my case at the expo or just roll with it??

 

[FFigawi]

Hypothetically speaking....lol...What if you’re a procrastinator like me and sign up waaaaay after POT deadline? Should I plead my case at the expo or just roll with it??

If you sign up after the deadline, you're allowed to enter your POT when you register. You can't make changes once you hit that big "submit" button, but you can put your POT in while you're signing up. At least this has been the case recently.

 

[lhermiston]

After reading all of the fun and excitement from this year's Marathon Weekend, I am super excited about the possibility of doing my first Disney half marathon in 2019. The mega planner in me is chomping at the bit to start figuring out hotel accommodations which will be a huge part of the budget, but of course Disney doesn't have anything available on-line yet. So I'm looking to those of you who have done past Marathon weekends for some guidance and advice.

Some background - I am the queen of the catastrophic Disney transportation failure. Stayed off-site and had a huge disruption to the parking lot tram at Magic Kingdom. Stayed at Wilderness Lodge, had a long delay waiting for a boat (mid-day on our check-out day). Stayed at Grand Floridian for ONE night, wound up stranded at the Contemporary when a person engrossed in their phone managed to fall into the door and knock it off its track. Yes, I have had VERY bad luck with Disney transportation and am a little snake bit now.

Traveling party will be me and a friend. I'm not sure how many park days we will have, but we will be probably be focusing on the stuff that is new to Disney in the past 3 years or so. Our favorite park is the Magic Kingdom.

Right now I'm considering the Contemporary (walkability to MK and access to the monorail for race transport), Wilderness Lodge (boat access to MK and I just LOVE that hotel), Yacht or Beach Club (walkability) or off-site (getting a rental car). I have a stash of Disney/Target gift cards, which could help bring the cost of staying on-site down a bit. But right now I am seeing some nearby off-site options that look quite nice, are relatively inexpensive, and have nice kitchen set-ups.

So my questions:
- Of my options (Contemporary, WL, YC or BC), which is best for race morning transportation? (Keep in mind my past luck with Murphy's Law)
- If I stay off-site, would the race retreat be a worthwhile investment? If you had the choice of on-site or off-site with race retreat, which would you chose?

For those of you that did the 2018 race, do you mind sharing what you spent per night on your hotel room?

I'm sure that I will have a million other questions, but these are a few of the most basic ones for right now.

I believe most people on this board would recommend Yacht or Beach club. The Epcot resorts seem to be the most popular and convenient for marathon weekend.

 

[Keels]

Hypothetically speaking....lol...What if you’re a procrastinator like me and sign up waaaaay after POT deadline? Should I plead my case at the expo or just roll with it??

I registered via Active on the very last day that registration was open (December 13) and two days or something before waivers were released. I was able to enter my PoT and it was accepted, and I was corralled appropriately. I just had to wait until after Christmas for my waiver and my bibs didn't have my name on 'em, but everything was totally fine.

The only thing to be aware of - you may prove PoT AFTER the PoT deadline ... but the PoT needs to meet the PoT requirements - you can't use a race that occurs AFTER the PoT deadline. My friend did this at Tink in 2016 and her PoT was not accepted and Runner Relations wouldn't move her.

 

[IamTrike]

After reading all of the fun and excitement from this year's Marathon Weekend, I am super excited about the possibility of doing my first Disney half marathon in 2019. The mega planner in me is chomping at the bit to start figuring out hotel accommodations which will be a huge part of the budget, but of course Disney doesn't have anything available on-line yet. So I'm looking to those of you who have done past Marathon weekends for some guidance and advice.

Some background - I am the queen of the catastrophic Disney transportation failure. Stayed off-site and had a huge disruption to the parking lot tram at Magic Kingdom. Stayed at Wilderness Lodge, had a long delay waiting for a boat (mid-day on our check-out day). Stayed at Grand Floridian for ONE night, wound up stranded at the Contemporary when a person engrossed in their phone managed to fall into the door and knock it off its track. Yes, I have had VERY bad luck with Disney transportation and am a little snake bit now.

Traveling party will be me and a friend. I'm not sure how many park days we will have, but we will be probably be focusing on the stuff that is new to Disney in the past 3 years or so. Our favorite park is the Magic Kingdom.

Right now I'm considering the Contemporary (walkability to MK and access to the monorail for race transport), Wilderness Lodge (boat access to MK and I just LOVE that hotel), Yacht or Beach Club (walkability) or off-site (getting a rental car). I have a stash of Disney/Target gift cards, which could help bring the cost of staying on-site down a bit. But right now I am seeing some nearby off-site options that look quite nice, are relatively inexpensive, and have nice kitchen set-ups.

So my questions:
- Of my options (Contemporary, WL, YC or BC), which is best for race morning transportation? (Keep in mind my past luck with Murphy's Law)
- If I stay off-site, would the race retreat be a worthwhile investment? If you had the choice of on-site or off-site with race retreat, which would you chose?

For those of you that did the 2018 race, do you mind sharing what you spent per night on your hotel room?

I'm sure that I will have a million other questions, but these are a few of the most basic ones for right now.

I stayed at Contemporary for Marathon weekend this year and I've stayed at Boardwalk last year.
After our experience this year I'd say if you have a car the best transportation is driving to and from the races from any resort. Both the monorails and the buses can kind of stink as options.

The pro's for the contemporary are that you can take the monorail to the race. (This is not as big a benefit after the race because you have to go through security to get on the monorail and the trip back to the contemporary with switching at the ttc can be a pain)
Monorail access is nice for people that want to spectate the half or full and you are on the half and full course.

The Pro's for BC/YC are that you are close to the course for the 10k and full for people that want to cheer for those.
You can walk back through the park at the end of the full to get back to your room

 

[Disneyslowrunner]

After reading all of the fun and excitement from this year's Marathon Weekend, I am super excited about the possibility of doing my first Disney half marathon in 2019. The mega planner in me is chomping at the bit to start figuring out hotel accommodations which will be a huge part of the budget, but of course Disney doesn't have anything available on-line yet. So I'm looking to those of you who have done past Marathon weekends for some guidance and advice.

So help bring the cost of staying on-site down a bit. But right now I am seeing

So my questions:
- Of my options (Contemporary, WL, YC or BC), which is best for race morning transportation? (Keep in mind my past luck with Murphy's Law)
- If I stay off-site, would the race retreat be a worthwhile investment? If you had the choice of on-site or off-site with race retreat, which would you chose?

For those of you that did the 2018 race, do you mind sharing what you spent per night on your hotel room?

I'm sure that I will have a million other questions, but these are a few of the most basic ones for right now.

I stayed at the Grand Floridian one year and it was convenient to get there...but I found the monorail to be less convenient when trying to get back. Specifically, you are tired and then having to walk a significant distance to the monorail and then the TTC...plus add in the security stuff. If I stayed there again, I would take the bus back instead.
This year I stayed at Riverside, which was really close, which I especially appreciated after the race. I have also stayed at the Boardwalk, it is close and you can walk back to your a hotel if you have ticket. In the morning, however, you will still need to take the bus. In the end, I think you are fine with whatever resort you stay.

 

[croach]

After reading all of the fun and excitement from this year's Marathon Weekend, I am super excited about the possibility of doing my first Disney half marathon in 2019. The mega planner in me is chomping at the bit to start figuring out hotel accommodations which will be a huge part of the budget, but of course Disney doesn't have anything available on-line yet. So I'm looking to those of you who have done past Marathon weekends for some guidance and advice.

Some background - I am the queen of the catastrophic Disney transportation failure. Stayed off-site and had a huge disruption to the parking lot tram at Magic Kingdom. Stayed at Wilderness Lodge, had a long delay waiting for a boat (mid-day on our check-out day). Stayed at Grand Floridian for ONE night, wound up stranded at the Contemporary when a person engrossed in their phone managed to fall into the door and knock it off its track. Yes, I have had VERY bad luck with Disney transportation and am a little snake bit now.

Traveling party will be me and a friend. I'm not sure how many park days we will have, but we will be probably be focusing on the stuff that is new to Disney in the past 3 years or so. Our favorite park is the Magic Kingdom.

Right now I'm considering the Contemporary (walkability to MK and access to the monorail for race transport), Wilderness Lodge (boat access to MK and I just LOVE that hotel), Yacht or Beach Club (walkability) or off-site (getting a rental car). I have a stash of Disney/Target gift cards, which could help bring the cost of staying on-site down a bit. But right now I am seeing some nearby off-site options that look quite nice, are relatively inexpensive, and have nice kitchen set-ups.

So my questions:
- Of my options (Contemporary, WL, YC or BC), which is best for race morning transportation? (Keep in mind my past luck with Murphy's Law)
- If I stay off-site, would the race retreat be a worthwhile investment? If you had the choice of on-site or off-site with race retreat, which would you chose?

For those of you that did the 2018 race, do you mind sharing what you spent per night on your hotel room?

I'm sure that I will have a million other questions, but these are a few of the most basic ones for right now.

I know you don’t have it listed as an option but if you’re considering Contemporary then maybe consider Poly. You can walk directly to the TTC which takes out having to switch trains. And for park transportation, you can take the boat to MK. As someone else said, the bus is usually the best way back after the race instead of walking to the monorail. That said the bus was a nightmare after the half this year but I don’t really know what caused that.

 

[Nole95]

We have stayed at both Port Orleans Riverside and Beach Club for Marathon weekend. Both were pretty convenient. Since we always go to Epcot after the marathon, the Beach Club was a little more convenient since we could walk. At the end of the night, it was an easy walk back instead of having to walk all the way out and catch a bus.

While you can technically walk back through the park after the half or full, I probably would advise against it after the full. The course crossing area in front of Rose & Crown was a mess this year. People everywhere, and it would have taken forever. We made the right call to take the bus. I suppose if we had finished the marathon earlier, it might have been easier.

Port Orleans is also good. Easy boat service to Disney Springs for many dining options, and they only share a bus with French Quarter. Main downside is you have to take a bus to all the parks, but it is much less expensive to stay there.

 

[Andie16]

I really enjoyed staying at a Beach Club for Marathon Weekend. It had a great atmosphere with tons of runners. I ran the marathon only but enjoyed seeing runners returning from their runs on the other days. Bus service to the marathon was great. I did choose to walk back through Epcot after my race, which I think was good to keep me moving. I really enjoyed seeing the course from that perspective as the final stretch had felt like a blur to me. Also, it was easy to take a break in the hotel and then stroll back into Epcot later to meet up with my family. It was nice to have tons of food options after as well. I grabbed lunch at the France bakery which totally hit the spot, and then dinner at Beaches and Cream! And if you will have any spectators with you, I found having my family cheering outside Beach Club was perfect. PM me if you would like details on the room rate I paid; it was pretty good.

I had wanted to get Race Retreat but wasn't fast enough before it told out. I probably wouldn't bother getting it for next time; waiting outside before the start turned out to be fine (since I was pre-warned here about planning throwaway clothes), and it was probably easier to eat at the hotel rather than in the tent pre-race (I would have had to arrive earlier).

 

[crewmatt]

I’m in for next year! I hope they send out the past participants registration again. i thought that was a really nice touch.

I always stay at AKL - they’re an awesome hotel to stay at as if you’re too sore to go anywhere the day of the race there’s tons to do at the hotel. additionally the food options are good. most years they’re awesome and put out a small breakfast/coffee spread for the runner’s with bananas and bagels. also this year they had safari mickey out for all of the finishers to get a photo op! this reminds me i have to write an email praising this .