Marathon Weekend 2019

[Dis5150]

I think if you've had multiple timing mat misses they might say something or if there's a question about mats during the marathon. A missing time on the 5k mat of the half marathon isn't going to be noteworthy and you can always pull up your GPS trace to show you were legit if somebody decided to question it. I certainly wouldn't turn around and go back for it!



Don't feel bad about it, by any stretch! That wasn't my intention, at all.

I just wanted you to be aware that it wouldn't impact your overall time and not to stress about it if it happens in the future! I know how hard and stressful that weekend was for you and hate that you felt like you had to do extra because of the mat!

Oh, you were fine, lol! Luckily I hadn't gotten too far before the lady caught me. So maybe added an extra 2 minutes to my half time.

 

[cavepig]

One thing on characters, they don't sign autographs and that makes it quicker too. I had people in the 2016 10k trying to get their books signed & finally they understood they don't during races.

 

[SarahDisney]

I've gotten pizza boxes from the food court to sit on while waiting for the race to start. Makes a good conversation starter too!

Also possibly a good idea for a pizza-related costume (@jennamfeo)...

 

[jennamfeo]

Also possibly a good idea for a pizza-related costume (@jennamfeo)...

Yesssss.....

 

[SheHulk]

Just saw this link on the website for all of you puzzling over costumes
http://www.wdwinfo.com/walt-disney-...stume-20-mnsshp-group-and-solo-costume-ideas/

 

[ZellyB]

Yes, they do cut the character lines off before the race — there’s a CM at the end of each line who has a small “Line starts here”sign who will eventually close the line before the race. I dealt with closed lines during SW and Princess in the past few years. My guess is that they get the runners taken care of, have the characters take a break, then re-open for spectators and quick finishers.

And @SarahDisney you can never have too many shoes, no matter what my husband says!

My question: Any tips for staying at SOG during marathon weekend? I’ve stayed there before, just not during races. And what time should I book brunch at the Poly for after the half Saturday? I’m a middle of the pack runner, but not sure how efficient the buses are to resorts on the race route. We’ve got a ADR but might need to push it back.

My tip: don’t overlook using bag drop! Disney has the most organized efficient bag drop system, and it takes maybe two minutes to drop off and retrieve a bag. Some things in my bag: a hoodie that’s my extra layer before walking to the corrals, then something warm after; recovery flips; refillable resort mug (filled with hot tea in the morning, refilled back at resort); Run Disney beer cup (you get a discount for reusing); maybe sunscreen or sunglasses/hat for sunny days.

@TCB in FLA Also staying at SOG for marathon weekend, but it will be my first time there. Interested in the tips you get.

We stayed at Shades of Green for marathon weekend. Really no tips needed. They run buses to the race starts just like the Disney resorts. I can't recall for certain because it's been several years ago, but I think the race buses did pick up from outside the front entrance rather than that lower bus entrance that their normal buses run out of, but I may not be remembering right. I do know they had signs up in the lobby with information and there will be plenty of other runners staying there so you won't have any trouble figuring out where to be. The return buses share with Poly and Grand Floridian I think and maybe Contemporary too. I just don't remember that for sure either. So, basically I wasn't much help other than to say as far as the races go there is nothing different or unusual about staying at Shades versus a Disney resort.

 

[PCFriar80]

I know this is answered approximately 1 million times in 1 million threads, but I don't want to try and slog through the search engine to find it.

Since we aren't running the half this coming marathon weekend, we'd like to spectate some and cheer. The plan is to go to MK on Saturday for our park day, so thinking we get ourselves to TTC or Main Street to spectate. So, I think I read on the FAQ that you can cheer on Main street even without ticket media and I'd really like to cheer there just because that area is such a high point of the race. We are at Beach Club for the weekend, so no regular park buses running to get us there in time. I'm thinking we Uber over and plan to spectate on Main Street. So, the race starts at 5:30. I'm happy to get there plenty early to watch and cheer for as many runners as possible. For those of you who have done it or pay attention to spectating stuff (unlike me), what time should we try to arrive to get a good place to cheer? And, how does it work as the day progresses if that is a planned park day for us. Current park hours for the day start at 9:00 AM. I assume they run everyone out once the runners have all gone through MK. What time is that by the way? 7:30 - 8:00? So, maybe I try to get a breakfast reservation at Kona or the Wave or something that morning before regular park open? Somebody tell me what to do.

I haven't spectated the 1/2 so have no insite to offer, but I do plan on being on Main St. around 6:35 AM if everything goes right for me that morning. I'll try to pay attention to the spectators in 2019!

 

[Disney at Heart]

Thanks @ZellyB for the race bus info. More questions for you: 1) On park days, is it easier to take SOG busses to the parks (I've never had to memorize a bus schedule before!), or is it just as easy to take Poly busses and walk back. 2) Did you try any of the restaurants? 3) I've heard that the rooms are a little larger than standard Disney resort rooms. Is that true? 4) Also, my "dependent" ID has expired; would there be any advantage in my renewing it? I'll be checking in with DH anyway.

I'm sure it will all be fine, but it will be a new experience. TIA

 

[ZellyB]

Thanks @ZellyB for the race bus info. More questions for you: 1) On park days, is it easier to take SOG busses to the parks (I've never had to memorize a bus schedule before!), or is it just as easy to take Poly busses and walk back. 2) Did you try any of the restaurants? 3) I've heard that the rooms are a little larger than standard Disney resort rooms. Is that true? 4) Also, my "dependent" ID has expired; would there be any advantage in my renewing it? I'll be checking in with DH anyway.

I'm sure it will all be fine, but it will be a new experience. TIA

1). We rented a car when we stayed at Shades because their bus schedule is kind of a pain but they work just fine so long as you follow the schedule. I would walk to Poly/TTC to go to MK or Epcot though and use the monorail. When we were there they had the sidewalk at Poly blocked off for repairs though but I assume by January that will be done. I probably wouldn’t mess with Poly busses for AK or DHS. I’d just use Shades busses.

2). We ate breakfast a few times at the buffet. It was pretty good. Omelet station. Pancake station and waffles and then your standard breakfast buffet. We didn’t eat there this time but we ate at Mangiones before. It was fine. Nothing special but good solid basic Italian. We ate at Evergreen grill by the pool. Also ok. Standard bar type menu. Pizza, burgers etc but decent and easy. Pricing in general is cheaper than eating in the parks or at Disney resorts.

3). Room sizes are awesome. Yes bigger than Disney deluxe rooms. We were on the Palm side of the resort which is fully renovated I believe. The Magnolia side still has some sections that are not renovated. I’ll attach a link in another post to my recent mini trip report where I posted some room pics. The renovated room we had was really nice. Looked out on the first tee box. Very quiet and pretty view. Long way from the pools though if that matters to you.

4). My ID is expired too. . Not needed as long as your DH has his. You show it at check-in and then they give you this paper resort pass and that’s all you need to access things in the resort. You do have to show it to shop in the store and eat in the restaurants.

It’s really a great resort. It’s beautiful and very peaceful. It lacks all the extra Disney touches you get at Disney resorts but otherwise is a great hotel and a steal of a price.

This link takes you to my training journal. There are a couple posts on this page with pics of the resort.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/i...es-mini-trip-report-complete.3480514/page-102

 

[huskies90]

My tip for those of you flying in is to give yourself some buffer when arriving if your schedule allows for it. The winter months can throw havoc into air travel causing days of delays if the timing is right. It's a shame when folks train so hard and plan for so long, and that goes out the window due to mother nature.

As some of us from the Northeast learned last year, sometimes leaving a buffer is not enough. Last year, I was booked to come in on Thursday morning for the Half. When the storm was approaching and our flights were getting canceled, it became impossible to find another flight as the flights on Wednesday night sold out quickly and the next available flight I could get post storm was on Sunday. Luckily for me, I thought fast, left work early on Wednesday, rented a one way car from CT and started driving as far as we could before the storm hit. We made it to DC, stayed over night and we were lucky to get a flight from Reagan Thursday afternoon. When we got up, if flights from DC were getting canceled, we would have gotten in the car and drove the rest of the way. I know others, like @JClimacus, who was coming down for just the Full, and gave himself plenty of buffer time, didn't make it all because he could not get a flight after his was canceled.

So my tip would be to leave a buffer AND if possible, to book multiple flights on multiple days. Assuming you are flying on Southwest, you can cancel the flights you do not use and get a credit back for another flight.

 

[Princess KP]

how many trips to the ice machine does it take to fill the tub?

Someone here suggested using the gEAR check bag for ice. After the marathon, I went back to my room to empty the bag and went to the ice machine. The one in my building (I was staying at SSR) was out of order so I had to go to the one next door. After 2 trips, I gave up lol. By that time I was too tired and 2 bags is not nearly enough to fill the tub with ice.

 

[Keels]

My tips:

1. Shoes: I always have three pairs - one for the 5/Half, one for the 10/Full, and one older pair I've cycled out in case it rains.
2. Make sure you have socks on before you leave your room.
3. Snack box Oreos come in handy if you forget fuel for the Marathon.
4. Thirsty River Bar at EE is open and serving boozes at Mile 13 of the full - I'm talking like 6:30 a.m. early. The popcorn stand outside Electric Umbrella in Epcot right before #BlessedBall/the finish of the Half opens when the park opens at 9 a.m. and they sell Bud Light, Sam Adams Seasonal and most recently some canned cocktail thingy (I want to say it was Malibu Rum-based back in June).

 

[lahobbs4]

My tips!

1. Pay attention to the ground, especially in the parks. There are curbs and uneven surfaces and, if you are anything like me and trip easily, you could fall down!
2. If you like someone's costume, tell them!
3. Also, if you see someone sitting on the ground (me during the 2017 full) shout some encouragement to them. I will never forget that!
4. If you want to get on the quit-bus, they wont leave until the last person has ran by them. I know because I asked. Leaving WWOS was really a hard time for me
5. Smile at the green pop-up tents!! Those are the cameras!

 

[Simba's Girl]

An adult beverage or two doesn’t hurt, either.

Oh I plan on more than two...hee hee

 

[TheHamm]

The

I really want someone to swoop in and science the heck out of this question with info on the volumes of Disney bath tubs and ice buckets.

The tubs I have had are roughly the size of mine at home, an interior of 56"x 25" which if filled with 2.5" of ice is roughly 2 ft^3 or 15 gallons. An ice bucket is roughly 3 quarts, 0.75gallons. Thus, considering rounding about 20 trips if you fill the bucket to the top.
Key point: pick the trash cans, not the ice bucket for hauling.

 

[kleph]

The

The tubs I have had are roughly the size of mine at home, an interior of 56"x 25" which if filled with 2.5" of ice is roughly 2 ft^3 or 15 gallons. An ice bucket is roughly 3 quarts, 0.75gallons. Thus, considering rounding about 20 trips if you fill the bucket to the top.
Key point: pick the trash cans, not the ice bucket for hauling.

i threw this out there partly in jest but now i wonder if it would be possible to get, say, 100 lbs of ice delivered to your resort room?

 

[Disney at Heart]

@ZellyB Thanks for all your information. I have just read your whole trip report from July and am amazed at how much you got done, especially the 4-park day. Your family is lovely. Hope to see you at the races!

 

[ZellyB]

@ZellyB Thanks for all your information. I have just read your whole trip report from July and am amazed at how much you got done, especially the 4-park day. Your family is lovely. Hope to see you at the races!

Aw, thanks. I hope you enjoy Shades of Green and we get a chance to see you in January.

 

[Bree]

I don't have any of tips to add since everyone pretty much already said them.

@TheHamm just made my day with all the math for ice in the tub.

 

[jennamfeo]

4. Thirsty River Bar at EE is open and serving boozes at Mile 13 of the full - I'm talking like 6:30 a.m. early. The popcorn stand outside Electric Umbrella in Epcot right before #BlessedBall/the finish of the Half opens when the park opens at 9 a.m. and they sell Bud Light, Sam Adams Seasonal and most recently some canned cocktail thingy (I want to say it was Malibu Rum-based back in June).

*makes note*

Soooooo with the addition of Toy Story Land, is there a chance we will run through that or nah?