With the season change in mind, this Sundays are for Disney question is what season, time of year or holiday is your favorite time to visit Disney World? Alternatively, which season, time of year or holiday would you most like to visit Disney World?

I like October-November because the weather is fairly decent and there are some lower crowd periods.
I also like Flower & Garden, but the only time I've been was during spring break when I was in grad school ... and my school wasn't the only one on spring break. I'd like to go back for a lower crowd week during Flower & Garden.
 
Before Food & Wine became so popular October was perfect, circa 2000-2012.
Along with Universal Halloween Horror Nights and perfect weather, the crowds were nonexistent.

It is still a good time to go but come October you will have militant daily room inspections along with extremely exorbitant ($24 A DAY, AYFKM?!!! :( ) parking, I can no longer recommend staying on property.
 
I'll take a stab at this. Early registration for DVC members opened on 2/9 last year and regular registration was 2/14. Assuming the same criteria, you should expect DVC registration to open 4/12 with regular open registration being 4/17. Just note that there were some delays/issues with the Wine and Dine registration this year so all dates could be subject to similar issues or delays.

All participants will need an account set up on Active.com which is the site you will be redirected to when registering. I'm almost certain that you will be able to register DD's friend through your DVC access but even if you can't there should be no issue with registering the friend during regular open registration as the 1/2 marathon takes a while to sell out, if it sells out at all.

POT from a sanctioned race will be required if your DS wants to be placed in the appropriate corral for his time. The last corrals are very crowded and congested. It will be tough for a "fast" runner to get in to a comfortable race pace starting in the last corral, but it can be done. Just a lot of bobbing and weaving. The 1/2 course is generally tight with only a handful of miles that are wide open, thinking World Drive to and from MK with some pockets elsewhere.

Fire away if you have any other questions and good luck with the rest of the planning!
Thanks so much! Good to know we don't need to rush it on registration for the half marathon. I'll emphasize to DS and DH that they need to find a 10K to do before October. Tricky part is that DS isn't allowed to run outside races during school track season which lasts through May. Then XC season starts in August. Hopefully they can find something this summer. Anyone know any good 10Ks in the Indianapolis area?
 
Thanks so much! Good to know we don't need to rush it on registration for the half marathon. I'll emphasize to DS and DH that they need to find a 10K to do before October. Tricky part is that DS isn't allowed to run outside races during school track season which lasts through May. Then XC season starts in August. Hopefully they can find something this summer. Anyone know any good 10Ks in the Indianapolis area?

You could try runningintheusa.com, active.com or a local running store to find races.
 


With the season change in mind, this Sundays are for Disney question is what season, time of year or holiday is your favorite time to visit Disney World? Alternatively, which season, time of year or holiday would you most like to visit Disney World?

Probably fall - Halloween at Disney is awesome!
 
I’d love to visit WDW around Christmas, but the crowds terrify me.

Go for it! At times the crowds can be crazy, but the Christmas decorations are amazing. I love how much they bring out - even at the resorts.

I've found early December doesn't have horrible crowds. Early January typically has less people than the height of the Christmas/New Year's insanity and the decorations are still out. However, some people feel it's not the same going after the holiday is over.
 
Question for those of you who have a watch. I have the Apple Watch 3 with cell service so no need to bring a phone or MP3 player when I go out for the runs. But do you guys who have the watches bring a phone on your Disney races? I did this year just to take pics but I only took a few by the castle. Not sure if it is worth lugging it with me for the races. Especially for the marathon. And since I have the cell service, I can still text or make a call if I need to stay in touch with folks. Thoughts?
It depends on the race for me. If I plan on stopping and taking a lot of pics, then I'll wear my running belt so I can put my phone in there. If it's a longer race then I'll also put some energy gels in there as well. If it's a race where I am racing for time and am not going to stop for many pictures, I'll leave my phone and running belt behind.
 


SAFD: I've actually come to love our peak-season summer trips over July 4th! It's my favorite holiday and no one does it better than WDW. Yes, it's hot, but I live here in FL: it would be hot at home, too. Yes, it's crowded, but WDW knows this and park hours are lengthened, more CMs are on duty, and rides run at full capacity.
 
SAFD: We have gone September thru February and I would say any time while the Christmas Decorations are up are my favorite!

Has anyone had experience renting DVC points at the last minute for Marathon Weekend? Due to finances (need a new roof, doing an addition to our house to give my mom her own kitchen/bath/living room, son just got engaged Friday so now I have to save to travel to his wedding, and some various other projects!) I won't know until the last minute if I will be able to go run the marathon. I'm pretty sure I will be able to register late, judging my previous years registrations, but we would like to stay at Saratoga Springs again instead of our fall back of Sports if at all possible....
 
SAFD: We have gone September thru February and I would say any time while the Christmas Decorations are up are my favorite!

Has anyone had experience renting DVC points at the last minute for Marathon Weekend? Due to finances (need a new roof, doing an addition to our house to give my mom her own kitchen/bath/living room, son just got engaged Friday so now I have to save to travel to his wedding, and some various other projects!) I won't know until the last minute if I will be able to go run the marathon. I'm pretty sure I will be able to register late, judging my previous years registrations, but we would like to stay at Saratoga Springs again instead of our fall back of Sports if at all possible....

I wanted to do this for Marathon Weekend this year, but there was zero availability for studios. And I was looking 6+ months in advance. Even some 2019 availability is gone now. Not sure about 1 or 2 BR. Finding the points wasn't the issue. They were available through single-party or 3rd party sites.

Just keep looking. I trolled multiple sites. Reservations would very occasionally come up-nothing that worked for me.
 
I wanted to do this for Marathon Weekend this year, but there was zero availability for studios. And I was looking 6+ months in advance. Even some 2019 availability is gone now. Not sure about 1 or 2 BR. Finding the points wasn't the issue. They were available through single-party or 3rd party sites.

Just keep looking. I trolled multiple sites. Reservations would very occasionally come up-nothing that worked for me.

Ugh, ok, thanks! I was hoping last year was a fluke because of the anniversaries. Well if we end up at Sports that is fine with me. It is DD28 who really wants SS, although I did love it there too. Something in the water at the values messes with her skin. Probably different water districts.
 
Are there any benefits/negatives to booking through a travel agent as opposed to doing it all yourself? I'm planning to run Dopey and I'm not picky about where I stay as I'll probably be traveling solo.
Guaranteed registration. Sometimes depending on the deal you don’t have to pay active fees but that’s not always the case.
 
Super-fun night tonight.

One of my "Sole Sisters" is a public school librarian at a low-income elementary school here in town, and tonight we had a fundraiser to raise money for new computers and books for the library! I was in charge of gift baskets for the 5th Grade tables (Harry Potter, OBVIOUSLY) - but I also donated a Marathon Weekend registration of choice to the Silent Auction and it was the highest bid of the night!
 
Super-fun night tonight.

One of my "Sole Sisters" is a public school librarian at a low-income elementary school here in town, and tonight we had a fundraiser to raise money for new computers and books for the library! I was in charge of gift baskets for the 5th Grade tables (Harry Potter, OBVIOUSLY) - but I also donated a Marathon Weekend registration of choice to the Silent Auction and it was the highest bid of the night!

That is so awesome! (I am actually on our town's library board and it's sad how underfunded libraries in general are.)

Also, that has to be the best silent auction item! That was very generous of you :)
 
Super-fun night tonight.

One of my "Sole Sisters" is a public school librarian at a low-income elementary school here in town, and tonight we had a fundraiser to raise money for new computers and books for the library! I was in charge of gift baskets for the 5th Grade tables (Harry Potter, OBVIOUSLY) - but I also donated a Marathon Weekend registration of choice to the Silent Auction and it was the highest bid of the night!

So inquiring minds want to know... what was the final bid on the registration?
 

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