Marathon Weekend 2019

[SarahDisney]

That is amazing to me that they DON'T time the non-Dopey 5K's!
They already have the timing mats and they charge the highest price in the nation for a 5K and yet they don't time it?
WUT?!

I would never do a non-timed race that I had to pay for.
They can't call it a "race," that is for certain.
Call it one of those ridiculous euphemisms, like a "fun-run."

Most of us are just racing ourselves anyways so they can call these things whatever they want.

Yeah. This. All I care about is my personal goals, and if one of those is time, I'll time myself.
I don't run races for time, I run for the experience. In fact, I feel bad for people who only run because they want an official time, because they may miss out on the fun. You can run for the experience and still be interested in getting a good time! Just take a few breaths and enjoy running around the parks (and maybe even enjoy passing people). Races can be fun, whether you win, come in last, or (like most of us) are somewhere in the middle.
That's what I love about running. You don't have to be the best to enjoy it. You just have to be open to the experience.

 

[UNCBear24]

Answering my own question... I just tried to register for the virtual run and paying with a Disney gift card is an option.

Can you pay part of your registration with a gift card and the balance with your credit card?

 

[rteetz]

Can you pay part of your registration with a gift card and the balance with your credit card?

I would imagine so. This is what I plan on doing.

 

[lhermiston]

Yeah. This. All I care about is my personal goals, and if one of those is time, I'll time myself.
I don't run races for time, I run for the experience. In fact, I feel bad for people who only run because they want an official time, because they may miss out on the fun. You can run for the experience and still be interested in getting a good time! Just take a few breaths and enjoy running around the parks (and maybe even enjoy passing people). Races can be fun, whether you win, come in last, or (like most of us) are somewhere in the middle.
That's what I love about running. You don't have to be the best to enjoy it. You just have to be open to the experience.

Admittedly, I struggled with this a little bit heading into my first Disney marathon. I'm a competitive person (not my finest quality) and I went back and forth on running for fun and running for time. Ultimately, running for time ran out since I didn't know if I'd run another marathon, but fortunately I'm slow enough that I was able to enjoy the scenery! ha ha. I didn't do any character stops or anything, though.

For my first Dopey, I'm leaning the opposite direction. I want to take in the atmosphere a little bit more, maybe do a few character stops, as well. Part of that is out of necessity since I want to make sure I have enough gas in the tank to do the marathon.

So yeah, the beauty of these events is they're whatever you make 'em. Run hard, walk, run/walk. Stop for characters/breeze by 'em. Go for time, go for fun.

 

[lhermiston]

Good morning, runDisney all-stars! It's a great week to be prepping for marathon weekend. ADR windows open up this week for most of us (more on that next week). Registration is in 11 days (more on that in two weeks).

But, that's the future and the present is right now. The last time I checked, Sundays are for Disney, so let's make this happen...

Independence Day was on Wednesday and, in my neck of the woods, that meant a fireworks show (let's not even get into the nightly unofficial shows that woke up my kid several nights this week ). Fourth of July fireworks are great, but they don't really hold a candle to the nightly shows at WDW. So, for this week's Sundays are for Disney, I want to know your favorite nighttime show(s), past or present, at WDW.

My top 3:
3. Wishes
2. IllumiNations
1. Celebrate the Magic

Have a great week, everyone!

 

[cavepig]

Can you pay part of your registration with a gift card and the balance with your credit card?

I would imagine so. This is what I plan on doing.

No, you can only use ONE form of payment (Disney Gift card, Credit/Debit card or Disney Chase Rewards Card.)

It also can only be one gift card number, so if you have multiple you'll need to use the Disney gift card site and consolidate to one card number.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Sundays are for Disney:

I will only watch fireworks at Disney and, in all honesty, rarely make time for them even when I’m there. There is nothing about them that particularly appeals to me. Don’t get me started on my neighbors setting them off all hours of the night for the last week (the pop up fireworks stores in my area must’ve made a killing). So from my limited nighttime experiences:

3. Fantasmic!-Hollywood Studios-This is definitely going to get knocked by others because it’s “not as good as DL”, but I enjoy it for what it is. I’m fully on board the “remake Fantasmic! into a better, more cohesive show” train. I think there is great opportunity to make something good into something great.
2. Pirate Fireworks at Sea (I don’t know the official name)-DCL-Fireworks on a cruise ship is pretty fun and cool.
1. Happily Ever After-Magic Kingdom-The fates have conspired against me and I have still only seen HEA on YouTube, but the projection show element is much more up my alley than pure fireworks. It is the only fireworks show that I am actively excited to eventually see.

I don’t dislike any of the shows I’ve seen, the others would be HalloWishes, IllumiNations, and Rivers of Light, but I don’t have very strong recollections of them. We are not campers for fireworks locations, so I don’t think I’ve ever had “good seats” for any of the shows. That probably impacts my experiences as well.

 

[hotblooded]

2. Boo to You Halloween parade. I didn’t know what to expect, but I love the music, costumes and choreography.

1. Wishes. My first time seeing it was June 2010, during dinner at Ohana, and I was completely surprised to have the music piped in and the lights dimmed. The soundtrack was so sentimental I almost shed a tear. It was my first night back at WDW since 2004 and it couldn’t have been more perfect.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

1) 2018 Version of Star Wars Fireworks @ Hollywood Studios
2) 2015 Version of Star Wars Fireworks @ Hollywood Studios
3) Pirates & Princess Party Fireworks (going way back there in 2008)

 

[rteetz]

Independence Day was on Wednesday and, in my neck of the woods, that meant a fireworks show (let's not even get into the nightly unofficial shows that woke up my kid several nights this week ). Fourth of July fireworks are great, but they don't really hold a candle to the nightly shows at WDW. So, for this week's Sundays are for Disney, I want to know your favorite nighttime show(s), past or present, at WDW.

1. Illuminations: Reflections of Earth
2. Happily Ever After
3. I never saw it but Fantasy in the Sky at DHS
4. Wishes
5. Frozen fireworks at DHS

 

[rteetz]

No, you can only use ONE form of payment (Disney Gift card, Credit/Debit card or Disney Chase Rewards Card.)

It also can only be one gift card number, so if you have multiple you'll need to use the Disney gift card site and consolidate to one card number.

That's a little ridiculous. So I would need over $600 in Disney gift cards? When buying things online you can use a gift card and then pay the rest of the balance with a credit card.

 

[CDKG]

So, for this week's Sundays are for Disney, I want to know your favorite nighttime show(s), past or present, at WDW.

3. MSEP - The Original Disneyland version I grew up with.

2. Paint the Night - I never thought another nighttime parade could improve upon MSEP and the Baroque Hoedown, but PTN managed to both pay tribute and improve upon MSEP!

1. Fantasmic! - The Original Disneyland version. (The HS version is sooo bad, it's insulting, BAD! If they called it something else, it might not bother me as much. But that joke of a show is NOT Fantasmic!)

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Favorite Disney Shows:

1 - NYE Epcot fireworks
2 - Original Star Wars fireworks at DHS
3 - Wishes
4 - A castle projection show - The Magic, the Memories and You

 

[cavepig]

That's a little ridiculous. So I would need over $600 in Disney gift cards? When buying things online you can use a gift card and then pay the rest of the balance with a credit card.

Yeah, so I stuck $900 on one card for 2 Goofys. You could go now to the Disney gift card site and add to your existing card what you need to cover it plus the 6.6% registration fee.

From the FAQ's https://www.rundisney.com/help/faq/

"Can I split my payment between different forms of payments?
Currently, you can only use one type of payment and it must have sufficient balance to cover the entire transaction."

 

[SarahDisney]

4. 4th of July fireworks at MK:

3. Wishes
2. Fantasmic! (When it's not raining)
1. MSEP

 

[rteetz]

If we are including nighttime parades I need to add Spectromagic to my list. I loved that parade.

 

[JBinORL]

The ONLY nighttime thing I ever cared about at Disney: The Main Street Electrical Parade. Wishes was good, Happily Ever After is great, but to me that was the best and will forever remind me of my childhood.

 

[Bree]

1. Wishes (R.I.P)
2. Hallowishes
3. Star Wars Fireworks

I miss the MSEP. I have been using that song as a ring tone on my phone for years.

 

[LdyStormy76]

So I have been out of the runDisney loop for a couple of years. I'm looking at the website and see nothing regarding specific charities or travel providers nor the chEAR squad. I am trying to preare for registration but i feel like i am missing information.... am i crazy?

You are not crazy. In the revamping of the site over the last 10 or so weeks information has been removed, including everything you are looking for.

 

[Simba's Girl]

SAFD:

1. WISHES!!! (the message, the music)
2. Illuminations during the millennium celebration
2b. Regular Illuminations
3. HEA (also the message and the music but totally different than Wishes)
4. Frozen fireworks

Never have seen the SW fireworks and Fantasmic gets a big 'ol YAWN from me

Also I totally agree with MSEP and Spectro...MSEP was better but not by much. Miss having a nighttime parade at MK.