Marathon Weekend 2019

[ChipNDale86]

1. Happily Ever After
2. 4th of July fireworks at Epcot
3. Wishes!
4. Hallowishes

 

[Novatrix]

SAFD:

Not a fireworks fan so I don't have a 2nd and 3rd, but Illuminations chokes me up every time. The music, the message of human progress and our histories being interwoven, the fire satisfying my inner pyromaniac, it's a must do every trip. I still listen to and treasure the CD I have of all the music from the millennium celebration.

 

[camaker]

4. IllumiNations
3. Happily Ever After/Wishes
2. Paint the Night
1. HalloWishes

 

[JulieODC]

We haven’t done many nighttime shows - with little kids the last 6 years, we’ve been pretty limited in that area.

1. Illuminations - I love the music, the globe, and it’s probably the show I’ve seen the most.

2. Wishes - again, the music - and our 2nd most attended.

 

[leholcomb]

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?

Anyone?

 

[CDKG]

Anyone?

They removed this information shortly after last January’s event, when they updated the website for next January’s event. The travel partners and charities should be updated soon with registration less than two weeks away. ChEAR squad, Race Retreat and other add ons may or may not be offered. Your guess is as good as mine...

 

[Sleepless Knight]

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.

My first race ever at Disneyland is currently my fastest and also my least amount of fun race. It's also the only race where I didn't stop for photos. At all. For Dopey and my first marathon, I'll take photos. If I love the character and the line is reasonable, I'll stop for a photo. In other words, I'm not stopping for any character from my least favorite Disney movie ever no matter how short the line is. I'll certainly stop for photos such as Cinderella Castle, park icons, or just cool photo opportunities. I want to better enjoy the experience than I did my first one. I was so terrified about finishing that I didn't dare stop for photos. I missed out on some great ones. While I don't regret it because had I failed in that race, I doubt I would have ever attempted another one, I will approach this first experience differently.

SAFD:

1. Remember Dreams Come True Disneyland 50th Anniversary. A pyrotechnic history of Disneyland that dared to and actually succeeding in recreating some of the most beloved Disneyland attractions, both past and present, in the sky. Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones, and culminated in actually blowing up the Death Star in the skies over Sleeping Beauty Castle with Star Tours. This is the gold standard by which I measure all Disney pyrotechnic shows.

2. Star Wars A Galactic Spectacular. Magic happens in abundance when you combine John Williams music with fireworks. See above. Also, I believe that a fireworks show consisting solely of John Williams music and fireworks could be the greatest fireworks show in the history of fireworks shows.

3. Fantasmic Disneyland version only. There are a lot of reasons why the Disneyland version is vastly superior. I once had the opportunity to watch the Disneyland show next to some Disney World cast members who were seeing the Disneyland version for the first time. Obviously, they knew the show well. But jaws dropped and cameras came out during the Peter Pan (since replaced by Pirates of the Caribbean) sequences and the finale. Florida just cannot top the Columbia being transformed into a pirate ship and the Mark Twain in all its glory at the end. Disneyland also unveiled a brand new Maleficent in 2009 that blows away the old stick on a head dragon they used from 1992 to 2009. It's also really something to watch the show seemingly rise out of the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island where guests have been visiting all day and riding the boats around and see it transform into this.

4. Illuminations. I love Epcot and this show seems to feel perfect for Epcot. I'm fine with an update, but would prefer it to be in the spirit of Illuminations. I'm not sure what exactly that entails, although I do not want it be character or IP focused. That's perfect for the Magic Kingdom and fine for Hollywood Studios.

 

[apdebord]

1) Illuminations
2) Wishes
3) 2015 DHS Star Wars (only because I haven't seen the updated one yet...)
4) Happily Ever After (it's growing on me)

 

[TeeterTots]

1. Wishes
2. Hallowishes

 

[run.minnie.miles]

SAFD:
I love all of the night shows!

4. Believe in Holiday Magic -DLR (cheating a little by bring in the west coast )
3. Illuminations
2. Star Wars Fireworks (Who am I? I didn't even like Star Wars 3 years ago...)
1. Wishes/HEA/Really any MK fireworks

 

[TheHamm]

We haven’t done many nighttime shows - with little kids the last 6 years, we’ve been pretty limited in that area.

I am in this boat (stroller) as well. but to try to play along
(1) Hallowishes- we made the parade and saw the fireworks while on the boat away from the park
(2) Wishes from our magically upgraded GF room- kid were bathed and in PJs, fell asleep before the water pageant!
(3) Whatever fireworks we could see from our ALK room were fantastic and unexpected, but I did worry about the animals being disturbed.

 

[petals]

Sorry newbie questions but How does PhotoPass/ memory maker work along the course? I’ve seen people post PhotoPass pictures of themselves running so how do you get them onto your account?

Also what do people use to carry things that you have to have with you eg: I have mild asthma so would need to keep an inhaler and probably my phone with me?

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Sorry newbie questions but How does PhotoPass/ memory maker work along the course? I’ve seen people post PhotoPass pictures of themselves running so how do you get them onto your account?

Also what do people use to carry things that you have to have with you eg: I have mild asthma so would need to keep an inhaler and probably my phone with me?

After the race, you add the code on the back of your bib to your My Disney Experience and they will show up.

I carry things in the pockets of my sparkle skirt. My husband uses his arm band.

 

[lhermiston]

Also what do people use to carry things that you have to have with you eg: I have mild asthma so would need to keep an inhaler and probably my phone with me?

I have a hydration belt with a pouch for holding stuff like energy chews, cash, whatever. It’s not really big, but it’d hold an inhaler.

For my phone, I use an arm band.

 

[Chaitali]

For holding things - I've been trying to buy only running skirts/tights that have pockets form now on. But when I have to use one of my old tights without pockets, I use a flipbelt to hold things. I've run with an inhaler in it before and there was plenty of room for that plus my phone plus fuel.

For night time shows, the Main Street Electrical Parade was my favorite. It's followed closely by Happily Ever After and the Star Wars fireworks at DHS (because I'm a giant Star Wars nerd).

 

[cavepig]

Sorry newbie questions but How does PhotoPass/ memory maker work along the course? I’ve seen people post PhotoPass pictures of themselves running so how do you get them onto your account?

Also what do people use to carry things that you have to have with you eg: I have mild asthma so would need to keep an inhaler and probably my phone with me?

Also to add to the photopass thought, besides being at characters stops they are only in the parks or along the resort Boardwalk area and they are in neon green little tents, so you can easily see them and smile/try to look "good" for your photos.

To carry things the shorts of my shirts have pockets (I either wear skirt sports or make them myself), I use also the pouch in my tank that's in the sports bra part if I'm wearing one of those, an armband for my phone. B ut for Disney I basically handhold my little camera the whole time cause I like to snap lots of photos along the way, but can stick in my pocket for a bit if I need to.

 

[jennamfeo]

True Life: I have never sat through an entire nighttime show at Disneyland or WDW.

I have watched a few seconds of some shows while using the opportunity to ride Space Mountain without a wait, or watched the fireworks from my hotel room, but I have never carved out time in my plans to sit and watch a show for the full time.

 

[Disneyslowrunner]

They removed this information shortly after last January’s event, when they updated the website for next January’s event. The travel partners and charities should be updated soon with registration less than two weeks away. ChEAR squad, Race Retreat and other add ons may or may not be offered. Your guess is as good as mine...

I have been looking too because after two years of freezing in the cold before the race, I am ready to cough up some money to sit in a tent. I am surprised they appear to be getting rid of it. As far as I know it always sold out and basically they are charging $140 to get to the expo early and having a tent to sit in for an hour that has a pretty menial amount of food for the price. It is my understanding that the early entry to the expo was a bit of a disaster last year, so I am not sure if that played into it. Who knows, it may end up being on registration page...

 

[Barca33Runner]

True Life: I have never sat through an entire nighttime show at Disneyland or WDW.

I have watched a few seconds of some shows while using the opportunity to ride Space Mountain without a wait, or watched the fireworks from my hotel room, but I have never carved out time in my plans to sit and watch a show for the full time.

That's the way I am at MK; I can never convince myself to carve out time to find a spot for parades or fireworks. They always seemed like the perfect time to hit attractions for shorter wait times.

I think it's why I like the Halloween Party. Everyone else is in character lines, watching parades/fireworks/stage shows, or trick or treating. Meanwhile, I'm the crazy person going on every ride as many times as possible

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Sorry newbie questions but How does PhotoPass/ memory maker work along the course? I’ve seen people post PhotoPass pictures of themselves running so how do you get them onto your account?

Also what do people use to carry things that you have to have with you eg: I have mild asthma so would need to keep an inhaler and probably my phone with me?

Others have already answered the memory maker part of your question, but I wanted to add the following.

1. Do not rely exclusively on Memory Maker. There may not always be a Memory Maker photographer around when you want one. I have a photo from Dark Side in front of the dinosaur skeleton in Dinoland where no photographer was posted. I think Memory Maker is a great service especially for race photos and recommend it. Also a good idea to have a backup plan such as your own camera.

In fact this works both ways. My little sister lost her race photos taken from her camera due to a phone problem. No way to replace those, but because I purchased Memory Maker, not all of them are lost including the most important ones.

When dealing with multiple cameras, you may sometimes find that someone is looking at the "wrong" camera when the picture is being taken. Memory Maker and your own camera makes it more likely that at least one of the photos will turn out fine.

2. Make absolutely certain that your bib number is visible. I learned this the hard way in April. Fortunately because I carried my cell phone with me, I have those photos.

3. If you know a photo is missing, you can email Memory Maker, give them details such as date, time, place, attach your own photo to show what your/your group looks like, etc., and they may be able to find it in the system. This doesn't just apply to race photos either. In fact, I recommend taking a few minutes to visit a photo store in the theme parks to make sure that your photos are all there.