Marathon Weekend 2023

[HangWithMerida]

Alright, it’s getting real! My marathon training plan started today. I’m nervous/excited and while I know marathon training will be hard, I know the next few months will just fly by.

 

[cburnett11]

Thanks, that is what I use but it only opens for 5 minutes less than once a week. It makes me wonder if it is just runDisney playing in their system or if these are real mini opening windows.

I got a twitter notification for Princess weekend and was able to get my wife and I signed up for the Challenge. I've also gotten a couple legit notifications for MW in the few weeks for a race, but was not quite quick enough to get all the way through. I did get far enough to enter CC info, but still failed.

 

[jpeterson]

I got a twitter notification for Princess weekend and was able to get my wife and I signed up for the Challenge. I've also gotten a couple legit notifications for MW in the few weeks for a race, but was not quite quick enough to get all the way through. I did get far enough to enter CC info, but still failed.

I swear when they open those up sometimes there are only a handful of spots available. They go fast!

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD: this is easy…
Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind. If I could ride it nonstop for hours, I would! Best ride Disney’s ever produced, in my opinion.

Honorable mention to Rise of the Resistance, though, which had my 1st place position until GOTG came along.

 

[_shiny_side_up_]

SAFD: this is easy…
Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind. If I could ride it nonstop for hours, I would! Best ride Disney’s ever produced, in my opinion.

Agree 100%. I'm grinning ear to ear for all 10 seconds that it feels this ride runs for.

 

[marty3d]

SAFD: This is a tough one as I REALLY want to say Haunted Mansion, but I'm going with ToT. It is one of the few queues I don''t mind waiting in - the vegetation and the music is great. The pre show is one of my favourites as well. And then the drop(s).

I'll always remember riding ToT 8 times in a row with no wait (December 1998 - back when there was such a thing as a "quiet" time for the parks). The cast members played along. "We are so happy you could drop in again!"

 

[NYC_MW]

SAFD: Toss up between Pirates and Haunted Mansion (both in DL). With Soarin' in CA a close third (oh and maybe the old school Captain EO show!)

 

[kps7795]

Alright, it’s getting real! My marathon training plan started today. I’m nervous/excited and while I know marathon training will be hard, I know the next few months will just fly by.

Good luck. You're going to crush this!

 

[BigEeyore]

SAFD: I can't pick a favorite! It's too difficult!
But I guess I would have to say Haunted Mansion - love everything about this ride...the music, the preshow, the ghost host, the smells - it's just pure Disney brilliance! I would give DL the edge here (helloooo Hatbox Ghost!)
If it was just on pure nostalgia though - Matterhorn at DL. That was the ride we ran straight to at park opening when I was a kid, and I always wanted to go on both sides (left side was my fave).
And if it's based on theming - Everest, hands down.
And if it's the ride I would voluntarily go on over and over again - Kilimanjaro Safaris
Ugh it's like picking your favorite child!!

 

[flav]

When life gives you though registrations, make easy ones

So I embraced the fact that MW was near impossible and registered to Springtime Surprise Challenge. I am excited to try something different and am pretty much guaranteed hot weather in April. Bonus is that DD will be racing with or probably ahead of me.

Enjoy MW!

 

[Herding_Cats]

SAFD:
If I'm going with my kids, it's the Carousel. Because DD absolutely ADORES it, and her brothers love her so much and will willingly go on it with her (and even talk her up about going on it.) It's totally that magical moment for me as a mom. Plus the castle is right there and it's right in the middle of everything.

If it's just myself and DH that's a lot harder to answer. FoP is definitely up there. We make it a point to ride that on every trip we go on; we've gone so far as to adding a day or hopper to our tickets JUST so we can ride it.

I hadn't even CONSIDERED K'Safari, but that's a great one also!

 

[azrivest]

SAFD: Mine will always be Everest. Perfect combination of thrills and theming

 

[Bree]

SAFD: Haunted Mansion is my favorite at MK closely followed by It's a Small World and Peter Pan. I rarely go to MK nowadays, but I always go on HM and drag whoever is with me on it too.

 

[matt and beth]

What? No Rockin Roller?

 

[Sleepless Knight]

SAFD Recovery Plans: A mix here. I always recover from races much quicker the more I move around after the race, so the parks actually help me heal faster. In 2012, I decided to try and chill in my hotel room to rest before that evening's Wine & Dine Half, but after about 2 hours of watching college football, which I love, I found myself going stir crazy and was getting more and more nervous for the race itself. I decided to go to Epcot in an attempt to forget about the race. The strategy worked. I took it slow and didn't even leave Future World, but it burned off the nervous energy. When it came time to leave to go back to my resort, eat a very light dinner, and change, I felt the usual pre race nerves with the confidence that comes from knowing that I've prepared for it.

For 5K and maybe the 10K, nothing fancy. Shower after the race and head to the parks. For the 5K, I might stay out a little later. This year I went a little adventurous and rode Rise of the Resistance 3 consecutive times after 5:00pm and got back to bed at 11:00pm the night before the 5K. I know that decision certainly impacted the rest of the race weekend, but probably only in the soreness category.

For the Half and Full, I also throw in a soak in the tub before my shower and then back to the parks. Now mind you, I'm not doing normal park touring after races. I wait only in short lines and take frequent sit breaks or watch a lot of shows to rest my legs. I eat dinner usually aiming to finish no later than 6:00pm before heading back to my resort. On the evening of the last race, I enjoy staying in a park and watching the night time spectacular. I've done both Epcot and MK depending on what I feel up to.

Day of race park visits are never squeeze every last second out of the day trips. They're laid back and extremely unstructured. I often get a lot of photos because that's part of the experience for me.

SAFD Park Attraction: Rise of the Resistance. My little sisters always laugh at my description of nearly falling to my knees and weeping tears of pure nerd joy the first time I experienced it. Mind you I did not actually fall to my knees and weep tears of pure nerd joy, but this attraction transported me back to my childhood while simultaneously appreciating the scope and magnitude of just what they pulled off.

Honorable Mention to Disneyland's Hyperspace Mountain, a periodic Star Wars overlay to Space Mountain that is just so much fun and obviously Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean.

For unique to Walt Disney World, I'll go with Tower of Terror. The theme are story are great and I love how it just messes with your mind.

 

[matt and beth]

For all of us training for WDW marathon weekend. There’s a 100 mile challenge for the month of September as a fundraiser to stop soldier suicide with USAA. Can be found on Facebook. Could also be the encouragement to complete those runs this month.

 

[PrincessV]

I have an oddly specific Marathon question...

Anyone know how late they shut down Western Way traffic pre-race and when it reopens to traffic post-race? I'm considering a Flamingo Crossings resort and am just wondering how much, if any, impact the road closure may have on my ability to get to/from the race. (I am slow, so I'm less concerned about getting back to the resort; I feel certain Western Way would be open by the time I'd be on it.)

 

[Disney at Heart]

What? No Rockin Roller?

LOL Before I retired from teaching high school, various students would ask (in a derogatory tone), “What do YOU do at Disney World?” My answer was always, “Ride Rockin’ Roller Coaster, of course!”

I especially love Kilimanjaro Safaris. I’ve gone to WDW many times, and it is the one ride that has never been the same twice!

 

[WhereInFlorida]

I especially love Kilimanjaro Safaris. I’ve gone to WDW many times, and it is the one ride that has never been the same twice!

They still haven't fixed the bridge or caught that poacher.

 

[Bree]

They still haven't fixed the bridge or caught that poacher.

And the baobab tree still has no leaves or flowers.