Marathon Weekend 2023

[Geographilia]

Over the summer, after a fiasco getting back from Vancouver after an Alaska Cruise on the Wonder, we decided to drive to MW. We never fly SW, but seeing all the recent issues, I’m happy about the choice; best of luck to all with travel plans.

I’m finally ready to start seriously thinking about course planning and have a question for more seasoned MW participants: is there a good metric to estimate the ride wait times for Everest and TOT during the marathon? I’m not too worried about Everest since I expect to be there between 7:40 and 7:50 (adjusting timing from @DopeyBadger for photos along the course) but TOT could be anywhere from 8:55 to 9:20. If the later, that’s 50 minutes after opening. While I’ve trained well for Dopey, I am not looking to PR so I want to fully immerse myself in the unique opportunities presented by the Disney Marathon … but I also don’t want to stand in a line for an obscene amount of time and have my legs completely seize up.

Like any day at a Disney park, I know it’s hard to predict wait times but I’m curious what others have encountered during the marathon.

 

[jmasgat]

Went ahead and booked a back up Frontier flight. Hopefully I read the fine print correctly and it is in fact refundable! I do not need this stress!

I hope it's fully refundable online--Frontier just got rid of it's customer service phone lines!!!

https://thepointsguy.com/news/frontier-airlines-customer-service-phone-line/

 

[GuinnessRunner]

I’m finally ready to start seriously thinking about course planning and have a question for more seasoned MW participants: is there a good metric to estimate the ride wait times for Everest and TOT during the marathon?

I'm not sure you will find anything that's accurate. If you run with a phone you can check the official wait time from Disney on their app or use an app like Lines which can be more accurate. However, sometimes cast members are nice and may let runners up the Lightening Lane entrance. No way to plan ahead for their kindness as it changes and I think the new Lightening Lane backups will make it a big variable. Other thing to keep in mind re TOT - In addition to the line at the beginning, you still have the library pre-show and then the second line in the basement before you board. For the basement line, other guests may be nice and let you go in front of them, but again nothing you can count on. So suggest you add an additional 10-15 minutes above the usual "wait time" to account for those things as well.

 

[FFigawi]

I’m finally ready to start seriously thinking about course planning and have a question for more seasoned MW participants: is there a good metric to estimate the ride wait times for Everest and TOT during the marathon? I’m not too worried about Everest since I expect to be there between 7:40 and 7:50 (adjusting timing from @DopeyBadger for photos along the course) but TOT could be anywhere from 8:55 to 9:20. If the later, that’s 50 minutes after opening. While I’ve trained well for Dopey, I am not looking to PR so I want to fully immerse myself in the unique opportunities presented by the Disney Marathon … but I also don’t want to stand in a line for an obscene amount of time and have my legs completely seize up.

Like any day at a Disney park, I know it’s hard to predict wait times but I’m curious what others have encountered during the marathon.

The wait time shouldn’t be much of a concern. If you’re polite and ask nicely, most people will let you go in front of them in all of the lines. Not everyone will let you skip ahead, so you do need to be prepared for that, but it’s not very common. Normally everyone is in awe of anyone trying to ride a ride during a marathon and happily lets you pass.

 

[HangWithMerida]

I am still undecided as to whether or not I will stop for a ride. If I did, it would be Everest, which is one of my favorite rides in all of WDW. Timing wise, it should be fine but I don’t know if my legs would like me afterwards. I don’t usually even stop for photos. During a race, or even a long run, I tend to just keep moving. Jumping on a ride during the marathon is one of those “only at Disney” things though and I also want to experience the whole weekend. I know everyone always says I will feel differently after I cross the finish line, but I really don’t think I will do another marathon. So I want to do all the things and not have any regrets at the end.
I think I just talked myself into stopping to ride Everest.

 

[DopeyRunner486]

This seem to be improving a bit with Southwest. As of right now only 25 flights for Friday canceled. This time yesterday they already had 1000 flights canceled two days out. Still something to watch.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

I just had a really vivid and weird dream about the marathon, which was more like The Amazing Race, and one of the obstacles was riding Everest (which had turned into a hanging coaster) while carrying a pug lol. So just be glad you don’t have to carry a pug during the actual race. Or be sad about that I’m not sure.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I ALSO HAD A RACE DREAM LAST NIGHT. I was running a marathon, and the course was so weird and badly marked. And there was one section where you had to run the same loop 3x in the middle of the course, and you cut through some buildings, and it was just bonkers. And I apparently just decided to cut the course and not run all of the loops because I had gotten so lost leading up to that point that I was worried about the balloon ladies and getting swept and not earning my Dopey medal. Even though it CLEARLY wasn't a disney race. And I also told off the race director because of how badly things were set up.

 

[accm]

For anyone thinking of riding TOT, keep in mind that the ride is down to only one elevator shaft, which is causing some big wait times. It’s not even 9am right now, and the posted wait is at 80minutes.

 

[_shiny_side_up_]

Jumping on a ride during the marathon is one of those “only at Disney” things though and I also want to experience the whole weekend.

I'm absolutely with you on this. I'm coming off of six months of injury and just started training for my next race - I am in NO shape at all to run the full Dopey and was going to just come down for the first 3 races - but yah, this type of thought - riding a ride during a marathon is something that can happen only at Disney so, no matter how long it takes me to do the full, I'm 80% there.

 

[Herding_Cats]

oh! Another "normal times" character meet question!

We have plans for after the race on a couple of days, so we don't want to end up spending a couple of hours waiting in line for post-race character pics. How early (approximately) do they show up for pre-race? Is the 1st bus sufficient, or should we plan on driving and being there a little extra early on those days?

 

[DopeyRunner486]

For anyone thinking of riding TOT, keep in mind that the ride is down to only one elevator shaft, which is causing some big wait times. It’s not even 9am right now, and the posted wait is at 80minutes.

Its the busiest week of the year, its not a great judge at the moment.

 

[ScooterScott44]

riding a ride during a marathon is something that can happen only at Disney

Wanted to share that it is a unique thing to be able to ride a ride during a marathon but keep in mind a few things.
- a race entry does not mean you have a park ticket and Disney could crack down on the practice and not allow racers into line (unlikely but possible as they already want to minimize impacts to paying guests)
- know your options if this is a "bucket list" item for you, Everest and TOT are not far but are popular, so consider other options too
- related to above, a quick detour off course for a ride might be a better option (once did Figment, no wait, but it was a little off course and a 15 min ride)

 

[DopeyRunner486]

oh! Another "normal times" character meet question!

We have plans for after the race on a couple of days, so we don't want to end up spending a couple of hours waiting in line for post-race character pics. How early (approximately) do they show up for pre-race? Is the 1st bus sufficient, or should we plan on driving and being there a little extra early on those days?

1st bus is sufficient. Lines will build as more people arrive. I was first bus for wine and dine and got character photos each morning with maybe a 10-15 minute wait.

 

[DopeyBadger]

oh! Another "normal times" character meet question!

We have plans for after the race on a couple of days, so we don't want to end up spending a couple of hours waiting in line for post-race character pics. How early (approximately) do they show up for pre-race? Is the 1st bus sufficient, or should we plan on driving and being there a little extra early on those days?

According to my notes, the race start area opens at the same time as the buses start running from the resorts. So, for example the runDisney buses start leaving the resorts at ~2:30am for the marathon, which means the start area at EPCOT also opens ~2:30am. I've been on the first bus for nearly every runDisney race pre-C19 that I've done and usually get to EPCOT around 15-20 min after bus start and to the reunion area about 15 min after that. So that would put me in the reunion area around 30-35 min after bus start. My recollection was that the pre-race characters were already out by then with a moderate line length. So if the goal is to get pre-race pics, then the shortest line is going to come from you heading to EPCOT via car. You'd be to the reunion area 15 min after (2:45) and I would get there around 3:00-3:05 at the earliest. That 20 min buffer is going to be huge in comparing the number of people that are in line.

With that being said, if you arrive on the first bus, then you have a good chance to get a few pre-race photos. But they do eventually cut off the lines and encourage you to head to the corrals. A secondary consideration is where you want to end up in the corral itself. The walk to corrals opens at ~3:30-3:45am for the HM/M. So if you want a near front of corral position for those races, then you will want to be in the secondary holding area by then. So if you take a first bus and thus limit your time in the pre-race reunion area then you have to balance the desire for pre-race photos against the desire of placement within your corral.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

Jumping on a ride during the marathon is one of those “only at Disney” things though and I also want to experience the whole weekend.

After always considering it, I finally rode Everest during the marathon in 2020. Other years I decided against it because I wasn't sure how my legs would react, had time goals in mind, etc. Because I was injured running in 2020, I already wasn't running for time and so told myself, if not this race, when? Was a ton of fun and glad I did it (and love the Garmin pace and track during the ride). Will admit that getting back out of the train at the end of the ride was a bit of a struggle, but once I got going again, I had no lingering impact in my legs and the mental brake probably helped too.

Haven't decided what I want to do this year, but if I opt for the PR in fun route on race day, I will definately do it again, becuase it is absolutely an "only at Disney" thing!

 

[DopeyRunner486]

According to my notes, the race start area opens at the same time as the buses start running from the resorts. So, for example the runDisney buses start leaving the resorts at ~2:30am for the marathon, which means the start area at EPCOT also opens ~2:30am. I've been on the first bus for nearly every runDisney race pre-C19 that I've done and usually get to EPCOT around 15-20 min after bus start and to the reunion area about 15 min after that. So that would put me in the reunion area around 30-35 min after bus start. My recollection was that the pre-race characters were already out by then with a moderate line length. So if the goal is to get pre-race pics, then the shortest line is going to come from you heading to EPCOT via car. You'd be to the reunion area 15 min after (2:45) and I would get there around 3:00-3:05 at the earliest. That 20 min buffer is going to be huge in comparing the number of people that are in line.

With that being said, if you arrive on the first bus, then you have a good chance to get a few pre-race photos. But they do eventually cut off the lines and encourage you to head to the corrals. A secondary consideration is where you want to end up in the corral itself. The walk to corrals opens at ~3:30-3:45am for the HM/M. So if you want a near front of corral position for those races, then you will want to be in the secondary holding area by then. So if you take a first bus and thus limit your time in the pre-race reunion area then you have to balance the desire for pre-race photos against the desire of placement within your corral.

The time characters come out can also vary. While the area may open at 2:30 the characters may not come out until 2:45 or something.

 

[NileNellie]

The weather forecast continues to creep up in temperature and it’s making me quite nervous. May have to make some large adjustments in costuming and pace if we are looking at highs in the upper 80s for race weekend. I know it will be “cooler” at race time but I’m still not liking the look of it at all.

 

[NileNellie]

After always considering it, I finally rode Everest during the marathon in 2020. Other years I decided against it because I wasn't sure how my legs would react, had time goals in mind, etc. Because I was injured running in 2020, I already wasn't running for time and so told myself, if not this race, when? Was a ton of fun and glad I did it (and love the Garmin pace and track during the ride). Will admit that getting back out of the train at the end of the ride was a bit of a struggle, but once I got going again, I had no lingering impact in my legs and the mental brake probably helped too.

Haven't decided what I want to do this year, but if I opt for the PR in fun route on race day, I will definately do it again, becuase it is absolutely an "only at Disney" thing!

This will be my first marathon at Disney, and I’m torn on riding an attraction. As of right now I’m telling myself to go for it but I have a feeling I will just keep on running. I can barely stop for character photos because I’m so focused on my time lol.

 

[jpeterson]

The time characters come out can also vary. While the area may open at 2:30 the characters may not come out until 2:45 or something.

At Wine and Dine some of the characters came out after the others.