Marathon Weekend 2023

Quick question for people who ran Marathon weekend…
Has anyone gone to the expo on Saturday? What did it look like? Any merch left? How were lines? Were photos ops still up? Our flight lands on Friday evening and we are only doing the Sunday morning event so we will need to go to the expo on Saturday and all the reports I read are from people who were at the expo on the first two days
 
I went to the expo on Saturday in 2022 because our Friday flight was canceled and we flew in instead on Saturday morning. The expo wasn't bad, but it was probably the longest bib line I have had to stand in. Even then, it took maybe 10 minutes, and I think mainly it was just that I was unlucky that my bib number fell into one of the longest lines. Other bib number lines were much shorter.
 


Merch will probably be slim pickings (if there is something you want and it’s up for a preorder get it!!) I don’t know if characters will be there but they should have all the other backdrops up at minimum
 
Quick question for people who ran Marathon weekend…
Has anyone gone to the expo on Saturday? What did it look like? Any merch left? How were lines? Were photos ops still up? Our flight lands on Friday evening and we are only doing the Sunday morning event so we will need to go to the expo on Saturday and all the reports I read are from people who were at the expo on the first two days
I attended the expo on Saturday. It is dead, especially compared to Wednesday. There was plenty of merchandise still available for purchase, and no one to elbow to get to it. That being said, I don't know how many of the hard-to-get items were still there, or how many things were sold out.
 
We came in late Friday night, woke Saturday for couple rides in Epcot (Guardians/etc), made it to the Expo a bit after 1pm to pick up our bids. Zero lines for bids. Lots of basic merch left, none of the hot items.
 


How many of y'all went and *didn't* get sick? I really want to go run the marathon but I also *really* don't want Covid.
 
How many of y'all went and *didn't* get sick? I really want to go run the marathon but I also *really* don't want Covid.
Kind of an odd question. If you are concerned about covid being an issue then most certainly do not run.

There is no guarantee that even if you do run you would get covid from the race(s) itself. It could happen during travel, in parks, etc. Given the feat you are undertaking in a marathon your body is being taxed. Its common you will feel not great or get sick afterwards. Travel in general can do that too.

Personally, I did not end up with anything this time around. Now I have in the past.
 
How many of y'all went and *didn't* get sick? I really want to go run the marathon but I also *really* don't want Covid.
I didn't, thankfully -- that said, I wore masks every time I was indoors, on transportation, and in the corrals. I didn't take it off until we crossed the starting line and I had enough space to feel comfortable. Not sure if it was masking or luck or a combo, but I'm grateful I ended up ok.
 
How many of y'all went and *didn't* get sick? I really want to go run the marathon but I also *really* don't want Covid.
I've run 7 Marathon Weekends, 2 DLH weekends, 1 SWDS and 1 W&D. I've gotten sick twice during those events. Once with bronchitis during the race weekend, so who knows, I may have even got it before I left and this year I picked up a cold while I was there. I got COVID from my wife two weeks after I got back from the races! Sure, there's going to be a lot going around in the crowds at Disney, but really you can get sick any time, any where. I choose to go and enjoy an event I love, taking what precautions I can. If I get sick, I get sick.
 
How many of y'all went and *didn't* get sick? I really want to go run the marathon but I also *really* don't want Covid.
The secret is to get Covid a few weeks before so you are all better by the time you go 😂 I’ve come home sick from every Disney trip prior to MW and this is the first time I came back 100% healthy, since I was sick just before.
 
I've done 5 Disney Marathon Weekends and 3 other marathons.

Marathon training in general will have a negative effect on your immune system because you're pushing your body to its limits. So, it isn't uncommon to get sick before/after.

However, I've only had it happen twice.

My first Disney Marathon (2013), I got sick the day we flew down (stomach flu) and then had a head cold throughout.

This year, I was sick starting on day 3 of vacation, sick off/on throughout, and tested positive for COVID 11 days post-Disney vacation. Not sure COVID was Disney-induced though - I have little germy kids that bring home everything from school (the one that didn't get COVID got strep throat the next week).

It's a risk wherever you might travel these days. I consider myself lucky that I avoided it for three years.
 
How many of y'all went and *didn't* get sick? I really want to go run the marathon but I also *really* don't want Covid.
I did not get sick when I ran this in 2022 (ended up getting covid two weeks later though), however you need to go in with the expectation that you’ll be exposed. There’s no way around it: unless you isolate completely, it’s a trip where you’ll be in tight quarters with fellow runners and vacationers, many of whom will be traveling with some sort of bug, including covid. The main reason I think I avoided picking it up that weekend is because I was probably exposed months earlier and still had some immunity.

Don’t really want to be a downer about it but it’s the reality and I had to have that mindset when I did it.
 
How many of y'all went and *didn't* get sick? I really want to go run the marathon but I also *really* don't want Covid.

I've done 3 race weekends during "Covid Times" (2022 MW, 2022 SS, and 2023 MW) and not gotten covid from any of them. Did I get a cold after the most recent weekend? Yes. (It seems like quite a few people did.) Did I ever test positive for covid? No.
 
How many of y'all went and *didn't* get sick? I really want to go run the marathon but I also *really* don't want Covid.
I did Dopey this year and didn’t get sick. I also participated in every race weekend in 2022 and W&D in 2021. Didn’t get sick.

I did get sick from a holiday trip in 2019. It can happen ANY time you are around tons of people, not just race corrals.
 
How many of y'all went and *didn't* get sick? I really want to go run the marathon but I also *really* don't want Covid.
I’ve run a bunch of WDW races since they resumed and haven’t gotten COVID yet. I am high-risk, so I’m VERY careful: KN95 mask 100% of the time I’m in indoor public spaces, and any time I’m in close proximity to others outdoors. Outdoor eating only, and away from others at that. That’s meant wearing a mask for the majority of many races - it’s not the most comfortable experience, but it’s not awful and way better than winding up extremely sick. I’ll pull it off at times I have space, and easy to pull off for the few seconds it takes to snap a photo. No touching my face or eating gels without washing my hands thoroughly or using sanitizer - Purrell makes these little one-time-use things that are great to carry in a pocket for races, in case the sanitizer’s out at porta potties.

FWIW I’m also a regular visitor at WDW, in addition to races, so I spend a lot of time in the parks: same thing - KN95 mask 100% of my time indoors, in any outdoor lines, and I only eat outdoors. Again, no COVID yet. It’s totally do-able!
 
How many of y'all went and *didn't* get sick? I really want to go run the marathon but I also *really* don't want Covid.
I was there in 2020 and 2022, as well as a couple weeks ago. I did not get sick of any kind. Honestly, I just try and take care of the basics that I can control (vaccines, hand washing, masks if/when appropriate).
 
How many of y'all went and *didn't* get sick? I really want to go run the marathon but I also *really* don't want Covid.
I didn't even get a sniffle this year which really surprised me. I ran the marathon, spectated the 5&10K and went to the parks.

I was quite sick after W&D last year. Not COVID, but had quite the cough for nearly a week.

I also ran the half marathon in Jan 22 and didn't get sick.

Have you been traveling at all in the last few years? The races themselves are less risky than the flights or park in my experience. Not a doctor, but there are tons of sick children all over the parks which always make me nervous.
 
Does anyone know which Facebook group posted the list of the character stops? I am hoping that the list for Princess HM weekend will also be shared.
 

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