Marathon Weekend 2025

[DisneyParrothead]

I know that it probably shouldn't, but this does make a difference to me. I'm a penny pincher by nature and, as hard I try not to, the Disney food costs get to me. Having these things included in the price of the ticket (I'm not kidding myself - I know that they're not "free") lets me indulge without the sticker shock. I've done the Orlando Informer meet-up at Universal and the best part was the abundance of "free" food. Could I just buy a gift card for the ticket price and eat my way through the parks for less? Yep! Would I? Heck no!

Same here. Now that the dining plan is back, I spring for that, knowing most of meals are already paid for. Anything alcohol and tips is small, and when I use up my meals, I use my redemption card. Already paid for that too!

 

[fatmanatee]

RE: After hours, everyone has to figure out what makes sense for them. In my case, I'll likely be working on Monday (I know), so I'd get less out of extending my ticket to six days, there's an appeal to clocking out and then heading over at 7 pm and trying something new. On top of that I'm guessing we'll see a lot of MW participants so it'll feel like a post race weekend party.

On the other hand, in a normal situation my decision would be a 5 day ticket vs. 6 day ticket, and last I checked it would cost 30-40 dollars to add the extra day, so in that sense I'd be a lot more reluctant to get an AH ticket.

 

[jenljeffers1989]

There is an after hours at Magic Kingdom on the 13th after the marathon. But the ticket price is pretty high 175-185. Has anyone done this? What was it like?

I haven't done one immediately after a race, but I did buy tickets to this one. I figured we could lay around in the hotel that Monday morning and still get a park day in without feeling like we're missing out.

 

[marty3d]

Re AH: As a non-AP guest, I tend not to pay extra for the park hopper option as I find hopping parks (especially during MW/Dopey) is too much. For me, I like the fact that on Monday I can turn it into a mini park hopping day with Epcot during the day for DATW and MK at night for the AH Party, Castle medal pics and the shorter lines. And "free" popcorn and Mickey bars!

Completely agree that everyone has to look at how it works (or doesn't) for them.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Re AH: As a non-AP guest, I tend not to pay extra for the park hopper option as I find hopping parks (especially during MW/Dopey) is too much. For me, I like the fact that on Monday I can turn it into a mini park hopping day with Epcot during the day for DATW and MK at night for the AH Party, Castle medal pics and the shorter lines. And "free" popcorn and Mickey bars!

Completely agree that everyone has to look at how it works (or doesn't) for them.

This is sort of why we are doing it too. We are planning a park-lite trip this time. Because of how Disney structures their tickets we either have to get like a 6-day to get the days we want, or a 1-2 day the front end and a 1-day at the back end, and “waste” money on a hopper to do the things I want. I don’t want to do 6 park days. I don’t want to get a hopper for a 1-2 day ticket. Getting the AH also eliminates my need for a park-hopper to go from Epcot/datw to MK for fireworks. And eliminating that cost for 2 people almost pays for one AH ticket.

 

[Barca33Runner]

I got my ticket for the January 13 After Hours this morning. I’ve loved the two AH events I’ve done previously so I had been waiting and hoping they’d announce AH dates that coincided with MW 2025. Was a little disappointed in the price increase and that there wasn’t an Epcot or HS event during MW as well; but it’s really the type of ticket and experience that best fit the way I like to do Disney right now so I didn’t have to deliberate too long.

Looking forward to double fireworks and running around riding as many rides as possible in 6 hours, maybe stopping for a popcorn or ice cream every once in a while along the way.

 

[sandam1]

I got my ticket for the January 13 After Hours this morning.

I got mine as well. I'm super excited.

I was trying to plan the day in my mind and I'm thinking that we will:
- Do early entry (after four consecutive 2:30 a.m. wake-up call, EE will be a luxurious "sleeping in")
- Stay until lunch time
- Go back to the hotel for a LONG (5-ish hour) break. Maybe go for a swim. Likely pack the bulk of our stuff as we will probably be heading home mid-morning on Tuesday
- Eat dinner at the hotel
- Head to Disney

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Herding_Cats]

I got mine as well. I'm super excited.

I was trying to plan the day in my mind and I'm thinking that we will:
- Do early entry (after four consecutive 2:30 a.m. wake-up call, EE will be a luxurious "sleeping in")
- Stay until lunch time

The 2024 opening time for MK was 8:30am for EE, and 9am for "general."

What is the commute time like from Univeral to MK/TTC?

- Go back to the hotel for a LONG (5-ish hour) break. Maybe go for a swim. Likely pack the bulk of our stuff as we will probably be heading home mid-morning on Tuesday

Working backward, if you wanted to take a 5hr break, and let's just call it a 45min commute including TTC-transfer time (parking, tram, boat/monrail) are you including the 90min after exiting the park gates and re-entering in your 5hr break? Or are you trying to get 5hrs at your hotel plus the commute?

- Eat dinner at the hotel
- Head to Disney

5hr break-1.5hrs of commute= 3.5hrs at the hotel to swim/pack/eat

So you're looking at a 9am-2pm in MK, where you would be leaving your hotel at 8:15 (assuming 45min from hotel to park gate.)

If it IS, in fact, 45min per trip, you're spending 2hr15min traveling back and forth, not including going back to your hotel at the end of AH.

Personally, I wouldn't want to spend that much of my day going back and forth, and if I absolutely had to take time out of it to pack, etc. I'd just do it in the morning, really sleep in, then pack/swim/lunch and head over MK at like noon or 1 and take the proposed 5 park hours from the morning and just start them at 1 or 2pm instead. This would allow you to "skip" the line for tapping in at 7pm since you can get your wristband inside the park if you're already there.

 

[sandam1]

The 2024 opening time for MK was 8:30am for EE, and 9am for "general."

Just to clarify - we are going to be at Universal for the first part of the day.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Just to clarify - we are going to be at Universal for the first part of the day.

Well that makes a BIG difference! I thought (for some reason) you were doing MK in the morning and returning for AH.

Yeah. Your plan makes sense. Especially if you have APs for US and it wouldn't be a big deal if you skipped out super early if you were tired still.

 

[runwithperseverence7]

We are planning on 2 days in the parks maybe adding a 3rd. So I would love to make it to either AH before or after MW as a 3rd visit but they don’t fit into our current schedule. We get in on the 7th and leave the 13th. Plus I’m having some mom guilt about pulling my teens out of school and missing 5 days. I’ve already told them they cant miss any days between now and January.

 

[Cabius]

We are planning on 2 days in the parks maybe adding a 3rd. So I would love to make it to either AH before or after MW as a 3rd visit but they don’t fit into our current schedule. We get in on the 7th and leave the 13th. Plus I’m having some mom guilt about pulling my teens out of school and missing 5 days. I’ve already told them they cant miss any days between now and January.

If you're going to do it anyway, then don't feel guilty about it! There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Epcot.

 

[sandam1]

Well that makes a BIG difference! I thought (for some reason) you were doing MK in the morning and returning for AH.

We're dumb, but not crazy.

Yeah. Your plan makes sense. Especially if you have APs for US and it wouldn't be a big deal if you skipped out super early if you were tired still.

Thankfully, I have some experience to know how I am likely to feel post-Dopey. On "Medal Monday" last time, I was pretty energetic in the morning as long as I kept moving. Once the lines started building, then I was done and ready for a nap (plus my feel were killing me at that point). We're only going to be able to do two early entries in the week that we're there (Expo day is the other) so I definitely want to make the most out of it. But I'm also (hopefully) experienced enough to know when to call it quits.

 

[BigEeyore]

SAFD: Late because this one is HARD
1) Lion King
2) Brave
3) the Pirates movies - Hans Zimmer is DA MAN

So much love for Hercules - "Go the Distance" means so much to me (and probably most of us here) and gets me in the feels every dang time

 

[Novatrix]

SAFD: So hard to choose and feeling so guilty for not having a Sherman Brothers or Ashman/Menken team-up on the list. Both teams would be in a top 10 list!

1. Coco
2. Encanto
3. Mulan (seriously considered whether it should be Hercules, but "I'll Make A Man Out of You" and "Reflection" are just so good...)

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Aaaaand.... I'm out for MW 2025.
Just saw my MRI this morning. My hamstring is ruptured and I'll need surgery, so no running for quite some time, much less any long races.
I'll be cancelling my resort reservation and staying home. I guess the races are a write-off.
Just dang. I'm totally bummed.

 

[jmasgat]

Aaaaand.... I'm out for MW 2025.
Just saw my MRI this morning. My hamstring is ruptured and I'll need surgery, so no running for quite some time, much less any long races.
I'll be cancelling my resort reservation and staying home. I guess the races are a write-off.
Just dang. I'm totally bummed.

So sorry to hear this. And even though RD doesn't do refunds, I would still send them a note. When I couldn't make the DL race in January, they gave me a gift card for half the cost--better than nothing. (And a warped incentive for me to return to WDW)

Fingers crossed your surgery goes well and you have a good recovery.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

SAFD: So hard to choose and feeling so guilty for not having a Sherman Brothers or Ashman/Menken team-up on the list. Both teams would be in a top 10 list!

1. Coco
2. Encanto
3. Mulan (seriously considered whether it should be Hercules, but "I'll Make A Man Out of You" and "Reflection" are just so good...)

Just goes to show what incredible music teams Disney has had.

 

[camaker]

Aaaaand.... I'm out for MW 2025.
Just saw my MRI this morning. My hamstring is ruptured and I'll need surgery, so no running for quite some time, much less any long races.
I'll be cancelling my resort reservation and staying home. I guess the races are a write-off.
Just dang. I'm totally bummed.

Sorry to hear this! Take it slow and work your way back as the doctors and PT allow. I tore my hamstring early in my running career, although I didn't fully rupture it, and it took 7-8 months from when I was cleared to start running again to get back to full strength. It's a long process, but worth it to get the muscle back to a stronger state in the end!

 

[jrsharp21]

Aaaaand.... I'm out for MW 2025.
Just saw my MRI this morning. My hamstring is ruptured and I'll need surgery, so no running for quite some time, much less any long races.
I'll be cancelling my resort reservation and staying home. I guess the races are a write-off.
Just dang. I'm totally bummed.

Sorry to hear. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. If you try to send rD a message, hopefully they will do something for you.