Marathon Weekend 2025

[camaker]

Good morning RunDisney All-Stars! Welcome to this week's edition of Sundays are for Disney (SAFD). We're down to about 3 months until Marathon Weekend and planning for many is well underway. One of the questions that always arises is around the "best" way to get to the races. Let's preemptively answer that question. What's your method of choice for getting to the starting line on race mornings? Are you Team Bus, Team Driving, Team Monorail or some other way entirely?

SAFD: I don't think there's a best way to get to the races, personally. It depends on what you're comfortable with and how you like to structure your pre-race routine. I'm Team Bus all the way, generally catching one of the first buses out of the resort. I don't like to drive in unfamiliar areas and throw in the early time, road closures and the stress of potentially missing a start time, and I don't want anything to do with driving myself. It's nice to get on the bus, sit back, and take a quick nap on the way. Yes, there are always horror stories of buses getting lost, but they're few and far between and I've only run into one bus issue in 8 Marathon Weekends and it didn't result in being late to the start.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

SAFD: I am Team Bus as well. I'm always nervous race mornings, so I usually get down and take one of the first busses so that it (in theory) eliminates worrying about getting to the start on time. One of the things I love about these races is the energy that surrounds them. While the bus is usually quiet on the way there, it does give me the start of feeling that with the quiest nervous chatter of people as we wait in line to get on the bus and then the ride over. The cast members helping load/unload are usually great too and help with the excitement.

I typically have a car while I'm there (usually drive down) so last year I did drive to the HM after reading someone post on here about the amount of sweat that must soke into the bus seats over the weekend. While I definately see the pros of the driving approach, especially if the weather is bad, the long walk back from the finish area to my car after the race made me decide I would rather do the bus again marathon morning.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I stayed with a friend at Bonnet Creek back in 2011 and she drove me to the start area. I would have been better off trying to walk from the hotel. As it was, we were in a loooong line of cars trying to get into Epcot. I would up getting out and walking, went straight through all the pre-race area, out to where the corrals were and kept going. My warmup was the walk to the start line and since the races had already started, I just kept going. It worked out, but I don't want to do that again.

For every other race, it has been Team Bus from the resort. I get on with coffee and Cliff bar in hand and enjoy the relaxing ride while having breakfast. This past MW I was on a bus that missed the turnoff, went to the next exit and had to come back. I still made it to the staging area with time to spare. If I was local, I'd probably do the drive in early and nap in the car thing, but since I stay at the resorts, the buses are the way to go for me.

 

[Herding_Cats]

SAFD:
I'm team drive or team bus. Typically we have a rental car for Disney trips, but DH and I are strongly considering relying solely on Disney transportation (and a ride-share to/from the airport) for this trip since we would rather spend ~$400 on something else. Dh dropped me off for the marathon this past MW, and it was super easy and didn't make the walk noticeably longer than if I had ridden the bus.

However, ain't no energy like bus energy! There's usually a good mix of the chatty/excited riders to go with the still-caffeinating/it's too early to be awake riders. When riding the bus, I like to get on an early bus; maybe not the first one, but definitely NOT the last one.

I think the biggest difference between those 2 options is found POST-race. Busses are right there in the finish area. If you drove and parked, you might have a 0.75mi hobble walk to your car. Is this good for you? Probably. Do I want to do it? Absolutely not.

For bussers, it's also important to understand how the race busses work at individual resorts. Is it a multi-resort, shared bus? Is there only 1 common pickup/drop area? Do they loop around the resort to stop and multiple areas? What is that order? If they DO make multiple stops, do they always start at the main lobby/building and fill up first and then squeeze in a few more? All things that are good to know.

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

SAFD: Team Bus, for sure. We always have a car, since we drive down, but have no interest in driving to the races. I feel like getting on the bus with the other runners is part of the experience. You get to see everyone’s costumes and relax while heading to the start. The bus situation hasn’t always been great, but I feel like it is now. It’s been a while since full buses have pulled up to the stop. Disney seems to have plenty of them now, placed where they need to be, and ready to go.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

SAFD: I stay at my parents' house across town, so I am team driving by default.

 

[RuntheMouse]

SAFD: I am team bus, I like the ease of it. It’s fun to talk to the other runners while the excitement is high!

That being said, we drove last year to the “half” because of the forecast and it worked out fabulously. We made it to the car right as the rain started so we stayed dry! So it’s not off the table for the future.

Edit for typo.

 

[lahobbs4]

Team bus always. We don't drive or rent a car so it's our only option and we've never had a problem with it!

 

[GollyGadget]

SAFD: I am Team Arrive Early, whether that's bus or car. Traffic builds up as race start gets closer and I don't need that stress. Plus the lines are usually shorter the earlier your arrive.

 

[Barca33Runner]

SAFD:

We stay off-site pretty much exclusively now for MW so I’m team drive. It has always worked out very well. We can stay in the car as long as we want if the weather isn’t ideal and have never had an issue with traffic.

When we stayed on-site in the past we were, reluctantly, team bus. We never have a vehicle on site, so it’s really the only option. It always got us there and it’s really nice that the option exists, but it was much less predictable and left us much more at the whim of the weather.

Because of the massive size of the staging area for the race start there isn’t really a foolproof way to do things, but we have found driving to be less stressful and more comfortable than the bus.

 

[nancipants]

I’m a local, so I’m also Team Bus by default. I try to get there by 3:15 and find the traffic going into Epcot is steady but not impossible at that time.

 

[Novatrix]

I vote Dapper Dans again. It. Was. So. Good.

I wouldn't be sad if Jordan Fisher and Angie K sang it.

None of us run fast enough to outrun the wrath of the Hadestown fanatics if Jordan Fisher were to skip his final performance as Orpheus to sing the national anthem for the DW marathon instead. Although, it does make his schedule free for 2026

 

[Novatrix]

Safd: Team bus, just because I don't see a point renting a car just for the races. But there definitely have been some palm sweating close calls with the bus over the years.

 

[Naomeri]

SAFD: I'm Team Bus all the way. Part of why I like Disney vacations is that I don't have to arrange any ground transportation beyond an airport shuttle. I suppose I might be Team Monorail if I ever stayed at a Monorail resort, but also maybe not, since you aren't guaranteed a seat like the rD buses.

 

[Zutroy]

SAFD: 100% Team Monorail for the marathon! I always stay at a monorail resort for MW, and avoiding all the traffic on the way back is the biggest perk. I will go back to my resort, shower and eat, and then return to the marathon finish area. I doubt this would be possible by bus. Also no waiting for a bus to pull up, no possibility of the monorail pilot getting lost, and I’ve never seen a monorail be full at 3 am.

The main drawback is the walk from the marathon area to the monorail entrance, but there are no bus stairs to navigate once you get to the resort. Here’s a photo I took after this year’s marathon at around 9:30 which shows just how gridlocked the area gets.

 

[MissLiss279]

SAFD:
I’m mostly Team Bus. If I have a rental car, I am probably Team Car for the 5k and maybe the 10k, because I don’t want to wait however long it is for the buses to start after I finish the race. I did get an Uber once after a 5k when I hadn’t rented a car.
But I definitely like not having to walk back to the car after the race, and being able to sit and eat my snack box on the bus ride back to the resort for the longer races.

 

[luv2cheer92]

SAFD: Definitely team drive a car, it is soooo much nicer than using the buses. Being able to get there and sit in your car on the colder mornings is great. Plus, driving in is incredibly easy, never had any issues with it.

The only possible plus side I can think of for the buses, is the shorter walk after the races, but I kinda like the longer walk to loosen my legs back up some. Plus no standing in line to wait to load a bus.

 

[Disneyhanna]

SAFD: team bus since I don’t have a car in WDW but one year I was driven by someone with a car and that was quite nice though we had to get there quite early to avoid the rush/lines of cars.

I have already started having dreams (nightmares) about sleeping through Dopey races, anyone else?

Did my first double digit long run since April (hit by shin splints in May), feeling good. Running noticeably faster despite my couple months off so pleasantly surprised by that. Not sure if it’s just me but I always find these long runs easier with every marathon cycle, barring factors like poor weather conditions of course. They’re still boring as heck but my legs seem to remember how to run for hours now. I remember my first marathon training cycle I was so sore after my double digit long runs.

 

[marty3d]

SAFD: Mostly Team bus but my DS has preferred to drive the last couple of times we’ve run races together. However since we aren’t renting a car this year it will be team bus all the way. (For Marathon Sunday I’m always team bus pre-race and team walk back through Epcot post-race)

 

[matt and beth]

SAFD: Team bus. However, really interested in hearing more arguments for team monorail