Marathon Weekend 2025

[Boiler37]

I'm also a millennial and I have seen it but mostly because of my younger sister. I never really understood the appeal . I do enjoy them for the sake of seeing rare characters but I have no connection to powerline itself.

I also qualify for the millennial crowd. Let me tell you, as a parent of boys, watching them grow up and need me less, the line Max: “I have my own life now!” Goofy: “I know that, I just wanted to be a part of it.” hits me in the feelings like a sledge hammer.

 

[kps7795]

I’m loving all the responses to @Lemon Head post. It’s a great boost in confidence right now. I’ve been having some tough runs lately and the thoughts about can I really do this have been creeping on me. But I know there are plenty of people in the same boat and we can help each other get through this.

Please keep in mind that whether you're having difficulty in training or during a race, you are NOT alone. In this community, there is always someone that can empathize with what you're feeling at any given time.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

"...in case it hasn’t been mentioned explicitly, there is no wrong way to do Dopey."

Amen.

And include me in having never seen a Goofy movie. And as I get older, more and more "must see" movies/shows that I haven't seen. Just other things that I'm spending my time on as I hurry to accomplish what I'd like to accomplish before shuffling off this mortal coil....

 

[The Expert]

Just other things that I'm spending my time on as I hurry to accomplish what I'd like to accomplish before shuffling off this mortal coil....

In other words, "Ain't nobody got time for that."

 

[Dopey 2020]

Afternoon All!

Long time lurker and now I've joined I'm keen to ask - how serious do people take the Dopey?

I ask because I'm taking it very seriously (Dopey 2025 is my first ever Disney run). I ran a marathon in October and am desperately recovering and trying to get my mileage back up in time. I see people on here with pretty serious plans too.

But then I hear people say 'if you get a pb, you've done it all wrong' and 'the hardest part is getting up at 2am really'. Theres all the rides, character photos, pictures of people finishing with beers, along with photos of fancy dress and theres lots of youtube videos of people walking.

I'm going to try and be in peak condition regardless, but im still aching from the last marathon - Exactly how serious does the average Dopey participant take this and do I need to be in the shape of my life (I'm generally pretty fit - do average 1:45 HMs and 4:10 Marathons)?

Welcome! As others said, ask 1000 people and you’ll get 1000 answers. If you’ve already run marathons and are taking your recovery and training seriously then you’re setting yourself up for a great time.
You just have to decide how to tackle the weekend to get the most out of it for you.

One thing to take seriously-
The pre race light pole disboards meetups, stop in and say hi! It’s always fun to put names ands faces together and meet people from here. Or stop by and listen to tales of Dopeys past. Either way hanging around before one or all the races adds a level of excitement to the weekend.

 

[PrincessV]

I’ve been low-key pondering the current conversation and wanted to add a thought: I think a core part of tackling Dopey is adaptability. So much can change on a dime when you've got 4 days of racing in a row - anything from weather, to costume mishaps, to traffic, to food issues, to health, you name it. I think any of us who’ve done it have a story or three about how we went in with a plan and came out having done things off-plan. My marathon PR during a Dopey was not at all a plan: my plan was to stop for some photos and finish in whatever time it wound up being. It just happened that the weather was just right to run-walk a pace that was comfortable yet faster than expected and I lucked out with relatively little course congestion that day, so when I realized around mile 13 that I was on track for a PR, I changed my plan on the fly . Another year, my plan was to chase a time in each race and wound up with one of the hottest marathons ever at WDW - my plan quickly pivoted to just getting through it without heat stroke in any amount of time.

I think some amount of getting good at adaptability comes through back-to-back-to-back training. You learn how you feel the next day after various efforts, and if you happen to live in a place like FL, you learn how much a change in daily weather can alter your plans. You find out just how annoying an extra layer carried around your waist becomes at mile 15 on day 3, or you discover that it’s really worth the extra weight to carry your own fluids. You figure out just how long you can hold it if the need to find a restroom arises, or you learn that carrying $10 would have been a good idea because wow, an ice cold soda sure sounded good when you passed that 7-Eleven! We talk a lot about time on feet and training schedules and nutrition, but I’ve found it’s all these other factors that I needed experience with and info stored about in order to reset my mental game mid-Dopey.

 

[Naomeri]

Welcome! As others said, ask 1000 people and you’ll get 1000 answers. If you’ve already run marathons and are taking your recovery and training seriously then you’re setting yourself up for a great time.
You just have to decide how to tackle the weekend to get the most out of it for you.

One thing to take seriously-
The pre race light pole disboards meetups, stop in and say hi! It’s always fun to put names ands faces together and meet people from here. Or stop by and listen to tales of Dopeys past. Either way hanging around before one or all the races adds a level of excitement to the weekend.

And to give you faces to watch for out on the course. It's always fun to be going along and suddenly "hey, I know that person!" and at least say hi

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

And to give you faces to watch for out on the course. It's always fun to be going along and suddenly "hey, I know that person!" and at least say hi

Other than a member of our group that I met up with for the 2nd half of the marathon, I'm not sure I've recognized any faces other than Jogging Jack Sparrow. That said, I've been pleasantly surprised when others have recognized me at the Expo and the resorts. And I'll confess that I'm lousy at recognizing people out of context. I saw my boss at a football game and still had to look a few extra minutes to confirm it was him....

 

[Naomeri]

Other than a member of our group that I met up with for the 2nd half of the marathon, I'm not sure I've recognized any faces other than Jogging Jack Sparrow. That said, I've been pleasantly surprised when others have recognized me at the Expo and the resorts. And I'll confess that I'm lousy at recognizing people out of context. I saw my boss at a football game and still had to look a few extra minutes to confirm it was him....

Yeah, I have to take a couple extra looks before I actually greet a person first, but if they greet me like they know me, I'll roll with it and assume they're not mistaken

 

[Herding_Cats]

Other than a member of our group that I met up with for the 2nd half of the marathon, I'm not sure I've recognized any faces other than Jogging Jack Sparrow. That said, I've been pleasantly surprised when others have recognized me at the Expo and the resorts. And I'll confess that I'm lousy at recognizing people out of context. I saw my boss at a football game and still had to look a few extra minutes to confirm it was him....

To be fair, you are quite easy to spot when you do things such as wear your Deadpool costume for the day.

Yeah, I have to take a couple extra looks before I actually greet a person first, but if they greet me like they know me, I'll roll with it and assume they're not mistaken

This is why we encourage the sharing of costumes the night before or in the weeks leading up to the races....when you do your test-run.

 

[matt and beth]

Other than a member of our group that I met up with for the 2nd half of the marathon, I'm not sure I've recognized any faces other than Jogging Jack Sparrow. That said, I've been pleasantly surprised when others have recognized me at the Expo and the resorts. And I'll confess that I'm lousy at recognizing people out of context. I saw my boss at a football game and still had to look a few extra minutes to confirm it was him....

Mr Incredible,

Need some experiential opinion. Based on your unfortunate injury need some help. My run buddy daughter is experiencing some injury up at college. She says…

“it is tight running and walking but the second i lift my leg up it numbs up and shocks. i tried to kick a ball the second i kicked it it went firing up and i had to crawl out of soccer”

Is this similar to your experience? Want to head it off before it’s significant

 

[jrsharp21]

Other than a member of our group that I met up with for the 2nd half of the marathon, I'm not sure I've recognized any faces other than Jogging Jack Sparrow. That said, I've been pleasantly surprised when others have recognized me at the Expo and the resorts. And I'll confess that I'm lousy at recognizing people out of context. I saw my boss at a football game and still had to look a few extra minutes to confirm it was him....

Speaking of Jogging Jack Sparrow, his Instagram has been quiet. Is he still showing up for the Disney World races?

 

[nekonekoneko]

Is he still showing up for the Disney World races?

He was at W&D a couple weeks ago. Or at least a jogging Jack Sparrow was there.

 

[DianaMB333]

Hi.. have you gone to Artist Point after the marathon? Is it worth the tag price?

(I have a reservation, but double thinking as we are a party of 10, just me doing the races)

Thanks!

 

[Raymond Kinman]

SAFD:
Nightmare Before Christmas
Lion King
Coco

Little Mermaid
Robinhood
The Sword and the Stone

 

[SheHulk]

Remind me: Do they still do banana stops in the marathon? I've run it as recently as 2022 but I don't remember if they are still doing the bananas. I don't blame them if they don't, people just dropped the peels on the ground and also spilled water there so it was like real-life Mario Cart

 

[RuntheMouse]

Remind me: Do they still do banana stops in the marathon? I've run it as recently as 2022 but I don't remember if they are still doing the bananas. I don't blame them if they don't, people just dropped the peels on the ground and also spilled water there so it was like real-life Mario Cart

I know there were bananas in 2023, I think I saw them in 2024, but not 100 as I don’t eat them.

 

[camaker]

Remind me: Do they still do banana stops in the marathon? I've run it as recently as 2022 but I don't remember if they are still doing the bananas. I don't blame them if they don't, people just dropped the peels on the ground and also spilled water there so it was like real-life Mario Cart

They generally have two banana stations during the marathon.

 

[Herding_Cats]

They generally have two banana stations during the marathon.

Yes. Usually just before and just after AK? One on bear island road and one after you exit dinoland. Not sure what the course changes will do to that.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Hi.. have you gone to Artist Point after the marathon? Is it worth the tag price?

(I have a reservation, but double thinking as we are a party of 10, just me doing the races)

Thanks!

I’ve done Artist Point on the Sunday night after Dopey. This was about 5 years ago, I think it was the first year after Artist Point made the transition to its current offering. It was one of our least favorite character experiences at WDW.

To start, we waited about 45 minutes to be seated which was over 30 minutes after our reservation time. The reasons for this are somewhat self-evident but will come even more into focus as the story goes along.

The meal was…fine, I guess. It was typical Disney prix fixe meal stuff. The appetizers and dessert presentation were kind of cool and I’d say the better parts of the meal; the main courses weren’t terrible, but it felt mass-produced in the most obvious way. Probably the worst prime rib I’ve had at Disney.

The big problem, though, was the characters. Obviously, Dopey is in demand as a character that night even beyond what would happen at a normal character dinner. But we streeeeeetttttttcccccchhhhhhheeeeeeed our meal out as much as we could (spent over an hour there, which is a long time for us) and still never got visits by Dopey or Snow White. Despite this, it became very clear that our presence was no longer appreciated even though staff knew from the moment we arrived at the restaurant that we had Dopey finishers and getting character pictures was our primary goal. They were clearly getting even further backed up out front because tables weren’t leaving on the schedule they had booked for (almost certainly for the same reason we extended our stay).

We do have pictures with Grumpy and the Evil Queen (who meets at a predetermined spot as diners exit after finishing their meal). Grumpy was really making the rounds that night as it seems like they tried to pass off multiple visits with Grumpy as equivalent to seeing all 3 characters. EQ face actor on the night was outstanding and we had a great experience with her on our way out. We spent about 5 minutes with the EQ and there was no one with her before us and no one waiting on us. I can only imagine how much time Dopey and Snow White must’ve been spending at individual tables that night to have never made it to ours.

Of course, disclaimer of all disclaimers, our experience was our own. It may be greatly changed since that night. They may have a much better idea of how to keep things moving on obvious Dopey Challenge celebration nights (and food quality is both in the eye of the beholder and could easily have been improved in the intervening years). It was not a great night for us, but I didn’t view it as irredeemable. If we had the same time with Dopey and Snow White as we had with Grumpy and the EQ it probably would’ve been an awesome experience.

ETA: Hopefully there are some more opinions out there to give a more balanced look at things. It was somewhat tough to evaluate the overall experience when we were, essentially, there to visit with Dopey; and we never got to visit with Dopey.