Marathon Weekend 2026

[Livelovedance]

Biased opinion because I love roller coasters, but if the timing works out during the marathon for you to ride Everest, I think Tron and Guardians (and possibly Space because dark) are all more intense than Everest.

This is very interesting, I would love to hear why! I tried to watch ride videos but I never find them helpful. The first time I rode Guardians I was terrified walking through the queue the entire time, but I was willing to try it because it didn’t go upside down. I figured one and done, but I absolutely loved it. I rode it twice in a row the night I went for D23 and they opened it up for us.

They probably don't do this every year but this year, they were letting runners go through Lightning Lane at TOT. But even with LL it was about 30 minutes from getting in line to getting back on course. I knew I had an hour on the saloon ladies at that point - anything less and personally I wouldn't have risked it.

Good to know. I’ve only done TOT once and I have no recollection of how long the ride actually is. If I end up going with TOT I’ll have to find a way to track the balloon ladies so I have an idea of how much time I’ll have.

Hard disagree on this! I rode Everest in the front car once (my last time) and it really messed me up when we went backwards. Full on couldn’t breathe, never doing that again, panic. I love Tron, will ride Guardians (truly not my favorite) and recently went on Space for the first time in 20+ years and loved it! I’m firmly in the camp of no shame for being a chicken so don’t let that mess up your marathon!

This is my biggest fear! I never even knew it went backwards until I saw a ride video, it’s honestly the huge drop that you see from outside that scares me. I think I was willing to try guardians because you have no idea what it looks like from the outside lol.

I think my advice would be to ride Everest for the first time during your trip but BEFORE the marathon, to make sure it won’t mess you up! I think Tron is far more intense in terms of speed, and Guardians is more intense in terms of spinning. But I know going backwards messes some people up, and you wouldn’t want to discover that when you have almost 10 miles left to run

Valid points lol. I have a very likely solo trip for springtime coming up, and as much as I hate the idea of even getting on it (not to mention doing it solo), it might be the best trip for me to attempt it.

Agreed - everyone is different when it comes to coasters. I have zero issues with Everest or TOT even during the marathon. There is no chance I would ride Tron or GOTG during the marathon (ok - maybe GOTG because I could crawl to the finish line from there).

And the year they opened teacups during the race? Hard pass.

I forget what year it was, but I remember running a half and seeing they had the carousel running. At the time I didn’t even consider it, but I’m kicking myself now because that would’ve been a great way to get a ride in during a race!

Agreed with everyone who says to gauge a ride’s intensity BEFORE the marathon. I love roller coasters, but I can’t do Everest because going backwards makes me sick, and the spinning plus screens on Guardians makes it the absolute worst ride I’ve ever done in my life. I thought the backwards launch would be the worst, but I was fine at the beginning. Once the cars started moving, I was toast.

I was fine on Tron. Space Mountain can be intense for me, but I’m usually fine for one ride.

I don’t like Space Mountain but I can do it. The last time I did it was during MNSSHP when it was running in total darkness, and that was pretty miserable. I wouldn’t ride it that way again. Guardians is probably my favorite ride right now. I don’t love Tron, but I’ve done it twice. Riding it during the day kind of freaked me out (not sure if it was because it was my first time or just because you can see everything more clearly under you), but my second time at night was fun. I’m not in a rush to do it again, but I would if the wait wasn’t terrible.

How does the backwards launch in Guardians compare to Everest going backwards?

 

[fatmanatee]

I’m sort of a ride wuss and I thought Tron and Guardians were significantly easier than Everest. No drops in those two and they’re extremely smooth. Not that Everest is rough. The drops are usually the worst part for me. That said I’d still encourage people to ride it if possible. Ride POVs have helped me a lot, gotten a lot better with these.

@Livelovedance The backwards portions are kinda different. Guardians launches you upward and Everest sends you downward from the top. Everest a bit rougher.

Here’s a good POV vid, this guy does a really good job with Guardians vids, which seems impossible given it’s in the dark the whole time.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[Livelovedance]

I’m sort of a ride wuss and I thought Tron and Guardians were significantly easier than Everest. No drops in those two and they’re extremely smooth. Not that Everest is rough. The drops are usually the worst part for me. That said I’d still encourage people to ride it if possible. Ride POVs have helped me a lot, gotten a lot better with these.

@Livelovedance The backwards portions are kinda different. Guardians launches you upward and Everest sends you downward from the top. Everest a bit rougher.

Here’s a good POV vid, this guy does a really good job with Guardians vids, which seems impossible given it’s in the dark the whole time.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Thank you! That was better than the one I watched. Drops and going upside down scare me the most. The one drop that looks horrible from the outside seems so short in the video though!

 

[Disney at Heart]

QOTD:

• Les Halles
• ABC Commissary
• Skipper's Canteen
• Yak & Yeti

 

[FFigawi]

SAFD:
Les Halles
Ronto Roasters
Columbia Harbour House
Yak & Yeti

 

[MissLiss279]

SAFD:
Les Halles
ABC Commissary
Skipper Canteen
Satu'li Canteen

 

[GuinnessRunner]

SAFD: Wow just like real March Madness, one week in and my bracket is already busted!

At least on this one I get to try again this week. Here are my votes:
- Via Napoli
- Ronto Roasters
- Columbia Harbour House
- Satu'li Canteen

 

[BigEeyore]

SAFD:
Les Halles
Ronto (seriously how is this not Baseline??)
Skipper
Satuli

 

[Fischstick]

SAFD:

Les Halles
Ronto
Skipper
Satuli

 

[Novatrix]

SAFD:
Les halles
Abc commissary
Skipper Canteen
Satu'li canteen

 

[FFigawi]

They probably don't do this every year but this year, they were letting runners go through Lightning Lane at TOT. But even with LL it was about 30 minutes from getting in line to getting back on course. I knew I had an hour on the saloon ladies at that point - anything less and personally I wouldn't have risked it.

They don't always allow this. When they don't, polite runners can usually get through quickly by asking people in line if they mind letting the runner move ahead of them. Most people say yes, but you need to be prepared to accept a "no" and stay in line. Being polite and respectful like this typically get me through both ToT and RnRC in 45-50 minutes.

 

[Erika10021]

SAFD:

Les Halles
ABC
Skippers
Yak & Yeti

 

[Baloo in MI]

SAFD:
- Via Napoli
- ABC Commissary
- Skipper Canteen
- Yak & Yeti

 

[The Expert]

Question for those who ran the marathon this year - do we know what the window for riding Everest was? I read a few people saying that when they ran past, the CMs weren't letting runners ride. Trying to figure out when that cutoff was to plan for next year.

I went past at around 9:20 (50min ahead of balloon ladies) and was told no because according to the CMs the standby line was too long and we wouldn't get on the ride before the sweepers came past. The posted standby time was 45min. And I am pretty sure that single-rider was closed, but maybe @The Expert remembers better than I do.

Are there any rides besides Everest that are doable (without too much stress) during the marathon? I’ve never done Everest because I’m a baby when it comes to roller coasters lol but I feel like riding a ride during a runDisney race is a part of the experience I’m missing out on. I love Guardians, and I can do Tron and Space Mountain, but Everest just looks too intense.

A bit late to respond as I was flying home yesterday from a work trip. All potential ride windows are covered in the Giant MW Spreadsheet that we share before the weekend, but in general if your start time and pace line up with the park being open and you have enough buffer on the Balloon Ladies to get through the queue, you can ride anything reasonably accessible from the course. That said, it is highly dependent on CMs at each individual ride at any given time. As @Herding_Cats pointed out, our calculations showed we probably did have time to do Everest, but CMs were out front actively telling runners NOT to get into the queue. When I rode it during my first marathon in 2020, I had taken a flyer on a FP (before LL existed) and happened to get the right window, so I was able to use that and get on and off quickly. I suspect CMs are told to limit runner access once the park crowds get to a certain level. Because DHS opens later than AK, you may have more luck with accessing single rider or LL lines on those rides as day guests won't have a lot of time to get into the queue yet.

 

[The Expert]

SAFD:

• Les Halles
• Ronto Roasters
• Skipper's Canteen
• Yak & Yeti

 

[Jason Bryer]

You also can’t get to Everest before 7:30 - park opens at 8 with early entry 30 minutes beforehand.

I was on the first train this year right at 7:30am this year. We got there at about 7:20 and cast members outside said they were just getting it ready. Worth the 10 minute wait.

 

[Naomeri]

I knew I had an hour on the saloon ladies

That change would certainly make the "trying not to get swept" part of the pack more of a party

 

[marty3d]

That change would certainly make the "trying not to get swept" part of the pack more of a party

Ok - I'm not correcting that typo!

 

[mtnmjd]

SAFD:
Les Halles
Ronto Roasters
Skipper Canteen
Satu’li Canteen

 

[Mborok17]

SAFD:
Via Napoli
ABC Commissary
Skipper Canteen
Yak & Yeti