Marathon weekend Jan. 2005

[kendalli]

We were thinking of going the week of January 10th. I just found out the 8th and 9th is Marathon weekend and there will be marathons being run through the parks. Does anyone know how that will add to the crowds that week of the 10th? We were trying to pick the least crowded week in Jan. or Feb.

 

[jaysmom4285]

We were at the parks in 2002 and 2003 during marathon time. I can't say that I noticed any real effect on the crowds - parks generally seemed as thinly populated as they usually are that time of year. The day of the marathon can cause some traffic congestion in terms of getting around among the parks, but it's manageable and very temporary. The marathon does run through each park, I think - at least we encountered it at the Animal Kingdom. Again, it wasn't that the park was particularly crowded, but it affected traffic patterns because the CM's try to keep guests from getting in the way of the runners who are running on the paths. CM's hold guests back from crossing certain paths until there is a break among the runners. But it doesn't take long for the majority of runners to get through a park, then things get back to normal pretty quickly. It's actually fun to stand for a few minutes and cheer the runners as they pass - they really seem to appreciate it.

 

[wdwrich]

I agree with jaysmom4285. We were there in Jan 2003 during marathon weekend and it really didn't affect park crowds at all. Martin Luther King weekend was a completely different story.

 

[kendalli]

Great! thanks for the replies. Very helpful .