Marathon Weekends questions...- dark side

[Crisi83]

So I figured out that during part of our trip the dark side marathon will be running. What affect does this have on the park as a whole? would we be better off planning for those those to be our rest and universal studios days?

 

[Dug720]

It's a half marathon, 13.3. miles (Disney only does one marathon (26.2 miles) and that's in January). They start it at 5am, and Disney usually has a 4-hour course limit. Even though that is from the last person to cross the start line, it should be done by 10 or 11 at the latest, and they close the course on a rolling basis - meaning as soon as the last runner passes , they start the clean-up.

Looking at the course map from last year, unless it changes a lot, most runners should be through the parks (DAK is the only one it looks like they had extensive time in - they start outside EPCOT and run around World Showcase, then there's a small leg into DHS) well before opening), and the ending is at WWOS. Even if there are still runners clearing DAK when it opens, there will be a lane for them - and at that point it would be fairly easy to cross at designated points.

Even with the roads that are closed while it is going on, the bus drivers know alternate ways to get to any of the parks (the marathon (26.2 miles, in January) hits all 4 parks, and the buses still manage to get to all of them.

The half weekends don't really have much of an effect on the parks at all in terms of the race.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

The half weekends are mostly only annoying for CMs who have to get to work early in the morning. Leave extra time to get where you're going on the morning of the actual half (Sunday) and consider taking Disney transit that morning, or maybe make it a sleep-in day.

The 10k (Saturday) won't affect many roads and the 5k (Friday) will affect pretty much no guest-facing roads at all.

 

[cgattis]

I'm guessing AK won't open until 9 in half day, and based on pacing, I think they will have swept any trailing runners in time to not affect AK guests at all. I say this because we exited the park right up front, so leaving a running lane is pretty impractical. I don't think a regular guest will even know that race has happened unless for some reason they are near WWoS.

 

[sunflare]

I'm guessing AK won't open until 9 in half day, and based on pacing, I think they will have swept any trailing runners in time to not affect AK guests at all. I say this because we exited the park right up front, so leaving a running lane is pretty impractical. I don't think a regular guest will even know that race has happened unless for some reason they are near WWoS.

They actually do close the street in and out of AK, and we run through the parking lot. They will leave one lane in and out for cars and busses. We saw long lines of them at Dark Side last year.

 

[cgattis]

They actually do close the street in and out of AK, and we run through the parking lot. They will leave one lane in and out for cars and busses. We saw long lines of them at Dark Side last year.

I just assumed, based on where could see the sweepers (coming into AK as we were leaving, far before 9) that the park entrance would be clear by open. I stand corrected.

 

[rteetz]

So I figured out that during part of our trip the dark side marathon will be running. What affect does this have on the park as a whole? would we be better off planning for those those to be our rest and universal studios days?

I have gone to the January marathon weekend the last two years and will be there again this year. This is runDisneys main event. Star Wars is also very popular but not as big in terms of numbers. You should be fine with park touring. There will be a few road closures early in the morning but if you take Disney tranportation they have routes for buses to get around that.

 

[Crisi83]

Thanks for all the info guys! Also has anyone done the kids race/dashes? We were thinking they might be fun for the kiddos, but not if its too crazy busy..

Do a lot of people stay in the parks after they run, so the attendance is higher, or will it be able normal for a weekend?

 

[bumbershoot]

My son has done the Mile run twice, and it was fun for him. No it's not crazy busy at the actual races but you do have to go to the expo and pick up bib and shirt, and the expo can be a bit nutty.

 

[disnut8]

I have gone to the January marathon weekend the last two years and will be there again this year. This is runDisneys main event. Star Wars is also very popular but not as big in terms of numbers. You should be fine with park touring. There will be a few road closures early in the morning but if you take Disney tranportation they have routes for buses to get around that.

Totally agree with park touring and we were there for the January marathon and on the full marathon day. There are a lot of Cast Members directing the walking traffic in the parks and there is tape on the walkways and you will be directed as to where to go. We kind of joked with a Cast Member at Epcot when we entered World Showcase and wanted to go to the Mexico counter service place and we headed over to walk on that side and were directed over to the other side. We explained where we wanted to go and he pointed (with two fingers) to another Cast Member further up who would be directing us back to the other side. So we said "we can see where we want to go but we have to cross the street twice to get there?" and he said "yes, it is a bit of a pain but the runners are more important right now" and he was correct.

 

[disnut8]

Thanks for all the info guys! Also has anyone done the kids race/dashes? We were thinking they might be fun for the kiddos, but not if its too crazy busy..

Do a lot of people stay in the parks after they run, so the attendance is higher, or will it be able normal for a weekend?

Our then five year old grandson did the events he could and our then 13 year old granddaughter did the mile and I agree with a previous poster that picking up the info and things is a bit troublesome but you can do that before the events and I would recommend that. I would also recommend having cell phones and at least two adults as one can be with the little one and one can be holding a watching spot. Since we didn't really know what was going on, our son took the grandson to get started on each course but we didn't know when it would start so a little intel from the person dropping off the kid would have been nice.