Marathon Wknd - how crowded on Sun?

[mom2meiko]

Hi all! We planned our trip to WDW and it happens to coincide with the Marathon wknd in Jan. I'm curious if the parks are likely to be completely packed that Sunday because of the Marathon (should we avoid them all and head to Sea World or avoid just one in particular?) or will they be fairly empty (minimum waits, etc.)? Anyone have experience with this? Any other days we should be worried about? (We fly in that Saturday.)

Thanks in advance!

 

[DISdreamin']

We flew in last year on that Sunday and went to Hollywood Studios and it was fine! We didn't get there until around 3PM or so (hit the pool first as it was the only really warm day we got) and the lines weren't bad at all, even that late in the day.

Personally, other than that week being really chilly, it was AWESOME and it was so quiet! We had a great time, and most mornings the rides were walk-ons. I think you'll love being there that week!

 

[laughinplace199]

The parks are not crowded that weekend. DH & I ran the marathon last year. It starts at 6:00 AM and we were through the MK before it was open. As the morning goes on, the parks are open while the race is still going on. They just rope off some space so that the runners can run and the parkgoers can have their fun too. The only thing that may be tricky is transportation, esp if you are driving to the park as some of the roads may be closed.

Last year, DH & I went to MK after the race. The lines were not long at all. We just did a few things since we were basically trying to walk alot to help with recovery. It worked and we felt great the next day. We did 3 parks that Mon with no lines!

 

[Deb & Bill]

The last runners will be crossing the finish line at Epcot at 1PM on Sunday. Don't plan any early character meals at MK that morning, nor at any of the MK resorts unless you are staying at that resort. It gets a bit hard to get around the MK from 6AM until about 9AM.

The half marathon will be over by 9:30AM and they will only run between Epcot and MK.

If you are in a park where the runners are still running, just keep out of their way. That's all they ask.