Need Help Picking Resort, WDW Marathon 2004!

[welovedis]

Hi Everyone!

I'll be participating in the 2004 WDW Marathon (I know--planning way ahead) next January. We'll be staying onsite and not renting a vehicle after flying down to Orlando. I'd appreciate any help & suggestions you all might have regarding a good resort for this type of trip. We'll plan on staying for about a week after the marathon and really enjoy the MK & MGM the most. In the past we have stayed at CBR & ASMo. I guess I am looking for comments on the CR, YC, BWI and any others that seem to close to either park or the monorail. TIA!

 

[vbfamily]

We go down every October so my DH can do the Great Floridian and we ususally stay somewhere that is very relaxing.

What kinds of theme do you like the best? Do you want a Deluxe resort?

I guess I would stay near MK because you said you enjoy that. We loved our stay at WL. My DH was able to get a nice massage at the health club after he was done with the GF. It sounds like you have been to the Contemporary? We have not, but I have heard some good things about it.

Maybe you could split your stay. Near MK for the Marathon and MK time and then over to one of the Epcot resorts at the end of your trip to be near MGM.

YC seems to get pretty good reviews on this board.

You have the right idea as far as spending time at the parks after the marathon. I would never go right before a marathon or triathlon because a day at the parks does tend to take it's toll on even the most energetic person.

My vote is WL or CR if you know you like it. GF if you want to splurge and if you don't minds moving during your stay check out YC.

 

[Mom of 5]

My favorite is the YC ! DH and I stayed there in November and just fell in love with the resort and the location. We rented a car, but only used it to get to breakfast at AKL and then on the AK. We didn't have any transportion problems. We found the boats to MGM just great, and we enjoyed the walk to Epcot.

 

[welovedis]

We have not stayed at the Contemporary yet , just the ASMo and the Carribbean Beach Resort. I liked the Contemporary because it would be close to the MK and for the marathon that would be a good thing. However, we also like the look of the YC, we took an Illuminations cruise on our last trip and loved the look of the whole area there. The Yacht Club seemed really nice and the staff there helped us get back to our resort late that night (post Illuminations and a visit to Beaches & Cream) so we thought it was worth a second look this time. Plus our DS will be along (will be 7 then) so if it is warm enough he could enjoy SAB. I guess I am trying to get more input from someone who has been there, done that sort of.

I appreciate both of your thoughts on this and I didn't even think about a massage, but it sounds heavenly right now!

DH doesn't want to split the stay between 2 hotels and he doesn't like the GF or the Poly (whatever!) so that narrows down the field. I would like to try a deluxe this time and see how we like that compared to the mod & value we have already experienced.

I liked ASMo for the price as we had an excellent rate but did have trouble with a cricket (or something) in our room and maintenance had to come back repeatedly throughout our stay to take care of it-ugh! I guess we are not looking to stay in a brand-new hotel but we do like our room to be in very good shape and don't expect problems like we experienced last time.


Thanks again & any other input??

 

[vbfamily]

I always think it's best to follow your instincts when you're thinking about a place to stay. It sounds like you had a good experience with the people at YC even though you weren't staying there. That initial experience, plus SAB, plus your desire not to switch stays during your stay sounds like YC would be a good choice.

Have you checked out the YC FAQ thread on these boards?

Have fun?

I'm sure others will post with more info about YC.

 

[deecee99]

Just back from WDW Marathon weekend and stayed at POR. Had a very pleasant experience there. A friend I ran with stayed at Boardwalk, which isn't too far from the finish at Epcot. You may want to consider an Epcot resort as it is near the start *and* finish of the race. I'm thinking of that for next time.

They ran buses from all the resorts to both the Expo at CBR for packet pickup, the start of the race, and and also at the end to return you to your resort. So you won't need to rent a car unless you want to (as I did and it was handy).

Enjoy the planning!
--diane

 

[welovedis]

I appreciate everyone's input! The YC is definitely something we are considering as well as the CR. I like the fact that at the CR we would be right there at MK and have the monorail to get there and to Epcot as well. I don't know how good to tranportation is from there to MGM though?

I'm going to be running the 1/2 marathon, not the full one, so I think the finish for the half this year was in the MK parking lot or something near to that. Maybe someone can correct me if I am wrong about that one. For that reason as well the CR would be a good choice if that is the case.

The YC seems closer to the rest of what we want to explore more in WDW-the Boardwalk, Epcot and the boats to MGM are supposed to be pretty quick. Maybe I can convince DH to switch resorts after the marathon and that would solve my problems.

Any one else have another idea for a resort that I haven't thought of so far?

TIA!

 

[flagal]

We went last weekend to watch a friend run and had a great time at CR. Since CR is on the race route, your DH and DS can walk to the front of the hotel and see you run by, then hop the monorail to MK to greet you when you're done, if that's where they end the half marathon (I don't know for sure).We lucked into a room with view of MK, and woke to the sounds of the crowd cheering for the first runners, must have been 6:30 or 6:45 a.m. We went downstairs to see our friend run by and stayed to cheer more runners on and then went back to the hotel for breakfast and more coffee before hitting the parks. (Our friend ran the whole thing, ended at epcot, met us there and hopped the monorail back to CR for a short recovery.)

As for exploring MGM and Epcot......add the Swan & Dolphin to your list of options to explore. If I were there for a week, I'd vote for switching, maybe on Monday, after you've "recovered" a bit. The boats are great, you can walk to Epcot, Boardwalk and YC/BC, and I thought the health club looked very nice (and it offers massages). It's a slightly different booking system since it's owned by Starwood, but still has refillable mugs, etc. (with great coffee!) and Disney buses to MK and AK.

 

[bjakmom]

Have they set the dates for the 2004 marathon yet? We'll be down in Jan, too - sounds like a good crowd to be around!

 

[deecee99]

They're not posted yet! I think it will be on January 11, 2004. Here's the http://dwws.disney.go.com/wideworldofsports/sportingevents/sportingeventgroupingindex?id=SPORMarathonHomePageSporEvGrping ]page[/URL] that will be updated with registration info. I believe registration for 2004 will begin around March 1, 2003.

Hope this helps.
--diane

 

[airhead]

I'm not doing a marathon,but I do want info on picking a resort!!
My trip isn't until 7/04 !!!!!!

airhead

 

[ducklite]

My DH has run the Disney Marathon twice. In fact I'm writing this from WDW right now.

Last year we were at the GF. It was VERY convenient for him to get to the start from there, and very convenient for me to go out and see him at the (almost) half, and then take the monorail to the finish.

It was very inconvenient this year. We are at the BCV. The bus traffic was so backed up that it took him 1 1/2 hours of waiting and sitting on a bus to get from hotel to start. In order for me to see him at the half, I had to take a $14 cab ride to the TTC and then I walked to the GF as the monorail lines were so backed up.

We're already planning on next year. And I think we're going to the Poly. THe BCV does have a washer and dryer in the room, which was great for cleaning his racing clothes after.

Anne

 

[welovedis]

Yipee-
Just got a response to an email I sent earlier this week regarding the 2004 marathon. Hope you all don't mind me posting this here since someone was looking for this:
"Thank you very much for your interest in the 2004 Walt Disney World Marathon. The 2004 Walt Disney World Marathon will be January 11, 2004. We will begin accepting applications and online registration March 1, 2003. You can stay posted with all the details by visiting our website at www.disneyworldsports.com.

Thank you again and we look forward to seeing you then!

Sincerely,
Walt Disney World Marathon Committee "

So, I guess I know when, I just have to figure out where we are staying-lol!

Looks like the CR would not be a bad choice for the first couple of days and maybe switch resorts on Monday, after the race until we leave the following weekend.

Thanks again for everyone's input

 

[MamaKate]

When is the WDW Marathon in 2004. We will be going at the end of January 2004 and I'd like to know if the marathon will be going on.

If so, does this increase the crowds quite a bit?

Thanks for letting me know!
,
Katherine

 

[welovedis]

MamaKate-
I posted right above-the marathon will be January 11th 2004. HTH!