Official 2015 Disney Marathon Thread

[cewait]

1. So if we were to stay at boardwalk or beach club, we couldn't walk to the 5k?

Exactly.... even though the 5k and 10 both run through I gate, you cannot walk to the start for any race. It's a bus to the start for each and a bus back for the 5k and 10k. You could possibly walk back after the half, if you wait for the main gate to open and use a pass.

 

[July Kitten]

Hi All!
My friend registered herself and I for the 10k. I wasn't able to do mine myself due to travel. Because she handled that part, I said I would take over the hotel booking.
When can I book the hotel? We want an Epcot resort, preferably YC. Probably will stay Wed-Sat.

Someone should correct me if I'm wrong, but I think at this point you have to actually call the Disney reservation folks to book a January trip this far in advance; you can't do it on the website.

Will there be any discounts (e.g. 10% off Resorts X, Y, and Z; 20% off Resorts A, B, and C, etc.) for runners in 2015? The travel section of RunDisney didn't say. Is that a no, did I miss something, or will they tell us later?

 

[FFigawi]

Someone should correct me if I'm wrong, but I think at this point you have to actually call the Disney reservation folks to book a January trip this far in advance; you can't do it on the website. Will there be any discounts (e.g. 10% off Resorts X, Y, and Z; 20% off Resorts A, B, and C, etc.) for runners in 2015? The travel section of RunDisney didn't say. Is that a no, did I miss something, or will they tell us later?

The discounts usually come out in the fall, Oct or Nov.

 

[PrincessV]

Hang around at your own peril - you'll probably wind up signing up for Dopey in 2016

SO true!

And I'm actually getting into the cross training - my new waterproof ipod is awesome for swimming laps!! I will take any and all IT band advice!

My best advice is this: get to the root of the problem. ITBS can be brought on by sooo many different things: over-pronation, under-pronation, slanted roadways, muscle imbalances, incorrect shoes, weak muscles, wonky gait, poor form... it's very hard to ID just what's bringing it on in the first place, but that part is critical. I have a pretty big curve in my back due to scoliosis, and that causes my hips to move oddly; nothing I can do about that, beyond keep things strong. But one of the first things folks say to do for ITBS is strengthen your glutes, hips and outer thighs, so that's what I did... and it turns out I'm plenty strong there, but comparatively weak in my inner quads. Working on that seems to be helping, as has staying the heck away from stability shoes and running on flat surfaces as much as possible. It's a really different process for each person as you work through the potential triggers and see which ones might be yours. Hang in there!

The only way I can think to fix this is to have different bibs for each race, but that's not going to happen.

They just might make a change there, given how many complains were filed. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised that I was seeded perfectly for both the 10K and half for GSC, so there's hope!

 

[DINKsAtDisney]

Someone should correct me if I'm wrong, but I think at this point you have to actually call the Disney reservation folks to book a January trip this far in advance; you can't do it on the website.

Will there be any discounts (e.g. 10% off Resorts X, Y, and Z; 20% off Resorts A, B, and C, etc.) for runners in 2015? The travel section of RunDisney didn't say. Is that a no, did I miss something, or will they tell us later?

I booked via the RunDisney phone line yesterday because we wanted a specific hotel w/ a specific view. Discounts will come out later in the year as the other poster mentioned, but you can always apply those to your existing reservation if what you booked is covered/open (or you can switch to something that is covered).
An additional note, I think free dining plan offers are usually blacked out for Marathon Weekend so if you see a room discount that will be your best bet.

Hope this helps!

 

[cewait]

I booked via the RunDisney phone line yesterday because we wanted a specific hotel w/ a specific view. Discounts will come out later in the year as the other poster mentioned, but you can always apply those to your existing reservation if what you booked is covered/open (or you can switch to something that is covered).
An additional note, I think free dining plan offers are usually blacked out for Marathon Weekend so if you see a room discount that will be your best bet.

Hope this helps!

If you booked runD and not through Central Reservations, you may not be able to grab a discount later. That is unless something has changed. RunD's book of rooms are simply discounted much like a large convention's rooms and in the past have not been available for the better fall discounting.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

If you booked runD and not through Central Reservations, you may not be able to grab a discount later. That is unless something has changed. RunD's book of rooms are simply discounted much like a large convention's rooms and in the past have not been available for the better fall discounting.

It's very hard to transfer your runDisney resort reservation to get a discount applied. Not impossible, but it's a waste of time to book with runDisney since you'll have to go through central reservations later anyhow.

 

[DINKsAtDisney]

If you booked runD and not through Central Reservations, you may not be able to grab a discount later. That is unless something has changed. RunD's book of rooms are simply discounted much like a large convention's rooms and in the past have not been available for the better fall discounting.

I have done that before to get a reduction in the room rate. That said I think you're still right. It may be that the way they have handled it is to they essentially cancel your existing reservation and create a new rez with the discount.

I'm always watching for rate changes and making sure we get the best deal! And I can tell you, what we got yesterday is not much of any sort of a discount (unless you compare it against high season, haha). So, I'll for sure BOLO!

For anyone looking for discounts & trying to keep up when they come out, there are some threads in the Resort section that are tailored to following by month. Those are helpful!

 

[derekleigh]

I know this sounds random and small, but anyone else tried of see the same pictures being rotated through on the Marathon Weekend homepage?

 

[VAfamily1998]

I know this sounds random and small, but anyone else tried of see the same pictures being rotated through on the Marathon Weekend homepage?

Who are the people in these photos? Are they just random runners that Disney photographers got great shots of? Or are they specifically chosen models/runners/employees that were purposely posed for photos?

 

[cewait]

Who are the people in these photos? Are they just random runners that Disney photographers got great shots of? Or are they specifically chosen models/runners/employees that were purposely posed for photos?

both

 

[cewait]

I have done that before to get a reduction in the room rate. That said I think you're still right. It may be that the way they have handled it is to they essentially cancel your existing reservation and create a new rez with the discount.

I'm always watching for rate changes and making sure we get the best deal! And I can tell you, what we got yesterday is not much of any sort of a discount (unless you compare it against high season, haha). So, I'll for sure BOLO!

For anyone looking for discounts & trying to keep up when they come out, there are some threads in the Resort section that are tailored to following by month. Those are helpful!

I swore off of the Disney Sports reservation system in the early 2000's when they got greedy and required everyone who wanted to go to the pasta meal to register through them. Plus Every year I received a mini-golf pass for everyone on the reservation.... today I know when there is a large Disney Sports event in town... Fantasia Golf is full

 

[derekleigh]

Who are the people in these photos? Are they just random runners that Disney photographers got great shots of? Or are they specifically chosen models/runners/employees that were purposely posed for photos?

I always assumed they were random pictures that fit with advertising the event. I'm just sick of looking at the same photos for the last almost 2 years. I would expect they would have replaced a few with some 10K and Dopey pictures.

 

[DINKsAtDisney]

I swore off of the Disney Sports reservation system in the early 2000's when they got greedy and required everyone who wanted to go to the pasta meal to register through them. Plus Every year I received a mini-golf pass for everyone on the reservation.... today I know when there is a large Disney Sports event in town... Fantasia Golf is full

That's SO true!!

I always assumed they were random pictures that fit with advertising the event. I'm just sick of looking at the same photos for the last almost 2 years. I would expect they would have replaced a few with some 10K and Dopey pictures.

I'm with you. I'm sure they are very nice people, but I'm tired of looking at them!

 

[bumbershoot]

I know this sounds random and small, but anyone else tried of see the same pictures being rotated through on the Marathon Weekend homepage?

totally. And TOT and random people in Avengers shirts for the Avengers race, etc etc.

I swore off of the Disney Sports reservation system in the early 2000's when they got greedy and required everyone who wanted to go to the pasta meal to register through them. Plus Every year I received a mini-golf pass for everyone on the reservation.... today I know when there is a large Disney Sports event in town... Fantasia Golf is full

Do you know if those minigolf tickets expire?

 

[July Kitten]

Thanks for all the help/info!

Two more questions about booking through RunDisney:

1. Can I pay for my reservation with Disney gift cards over the phone?
2. Must I pay for the whole reservation all at once or can I do it in installments?
3. For the people who've already booked via phone, which resorts are eligible for a RunDisney discount this year, and at what percentage are the discounts as of right now? Spouse and I were considering Art of Animation.

 

[Castle2Castle]

1. Can I pay for my reservation with Disney gift cards over the phone?
2. Must I pay for the whole reservation all at once or can I do it in installments?
3. For the people who've already booked via phone, which resorts are eligible for a RunDisney discount this year, and at what percentage are the discounts as of right now? Spouse and I were considering Art of Animation.

1. I don't know about gift cards.
2. You do not have to pay for the entire reservation when booking. The deposit may vary by resort or trip duration, but going through runDisney for 2 nights for W&D weekend was about $200 I believe.
3. I've not made any calls yet for Marathon Weekend, but people on Facebook have been reporting that there are currently no runDisney room discounts. If that's accurate, you could still call general reservations to grab a room-only reservation and have the option of snagging a later discount for the time period. From the past listings I've seen, I think they've typically released discounts for that time period around late August or early September. For AoA, though, you may not get much or any discount given the newness and high demand - just not any incentive for them to discount much there.

 

[lovingeire]

We like to stay at BLT so we can use the monorail instead of the buses to EPCOT. I believe all DVC have a hot tub. The one at BLT isn't the best, but it's not bad. Also you can see the fireworks from the roof-top lounge (or your room). The food options at the Contemporary are Ok, with a food court it's better than some other DVC resorts. But what we like about a 1br is having the full kitchen for our regular pre and post run foods, and the washer and dryer for running clothes.

Also since we are just doing one race we still go to the parks so being walking distance to MK is also a selling point for us.
Good luck.

Thank you for this feedback! We just registered for race weekend! (DH will be running the full and we're both running the 5K...he has to run for a living (military) and I am a novice!) We were originally thinking of Beach Club, but changed our minds and think we'll stay at CR or BLT if they have anything available. Our three kids will be with us so it will be so handy with the little ones to just walk over to MK. Especially if he wants to rest after the marathon!

Now if I can just figure out where to eat the night before the marathon for him we'll be good to go!

 

[StarGirl11]

I swore off of the Disney Sports reservation system in the early 2000's when they got greedy and required everyone who wanted to go to the pasta meal to register through them. Plus Every year I received a mini-golf pass for everyone on the reservation.... today I know when there is a large Disney Sports event in town... Fantasia Golf is full

Figured you would be the best to ask this. What's the best Italian place in Orlando to get carbs at before the marathon? Will drive within reason. Kind of disenfranchised with the Disney Pasta Parties.

Not so picky before halfs for some reason but with this being my first full in years I want to do this right.

 

[lovingeire]

Okay that makes no sense since 180 Day ADRs should start in July if you have a January reservation. So color me a bit confused on that one. Do your ADR reservations start the minute you book your hotels or what?

And yeah I know about the phone thing. My parents are the one who make the hotel reservations, they are not going to go for the whole call in to make a room reservation I can tell you that right now. Plus their is the fact we're overseas right now and we would have to do the entire thing over Skype.

Rates were available around July 9th last year. I think it was just in time for Jan reservations. We'll be checking in on the 7th I think and that date will be 7/11!

When you book a room only res at rack rate you pay the first night+tax for deposit When you switch to a package res you have to pay the $200 deposit and they refund the room only res deposit to you, which can take some time. I wish they would connect those two systems. But you are guaranteed the room type you had reserved. HTH and I'm not repeating information as I have been trying to read through the whole thread!