Official 2015 Disneyland Half Marathon Thread.

[Keels]

Hi all! We're a little late to the party, but we'll be heading out to the DL 1/2 for the DDD and coast to coast. We'll run the Princess Half next month as the 1st leg. It'll be our 1st 1/2 but will be our 8th rD event. Adding on the Castaway Cay challenge to the PHM as well.

I'm sure I'll be hitting up the seasoned vets when planning our hotels.

Yay! Welcome!! We're attempting Coast-to-Coast as well, and this will be both our first rD event AND first half marathon!

As far as hotels, I agree with zanzibar. Based on everything I've seen and read, I would definitely lock in something close with a good rate before registration opens (maybe even something you don't have to pre-pay and you can cancel). I have the Marriott Fairfield Inn for $138/night, which is across the street by the Desert Inn and Suites. I'm really toying with the idea of moving to a DLR property hotel for Saturday and Sunday night, if I can make the $$ work.

 

[jag90]

I appreciate the welcome!! I would be VERY interested in the vacation condo info if that's something you have the flexibility to pass on.

We'll definite be making our room ressie before registration opens up.

Welcome to the party!

I recommend you start planning your hotel now, as they tend to fill up quite quickly once registration opens.

If the Disney hotels are out of your budget, the closest hotels to the race precinct are the ones on Ball between Walnut and the freeway, the ones on Katella at the end of West, and the ones on Harbor just across from the main entrance (these ones are definitely closest to the parks).

We stayed at Desert Inn & Suites last year. It was about a 15 minute walk to the expo at the Disneyland Hotel, and 20 minutes to the corrals. You walk through the entrance plaza for the parks, so every time you go to the DLH or DTD you have to do bag check (except on the way to the actual race when they're not doing bag check yet). Only 5 minutes to the parks though. It was basic, but we were on a pretty strict budget and it suited us fine.

This year, we've booked a vacation condo just off Walnut opposite Magic Way. We're looking forward to being on the same side of the block as all the running events this time and not having to deal with bag check all the time!

 

[zanzibar138]

I appreciate the welcome!! I would be VERY interested in the vacation condo info if that's something you have the flexibility to pass on.

We'll definite be making our room ressie before registration opens up.

Sure thing! I booked ours through VRBO. You just plug in all your requirements on their website and see what options come up. I searched by map as I had a specific location I wanted. I really wanted one with a private pool and hot tub but, besides being a little out of our budget, they also tended to be a bit further away. We ended up with a 2 bed 2 bath condo for $169 per night, plus a $150 once off cleaning fee. The rates and fees depend on the owners of the vacation homes - sometimes they also require a refundable damage deposit. Most require a deposit to book, with the outstanding balance to be paid 60 days out but again, this depends on the individual owners.

Booking was really easy. I just sent off a quote form, and the owner got back to me by email. In the email there was a link to book the condo, so I just clicked on that, filled in all our details, my credit card info, and ticked the box to agree to the terms and conditions. When the payment had gone through, I received a receipt by email with a login and password to the owner's guest information website. It had extra information on things like where to park, how to get to the pools etc. 60 days out, we'll receive an invoice by email to pay the outstanding balance. If we cancel before then we get a full refund.

Not sure exactly what info you're after, but hopefully that helps you out. If you have any specific questions, ask away

 

[jag90]

Zanzibar138 - Thanks, very familiar with vbro, no idea why I didn't think about them. 'We' consist of 2 couples, so we would definitely enjoy the larger space/amenities vs 2 hotel rooms.

 

[sumlee]

Hello everyone! I'm also really hoping to join this party. I just returned from WDW for my first Marathon and Dopey, and I'm craving another Disney race! I've been checking out hotels for that week, but haven't exactly run the idea past DH yet, so we'll see!

 

[SgtTibbs]

Hello everyone! I'm also really hoping to join this party. I just returned from WDW for my first Marathon and Dopey, and I'm craving another Disney race! I've been checking out hotels for that week, but haven't exactly run the idea past DH yet, so we'll see!

If cost is an issue, one of the benefits of the DLR over WDW is how close some of the "good neighbor" hotels are. Several are even closer walking distance to the front gates of Disneyland than Disney's own Grand Californian. I will be staying at (and recommend) the Park Vue Inn. It's quite literally right across the street.

 

[zanzibar138]

Hello everyone! I'm also really hoping to join this party. I just returned from WDW for my first Marathon and Dopey, and I'm craving another Disney race! I've been checking out hotels for that week, but haven't exactly run the idea past DH yet, so we'll see!

Congrats on your first marathon! Hope you can make it to DL to get your C2C

If cost is an issue, one of the benefits of the DLR over WDW is how close some of the "good neighbor" hotels are. Several are even closer walking distance to the front gates of Disneyland than Disney's own Grand Californian. I will be staying at (and recommend) the Park Vue Inn. It's quite literally right across the street.

This is very true. There are a lot more options for DLR that are just as convenient as staying onsite.

How did you go at marathon weekend SgtTibbs? Looking forward to hearing all about it!

 

[planningjollyholiday]

Anyone know if Pinocchio's workshop is opened early on race day to watch kids while their parents race?

 

[bryana]

Hello everyone! I'm also really hoping to join this party. I just returned from WDW for my first Marathon and Dopey, and I'm craving another Disney race! I've been checking out hotels for that week, but haven't exactly run the idea past DH yet, so we'll see!

^this! Hi all! Just back from Marathon weekend and now I can't stop looking at how easy it would be to swing getting out there for at least the Half, not sure if I'll do DDD or not. I'm not particularly "craving" another rD event but I mean, I'm halfway to a coast to coast and August is far enough away that it might be doable for a long weekend solo trip. At least that's what I keep telling myself. Plus, it's an anniversary year! I'll be lurking this thread until registration opens and see where I find myself.

 

[SueInBoston]

I'm jumping in..


Just booked Disneyland Hotel for Half marathon weekend. Looking forward to my first DDD and C2C

Eagerly waiting for registration to open

 

[beltwaybarry]

Are the registration fees for the DL Half races posted anywhere yet? They don't seem to be on the official race site, even though next year's WDW Marathon Weekend fees are already up. Thanks.

 

[Ariel484]

Are the registration fees for the DL Half races posted anywhere yet? They don't seem to be on the official race site, even though next year's WDW Marathon Weekend fees are already up. Thanks.

Haven't seen them yet. But if I remember correctly the half started at $195 last year, so I'm curious to see if they actually start it at $200 this year.

 

[jag90]

We've decided on a condo/house for DHM week. Now my question is would it be better to stay on the on the west side across S Walnut St or south side behind Convention center? Our plan is to walk to the parks/races.

 

[jag90]

Haven't seen them yet. But if I remember correctly the half started at $195 last year, so I'm curious to see if they actually start it at $200 this year.

Based on prices for both Star Wars and Tinkerbell I would think they would remain:

Disneyland Half Marathon
•$195

Dumbo Double Dare
•$320

Disneyland 10K
•$105

Disneyland 5K
•$70

I wouldn't think they would move prices in the middle of the year.

 

[SueInBoston]

Based on prices for both Star Wars and Tinkerbell I would think they would remain:

Dumbo Double Dare
•$320

ouch $$$$

This will probably be a one time deal for me, between reg fee, airfare, hotel and food. This can get REAL $$$$

 

[zanzibar138]

We've decided on a condo/house for DHM week. Now my question is would it be better to stay on the on the west side across S Walnut St or south side behind Convention center? Our plan is to walk to the parks/races.

As close to Magic Way as you can get. When I was booking ours, I checked the walk to the corrals on google maps for each short-listed condo/house. If it wasn't less than 15 minutes, it was off the list. FWIW, even the closest ones behind the convention centre were at least 20 minutes.

 

[ToyStory90]

Hello everyone! I am running my first 5k at Disneyland in September!! So excited for an excuse to go to DLR!!

 

[SgtTibbs]

How did you go at marathon weekend SgtTibbs? Looking forward to hearing all about it!

I will be posting all about it soon. Where "soon" is defined as when my fever drops below 100 again, and the room stops spinning...

I count my self lucky to have come down with whatever i have after the race. Although looking back on the race some of my difficulties might have stemmed from the early stages of this.

 

[SgtTibbs]

We've decided on a condo/house for DHM week. Now my question is would it be better to stay on the on the west side across S Walnut St or south side behind Convention center? Our plan is to walk to the parks/races.

Six of one half dozen of the other. It's easy to see where the park entrances are so you can judge that fairly easily, as for the actual race. See this post I made on where things are:

Race site map

 

[zanzibar138]

I will be posting all about it soon. Where "soon" is defined as when my fever drops below 100 again, and the room stops spinning...

I count my self lucky to have come down with whatever i have after the race. Although looking back on the race some of my difficulties might have stemmed from the early stages of this.

Oh, that was lucky that you came down with it after the race! Hope you were also able to enjoy the parks.

Hope you feel better soon.