Oh no...are resorts/parks crowded Jan 5-12 for marathon??

[micmacmissy]

We have a trip planned Jan 5-12...and now I've found out that on the 11th is the marathon, but that people will start coming in the resorts and parks around Jan. 9th.

I'm thinking of changing our dates because of this...have you been there during marathon week? Are the parks/resorts crowded?

We have a reservation for SOG, I am thinking of rebooking for early December when I know the parks will be empty (and shouldn't have too hard a time getting a reservation at SOG, I don't think.)

Any advice????????

 

[LindaR]

I cannot imagine that early January will be as busy as early December! We have a ressie for 12-19 Jan. I booked a one bedroom villa (in case dd wants to bring a friend) AND we are also holding a ressie for SOG (in case its just the two of us). We won't know until early Dec what we are going to do.

A few years ago, we went during early December. The crowds were much heavier than predicted. We've been to WDW numerous times and it was lovely to see the Christmas decorations. This next trip is planned for low season because our past two have been during Easter/spring break. We want less crowds since it has been a while for us.

You do whatever makes YOU comfortable!

 

[wdwrich]

We were at WDW during marathon week in 2003. The crowd levels were light. We stayed through MLK weekend though, and the parks got busy then.

 

[micmacmissy]

That is good news...last time we went Dec. 5-10, and we walked on literally every ride. Even the big ones- several times in a row!

We would never dream of doing Disney in the heat and crowds...so my entire planning process revolves around when the parks are empty.

Thanks!

 

[BCV23]

We've been there several times during the marathon including the last two years. It is a huge event now. The parks aren't bad at all but not as quiet as early January used to be. The Polynesian and GF seem to get booked to the max. Not sure about the others. Be sure to make dinner reservations for Fri and Sat night. Most importantly, plan Saturday and Sunday mornings using WDW transportation as the runners go right by SOG and traffic is a mess. Maybe golf right there those ams, sleep in or go out and cheer the runners on.

 

[branv]

I think in 2006 they doubled the number of runners, and since my trip was 1/2006 I was a little worried. The resorts did get quite booked up (and as my travel agent said, esp. those resorts with hot tubs ), but the parks were pretty light. What I did was go to the Disney marathon site to look for events and route maps/calendar.
http://disneyworldsports.disney.go.com/dwws/en_US/marathon/listing?name=MarathonEventListingPage2

I made sure to plan my park days around the marathon events i.e. avoid traveling to a particular park during the times that the runners were in them or trying to travel on a road at the time runners would be using them (since the routes can really tie up car/bus traffic). For instance, in 2006 on the Saturday of the half marathon, I went to AK and MGM in the morning to avoid the runners and family events through Epcot and MK, then spent the afternoon at MK after the events were over.

Just FYI: for the half and full marathons, the good thing is that there is a pacing requirement for runners for each mile marker (which are marked on the course map). If you look at the start time and the pacing requirements for each mile market, you can kind of tell by what time the runners should clear our of a particular area.