Park day on 2020 Marathon Day

[vicarrieous]

We are non runners heading to WDW on the 11th of January. We get in late so our first park day will be Sunday Jan 12th which is the full marathon day. I originally wanted to stay at BLT so we could walk to MK that morning but we have a studio booked at BWV. Would you avoid using transportation and go to HS or Epcot or would you still try to go to MK? I am hearing MK is a decent park to go to on that day but bussing could take awhile. I also see from some crowd calendars that AK can be a good park on Sundays. Any thoughts, opinions? WWYD?

 

[DOOM1001]

Runners should be out of MK by 9:30 at the latest,AK probably by 11-11:30,DHS 1-1:30pm and the final finishers at Epcot 2-2:30pm.If you're going to go to MK early it will likely be a mess,if your plan is to go at 11am you should be allright assuming the bus driver takes the correct way to MK as the routes may be modified.I always run the full and from what I gather from family getting to AK is also a mess and will take forever and wont clear out as early as MK since AK is the halfway point and the major street to get to AK is Osceola pkwy which is also the street runners use.If you're at BWV I would just stick to Epcot or DHS for the morning/afternoon until bus transportation gets back to normal or go into Epcot and grab the monorail to MK.

 

[vicarrieous]

Runners should be out of MK by 9:30 at the latest,AK probably by 11-11:30,DHS 1-1:30pm and the final finishers at Epcot 2-2:30pm.If you're going to go to MK early it will likely be a mess,if your plan is to go at 11am you should be allright assuming the bus driver takes the correct way to MK as the routes may be modified.I always run the full and from what I gather from family getting to AK is also a mess and will take forever and wont clear out as early as MK since AK is the halfway point and the major street to get to AK is Osceola pkwy which is also the street runners use.If you're at BWV I would just stick to Epcot or DHS for the morning/afternoon until bus transportation gets back to normal or go into Epcot and grab the monorail to MK.

Thanks for the insight. We are typically early park goers so maybe HS or Epcot are the best choices that way we can avoid using transportation. I did appreciate the idea of catching the monorail through Epcot but that probably won't get us there to rope drop.

 

[DOOM1001]

Yeah you have to wait until Epcot opening to walk through it to reach the monorail

 

[SamFaniam]

Are you considering Park hopping at all? I would do Epcot in the morning, and then monorail over to Magic Kingdom in the afternoon. Epcot gets really busy with runners later in the day.

 

[vicarrieous]

Are you considering Park hopping at all? I would do Epcot in the morning, and then monorail over to Magic Kingdom in the afternoon. Epcot gets really busy with runners later in the day.

Yep, we will have hoppers.

 

[Oozma_Kappa]

I have run this marathon 4 or 5 times (I need to check the medals) and this is the first park we hit. Even with runners there you can still enjoy it. You just may have to wait to cross certain paths.

 

[Meriweather]

We'll be there at the same time.
We have been there before and enjoyed seeing the runners go through.

 

[vicarrieous]

I have run this marathon 4 or 5 times (I need to check the medals) and this is the first park we hit. Even with runners there you can still enjoy it. You just may have to wait to cross certain paths.

Thanks! Our biggest concern is just transportation. How was getting to MK that morning at rope drop?

 

[Oozma_Kappa]

Thanks! Our biggest concern is just transportation. How was getting to MK that morning at rope drop?

The park has never been open when I have run through MK. The race starts at 5am. I think they try to get as many runners through MK as they can before park opening. I would not visit HS or Epcot marathon day if you want to avoid the most runners. MK would be your best bet on that day.

 

[vicarrieous]

The park has never been open when I have run through MK. The race starts at 5am. I think they try to get as many runners through MK as they can before park opening. I would not visit HS or Epcot marathon day if you want to avoid the most runners. MK would be your best bet on that day.

Thanks, I am most concerned about how long/traffic/busses on getting there versus people in the park.

 

[Oozma_Kappa]

Ok, I'm now seeing you are wondering about busses. I have been a spectator twice since I started these in '09, and the last time I bussed from SSR to epcot to see the marathon finish with no problem. It seemed the busses were just running as usual. I didnt have the luxury of the time of arrival predictions either, so it should be even easier to get to where you want to go now, well, theoretically.

 

[vicarrieous]

Ok, I'm now seeing you are wondering about busses. I have been a spectator twice since I started these in '09, and the last time I busted from SSR to epcot to see the marathon finish with no problem. It seemed the busses were just running as usual. I didnt have the luxury of the time of arrival predictions either, so it should be even easier to get to where you want to go now, well, theoretically.

Good to know. I would much rather go to MK but with staying at BWV I wondered if the busses or traffic would be bad that it wouldn't be worth it to try to make it to rope drop. I think we are going to try and give it a shot. Fingers crossed.

 

[Oozma_Kappa]

Good to know. I would much rather go to MK but with staying at BWV I wondered if the busses or traffic would be bad that it wouldn't be worth it to try to make it to rope drop. I think we are going to try and give it a shot. Fingers crossed.

Here is a photo of us riding past marathoners. We cheered for them out the window. I think you should be fine getting to where you need to go.

 

[mountdew1]

Ok, I'm now seeing you are wondering about busses. I have been a spectator twice since I started these in '09, and the last time I bussed from SSR to epcot to see the marathon finish with no problem. It seemed the busses were just running as usual. I didnt have the luxury of the time of arrival predictions either, so it should be even easier to get to where you want to go now, well, theoretically.

Getting to the MK bus drop off early morning is a problem. First, World Drive (the road that goes to the MK bus loop & Contemporary) is one lane only. They take turns letting cars go in each direction, but that can take a while. Second, the course sometimes goes across the bus loop entrance. The course varies slightly in this area, but some years the runners go in the employee entrance just past the bus loop, which means that buses can't enter the bus loop until the runners are all past that area. Until that area is clear of runners I believe all the buses will drop off at TTC so people can Monorail/ferry over. That said, they usually try to clear the MK of runners before the park opens. The first runners start at 5:30, with I believe the last runners starting about 6:15-6:30. As they need to maintain a 16min mile, and mile 5 is just before the park, and mile 6 is just after the park (approx), even the last runner to start, taking the full 16min allotment, they should be at mile 6 by 8:05-8:10 (6:30 + 6x16). So if you have PPO dining, or just like to be there really early, it may take longer and you may go via TTC. But by the time the park is open, MK transit should be back to normal.
The other parks shouldn't be impacted, some routes may take longer than normal due to road closures, but the WDW bus drivers should be well aware, so just allow for a few extra minutes when trying to get to places.

 

[vicarrieous]

Getting to the MK bus drop off early morning is a problem. First, World Drive (the road that goes to the MK bus loop & Contemporary) is one lane only. They take turns letting cars go in each direction, but that can take a while. Second, the course sometimes goes across the bus loop entrance. The course varies slightly in this area, but some years the runners go in the employee entrance just past the bus loop, which means that buses can't enter the bus loop until the runners are all past that area. Until that area is clear of runners I believe all the buses will drop off at TTC so people can Monorail/ferry over. That said, they usually try to clear the MK of runners before the park opens. The first runners start at 5:30, with I believe the last runners starting about 6:15-6:30. As they need to maintain a 16min mile, and mile 5 is just before the park, and mile 6 is just after the park (approx), even the last runner to start, taking the full 16min allotment, they should be at mile 6 by 8:05-8:10 (6:30 + 6x16). So if you have PPO dining, or just like to be there really early, it may take longer and you may go via TTC. But by the time the park is open, MK transit should be back to normal.
The other parks shouldn't be impacted, some routes may take longer than normal due to road closures, but the WDW bus drivers should be well aware, so just allow for a few extra minutes when trying to get to places.

Thanks, these details were very helpful in thinking about my plans.

 

[Oozma_Kappa]

Have a great time! January is my favorite time to go.

 

[DOOM1001]

The park has never been open when I have run through MK. The race starts at 5am. I think they try to get as many runners through MK as they can before park opening. I would not visit HS or Epcot marathon day if you want to avoid the most runners. MK would be your best bet on that day.

I always run the full but I've gone several times to spectate the half and I always see tons of runners heading into MK around the Contemporary around 8:30.I'm usually in a middle corral and I'm a total middle of the pack runner.If the race starts at 5:35 and my corral goes off at 5:55 or so and I run a 10-11 mile pace I'm in MK at almost 7am.So the last corrals which are huge are starting a good 30 minutes after me at least and you have runners doing 16 mpm trust me that MK wont be cleared of runners until 9am or later.My point is I wouldnt ssuggrst MK until 11am,unless you're taking the monorail

 

[vicarrieous]

I always run the full but I've gone several times to spectate the half and I always see tons of runners heading into MK around the Contemporary around 8:30.I'm usually in a middle corral and I'm a total middle of the pack runner.If the race starts at 5:35 and my corral goes off at 5:55 or so and I run a 10-11 mile pace I'm in MK at almost 7am.So the last corrals which are huge are starting a good 30 minutes after me at least and you have runners doing 16 mpm trust me that MK wont be cleared of runners until 9am or later.My point is I wouldnt ssuggrst MK until 11am,unless you're taking the monorail

Where would you suggest then? HS?

 

[rteetz]

Where would you suggest then? HS?

Hollywood Studios will have runners going through during early to mid morning. No matter which park you choose you’ll be impacted by the runners in one way or another but it’s really not something that will hinder you too much. I’ve done marathon weekend 5 years in a row now.