Parking on a Marathon Weekend (Not a Participant)

[beachdreamr1229]

So, I promised my daughter her special mommy and me trip to DL for this Saturday. Her brothers have already had theirs, so I really need to go this weekend since I've got other events booked for the next month straight. I didn't realize, however, that it's a marathon weekend. Typically, I would avoid it at all costs, but that's not an option. I will be driving in from the Los Angeles area and we like to get there before rope drop. Can anyone explain to me a good parking strategy? I have heard that Mickey and Friends will be packed, but that's the only structure I've ever parked in, so I wouldn't even know where to go. And if Mickey and Friends is open, what time of day would I need to be there in order to not spend my entire morning waiting to park? Thanks!

 

[SMD]

The road closure map says there will be access to M&F. The fly over from the 5 will probably be open. If you want to go to Toy Story you'll have to take the 405 to the 22 and come up Harbor. You might be able to get there by exiting the 5 at Disney Way, but that is the intersection where the Harbor closure ends, I'd just avoid it.

 

[Kender]

The good news is that there isn't a marathon. Longest distance this weekend is a half marathon and that's on Sunday. Saturday is the 10K.

Marathons have a much bigger impact (into the afternoon) than a half on traffic patterns and a half more than a 10K on traffic patterns. Road closures will only affect the early morning on Saturday. Definitely look up the race guide as it has road closures and times listed.

Highly recommend Toy Story lot. I prefer it over anything else. But during a race weekend, it's also the best bet with parking. They only open M&F for runners to park in early in the morning.

 

[joan4mickey]

http://as1.wdpromedia.com/media/rundisney/2016TinkProgram.pdf
This is a link to the program and it has some info on road closures.

 

[figment_jii]

My friends and were heading to Disneyland on the Sunday of the Avengers Half Marathon weekend a few years ago. It took us far longer than planned to get into the M&F parking structure. We were hoping to get to the parks for rope drop, but it took us over 30 minutes to just get into the M&F parking structure. So, if you want to get to the parks by rope drop, I would aim to be at the parking structure on the early side.