Questions about Disney Half Marathon Crowds and the week after

[wildflower329]

We are starting to think about our next trip to Disneyland (we were last there in Nov 2013), and one of the times we are considering is to begin the trip with the Disney half marathon for my husband (which I know will be super crowded since it is Labor Day weekend), and then stay through the rest of the week (this will keep my daughter out of school for her second or third week of second grade, but we don't care ).

How are the crowds the week after the race?
If you are running in the race, do you have to use a park ticket that day, or can you run the race and then stay out of the parks until another day? Since it is a holiday weekend, we could have him run, then do other area attractions and be in the parks later in the week.

 

[kim3339]

You don't have to go into the parks race day if you don't want to. You don't get a ticket w/ race registration unless you register through a travel company, and even then, you pay for that ticket. Get Travel works w/ the DL races and you can order discounted tix through them once reg opens for the race.

Most of the runners clear out Sun or Mon after the race. Race weekend the crowds aren't busy like X-mas or Thanksgiving, but it's not dead either. Usually the mornings are good and you can get on a lot, then it gets busier as the day goes on after people have showered and gotten something to eat. A few years back I stayed until Tues and found that Mon was crazy busy, more so than the other 3 days, but that's also b/c I think the SoCal APs were able to get in; Tues was a lot better and more low key.

 

[2tinkerbell]

One thing to remember is that the races start early in the morning, so usually Friday night and Saturday night of the race weekends are lower crowds.

 

[Belle Ella]

Most of the runners clear out Sun or Mon after the race. Race weekend the crowds aren't busy like X-mas or Thanksgiving, but it's not dead either. Usually the mornings are good and you can get on a lot, then it gets busier as the day goes on after people have showered and gotten something to eat. A few years back I stayed until Tues and found that Mon was crazy busy, more so than the other 3 days, but that's also b/c I think the SoCal APs were able to get in; Tues was a lot better and more low key.

I think Kim really hits the nail on the head here.

 

[wildflower329]

Does it always fall on Labor Day weekend? I was assuming the weekend would be packed because of the holiday plus the race, but maybe it wont be too crazy (obviously busy, but maybe not as bad as I was thinking)

 

[Belle Ella]

Does it always fall on Labor Day weekend? I was assuming the weekend would be packed because of the holiday plus the race, but maybe it wont be too crazy (obviously busy, but maybe not as bad as I was thinking)

Yup. Barring any strange future changes, it's always during Labor Day weekend.

 

[zanzibar138]

I was actually pleasantly surprised with the crowds. I arrived the Tuesday before race weekend and right up until Friday it was pretty good, especially at DCA. There was a noticeable difference in crowds on Friday and more again on Saturday. Saturday was our last park day and we left on Sunday, so I can't tell you what those crowds were like.

For someone who is used to going in less crowded times, the parks were the busiest I'd ever seen (until that point). However, there were still plenty of rides with minimal wait times, and of course we used FP.

Next year we are staying for a week arriving the Wednesday before race weekend. It will be interesting to do a comparison of the crowds on either side of the weekend.

Make sure you book your accommodation as soon as you've decided on dates, as the more popular places book out pretty far in advance. Also, it's worth making ADRs if you have specific places you want to eat at (eg for carb loading etc). DTD was pretty crowded on Friday and Saturday nights and I imagine there would have been lengthy waits for the restaurants.

 

[SMD]

Judging by the number of medals around people's necks, many people arrive for the half marathon on Friday and Saturday and spend 5 days, leaving Tues or Wed, with the crowds slowly thinning on those 2 days, but still more crowded than it would be on Tues or Wed of the week after.