School me on riding Everest during the Marathon

[furiated]

I've seen it mentioned that it's possible to ride Everest during the marathon depending on when you reach the park. I love the idea of this as it seems like one of those "only during a runDisney race" type things that you wouldn't be able to do anywhere else. I've love to hear from people that have done it to hear more about it. What corral were you in, when did you hit AK, what was the line like, etc?

I'm a worrier by nature so my two big fears would be taking too long (in line or on the ride) and getting swept, or having the ride break down while on it and being stuck and getting swept. Especially since I'm going for the Dopey, I wouldn't want to have done all the work for the other races and fail the challenge because I stopped to ride Everest.

Has anyone on here done it previously, or is anyone planning on riding it this year?

Thanks!

 

[IamTrike]

I've never done it. Since they changed the course in 2013 I get to AK too early. On the 10th AK opens at 9am. Corral J starts about 6 am. Expedition Everest is at about mile 12.5. If you started in J you'd need to run slower than about 14:25 minute mile pace to get to animal kingdom when it opens. If you are in a later corral your pace could be faster and you'd need to be slower if you were in an earlier corral.

 

[Fruto76]

I did it last year. I knew I wanted to do it so I took the first 10 miles at a slower pace trying to make the time work. (I started in J last year) I got in AK about 15 minutes before opening and I was in line waiting with a few others. They let us on about 2 mins before 9. I was in the front row (made for a great pic) and had a good time. Waiting in line, on and off probably took about 20 mins total. (maybe less) Took a little to gather my bearings when I got off. I am skipping it this year. It added a great little mess (and almost a mile!) to the Garmin map. Looked like I might have been drunk running!

 

[SunDial]

I did it last year. I knew I wanted to do it so I took the first 10 miles at a slower pace trying to make the time work. (I started in J last year) I got in AK about 15 minutes before opening and I was in line waiting with a few others. They let us on about 2 mins before 9. I was in the front row (made for a great pic) and had a good time. Waiting in line, on and off probably took about 20 mins total. (maybe less) Took a little to gather my bearings when I got off. I am skipping it this year. It added a great little mess (and almost a mile!) to the Garmin map. Looked like I might have been drunk running!

I have wondered about this. I didn't try it last year since it was my first marathon and i was already sore from the half the day before. I was afraid the it would be hard to get standing and moving again.

I bet the Garmin did look crazy.