Spectator Plan Help

[1dorseer]

My Dad and I are going to come cheer on my sister running the full marathon in January. She really wants to see us as she runs through the castle. We saw there is priority seating for those with the Gold chear package, but we rather not pay that much money. Will we be able to get a spot without it? How early do we need to be there? Is there any food for sale for a quick pick up on main street that morning? Then we were thinking of maybe trying to catch her outside of hollywood studios.
Does this sound like a doable plan. what can we do with out in between time. We are staying at the
Poly.

 

[francie57]

Not sure about seeing them at the castle since it is really crazy in there. We actually were able to do better at TTC and saw the runners just before going under the underpass that the trams go through from the parking lot. We were able to see our DD without any problem and then we walked over to Poly and watched her run by there. We then got in line and took the monorail back to Epcot. We were going to try and go to WWOS on the bus but there would be no way to get back in time. As for watching at the Studios - I don't know how you would actually get there since the buses stop running for a few hours. Most of your decisions would have to be based on what time your sister expects to run the marathon in. You would be able to see her on the pathway from the Studios heading to the Epcot resort area and around the BW as they run by the Yacht/Beach Club. You would just have to figure out how to get there - again depends on the run time. Once Epcot opens you would be able to see her in Epcot. After seeing DD we just waited at the final corner of the marathon outside Epcot. It was fun to be there and see the first runners come by. We will be there again next week and we will do the same thing again. Will be doing it on Sat. also since DH is running the half. DH will be waiting for me on Fri. as I am doing the first 10K of marathon weekend. He will just wait on the final bend outside Epcot since I will be running the roads around Epcot/world showcase/the boardwalk/and then back into Epcot to the finish. Good luck with whatever you end up doing. If you try to get into the MK be prepared to go extremely early and both DH and DD said it was crazy all the way up Main Street.

 

[limabeanmom2003]

Take a look at the route for the marathon and find the location where it goes past Poly. Watch her there as it has fewer spectators than MK. Then take the monorail over to Epcot and wait for her by the finish. Avoid road transportation at all costs! It is crazy busy on the roads and you risk not getting to where you want to be on time. You will think you have plenty of time to take a bus or drive from one place to another but you very well may not.

 

[cepmom]

Sorry for jumping in, I'm Also trying to figure out the transportation for the morning of the Half...DH and our girls are going to try and get to the TTC and Poly to watch me run.I know the busses to Epcot stop between 5-7 AM, what is the best/recommended time to get on the bus to get to Epcot before they stop picking up? Would they be able to take cab to TTC? I don't want them to miss out due to road closures etc. We are staying at Old Key West... Any help is appreciated!

 

[jmasgat]

Sorry for jumping in, I'm Also trying to figure out the transportation for the morning of the Half...DH and our girls are going to try and get to the TTC and Poly to watch me run.I know the busses to Epcot stop between 5-7 AM, what is the best/recommended time to get on the bus to get to Epcot before they stop picking up? Would they be able to take cab to TTC? I don't want them to miss out due to road closures etc. We are staying at Old Key West... Any help is appreciated!

You don't mention which corral you are in, but if I was them, I would take a 4:45-ish bus to Epcot. It will a while to get there-could be 30-45 minutes at least. Then head for the monorail. They should be able to make it by 6-ish. Since it's 4 miles or so to TTC, that would most likely get them there before you pass.

As for going via cab....that may not be too awful since coming from OKW you can go Bonnet Creek Parkway to Vista Blvd and avoid most of the issues til you hit World Drive. But I would still leave not much later than 5 am.

Either way, they can then monorail back to Epcot and possibly catch you at the finish.

 

[cepmom]

You don't mention which corral you are in, but if I was them, I would take a 4:45-ish bus to Epcot. It will a while to get there-could be 30-45 minutes at least. Then head for the monorail. They should be able to make it by 6-ish. Since it's 4 miles or so to TTC, that would most likely get them there before you pass.

As for going via cab....that may not be too awful since coming from OKW you can go Bonnet Creek Parkway to Vista Blvd and avoid most of the issues til you hit World Drive. But I would still leave not much later than 5 am.

Either way, they can then monorail back to Epcot and possibly catch you at the finish.

thanks so much...I am in corral G, so not really sure what time I will actually be getting past the start line, but maybe around 6:00?? then a 4 mile run to TTC would probably put me there around 635-645ish. Oh they'll be thrilled to be leaving to get on a bus at 4:45 haha!!

 

[emilyindisney]

If the MK/castle plan falls through, I'm almost positive runDisney has a spectator calculator on their website you can use to find the best places to see your sisters and what time to be there.

If I remember right, you put in the runner's pace and the event and it suggests the times you should be at each location to see your runner!

 

[Diskidatheart]

If the MK/castle plan falls through, I'm almost positive runDisney has a spectator calculator on their website you can use to find the best places to see your sisters and what time to be there.

If I remember right, you put in the runner's pace and the event and it suggests the times you should be at each location to see your runner!

Unfortunately, they don't have an updated one for this year. The link that I found on the ESPN/WWOS website is for the old course when it used to start in EPCOT, so it won't work for this years' races.

 

[cewait]

My Dad and I are going to come cheer on my sister running the full marathon in January. She really wants to see us as she runs through the castle. We saw there is priority seating for those with the Gold chear package, but we rather not pay that much money. Will we be able to get a spot without it? How early do we need to be there? Is there any food for sale for a quick pick up on main street that morning? Then we were thinking of maybe trying to catch her outside of hollywood studios.
Does this sound like a doable plan. what can we do with out in between time. We are staying at the
Poly.

You seriously need a Chear package to get close to the castle. I would walk over to the TTC from the Poly and catch her there then walk back to the Poly and watch here there. Note that the Poly is separated from the race by a live lane of traffic so an alternative is to walk across Seven Seas via the cross walk into the MK parking lot and then over to the gate where the runners enter for the tour of the race track.

I would NOT attempt a DHS, rather shoot for the WWoS parking lot or the Yacht/Beach club area. You can get to the WWoS from the Poly by monorail to Epcot -> Marathon Bus to WWoS. Hope this helps.

Sorry for jumping in, I'm Also trying to figure out the transportation for the morning of the Half...DH and our girls are going to try and get to the TTC and Poly to watch me run.I know the busses to Epcot stop between 5-7 AM, what is the best/recommended time to get on the bus to get to Epcot before they stop picking up? Would they be able to take cab to TTC? I don't want them to miss out due to road closures etc. We are staying at Old Key West... Any help is appreciated!

Best bet is to grab the marathon bus with you then monorail up to TTC once you are released to head to the corrals. If that is not a good plan, then they can hail a cab from the OKW to the TTC vis Bonnet Creek Pky. The taxi stand for TTC remains open. Plan on it taking 30 minutes at a minimum on race morning.

 

[1dorseer]

cewait, Thank You.
Will there be a marathon bus from Epcot to WWof S on sunday? From what I am looking at it seems they just run around the expo which goes through Saturday. And how would I get to the Yacht Beach club area? If I take the monorail to Epcot is there a way to walk around outside of it to these areas?

thanks

 

[cewait]

cewait, Thank You.
Will there be a marathon bus from Epcot to WWof S on sunday? From what I am looking at it seems they just run around the expo which goes through Saturday. And how would I get to the Yacht Beach club area? If I take the monorail to Epcot is there a way to walk around outside of it to these areas?

thanks

As I wrote this I was thinking what about a no pass option.

There are marathon buses from Epcot to WWoS. From the guide "Take bus from Epcot ® to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Buses will depart from and return to the Disney Resorts Bus Facility located near the Epcot ® Main Entrance. It is strongly suggested that guests use event transportation to get to Champion Stadium.)" (Had to quote the guide as I was not sure where to pick up the bus)

As a reminder, the Disney RESORTS buses park west of the monorail ramp.

With regard to selecting the Yacht and Beach it gets a little convoluted. I would use marathon busing to the resort. From the monorail ramp, head to the family reunion area and follow the signs to marathon bussing. Busses return to the resorts on the opposite side of the family reunion using a temporary bus depot area once the race has started.