Starwars 1/2 Marathon Crowds

[KiwiMouseGirl]

Hey Disers! I've just realized that our trip in January coincides with the Star Wars half marathon! We were looking forward to (hopefully) lighter crowds during our trip and this news has thrown me a little. Does anyone have experience with how the crowds get over the marathon and days surrounding? We are rope droppers so will be able to get quite a bit done in the mornings but I want to prepare myself for what to expect

 

[Darkbeer1]

Yes, BUSY.

It is also the Martin Luther King, Jr. US Holiday weekend (Including Monday the 16th)

Alas, changes made and special events makes all most all of January packed.

The first week is now school holidays for many (but not all US students)

The third weekend of the month, the city of Anaheim hosts its largest Convention of the year (And Anaheim has the largest Convention Center on the West Coast) called the NAMM that brings in over 100,000 that weekend, which books many Hotel Rooms and rents out parts fo the Disneyland Resort for special events.

Sorry for the bad news.

 

[C_leen]

Hello Kiwi,

I think the MLK weekend is the larger impact on crowds. I've been taught that DL is a "local" park and a lot of locals will have that long weekend off. I think your plan to rope drop is wise.

 

[GatorChris]

Not sure about the Star Wars race, but I know in November for the Marvel races, you can tell an uptick in crowds that Thursday -Sunday. Certainly not holiday level crowds, but I'd say it was close to summer crowds. But hey, better to be in crowds in the cold than in the heat.

 

[5forMickey]

Uggh....we were there in November during the race. We won't make that mistake again. They had a large group that were beating drums outside our Hotel room starting at 3:00 am on our last day there. We called down to the desk three times complaining before giving up. I literally watched a CM walk over to the group and talk with them and they stopped for about 15 minutes and then it started again. I know it was real exciting for them, but for me, not so much! We agreed that might have been worse than the crowds during the Christmas/New Years week. Hopefully January will be better.

 

[SMD]

Christmas started during Avengers this past November, but it has already soft opened with the IASW lighting. Then the Season of the Force decorations went up and there was a media event. Thursday and Friday were much busier than a normal race weekend with no race party would be. But Star Wars weekend is very popular. It sells out in minutes. It's been a race weekend for years, with Tink previously occurring that weekend. And, as others have said, it's a holiday weekend, which always draws crowds. If you are staying at DLH you may want to reconsider due to the expo and proximity to start/finish lines. Also, if staying off site this might be a good time to request a room far from the street. That way you won't be as disturbed by racers leaving their rooms at 4am walking by your room. You can also expect rope drops to be later due to the races clearing the parks Fri-Sun. If you were going to do a non-park day, Sat is probably where the morning is impacted the most with racers leaving early to sleep and Sunday is there the traffic leaving the resort is most impacted with many racers entering the park later due to the later race finish.

 

[kirstie101]

Having done the races the last 4 years (Tink then Star wars) I can tell you my experience. Crowds will increase Thursday until Sunday. Thursday and Friday should feel pretty normal as far as crowds go. Not light, but not heavy. Very managable. Saturday will be busy but still do able especially if you can park hop. Sunday afternoon and evening will be very crowded. Like holiday time crowded.
There are races on Friday (5k), Saturday (10k)and Sunday (half) mornings. For the 10k and half, runners will mostly go back to their rooms to freshen up after the races, before heading to the parks.

IMO the race weekend in November is worse because its also the first weekend with the Christmas decorations which draw crowds as well. The January race weekend is not as bad as the November one.

That being said, I still take my kids with me for this trip and we have a great time. We've experienced worse crowds in the parks.

 

[5forMickey]

If you are staying at DLH you may want to reconsider due to the expo and proximity to start/finish lines..

100% this. I think a lot of our frustrations started at the hotel with the traffic/people there.

 

[KiwiMouseGirl]

Thanks for the info guys! We might be able to move our trip 17-23rd, I know there's a conference going that week but would we be better crowds wise than marathon week?