Transportation from all resort hotel question?

[Nayrb]

Hello everyone.
I haven't posted a lot, been a lurker for awhile. Our family went down for the 5k family run in OCT, we had a blast. And now I want to try more races, so I am planning a solo race for Jan.

So I am registered for the 1/2 marathon and 5k run in Jan. My Mini Goofy Race! LOL!

this will be my first 1/2 marathon and my first 1/2 marathon at Disney. I am super excited. but I also am concerned about transportation to the events and expo. For the Oct 5K race we rented a car.

But this time I am staying at Pop, and not renting a car so does anyone know how the bus works?

For the races is there only one pick up time, or will there be more? Is the pick up hours before one really needs to be there?

As well I am assuming that Pop will not have a direct bus to the expo, so will I have to get a bus to MK, then Monorail to TTC and then the TTC to the WWofSports?

I will admit I have a few concerns about renting a car, just not sure if it is worth the expense this time, if you have any suggestions or know how the transportation work please let me know.

THanks
Bryan

 

[FireDancer]

For the January events every resort has busing. They will take you right from Pop to the WWos for the expo and right from the resort to all of the events. I have never done the 5K but for the half and full marathon you are to be at the buses at 4:00am at the latest for a race with a 6:00am start. Since the 10K starts an hour later I would assume the busing starts an hour earlier.

 

[4TheKids]

My DS16 is running 1/2 in January also. Not really looking forward to getting up so early. My understanding is starting time is at 5:40 a.m. If we stay at POFQ and rent a car, what is the latest time we should leave resort to get him to starting line? Is there something special that happens early (between 5 and 5:40) that I should get him there much earlier (besides the fact that he needs to warm up )? Thanks!

 

[Tiresius]

My mom ran the 5K last January from ASSports, and the buses seemed to be one of the easiest parts of the experience. There was a rather long line of people waiting, but buses were cycling back and forth, so if you didn't get on one, there was definitely another not too far behind (i.e. not just one time). They do have an ending point (I think you had to be at the bus-stop no later than 1 hour before race time or you wouldn't make the bus), but we didn't feel like we got to the starting point too early. The timing might be different for longer races, but for the 5K at least it was really simple.

And, as others have said, there are direct buses from all resorts to the expo, so no need to transfer. These buses seemed slightly less often (since the timing was much less critical), but I think they are scheduled similar to regular park buses, every 20 minutes? We had planned to make an afternoon out of our trip to the expo, but with the speed of the buses and the efficiency of the pick-up, it was actually a much quicker process than expected and we had time to go back to the parks.

 

[Nayrb]

thanks everyone for the info, it really helps

 

[John VN]

We stayed at FW this past January and since there was no bus service to EPCOT for the 5K we walked to WL to get a bus.

 

[verticalchaos]

My DS16 is running 1/2 in January also. Not really looking forward to getting up so early. My understanding is starting time is at 5:40 a.m. If we stay at POFQ and rent a car, what is the latest time we should leave resort to get him to starting line? Is there something special that happens early (between 5 and 5:40) that I should get him there much earlier (besides the fact that he needs to warm up )? Thanks!

Pretty sure runners are supposed to be there by 4 or 4:30.

 

[Bookwood]

part of the reason the runners need to be there at such an early hour is that the roads around Epcot close as runners move to the starting area and I don't know if you can get to the start by car as late as 5. (I always try to be on the last bus from my resort though- ok after my first race which I was on one of the early busses.)

 

[4TheKids]

So how crazy will it be to get out of EPCOT after the mini then? Will there be lots of re-routes to get from EPCOT back to POFQ? We're renting a car only for the 5K and Mini. To go to parks, we plan to take the bus because my sister and her kids don't plan to rent a car.

If it's crazy getting out of EPCOT after the race and not going to save me any time (can sleep in & leave quickly) then I might as well make family take the bus back and forth to their races and not rent a car.

And, last question - Sister, DD, and DH will run 5K on Friday. Start time is at 7AM. Think they'll finish in 30 minutes. They want to go back to resort to take a shower then catch bus to MK for the day. Will we make it to MK for opening ceremony at 9AM? Wondering if traffic will be jammed up on this day also? And, are there neat things right after the race that they should stick around and experience? If there is, then I might switch MK to Thursday so we don't miss opening ceremony (kids like this).

Thanks

 

[Tiresius]

And, last question - Sister, DD, and DH will run 5K on Friday. Start time is at 7AM. Think they'll finish in 30 minutes. They want to go back to resort to take a shower then catch bus to MK for the day. Will we make it to MK for opening ceremony at 9AM? Wondering if traffic will be jammed up on this day also? And, are there neat things right after the race that they should stick around and experience? If there is, then I might switch MK to Thursday so we don't miss opening ceremony (kids like this).

Thanks

Speaking only for doing this by bus, mom ran the 5k in 30 minutes, grabbed her medal and snacks, and we headed straight for the bus. Went back to the room, showered, mom took her time getting ready (I was in a rush to head out but nobody else seemed to be moving quickly). We were traveling from ASSp to DHS for Toy Story Mania, made it to the park soon enough to get both a morning-timed fast pass and ride with under 30 minute standby time (i.e. we were in line for the ride within 15 minutes of park opening). We didn't quite arrive in time for opening, but as I said, we weren't quite trying to do so. With three people and only one shower, timing would be even tougher, but for our family with only one showering runner, we were close enough to park-opening time that it could have been done.

(Traffic to Magic Kingdom on 5K day is not a problem, since the run is entirely in/near Epcot. Once you get out of the race area itself, on that morning, it should be normal travel times.)

Unless you are the winning runner, or get excited about cheering on strangers, there isn't much to see or do after the race. Last year there was stuff to take pictures with in the area (i.e. an inflatable house from UP), but it was more exciting BEFORE the race. Afterwards, mostly people just left as they finished.

 

[4TheKids]

Tiresius - Your response makes me feel much better. Good to hear there aren't a lot of things to see and do after the race. I didn't want to feel guilty for rushing the group back to the resort and not allow them to "enjoy the moment". We have two rooms / two showers so, hopefully, they will be able to take quick showers so we can head out to MK and be relatively close to opening time. If not, DD can skip shower and just be stinky at MK - Maybe no one will want to be around her and we can get on rides quicker Thanks again for your help!