Marathon Weekend 2018

[FelisLachesis]

Yikes! I saw the videos online, by my wife and I didn't arrive until long after that madness. The worst thing was that by the time we arrived, we still saw lots of things on the shelves that people had been fighting over.

We can schedule our ADR's tomorrow, and thank you everyone -- I had totally forgotten! I just sent out a frantic text to my wife, mother, and daughters for any last-minute input. We are scheduled to arrive around 2pm Wednesday, so fingers crossed for fair flying weather!

This is the first I've heard of anything happening at the 2016 princess half!

 

[Ariel484]

I'm gonna second the suggestion of arriving later in the afternoon. They seem to have gotten better at restocking stuff throughout the day...maybe you'll miss one or two items but you won't a.) get punched* or b.) have to wait in a giant line to get your bib or get into the expo.


*though I do agree the punching is less likely during this weekend compared to Princes...I did see a guy scream at a CM at this expo this year though.

 

[ZellyB]

ADRs also done. I couldn't get the website to work for me after I made my first reservation, so just had to call in to get them. I'm hoping to get a Rivers of Light Dining Package later if they ever release them for January.

The most important one though was Victoria and Alberts for marathon night!! Super excited about that one.

 

[drummerwife]

I don't think you're going to run into anything like that during the Marathon Weekend Expo. If you want to avoid the madness, I'd suggest going a little later in the afternoon after the initial rush has died down...

Avoiding the madness was a huge reason for buying the race retreat. I'm short, so being caught up in crowds where I can't really see what's going on around me scares the heck out of me. I did the Princess race retreat this year and it was so much nicer for me. I was in and out with no craziness. Hopefully I'll have the same experience this time as well, plus my 6'1" DH will be with me to be my eyes if necessary.

 

[IamTrike]

We booked our ADRs this morning too. We have decent size group going with meals sizes ranging from 9-19 people. The Website kept throwing up errors but we were able to book most everything we wanted through the App. We only had issues with Tiffins and Ohana. Tiffin's didn't seem to have any way to seat a group of 9 or more and we had to call to get Ohana.

I'm confused by the question. MANY have stayed at value resorts - I would hazard a guess that more stay there than other resorts. I've never had a problem at any of the value or other resorts with buses, BUT I have heard of issues with buses at all types of resorts. A resort type has no influence as to the quality of bus service you get - those are all external companies (I believe) that run these buses and these drivers have gotten lost before because of it. So those are the kinds of problems I know about. So, basically, you may spend $1000/night and you will have the luck of the draw the same as if you stayed at the $100/night value resort.

We've Stayed at POR multiple times and had bus issues on the morning of the half twice. While staying there. We've never had marathon morning issues from there though.

10:00 AM for race retreat runners. 12:00 PM for the rest of the runners. And it was a madhouse around noon through the rest of the afternoon on Wednesday.

We didn't get there till Thursday morning this year. It wasn't crazy crowded but the Half XX had sold out. CM's said on Wed's people had been coming through with the shopping baskets and buying handfuls of that pin.

 

[FelisLachesis]

ADRs also done. I couldn't get the website to work for me after I made my first reservation, so just had to call in to get them. I'm hoping to get a Rivers of Light Dining Package later if they ever release them for January.

The most important one though was Victoria and Alberts for marathon night!! Super excited about that one.

You go girlfriend!

 

[steph0808]

Maybe I missed it, but what happened marathon morning? What time were you there to get on the bus etc etc? I've always thought they've done an amazing job getting that many people to the start area at basically the same time..

It was way back in 2013 - basically 7-10 full buses passed us up at our stop at Riverside, and I was at the stop by 3:15. Basically we all crowded onto a full bus sometime after 4 am and had to stand/sit in the aisle because we were terrified of missing the start. And we had people calling/going to the main desk, etc. trying to get a bus to get us.

I'm confused by the question. MANY have stayed at value resorts - I would hazard a guess that more stay there than other resorts. I've never had a problem at any of the value or other resorts with buses, BUT I have heard of issues with buses at all types of resorts. A resort type has no influence as to the quality of bus service you get - those are all external companies (I believe) that run these buses and these drivers have gotten lost before because of it. So those are the kinds of problems I know about. So, basically, you may spend $1000/night and you will have the luck of the draw the same as if you stayed at the $100/night value resort.

I totally understand that. I guess my question was really "Do a lot of marathon runners stay at Values, and am I going to keep getting passed up by full buses again?" haha!

It was really the only crappy part of my marathon experience (well, only crappy part due to runDisney stuff).

 

[Barca33Runner]

It was way back in 2013 - basically 7-10 full buses passed us up at our stop at Riverside, and I was at the stop by 3:15. Basically we all crowded onto a full bus sometime after 4 am and had to stand/sit in the aisle because we were terrified of missing the start. And we had people calling/going to the main desk, etc. trying to get a bus to get us.

I would have been right there with you that day. We were at the west depot and were there for over an hour and saw at least that many buses pass us. When we finally did get loaded we also had to stand. Not the best way to prepare for your first marathon.

We've stayed there a few times in intervening years and gave up on the back depots. Never had an issue when going up front to the south depot.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Jealous seeing all the ADRs done. Still don't have the basics of our trip planned out well enough to get into those details. Probably going to give up on my Ohana plan for this trip; I think there will be availability for a while on everything else.

 

[camaker]

I totally understand that. I guess my question was really "Do a lot of marathon runners stay at Values, and am I going to keep getting passed up by full buses again?" haha!

It was really the only crappy part of my marathon experience (well, only crappy part due to runDisney stuff).

With ~25,000 runners starting both the half and the full I think the answer to your question is really that there are a LOT of runners staying everywhere during WDWMW. If you are worried about a repeat of your bus experience, the two easy ways to avoid it are by staying at a resort with only one stop or, if staying at a multi-stop resort, go to the main stop rather than one of the satellite stops. Ultimately, I'd stay wherever you would normally like to rather than chasing a "better bus stop" experience.

 

[jeanigor]

I totally understand that. I guess my question was really "Do a lot of marathon runners stay at Values, and am I going to keep getting passed up by full buses again?" haha!

I've stayed all over property for runDisney race weekends. And to be perfectly frank, I have had similar issues with DVC/Deluxe resorts and not with any of the Values. On race mornings, the All Stars seem to have a bus filling up and an empty one behind it, waiting for the first bus to fill and pull away.

 

[Z-Knight]

It was way back in 2013 - basically 7-10 full buses passed us up at our stop at Riverside, and I was at the stop by 3:15. Basically we all crowded onto a full bus sometime after 4 am and had to stand/sit in the aisle because we were terrified of missing the start. And we had people calling/going to the main desk, etc. trying to get a bus to get us.



I totally understand that. I guess my question was really "Do a lot of marathon runners stay at Values, and am I going to keep getting passed up by full buses again?" haha!

It was really the only crappy part of my marathon experience (well, only crappy part due to runDisney stuff).

ahh, got it now. yeah, lots of people will be there, at least they were in POP, so definitely there is a chance you will have to wait. happened to me this year, but they usually have lots more buses for those resorts so you should eventually get on

 

[mawatcha]

I wonder if it would be worth walking to POFQ at all. The bus service to the half and full starts was great. I am at POR in '18.

 

[StarGirl11]

I wonder if it would be worth walking to POFQ at all. The bus service to the half and full starts was great. I am at POR in '18.

I know having been at POFQ this past year they had busses at all the stops at least the start of the morning. I remember on 10k and full morning they insisted on taking the first bus through the POR stops even though they all had their own busses which annoyed everyone on the bus.

To say the least if my parents are with me this coming year I am just going to opt to go in the rental car.

 

[dzak1717]

Jealous seeing all the ADRs done. Still don't have the basics of our trip planned out well enough to get into those details. Probably going to give up on my Ohana plan for this trip; I think there will be availability for a while on everything else.

Same here, we get to make ours on Sunday morning and finalizing them. I've moved them around so much I forgot what we decided on

 

[IamTrike]

It was way back in 2013 - basically 7-10 full buses passed us up at our stop at Riverside, and I was at the stop by 3:15. Basically we all crowded onto a full bus sometime after 4 am and had to stand/sit in the aisle because we were terrified of missing the start. And we had people calling/going to the main desk, etc. trying to get a bus to get us.

Our issue was 2012. We got on the second bus to the half marathon leaving just slightly before 3:30. The Bus driver got lost (yeah I have no idea how.) and we didn't get to Epcot till almost 5. I missed all my pre-race meets and we had to hustle to the start to make the corrals. There were people standing on the bus too.

This year we are at the contemporary and I am paranoid about getting stuck on the monorail.

 

[Disneyqueendenmark]

From what I read here and other places online the expo is (probably) a madhouse when it opens Jan 3rd at 12pm. I've never been to an expo in the US so I'm not sure what to expect. I will be looking for some pins (marathon), maybe some other merchandise and NB shoes. Should I plan on doing crazy and be there when it opens or can I wait and (hopefully) still be able to get what I'm looking for? I need to sign up to something to be able to get to the NB stand, right?

 

[FFigawi]

From what I read here and other places online the expo is (probably) a madhouse when it opens Jan 3rd at 12pm. I've never been to an expo in the US so I'm not sure what to expect. I will be looking for some pins (marathon), maybe some other merchandise and NB shoes. Should I plan on doing crazy and be there when it opens or can I wait and (hopefully) still be able to get what I'm looking for? I need to sign up to something to be able to get to the NB stand, right?

The pins you should be able to pre-order and pick up at the expo. You'll be able to buy some of the Disney race merchandise in the same building where you pick up your bib and shirts. The selection isn't as large as in the main expo building next door, but they've got a decent amount of stuff. That said, if there's something you absolutely must have, you should be there right when it opens and do your shopping first before getting your bib. The lines will be long, but you stand a better chance of success.

 

[Disneyqueendenmark]

The pins you should be able to pre-order and pick up at the expo. You'll be able to buy some of the Disney race merchandise in the same building where you pick up your bib and shirts. The selection isn't as large as in the main expo building next door, but they've got a decent amount of stuff. That said, if there's something you absolutely must have, you should be there right when it opens and do your shopping first before getting your bib. The lines will be long, but you stand a better chance of success.

Okay - thanks
What about the New Balance shoes, how does that work?

 

[rteetz]

Okay - thanks
What about the New Balance shoes, how does that work?

New Balanca shoes have a large booth. They should have a virtual queue as they have in the past but I've never needed it. It does help try to guarantee a size.