2015 Marathon Spectator Tips?

[scrappysara]

I have been looking for insider tips for spectators for the full marathon. My husband is running and I plan to go to Magic Kingdom even though it sounds crowded but am looking for other places to catch him that are not inside theme park gates. He would also like us to be near the finish to hand him his crazy Mickey hat for his photo finish. Any insight if this will even be a possibility? Any/all advice appreciated!

 

[ANIM8R]

My wife always (and by always - I mean twice ) meets me at the castle in MK then goes to the baseball stadium and meets me there before meeting me at the finish.

To accommodate her, I force myself to run at a slower pace.

One caveat - the MK is crowded but I get her the ChEAR squad so she gets access to a different area - I'm not sure of the details around how it differs from other areas open to general access, though.

But for outside of the park meeting places, the baseball stadium is very good. I'd highly recommend setting up a meeting area in advance though (i.e. near the left field foul pole) because there are a lot of people (500-1000?)there.

If you want to push it, you might be able to meet outside the AK entrance, too, and still have time to make it to WWoS.

I hope that helps.

 

[Tigger1221]

This will be DH's 2nd Disney marathon. I am going to stick with what I did last year since I have a 2.5yr old and it worked great. I watched him from Main Street in the MK. Then DD and I went off to breakfast and to play. Then we saw him in Epcot near Mousegear and went to the finish area after. He finished before we made it but since we were very close to the finish it was fine. Most of the finish line area is reserved for the chear packages. I would meet him inside Epcot to give him his hat.

 

[bumbershoot]

This will be DH's 2nd Disney marathon. I am going to stick with what I did last year since I have a 2.5yr old and it worked great. I watched him from Main Street in the MK. Then DD and I went off to breakfast and to play. Then we saw him in Epcot near Mousegear and went to the finish area after. He finished before we made it but since we were very close to the finish it was fine. Most of the finish line area is reserved for the chear packages. I would meet him inside Epcot to give him his hat.

How did you get to MK? You took the monorail to Epcot? Was it easy to leave Epcot to get towards the finish line? Did you have to have a ticket for the Epcot viewing?

 

[JeffW]

I have been looking for insider tips for spectators for the full marathon. My husband is running and I plan to go to Magic Kingdom even though it sounds crowded but am looking for other places to catch him that are not inside theme park gates. He would also like us to be near the finish to hand him his crazy Mickey hat for his photo finish. Any insight if this will even be a possibility? Any/all advice appreciated!

As far as meeting him near the finish, inside Epcot or before he enters Epcot is required. A year or two ago they added multiple layers of fencing from the point where the runners exit Epcot up to the finish line. Before that you could hand things to the runners right at mile 26, but that isn't possible now.

As far as other places, Animal Kingdom parking lot (anywhere along the sidewalk starting from the bus entrance) might be your only other choice that won't jeopardize being at the finish line area (not sure what his target pace is). If you are in MK, then seeing him at TTC or by the Poly really isn't going to be possible. Seeing him in WWoS or at the exit of the Studios may make getting to the finish hard, depending on pacing.

I run about 9 min/mile pace, and usually have my family see me at TTC, then at the Poly, then inside the Studios (around mile 23). I like having them at mile 23, instead of the finish, to give me the boost I need for the last 5k.

 

[Tigger1221]

How did you get to MK? You took the monorail to Epcot? Was it easy to leave Epcot to get towards the finish line? Did you have to have a ticket for the Epcot viewing?

We drive with DH to the start at Epcot then take the monorail to the MK. Then we are ready take the monorail back to Epcot. You do need a ticket for Epcot viewing. We will have APs again this year so we spend time in MK and Epcot. We also have breakfast at Ohanas since it is the easiest with DD. Leaving Epcot was easy. THere is a sidewalk to the finish line. The hardest thing was finding him after. I ended up calling him and finally found him.

If you don't have a toddler there are lots of other places to watch from. I wanted a place that was entertaining for her and inside the parks fit the bill. This year I am also expecting DS so again I wanted easy. I would love to be in or near all 4 parks to watch him but there is just no way I could do it. DD would not love the bus ride to the other parks.

 

[cmbouldin]

It's possible this was answered, but I want to be positive …

We're running the half and my parents are going to meet us (hopefully) at the finish line with our son. What is the cut off for when they need to be out there? The definitely don't want to be there at 3:30am when we are. lol. What would you suggest for transportation, parking and navigating? (Don't mean to take over, just didn't want to start a new post with a similar question. )

 

[scrappysara]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I am now more confused than ever! I think the hat handoff may not happen unless he wants to run for a few miles with it. I am not purchasing a park hopper and our plan is for MK later in the day so I won't be in Epcot. How/where would I go if I wanted to see him just before Epcot? I have looked at maps but I don't know things well enough to know where to go. If I am not purchasing a Chear squad pass am I better off skipping the finish line and going for a few miles before? Again if I am not purchasing Chear squad am I better off skipping MK and going for TTC and then the Poly? I think I will be going solo so should be more mobile than if I had to drag my kids with! Thanks for any more insider tips

 

[JeffW]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I am now more confused than ever! I think the hat handoff may not happen unless he wants to run for a few miles with it. I am not purchasing a park hopper and our plan is for MK later in the day so I won't be in Epcot. How/where would I go if I wanted to see him just before Epcot? I have looked at maps but I don't know things well enough to know where to go. If I am not purchasing a Chear squad pass am I better off skipping the finish line and going for a few miles before? Again if I am not purchasing Chear squad am I better off skipping MK and going for TTC and then the Poly? I think I will be going solo so should be more mobile than if I had to drag my kids with! Thanks for any more insider tips

I don't think you mentioned which hotel you are staying at. I'm going to attempt to add a link to a screen capture from my Garmin from last year. https://www.dropbox.com/s/s8wx1y4w5w40twi/Capture.JPG?dl=0
Runners exit the front of the Studios, which is a very easy place to see your runner (no fences at all). They then proceed along a path down the boardwalk area to enter Epcot around the United Kingdom portion of World Showcase. So if you are staying at one of the hotels that back to the path, your access would be easy along there.


I have never gone into MK because I've always had the kids with me when my wife was running the half marathon, and never wanted to attempt it. The TTC and the Poly were easier and had easy access to the monorail. Sorry I can't make a good comparison between them.

 

[scrappysara]

Thank you JeffW for the Dropbox screen capture...I hadn't been able to find anything with that much detail. We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside so that isn't helpful but your info is! That may have to be my plan...go along the boardwalk. Obviously you are familiar-does Disney bus transportation run in the morning to Magic Kingdom or will I have to go to Epcot and monorail over? Any thoughts on driving to MK to park and just leave vehicle for the day or is it as bad driving as people make it sound? Sorry for all the questions-it's hard to find good info out there! Thanks for all the help!

 

[JeffW]

Thank you JeffW for the Dropbox screen capture...I hadn't been able to find anything with that much detail. We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside so that isn't helpful but your info is! That may have to be my plan...go along the boardwalk. Obviously you are familiar-does Disney bus transportation run in the morning to Magic Kingdom or will I have to go to Epcot and monorail over? Any thoughts on driving to MK to park and just leave vehicle for the day or is it as bad driving as people make it sound? Sorry for all the questions-it's hard to find good info out there! Thanks for all the help!

Not 100% certain, so hopefully someone else can confirm, but I believe you need to catch a bus to Epcot, then monorail to MK to view your runner. I've never parked in the MK lot on race morning, but this information is in the runDisney Spectator section

Parking

Athletes and spectators should plan on arriving at Epcot® by 4:00 a.m. on Half Marathon or Marathon race morning. The main entrance of Epcot® from World Drive will be closed to all traffic from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. on the mornings of the Half Marathon and Marathon. All traffic will be directed to the Magic Kingdom® Park Parking Lot where they will be transported to Epcot® via monorail.