Cruise vs. WDW after the marathon

[YawningDodo]

I hope it's alright to post this here rather than in the cruise or themepark forums since it is a question about marathon recovery as much as a question about vacation preferences. Also, I'm waaaaay ahead on planning this since I'm looking at Marathon Weekend 2020, not 2019, but in my defense I do want to book the cruise this fall if I'm doing the cruise, so I can get the best rate on it.

My plan (yes I already have a plan) is to fly in the Friday of Marathon Weekend, chill out that evening, expo and more chilling out on Saturday, run the marathon Sunday, hit a park that afternoon/evening before my body realizes what hit it, and thenn.....?

Well, then either board a 4-night Disney cruise on Monday, or stay in WDW and hit more parks (maybe throw in a day at Universal). Either way I'll be solo, and either way I'm planning to fly back the following Saturday (maybe Friday if I do the parks instead of the cruise). Considering I'm so far out from running those kind of distances still, I have no idea what recovery is going to look like. A cruise sounds nice...but there'll be new stuff to see at several of the parks, including UO...and also since I'm traveling solo, a week in WDW is actually about $1K cheaper than taking the cruise, which would mean I could afford basically all the table service meals I wanted (I don't normally do a lot of TS, and go for lower-end stuff even when I do). HMM. But then I've done the WDW parks about a billion times but have only cruised once. HMMMM.

It's comparing apples to oranges, I know. That's the problem. What would you choose for your recovery week--strolling the parks at WDW, or chilling out on a cruise ship?

I suppose I can always kick this decision down the road a way by making the cruise booking when the itineraries go up and cancelling it later if I decide to do a WDW week instead.

 

[Shanti]

I hope it's alright to post this here rather than in the cruise or themepark forums since it is a question about marathon recovery as much as a question about vacation preferences. Also, I'm waaaaay ahead on planning this since I'm looking at Marathon Weekend 2020, not 2019, but in my defense I do want to book the cruise this fall if I'm doing the cruise, so I can get the best rate on it.

My plan (yes I already have a plan) is to fly in the Friday of Marathon Weekend, chill out that evening, expo and more chilling out on Saturday, run the marathon Sunday, hit a park that afternoon/evening before my body realizes what hit it, and thenn.....?

Well, then either board a 4-night Disney cruise on Monday, or stay in WDW and hit more parks (maybe throw in a day at Universal). Either way I'll be solo, and either way I'm planning to fly back the following Saturday (maybe Friday if I do the parks instead of the cruise). Considering I'm so far out from running those kind of distances still, I have no idea what recovery is going to look like. A cruise sounds nice...but there'll be new stuff to see at several of the parks, including UO...and also since I'm traveling solo, a week in WDW is actually about $1K cheaper than taking the cruise, which would mean I could afford basically all the table service meals I wanted (I don't normally do a lot of TS, and go for lower-end stuff even when I do). HMM. But then I've done the WDW parks about a billion times but have only cruised once. HMMMM.

It's comparing apples to oranges, I know. That's the problem. What would you choose for your recovery week--strolling the parks at WDW, or chilling out on a cruise ship?

I suppose I can always kick this decision down the road a way by making the cruise booking when the itineraries go up and cancelling it later if I decide to do a WDW week instead.

For "recovery", I would cruise for sure.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

As much as I love the Disney parks, if I could do a cruise after the marathon I definitely would.

 

[YawningDodo]

I think I've been talking myself back into the cruise over the course of the evening. Reminding myself that I ended the cruise feeling relaxed and refreshed, and I don't really feel that way after a WDW trip. :/

 

[drummerwife]

DH and I did the Castaway Cay Challenge cruise this year after running Dopey. I would highly recommend the cruise. We spent almost the entire time just relaxing in the adult area. The CCC 5k on the island was a blast and I would recommend “running” it.

 

[GreatLakes]

Are you talking a Disney cruise or some other line? I have done a Disney cruise and found it nice but overpriced. For recovery I would choose a non-Disney cruise. If you are considering the different between a Disney cruise and Disney parks I would go parks every time. I have personally found that walking the days after a marathon, while difficult, helps for a quicker recovery. You may want to consider wearing compression socks the rest of the day after the race.

 

[YawningDodo]

DH and I did the Castaway Cay Challenge cruise this year after running Dopey. I would highly recommend the cruise. We spent almost the entire time just relaxing in the adult area. The CCC 5k on the island was a blast and I would recommend “running” it.

I appreciate that you put "running" in quotes because I've been reading up on what the first couple of days are like post-marathon and wondering if I should expect to walk the Challenge. That is the cruise I'm looking at.

Are you talking a Disney cruise or some other line? I have done a Disney cruise and found it nice but overpriced. For recovery I would choose a non-Disney cruise. If you are considering the different between a Disney cruise and Disney parks I would go parks every time. I have personally found that walking the days after a marathon, while difficult, helps for a quicker recovery. You may want to consider wearing compression socks the rest of the day after the race.

I've only done one cruise, and it was Disney. I know they're overpriced compared to other lines, but I enjoyed it a lot and they're the cruise line I'm looking at booking with. A big part of the reason I went with Disney the first time was Marvel Day at Sea; this upcoming cruise would not be MDAS so it wouldn't have that particular draw, but I have been interested in checking out one of the bigger Disney ships. I suppose I could price out other cruise lines, but I have been imagining this as a thoroughly Disney vacation, so going with another cruise line would be a pretty big shift.

 

[TCB in FLA]

I haven’t done a cruise following a marathon so I can’t jump in on that discussion. However, I’ve done both Disney and non-Disney marathons, and the recovery was so much better with the Disney ones, which I totally credit to walking around the parks that afternoon and the following day(s) compared with jumping in a car and heading home. So the key is to stay in motion after, whichever vacation option you pick.

 

[tigger536]

I've done the CC challenge cruise the last two years. Highly recommend! Its a great way to relax after Dopey. The CC 5k is very relxed. You can totally walk it. Also, the characters are out on course, which makes it different from the normal "free" 5k they have every cruise.

 

[drummerwife]

I appreciate that you put "running" in quotes because I've been reading up on what the first couple of days are like post-marathon and wondering if I should expect to walk the Challenge. That is the cruise I'm looking at.

I don’t think you should expect to walk the challenge. I put running in quotes simply because a lot of people chose to walk it. We did take our time on the race because we wanted to get photos with the characters, but we had no issues with tight or sore muscles. One word of caution about photos with the characters on course: make sure you bring your camera/phone unless you plan on buying the cruise line photos. While runDisney puts on the race, the photographers are cruise line photographers, and they charge for their photos.
We really enjoyed the cruise and highly recommend it. runDisney pretty much takes over the ship with all the runners and their families, so even being a solo cruiser you’ll have lots of people with the same interests.

 

[YawningDodo]

I haven’t done a cruise following a marathon so I can’t jump in on that discussion. However, I’ve done both Disney and non-Disney marathons, and the recovery was so much better with the Disney ones, which I totally credit to walking around the parks that afternoon and the following day(s) compared with jumping in a car and heading home. So the key is to stay in motion after, whichever vacation option you pick.

Yeah--it occurred to me that I could save even more money by coming back home on Monday or Tuesday after the race, but A.) where's the fun in that? and B.) I think Not Going Back To Work immediately after the race is a good idea regardless of which option I go with. Also not immediately getting on a plane. Staying in motion is what I'm a little nervous about with the cruise option, since my cruise in January this year involved a lot of sitting and lounging. Most of the stuff I wanted to do on the cruise pretty much entailed walking as far as the lounge or the adult-only pool and then plopping myself down for an hour or two and having a drink. Very nice and relaxing, but staying in motion it was not. There are things I could do on the ship to keep moving (swim, walk laps, etc.) but knowing myself I wonder if I'll get lazy and just not. If I go to the parks the challenge will be the opposite; I'll have to be careful to limit my active time each day since I've been known to overdo it.

I've done the CC challenge cruise the last two years. Highly recommend! Its a great way to relax after Dopey. The CC 5k is very relxed. You can totally walk it. Also, the characters are out on course, which makes it different from the normal "free" 5k they have every cruise.

Good to know! I think it's just reassuring to know I have the option of completing it by walking if I'm having a rough recovery week.

I don’t think you should expect to walk the challenge. I put running in quotes simply because a lot of people chose to walk it. We did take our time on the race because we wanted to get photos with the characters, but we had no issues with tight or sore muscles. One word of caution about photos with the characters on course: make sure you bring your camera/phone unless you plan on buying the cruise line photos. While runDisney puts on the race, the photographers are cruise line photographers, and they charge for their photos.
We really enjoyed the cruise and highly recommend it. runDisney pretty much takes over the ship with all the runners and their families, so even being a solo cruiser you’ll have lots of people with the same interests.

I had a suspicion it'd be a runner-heavy cruise. I was surprised how easy a time I had meeting people on the MDAS cruise this year since I'm usually really shy, but I found fellow DCL guests to be generally pretty welcoming (at least, the ones who noticed me hanging around solo; I'm fine with being ignored by the majority of families). Disney World by comparison the weekend afterward almost felt isolating, though it's not as if I made a particular effort to talk to people in WDW.

It's a good point about the photos. I've already started wondering about the logistics of photos in general; it'd be nice not to have to carry a phone or camera during the marathon but I don't feel like Memory Maker is worth it if it's a solo trip and I'm in WDW so briefly anyway. And then I don't believe there's any Memory Maker package that crosses over with the cruise; if I remember correctly the cruise photos are packaged and sold completely separately. I don't need a billion photos of myself, but again, it'd be nice not to carry my own device(s). On my cruise I just took photos on my phone and bought one character photo since I wanted one that was a little nicer.

So.

Cruise pluses:
-More relaxing/more downtime
-Less preplanning
-More likely to meet people and have people to talk to
-Castaway Cay Challenge
-New experience (I've never been on the Dream before)

Cruise minuses:
-Maybe too relaxing--I might prolong my recovery with too much time off my feet
-Don't get to visit Universal Orlando
-Visit only two Disney parks (and one of them post-race, so that day may get cut short if I'm not feeling great)

WDW pluses:
-Stay moving and stretch my legs
-Visit all four Disney parks
-Visit Universal Orlando
-Some new experiences (there will be the new areas in DHS, plus whatever's new at UO)
-Lower price compared to the cruise means I can indulge in restaurants I haven't tried before and/or upgrade my resort

WDW minuses:
-Maybe too much moving and stretching of legs--I might prolong my recovery with too much time on my feet
-Overall less likely to feel "new" and novel--I did the College Program and spent so much time in the parks that I know them inside and out
-No Castaway Cay Challenge
-More preplanning needed

 

[CamColt]

We did the CC Challenge 2 years ago after the marathon, and I would recommend a cruise. I will admit the stairs were a bit tough the first couple of days on board (from the looks of it though, we weren't alone, LOL) but overall I feel that can be a more relaxing vacation than walking around the parks. And the camaraderie between all the runners on the cruise was fun too. Good luck!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I generally stay for a few weeks around the marathon so have done many things afterward. I have followed the races with beach trips (both coasts), WDW and a cruise. I have also done both WDW and a cruise afterward - WDW through the following Saturday, and then a cruise. My advice - WDW then cruise. Walking around after the marathon really helped with my recovery. By the time the cruise rolled around I was totally recovered and ready for a different kind of fun.

 

[YawningDodo]

I generally stay for a few weeks around the marathon so have done many things afterward. I have followed the races with beach trips (both coasts), WDW and a cruise. I have also done both WDW and a cruise afterward - WDW through the following Saturday, and then a cruise. My advice - WDW then cruise. Walking around after the marathon really helped with my recovery. By the time the cruise rolled around I was totally recovered and ready for a different kind of fun.

I wish I could do both. I'm already indulging by planning a full week of vacation post-marathon, though; it's just within my budget (both money-wise and time-wise) to do one or the other. I've been reading up on WDW restaurants and getting more and more tempted to go the WDW route...I spent a lot of time in WDW on my days off when I was on the College Program, but back then I couldn't afford to eat at any of the table service restaurants, so I'm finding as I note what's available and whether I've done it that the vast majority of the restaurants would be new experiences for me. So it could be nice to do a relatively slow and easy week in WDW with a focus on food. Of course, the cruise has plenty of food options, too.

Right now that's the way I'm leaning, but I've thought I had made a decision several times already only to come back to the other option. It's still quite a ways off, so I know it's silly to spend a bunch of time worrying at it right now, but I do have to figure out whether I want to book that cruise reservation this fall. I could always book it and then cancel if I change my mind, but I know myself and I know it'd be weirdly emotionally difficult for me to do that once I'd committed as far as putting down the reservation.