Marathon Weekend 2020

[Gemini1131]

SAFD: if i could make the crowds disappear it would be christmas/new years. Outaide of that I really enjoyed the festival of the arts during princess weekend.

 

[CDKG]

For this week’s Sundays are for Disney, what is your favorite time of year to visit WDW or when would you like to visit?

My favorite time of year to visit WDW is in the fall with October being my favorite month (16 days!) I love seeing the Halloween decorations at Magic Kingdom. I used to love MNSSHP, but they oversell tickets now and it’s just too crowded to enjoy. Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival is my favorite! Although, I would love to visit Flower and Garden one of these years to see how it compares. Finally, I love the weather in October. It is still warm and nice, but the humidity starts to go down to a more comfortable level. September is too hot and humid and...love bugs, yuck! Early November is okay... There is a bit of a chill in the air and the Halloween decorations go down quickly and Christmas decorations appear overnight! I have never experienced WDW in full Christmas, but it is my favorite time of year to visit Disneyland!

 

[jmasgat]

Wait....is no one's favorite time Marathon Weekend? I'll vote for this. You get to see/meet up with people who are all doing something that we love (or at least "strongly tolerate"!). The temperature is generally mild and better than home, the crowds are usually lighter and the Christmas decorations are sometimes still up.

 

[lhermiston]

Wait....is no one's favorite time Marathon Weekend? I'll vote for this. You get to see/meet up with people who are all doing something that we love (or at least "strongly tolerate"!). The temperature is generally mild and better than home, the crowds are usually lighter and the Christmas decorations are sometimes still up.

I agree with everything you’ve said. But having never experienced Christmas or Halloween at WDW, those definitely interest me.

 

[steph0808]

I enjoy Marathon Weekend the most, as well. I have been at Christmas, but it was when I was a kid. We did have a good time though!

But Marathon Weekend is my favorite - because everyone is so supportive of each other! I love telling people "awesome job" when they are wearing their medals and hearing the same when I wear mine. It also livens up the interactions with characters!

 

[lhermiston]

I enjoy Marathon Weekend the most, as well. I have been at Christmas, but it was when I was a kid. We did have a good time though!

But Marathon Weekend is my favorite - because everyone is so supportive of each other! I love telling people "awesome job" when they are wearing their medals and hearing the same when I wear mine. It also livens up the interactions with characters!

Just this past week I actually described Marathon Weekend as being like a “class reunion.” I only have two under my belt, but I like knowing I’ll be meeting up with my friends from around the globe.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

SAFD: It's been awhile so may have changed, but my favorite was when our kids were younger and we would sneak them out of school for a trip around the first week of December. Christmas decorations, the Christmas party and some of the lowest crowds of the year. Loved it!

 

[Disney at Heart]

@princesspirateandrunner I Agree - Any time is a good time to go to Disney!
Marathon weekend is definitely a great time, and our family has been there for at least 23-24 of them. The anticipation, the excitement, the friendships, the sense of accomplishment, the pride of wearing the shirts and medals in the parks, the interactions with CMs and characters, added to the rides, shows, food, entertainment, fireworks, and resorts that are staples at Disney World, make MW a special time. (It can be a little chilly for me sometimes though!)

Christmas is another special time, but it has to be early December if you want to avoid big crowds. Decorations in the parks are beautiful, and the resort decorations blow me away! Huge trees, garlands, and ornaments are just the beginning. Gingerbread houses, all kinds of white, milk, and dark chocolate sculptures, and a giant train set are a few things that create a wonderful diversion during the middle of the day if the crowd does get annoying. The Epcot Festival of Holidays storytellers can take most of a day. You can hear stories of Father Christmas, Pere Noel, Hanukkah traditions, Helga, the monkey king, the mischievous troll, the three kings and more as you travel around the world. And of course, the Candlelight Processional celebrating the birth of Jesus gives me chills and makes me cry.

Food and Wine and Flower and Garden are also great times... and both festivals also have races! Win-win!
And if you can time it just right, the week before a Hurricane definitely has low crowds!

 

[Disneyslowrunner]

SAFD: Right now Marathon weekend is my favorite because it tends to be a little less busy, I like that the decorations are still up at some resorts, I like the cooler weather, and it combines both Disney and running. I would like to go for Wine and Dine/Halloween time, but it is hard to find time off around then. I might give it a try next year.

 

[lahobbs4]

I love Marathon Weekend, as well! You get to experience all 4 seasons in one week at WDW.

We've been there a lot during fall/Christmas decorations so I would love to visit in the Spring. I especially want to see Flower and Garden! I wasn't a fan of the MVMCP or Food & Wine, sadly.

 

[pluto377]

I really want to do an early December trip to get in the mood for the season. It hasn't worked out yet. I'd also like to go at Halloween sometime. I enjoy late April/early May, but it's usually a tad hot for me. I do think Marathon weekend is the best though. The weather is usually good, the camraderie is nice, and the parks aren't crazy crowded.

 

[Baloo in MI]

SAFD:
I missed last week’s question - I would pick La Cantina de San Angel. We like to sit outside near the lake, love the food and have been really happy with how great they are with our families Celiac needs (as most of WDW is).

This week’s - I love Christmas and I love Disney, so my favourite time is between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Crowds tend to be pretty decent and all the Christmas Decorations are up. Back in the day, we used to literally wander Osborne’s Lights for hours. But really all the parks and the resorts are just so pretty. Love that time of year. And a close second would be Marathon Weekend!!!

 

[Dopey 2020]

While I love the Christmas decorations and party, MNSSHP beats it by just a little and the last couple years the flower and garden festival beats that. Not sure if it's because it's after a long winter or the fact that it's grown in recent years but it seems so much more Disney like than food and wine.

 

[camaker]

While I love the Christmas decorations and party, MNSSHP beats it by just a little and the last couple years the flower and garden festival beats that. Not sure if it's because it's after a long winter or the fact that it's grown in recent years but it seems so much more Disney like than food and wine.

Disney has definitely worked on upgrading the Flower & Garden Show. The best thing they've done, in my opinion, is look at what worked very well and was popular for the Food & Wine Festival (the food kiosks) and added them to Flower & Garden without changing what already made that show great (topiaries, butterfly house, extra decorations, etc). Ultimately, that has made Flower & Garden a much more complete and attractive show.

 

[baxter24]

SAFD: Either December or Marathon weekend. Love being there with the Christmas decorations and cooler weather.

 

[SheHulk]

SAFD: I agree with everybody else who said December (before Xmas) or Marathon weekend. But especially December because I'm not a bundle of nerves over the races, or managing early wake ups, etc. I was there with younger DS over actual Xmas-New Years' week and that was just too, too crowded for us.

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

SAFD: I am hoping that marathon weekend/week after become my new favorite. We've never been in January before. Now that DD is in college and will be on break we were able to schedule more time there. She did run Princess a few years back but that was too rushed of a trip because of her school schedule and we found the weekend still crowded.

Prior to this we have always gone during summer/school breaks so it was usually hot and crowded, lol.

 

[PrincessV]

For this week’s Sundays are for Disney, what is your favorite time of year to visit WDW or when would you like to visit?

SAFD: It's a tie for me: early Dec. for our annual holiday visit, and July 4th. My two favorite holidays and nobody does them better than WDW!

 

[BigEeyore]

SAFD: Early December is the best - low crowds, good weather (usually) and all the decorations and special things going on for the holidays. When our kids were little, and missing school wasn't a big deal, we went to WDW at that time and loved it (Osborne lights were still around). As much as I love the Christmas stuff at WDW though, there is no way I would go in that Christmas-NY's time frame - it is literally the single busiest week of the year at WDW!

Of course I love marathon weekend too, but seeing all of the holiday decorations AFTER Christmas just isn't the same - although those castle lights are breathtaking!

 

[RunDopey]

SAFD: I am with the marathon folks. Love to see the decorations still up and the castle with the lights. We usually stay another 4 or 5 days after marathon Sunday the lower crown level. Also a big fan of Flower and Garden, more so than Wine and Dine. It is a bit hot but we are used to it, as Houston's climate is similar to Orlando. I am thinking that I would like to try the first week in December and we are looking forward to our first Festival of the Arts for Princess in 2020. No kids, so we can go whenever we want.