Marathon Weekend 2023

[Let's Get Kronk]

I was looking at the charity Team in Training this morning...for the Dopey, they require you to stay in some hotel which they wont say.
And for 5 days at this hotel you pay half the cost for $5500 and you pay nothing for the hotel for $8000. It seems
unfair that they didnt name the hotel nor did they give you a choice of just doing the fundraising w/o hotel..??

I just chatted with their customer service team to try to get some clarification on all of it. I will not be required to stay in the hotel they choose, but I *am* required to raise at least $5500 which would include half the cost of the room at a Disney property. She said they would announce the hotels in a couple months, but last year it was the Grand Floridian and the Contemporary. So, depending on where it is this year I may just cancel my Beach Club reservation and opt into the hotel situation. According to the website, I can just pay the rest of the room myself and not have to share with someone else. It's a decent chunk of money to raise, but it gets me into Dopey so I'm happy.

Now to see if runDisney will let me return my Goofy bib. Any bets on how emphatic the "hell no" will be when I ask for a refund?

 

[kps7795]

I just chatted with their customer service team to try to get some clarification on all of it. I will not be required to stay in the hotel they choose, but I *am* required to raise at least $5500 which would include half the cost of the room at a Disney property. She said they would announce the hotels in a couple months, but last year it was the Grand Floridian and the Contemporary. So, depending on where it is this year I may just cancel my Beach Club reservation and opt into the hotel situation. According to the website, I can just pay the rest of the room myself and not have to share with someone else. It's a decent chunk of money to raise, but it gets me into Dopey so I'm happy.

Now to see if runDisney will let me return my Goofy bib. Any bets on how emphatic the "hell no" will be when I ask for a refund?

How does one go about raising $5,500?

 

[Let's Get Kronk]

How does one go about raising $5,500?

I will get a professional fundraising staff partner assigned to me apparently. I plan to use social media a ton and take any other advice I get from that person. I've got 8 months.

 

[opusone]

Uh oh. I'm booked at Beach Club and this makes me nervous.

We were at Beach Club for three of the MW 2022 mornings....and we had no issues.

Same for us... for all four mornings of MW 2022. I think the longest we waited was about 10-12 minutes (although we usually did catch the 1st or 2nd bus).

 

[kps7795]

I will get a professional fundraising staff partner assigned to me apparently. I plan to use social media a ton and take any other advice I get from that person. I've got 8 months.

Good luck!

 

[fatmanatee]

How does one go about raising $5,500?

Team in Training is a big undertaking, they require $3,500 for the NYC Marathon. A friend of mine did it once and they can get pretty creative with it, she (and others in the group) hosted a bar outing where a portion of sales went towards the fundraising total. Otherwise it seems to be a lot of messaging to friends/family/social media.

 

[mmm_texas]

Big caveats with the charity below info: Although the link looks current, I don't see it actually linked from anywhere, so it's possible it's outdated, so you'll probably need to contact the charity to be sure they're still participating. Also, this link says nothing about if they have any availability left.

That said, here's a list of runDisney charity partners:

https://www.rundisney.com/events/di...iders-charities/disneyworld-marathon-weekend/

 

[ciaoaloha31]

As of checking at 4:55 PM ET, Team in Training only has 10K and Half Marathon spots left.

 

[YawningDodo]

Speaking of rooms for Marathon Weekend - someone confirm for me that I shouldn't call and book a tent site at Fort Wilderness and camp for MW. Or I don't know, play devil's advocate, whatever floats your boat. I'd be flying in and taking the bus since a.) I don't like driving in general and b.) I've noticed from driving home after training runs that post-run my reactions are slowed and my brain's not working at full capacity - so I've stopped driving after long runs to avoid causing an accident. So that means I have to take the bus, which means I have to stay on property. Money's tight and I've always wanted to stay at Fort Wilderness (and I've already got a tent that fits in my checked bag since I had planned to go next month and had to cancel), so the other day I had this wild idea that I'd go for it - but after thinking about it more, I'm worried I literally won't be able to get up the next morning if I sleep on the ground after running a marathon. After my first (and so far only) half marathon I had several mornings where I basically had to shove my legs off the side of the bed because they just sort of didn't work until I'd gotten on my feet and warmed up a little.

But, you know. Several hundred dollars saved, fun resort I haven't had a chance to visit yet, adventure in the great outdoors....

Someone tell me to calm down and just book one of the All Stars.

 

[RuntheMouse]

Someone tell me to calm down and just book one of the All Stars.

I’ll help you with that…..book the room at All Stars! Tent camping for MW sounds like a spec kind of torture!

 

[Desdemona924]

Speaking of rooms for Marathon Weekend - someone confirm for me that I shouldn't call and book a tent site at Fort Wilderness and camp for MW. Or I don't know, play devil's advocate, whatever floats your boat. I'd be flying in and taking the bus since a.) I don't like driving in general and b.) I've noticed from driving home after training runs that post-run my reactions are slowed and my brain's not working at full capacity - so I've stopped driving after long runs to avoid causing an accident. So that means I have to take the bus, which means I have to stay on property. Money's tight and I've always wanted to stay at Fort Wilderness (and I've already got a tent that fits in my checked bag since I had planned to go next month and had to cancel), so the other day I had this wild idea that I'd go for it - but after thinking about it more, I'm worried I literally won't be able to get up the next morning if I sleep on the ground after running a marathon. After my first (and so far only) half marathon I had several mornings where I basically had to shove my legs off the side of the bed because they just sort of didn't work until I'd gotten on my feet and warmed up a little.

But, you know. Several hundred dollars saved, fun resort I haven't had a chance to visit yet, adventure in the great outdoors....

Someone tell me to calm down and just book one of the All Stars.

I have a friend that just camped there for Springtime Surprise. She seemed fine. BUT I will add that she was with her parents and I don't know what their set up was (tent, pop-up, camper).
Personally, I'm not a camper, so unless you do it a lot and are very comfortable with it, I'd book the All-Star room.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

someone confirm for me that I shouldn't call and book a tent site at Fort Wilderness and camp for MW

I would only tell you to do this if you were going to be hammock camping instead of tent camping ha.

I really think it’s up to you… just be aware that there are other factors that could make sleep hard the night before the race (rain for instance). And the tent sites are cheaper but IMO they’re not THAT much cheaper. They are pretty overpriced for a slab of ground lol.

 

[jpeterson]

Speaking of rooms for Marathon Weekend - someone confirm for me that I shouldn't call and book a tent site at Fort Wilderness and camp for MW. Or I don't know, play devil's advocate, whatever floats your boat. I'd be flying in and taking the bus since a.) I don't like driving in general and b.) I've noticed from driving home after training runs that post-run my reactions are slowed and my brain's not working at full capacity - so I've stopped driving after long runs to avoid causing an accident. So that means I have to take the bus, which means I have to stay on property. Money's tight and I've always wanted to stay at Fort Wilderness (and I've already got a tent that fits in my checked bag since I had planned to go next month and had to cancel), so the other day I had this wild idea that I'd go for it - but after thinking about it more, I'm worried I literally won't be able to get up the next morning if I sleep on the ground after running a marathon. After my first (and so far only) half marathon I had several mornings where I basically had to shove my legs off the side of the bed because they just sort of didn't work until I'd gotten on my feet and warmed up a little.

But, you know. Several hundred dollars saved, fun resort I haven't had a chance to visit yet, adventure in the great outdoors....

Someone tell me to calm down and just book one of the All Stars.

No way I would do tent camping and then try to run a marathon. Book the All-Stars!

 

[HangWithMerida]

Speaking of rooms for Marathon Weekend - someone confirm for me that I shouldn't call and book a tent site at Fort Wilderness and camp for MW. Or I don't know, play devil's advocate, whatever floats your boat. I'd be flying in and taking the bus since a.) I don't like driving in general and b.) I've noticed from driving home after training runs that post-run my reactions are slowed and my brain's not working at full capacity - so I've stopped driving after long runs to avoid causing an accident. So that means I have to take the bus, which means I have to stay on property. Money's tight and I've always wanted to stay at Fort Wilderness (and I've already got a tent that fits in my checked bag since I had planned to go next month and had to cancel), so the other day I had this wild idea that I'd go for it - but after thinking about it more, I'm worried I literally won't be able to get up the next morning if I sleep on the ground after running a marathon. After my first (and so far only) half marathon I had several mornings where I basically had to shove my legs off the side of the bed because they just sort of didn't work until I'd gotten on my feet and warmed up a little.

But, you know. Several hundred dollars saved, fun resort I haven't had a chance to visit yet, adventure in the great outdoors....

Someone tell me to calm down and just book one of the All Stars.

I love tent camping and have wanted to try out fort wilderness but i would book all stars over a tent site for MW. Weather is unpredictable. Even if your tent fits easily, the creature comforts that make for a comfortable tent camping experience will be hard to make room for. Personally, I would need a really good sleeping pad at a minimum and would prefer a cot. The pad I use takes up almost as much room as my tent when packaged. Sleeping bag/Blankets, an actual pillow, a fan if its warm. The clothes and running shoes alone take up so much room. Make things easy on yourself and book a hotel room.

 

[Novatrix]

Someone tell me to calm down and just book one of the All Stars.

Let me 3rd the motion, book an All Star.

I camp. I will do marathon distance hikes while camping. I would do a half marathon while camping. I would camp several days after completing a marathon. I would NEVER consider camping before/directly after a marathon. Just think about it, besides rain which can interrupt sleep, Disney can be freezing or broiling during January. Sometimes both in the same weekend. The campsites are close together, you're more likely to hear loud neighbors in a tent.

At least with the All Stars, you can have a temperature controlled room, 4 walls + door and when you're sore and stiff after the race you're not going to have to limp 1/8 of a mile to a bathroom/shower.

My recommendation is to save somewhere else.

 

[Naomeri]

Speaking of rooms for Marathon Weekend - someone confirm for me that I shouldn't call and book a tent site at Fort Wilderness and camp for MW. Or I don't know, play devil's advocate, whatever floats your boat. I'd be flying in and taking the bus since a.) I don't like driving in general and b.) I've noticed from driving home after training runs that post-run my reactions are slowed and my brain's not working at full capacity - so I've stopped driving after long runs to avoid causing an accident. So that means I have to take the bus, which means I have to stay on property. Money's tight and I've always wanted to stay at Fort Wilderness (and I've already got a tent that fits in my checked bag since I had planned to go next month and had to cancel), so the other day I had this wild idea that I'd go for it - but after thinking about it more, I'm worried I literally won't be able to get up the next morning if I sleep on the ground after running a marathon. After my first (and so far only) half marathon I had several mornings where I basically had to shove my legs off the side of the bed because they just sort of didn't work until I'd gotten on my feet and warmed up a little.

But, you know. Several hundred dollars saved, fun resort I haven't had a chance to visit yet, adventure in the great outdoors....

Someone tell me to calm down and just book one of the All Stars.

Yeah, what everyone else said—just book an All-Star. But I would avoid Music, that resort is really long. I was in the Rock n Roll section for Princess Weekend, and it felt like I was miles from the front. I think I was closer to stuff when I was in Casitas 5 at Coronado for Springtime Surprise.

 

[azrivest]

So that means I have to take the bus, which means I have to stay on property.

Just for this, don't do it.

How are you gonna get to the race bus from your campground? I assume the race buses don't go through every loop?

The only people I've ever heard of staying at FW for races drove their own car to the starting line.

 

[pluto377]

Definitely all star. January can be cold! If you want the experience of sleeping on the hard ground before the marathon just get to the corrals early.

 

[NYC_MW]

Also chiming in with an accommodation question.
Is it a bad idea to consider moving from AllStar Wed night (just me) to Pop Thu/Fri night (+2 ppl, 1 doing 10K) to Kidani Sat/Sun night (+4 more ppl, 2 doing marathon) if I'm doing Dopey? I'm not as worried about the first move, but was hoping to lounge around the hotel/check out Disney Springs on Saturday and only now realizing that may not be an option if shifting resorts. This is of course, dependent on us snagging the elusive Kidani reservation...

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Is it a bad idea to consider moving from AllStar Wed night (just me) to Pop Thu/Fri night (+2 ppl, 1 doing 10K) to Kidani Sat/Sun night (+4 more ppl, 2 doing marathon) if I'm doing Dopey?

It seems like a lot of work and you may not have things accessible to you when you move/would have to repack a lot. For me, it takes me awhile to settle into a new place to sleep so that would also be a factor.