Marathon Weekend 2025

[Mr. Drauer]

Guardians

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD: much as I love and adore HM, I have never once driven 5 hours round trip just to ride it… but I have - multiple times - for GOTG.

Guardians for me! Let’s go, Trash Panda & friends.

 

[steph0808]

Guardians

I like Haunted Mansion and everything it represents, but I've based all my votes on what I would prefer to ride when at WDW, and that's Guardians.

 

[DIS-OH]

While riding Guardians makes me happy, my vote goes to the ride that has my heart…Haunted Mansion.


How could I not vote for the ride that inspires my office decor?

Edit: And my bedroom decor?

 

[jrsharp21]

Going with HM also. I love Guardians and probably is my favorite ride right now, but HM is a classic. Nostalgia is a powerful drug. LOL.

 

[Disney at Heart]

Another vote for the classic Haunted Mansion.

I love Guardians, but it’s a new friend and the long-time friend has more of my heart.

 

[Kerry1957]

SAFD: Haunted Mansion.

 

[Bunkie1979]

All things considered including design and interactivity of queue, pre-show, story, ride experience, and the overall feeling it evokes, it's Haunted Mansion for me for the win!

 

[pluto377]

SAFD: Hmm, this is kind of hard for me because I don't LOVE either of these. Guardians made me want to toss my cookies and HM is kind of boring to me.

I'm going to vote HM based on the classic Disney-ness of it!

Thanks for putting all this together! It's been fun to see all the matchups.

 

[lahobbs4]

Haunted Mansion!

and Go Pack! (I spent a year at NC State though a college transfer program. I loved it there so much)

 

[GollyGadget]

Hey Club rD folks! I’m eager to know how the PoT is setup. Can one of you share how it looks for the HM tomorrow? And if it’s different for the challenges/marathon? I’m curious if the mentions of 15K were an accident or an addition. Thanks in advance!


SAFD: Haunted Mansion. GotG is too much of a hassle to ride, plus it makes me ill.

 

[Waiting2goback]

I need a little help from my fellow runners. I used to frequent these boards, mostly the running thread. I took a hiatus because I’m down on Disney with a lot of their changes, and I have had a series of injuries that had made running less than enjoyable. I have done the marathon twice and I have always wanted to do Goofy but have heard from a few friends that the races have declined in recent years. Last time I ran the marathon was 2018. I did ToT in 2022 and I was underwhelmed. For those of you that have been running for years, would you agree the races have declined? If I pay $450, or whatever it ends up being, will I be disappointed?

 

[camaker]

I need a little help from my fellow runners. I used to frequent these boards, mostly the running thread. I took a hiatus because I’m down on Disney with a lot of their changes, and I have had a series of injuries that had made running less than enjoyable. I have done the marathon twice and I have always wanted to do Goofy but have heard from a few friends that the races have declined in recent years. Last time I ran the marathon was 2018. I did ToT in 2022 and I was underwhelmed. For those of you that have been running for years, would you agree the races have declined? If I pay $450, or whatever it ends up being, will I be disappointed?

What do you mean by "the races have declined"? It's hard to give a definitive answer without some context there. I've run Marathon Weekend continuously since 2016 and I don't think the race experience itself has declined. I still enjoy the races just as much as I used to. Sure, there have been some course changes, but they really fall into the personal preference category for me. Some love the changes, some hate them.

On the pre-race announcer/entertainment front, there was a big drop off when they didn't renew Rudy Novotny as their lead announcer. The early days of Carissa were... painful and strained. In my opinion, though, Carissa and supporting crew have grown into their roles and are, at the least, serviceable, if not pretty good, now.

Where I will say there's been a decline is in the area of swag and merch. Race costs have gone up steadily, but the quality of the race shirts has gone way down from the days of Champion, although to be fair the new shirts have their proponents, as well. The merchandise set up seems perpetually short of inventory and I hate having to deal with a virtual queue on day one of the expo just to get in and see if anything I like is left.

I think it really depends on what you're looking for out of your race experience.

ETA: I'm sure I've missed some things, so hopefully others will chime in with their experiences and fill in the gaps.

 

[jmasgat]

I need a little help from my fellow runners. I used to frequent these boards, mostly the running thread. I took a hiatus because I’m down on Disney with a lot of their changes, and I have had a series of injuries that had made running less than enjoyable. I have done the marathon twice and I have always wanted to do Goofy but have heard from a few friends that the races have declined in recent years. Last time I ran the marathon was 2018. I did ToT in 2022 and I was underwhelmed. For those of you that have been running for years, would you agree the races have declined? If I pay $450, or whatever it ends up being, will I be disappointed?

Answering the 2nd question first….Probably yes. As much because of your perception/expectations without even considering other factors. And I say this as someone who has done lots of Disney races since 2008 and feels similar in terms of “Disney then/Disney now”

The courses don’t change much-nothing new or fresh. Characters & entertainment—I’ve never been into that so can’t really comment (except for my opinion on the “gospel choir” which is a shadow of its former self)

Is your desire to do Goofy due to wanting to do a half/marathon challenge? What will make that experience a good one? Does it have to be Disney? What do you value in a race?

Disney races are $$ and add travel to that and they are $$$$, even more so than traveling for other races. You may get more enjoyment out of something new.

 

[Waiting2goback]

What do you mean by "the races have declined"? It's hard to give a definitive answer without some context there. I've run Marathon Weekend continuously since 2016 and I don't think the race experience itself has declined. I still enjoy the races just as much as I used to. Sure, there have been some course changes, but they really fall into the personal preference category for me. Some love the changes, some hate them.

On the pre-race announcer/entertainment front, there was a big drop off when they didn't renew Rudy Novotny as their lead announcer. The early days of Carissa were... painful and strained. In my opinion, though, Carissa and supporting crew have grown into their roles and are, at the least, serviceable, if not pretty good, now.

Where I will say there's been a decline is in the area of swag and merch. Race costs have gone up steadily, but the quality of the race shirts has gone way down from the days of Champion, although to be fair the new shirts have their proponents, as well. The merchandise set up seems perpetually short of inventory and I hate having to deal with a virtual queue on day one of the expo just to get in and see if anything I like is left.

I think it really depends on what you're looking for out of your race experience.

ETA: I'm sure I've missed some things, so hopefully others will chime in with their experiences and fill in the gaps.

You kind of hit all my points. Price has gone up. The expo is less enjoyable than they used to be. My first RunDisney race was 2014 TOT. I got a decent bag of swag when I picked up my bib. My last race I got an empty bag for gear. The expo had a nice selection of stuff. The race was so awesome compared to 2022 TOT. As for the marathon I ran 2016. There were so many vendors at the expo they had them in the concourse for the baseball stadium. There was significantly less just two years later when I ran it in 2018. One major change in 2018 was no DJ on the bridge of the road headed to the Contemporary for example. I was disappointed when Rudy wasn’t brought back but the announcers are a small piece of the experience. I have watched recent videos and have seen the course changes. They are fine with me. Anything beats running through WWoS.

 

[Waiting2goback]

Answering the 2nd question first….Probably yes. As much because of your perception/expectations without even considering other factors. And I say this as someone who has done lots of Disney races since 2008 and feels similar in terms of “Disney then/Disney now”

The courses don’t change much-nothing new or fresh. Characters & entertainment—I’ve never been into that so can’t really comment (except for my opinion on the “gospel choir” which is a shadow of its former self)

Is your desire to do Goofy due to wanting to do a half/marathon challenge? What will make that experience a good one? Does it have to be Disney? What do you value in a race?

Disney races are $$ and add travel to that and they are $$$$, even more so than traveling for other races. You may get more enjoyment out of something new.

Goofy is about the challenge. Disney got me into running at a difficult time in my life (divorce) and helped me get through that period better than I could have thought. That first race was 10 years ago. I always wanted to do Goofy or Dopey just because of the challenge and do it at Disney. Just feels like a “full circle” type of thing ten years later. I don’t care about the characters either. I have never once stopped for a character at a Disney race.

I have looked at other races that might have a similar challenge. I have yet to find one.

 

[Bree]

Only decline I’ve noticed is with merchandise, the expo and the snack box. Official RD clothing and the “free” race shirt quality is just not the same. Race jackets and shirts I have from 2015 and 2017 are in far better condition than what has been put out the last few years. The expos are much smaller and not as interesting as they used to be. It’s the same handful of vendors at each race. I used to spend quite a bit of time and make a few loops around, but now it’s one loop with a pit stop for my race shirt and I’m outta there. Snack boxes are just way ok. I want Oreos back and I’m not a fan of birdseed covered items or smooshed fruit somethings that are turd colored. My horse eats all and any type of fruit, fruit leather, dried fruit, etc. She wouldn’t touch what they hand out in the snack box

Course entertainment has seen a dramatic improvement with the new entertainment director. Race themes are planned out 2-3 years in advance so he is forced to work with what he’s given. He’s done a fantastic job in getting more characters on course and a better variety too. I appreciate that it’s not the same exact characters out for every race for every race weekend. There are some overlaps, but not like it used to be. Vacation Genie seems to have really taken a vacation with the new director I remember one year with the old director it was bugs life characters three stops in a row - Flik, Hopper and the girl ant.

 

[Naomeri]

I have looked at other races that might have a similar challenge. I have yet to find one.

Come to Minnesota and do the Loony (10K & 5K on Saturday, 10 Miler on Sunday) or Ultra Loony (10K & 5K on Saturday, Marathon on Sunday) We’ve been voted the most beautiful urban marathon in the US. First weekend in October—which is mostly reasonable weather (except for last year, but we don’t talk about that )

 

[Bree]

Sounds like my kinda camping! I would definitely do a “glamper” if we ever became campers. I’m not a roughing it kind of girl. I did enough tent camping when I was in Girl Scouts.

My DH says my idea of roughing it is continental breakfast

Seriously though….I love the outdoors. Hiking, fishing, 4-wheeling, etc. We own horses and just sold our farm. I am not afraid of dirt, sweat and hard work, but when I’m done I want foo foo plush spoiled princess

 

[Barca33Runner]

I need a little help from my fellow runners. I used to frequent these boards, mostly the running thread. I took a hiatus because I’m down on Disney with a lot of their changes, and I have had a series of injuries that had made running less than enjoyable. I have done the marathon twice and I have always wanted to do Goofy but have heard from a few friends that the races have declined in recent years. Last time I ran the marathon was 2018. I did ToT in 2022 and I was underwhelmed. For those of you that have been running for years, would you agree the races have declined? If I pay $450, or whatever it ends up being, will I be disappointed?

I’ve run at least one race at Marathon Weekend since my first in 2012. There is certainly a difference in the race experience and I think there are diminishing returns for any activity you do more than once. I’ll never have the experience I did finishing my first Half Marathon, first Marathon, and first Dopey again.

Still, I find the races to be a good bit of fun and the experience to be worth repeating for myself. The price is obviously different than when I began and I’ll concur with the previous respondents that merch is not up to my standards (which is not particularly a problem as I am not a merch person). I find the course experience to be very similar to what it has always been. There are frustrations (early wake up, length of time in the corrals, course crowding, long lines for characters, etc.) but I still think they run a great race considering the number of participants.

Only you can make the call for yourself. Marathon Weekend is what you make it. There are definitely negatives to be found; if those are what will draw your focus and influence your experience the most, it might not be for you.

One thing that could influence MW2025 positively compared to recent years is that it will not directly overlap with Holiday crowds/winter breaks at schools for the first time in a few years. Marathon Weekend is a massive influx of people and having it the first week of January and overlapping with Holiday crowds, to me, is sheer lunacy on Disney’s part. This year it’s back to its later stagger and while rD crowds are still substantial, the parks shouldn’t be packed quite as horribly as they have been during recent Marathon Weekends.