Marathon Weekend 2025

[BigEeyore]

Wow 40ish pages in a day!
Just got home from work - after 9 MW registrations without a hitch I didn't get in for 2025. My job doesn't allow me to sit in front of a computer screen forever, so my WFH husband had 3 different browsers going to get me registered. By the time he got in everything was gone
On my lunch break I frantically searched for charity bibs and thankfully was able to register for Goofy through Ronald McDonald house.
I would have bailed on the whole thing but planned to run with 3 friends (all who got in!).

 

[jmasgat]

Wow, this thread moved quickly, need to go back and catch up. Hopefully folks did better than us today, I have club runD but my wife doesn’t and she didn’t make it in before Dopey sold out.

Talk about awkward planning now. We’ve each done Dopey separately but this was going to be our “together” Dopey. Blah.

Hope others had better luck!

It's a long shot, but the races do occasionally open back up.....for nanoseconds. Your best bet to monitor is to do something like this.....

https://teamrundisney.com/chrome-rundisautofill

So you could sign up for Telegram and the MW alerts:

https://t.me/runDisMarathonAlerts

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

So I have AKL Jambo booked already through DVC. It is my home resort. But I want to move to Cabins in Copper Creek.

Has anyone stayed over in Wilderness Lodge over the weekend? Will they run the boat in the morning so my son can take cheer us on when we go through MK?

 

[matt and beth]

So I have AKL Jambo booked already through DVC. It is my home resort.

Has anyone stayed over in Wilderness Lodge over the weekend? Will they run the boat in the morning so my son can take cheer us on when we go through MK?

We have CCV and BWV. Did CCV the past two races. Very nice place and absolutely love the food. Short walks to rooms and buses. Plenty of buses. Not sure about the boat in the AM. But guessing no to that early

 

[Bree]

Now to plan my travel - and the family’s travel!!

I had tentatively booked Swan/Dolphin for Jan 8-13, but I’m not tempted to come on Jan 7 and fly home the 14th (and then have DH and the kids come in the 9th-13th) - but S/D rooms are exorbitant to add a day on either end!!

Historically, have there been room discounts during marathon weekend??

Historically yes. Mousesavers has all the historical data if you want to check it out.

There are TA that get room blocks at Swan/Dolphin for race weekends. I’m booked with one for Springtime Surprise with someone that can’t be named on these boards. The powers that be blocked the entire agency from being shared on Disboards, but the agents are people that used to be regulars here. If you belong to any of the D3 Day Drinking FB pages they advertise room blocks too. There’s sometimes perks thrown in like gift cards, runner grab and go breakfast, maybe a get together for dinner/drinks. It varies from weekend to weekend.

So after someone mentioned here to check social media, I looked on instagram, and noticed some Brazilians saying they weren't able to register, but there are agencies that later sell bibs as a package? Has anyone heard about that? I'm wondering if this is sanctioned by runDisney. I'm sure it's a drop in the bucket compared to the total number of registrations, but it would annoy me if travel agencies are preemptively buying up bibs to make a profit from it, while runners aren't able to actually register themselves.

International TA get bibs still from RD. I think they get stuck with what they don’t sell though. I overheard a well known TA with a very popular blog and insta presence in the corral at MW telling some other women she had connections with a TA from Panama looking to unload bibs for Princess.

 

[JulieODC]

I am a little surprised at the prices now for S/D. I stayed there in 2022 for $335 a night, while my parents were at the Boardwalk. I loved staying there and thought they're a great option, but dang!

We’re huge S/D fans and stay there pretty much yearly! The prices have really crept up! I am glad I snagged a good rate ($359-ish) a few months ago when I first decided to do Dopey - but I doubt I’ll be able to add a night on either end for the rate I currently have!

Historically yes. Mousesavers has all the historical data if you want to check it out.

There are TA that get room blocks at Swan/Dolphin for race weekends. I’m booked with one for Springtime Surprise with someone that can’t be named on these boards. The powers that be blocked the entire agency from being shared on Disboards, but the agents are people that used to be regulars here. If you belong to any of the D3 Day Drinking FB pages they advertise room blocks too. There’s sometimes perks thrown in like gift cards, runner grab and go breakfast, maybe a get together for dinner/drinks. It varies from weekend to weekend.


International TA get bibs still from RD. I think they get stuck with what they don’t sell though. I overheard a well known TA with a very popular blog and insta presence in the corral at MW telling some other women she had connections with a TA from Panama looking to unload bibs for Princess.

I know who you are referring to! I’ve never seen a block from them for marathon weekend - but I’ll go reach out now!

 

[RuntheMouse]

So I have AKL Jambo booked already through DVC. It is my home resort. But I want to move to Cabins in Copper Creek.

Has anyone stayed over in Wilderness Lodge over the weekend? Will they run the boat in the morning so my son can take cheer us on when we go through MK?

We have CCV and BWV. Did CCV the past two races. Very nice place and absolutely love the food. Short walks to rooms and buses. Plenty of buses. Not sure about the boat in the AM. But guessing no to that early

We have stayed at BRV the last two MW and are booked there again in ‘25. I can’t bring myself to book anywhere else, I love it that much. As mentioned above, the food options are good and the walk to rooms is short. Also love the hot tub at the DVC pool, it’s huge and usually has some runners hanging out there to talk to!

As far as I know, the boat is on the same schedule as non race days so it won’t be available for spectator transportation.

 

[Baloo in MI]

So I have AKL Jambo booked already through DVC. It is my home resort. But I want to move to Cabins in Copper Creek.

Has anyone stayed over in Wilderness Lodge over the weekend? Will they run the boat in the morning so my son can take cheer us on when we go through MK?

CCV is our home resort and we have stayed there several times now for runDisney Weekends. It is my absolute favorite resort, very relaxing, good food options and nothing beats the Christmas Tree there in the lobby! One critique it does feel much less focused on the races than other resorts I have stayed at. I do not think the boats to MK run that early.

 

[Baloo in MI]

Finally caught up on the board. I figure this is the 14th time I have gone through a runDisney registration. There have been some crazy experiences, and certainly stress. The past two MW registrations have been the worst. Both times it was these boards that made the difference for me. I just want to share how appreciative I am of all of you and the kindness and cooperation that is so clearly abundant in the midst of registration this morning!

I had big goals this morning, Dopey for me, half, 10k & 5k for my youngest DD and then two more 5ks for my older DD and DW. To keep it short I will just say I and my DW were running many devices with multiple browsers. Everyone of them were just sitting at more than an hour for sooo long! I was gifted a link that got me Dopey and my DD the half. 45 minutes in one of the links, just one link, showed signs of life. That ended up with me getting my DD her 10k and 5k. I fretted on whether to keep going and register the other two at that point or pay and go back. I got lucky, because right after paying the 5K closed. So no 5ks for older DD or DW, but we got everything else. And for that I am appreciative (and I can continue to feed my runDisney addiction) - Dopey #9 here I come!

Seriously, this is a very cool group to be a part of!

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

I had a desktop Edge, an iPhone Safari regular, an iPhone Safari incognito, an iPad Safari regular, an iPad Safari incognito, and then got DH to open an iPad Safari regular and iPad Safari incognito. All were on WiFi (Spectrum). The desktop Edge is the only one that ever went below an hour. I think it’s the one I opened first, when the marathon link went live. It started at over an hour, but after a few minutes, it started dropping. It went down as far as four minutes, jumped back to seven, then started dropping again. I got two 10ks ( DH and me), and one marathon (DH), and the confirmation email came at 10:42. I’m sorry that none of my others dropped so I could share with other DISers. What a ridiculous game rD has us all play every registration day!

 

[Fenway1970]

I’m sorry that none of my others dropped so I could share with other DISers. What a ridiculous game rD has us all play every registration day!

Same here. I got 1 early one and 9 more that were over an hour. I was really hoping the others would drop so I could help someone out, but most never even moved until only the half was left, and none of them would have made it in before everything was gone. Having been on the crappy end of registration day I know what it feels like. I wish everyone who wants one could get one.

 

[fatmanatee]

Not sure if he ended up getting in but just checked to see if Arno of RunArnoRun will be there next year and he has a post saying that he'd be in for Dopey! His vids convinced me to do Dopey the first time around, I think some of you have seen his channel.

 

[jenljeffers1989]

OK; now that I've made this...decision... and I'm pondering at lunch, I have questions:

1. Are there advantages to any particular hotel?
2. Is there transportation to the start line from on property hotels for the start?
3. Where is the expo? If I'm not shopping at the expo (which is my general MO for most events) can I just get in, get my stuff and get out?
4. is there a better thread for newbies to discuss?

I'm really hoping there is an advantage to a monorail resort, since I rented DVC at the Poly with the idea that the monorail would be nicer than a bus for the half and full.

 

[The Expert]

I'm really hoping there is an advantage to a monorail resort, since I rented DVC at the Poly with the idea that the monorail would be nicer than a bus for the half and full.

I've stayed at Bay Lake for the last two marathon weekends. The only drawbacks to the monorail are the longer walk back after the races (compared to the bus) and walking the ramp up after finishing the marathon. (Though there is an elevator, if you really need it.)

 

[jenljeffers1989]

I've stayed at Bay Lake for the last two marathon weekends. The only drawbacks to the monorail are the longer walk back after the races (compared to the bus) and walking the ramp up after finishing the marathon. (Though there is an elevator, if you really need it.)

Is there any advantage regarding time you need to leave for a race? Or do the monorails have lower capacity than buses and you actually have to leave earlier for the corrals?

 

[Cabius]

I'm really hoping there is an advantage to a monorail resort, since I rented DVC at the Poly with the idea that the monorail would be nicer than a bus for the half and full.

I cannot recommend the Poly highly enough for race weekend (or, tbh, in general). I love the easy walk to the TTC before the race. It's a nicer, less crowded experience than the busses.

I prefer to get there early, so I'm usually on the first monorail down. But monorails are big, and hold lots of people. You aren't likely to be stuck waiting for multiple monorails. (As @The Expert notes, the walk back to the monorail station can be tough, but the elevator helps if you're too gassed to take the ramp!)

My family comes with me for MW, and it's a great spot for spectating. They're able to walk over to the TTC to catch me on the way into MK, and then back to the other side of the resort if they want on my way out. And if you aren't running Goofy/Dopey, crowds at MK are super light on Saturday & Sunday mornings, as non-monorail loop guests are stuck in traffic for the first few hours of the day.

 

[lahobbs4]

This is off of the registration topic - but we just watched "26.2 to Life" on ESPN+. It's about the San Quentin Marathon. I highly recommend it!

 

[Novatrix]

@jenljeffers1989 With the Poly, I highly recommend with that you put in a request to be as far away from the TTC ferry as possible. Or the water in general, as both the ferry horns and Electrical Water Pageant can be very jarring when you're trying to sleep for the early race wake-ups.

That said, the resort does have easy access to lovely food options in the area aad you yocan walk to the TTC to take a direct monorail to the start instead of needing to transfer which is a timesaving option in the morning.

 

[Waiting2goback]

I'm really hoping there is an advantage to a monorail resort, since I rented DVC at the Poly with the idea that the monorail would be nicer than a bus for the half and full.

I have stayed at the Contemporary for the two full marathons I was and it was very easy to get to the race obviously. The ride back, after the marathon, that was different. The walk up to the monorail was tough. And then the transfer at the TTC, after you have been sitting for a couple of minutes was tough. The other drawback of those resorts is that many of those roads around the monorail are shut down for the 1/2 and full. I was trying to get somewhere for breakfast the morning of the 1/2 in 2018 and it took two hours to get where I wanted to go because the lines for the monorail were so long during the race as it was the only way to get anywhere.

 

[accm]

We loved staying at BLT for the last two marathon weekends. The walk back to the monorail can be brutal, so I usually take the bus back.