Star Wars Dark Side 5K course? Good for kids?

[firstwdw]

New to this thread. We are considering the Star Wars Dark Side 5k. What is the course like? I see part of it goes through Epcot. It looks like a side road to start the race and then a back way into Epcot, is that accurate? How is the experience for a 10 year old? What about for someone who has only seen the first Star Wars movie but isn't a die hard Star Wars fan? Trying to determine if Dad and son do the 5K together or if just Dad does the Half Marathon on his own while Mom and son sleep in.

How strict are they with timing of the 5K? I'm assuming it's more family/beginner friendly and ok to walk? Or do they sweep you off the course if you are too slow for this race too?

THANK YOU for ANY help! We were in Disney this year during the races and really enjoyed talking to the runners and seeing them with their medals! Got us thinking it might be something to try out!

 

[rteetz]

The Star Wars 5K course is the same course used for most runDisney WDW 5Ks. The course started in the Epcot parking lot, goes out onto the road, backstage near Test Track, into World Showcase, back out into backstage, then back into World Showcase, through future world, and onto the finish area in the Epcot parking lot.

They have characters along the course however lines can be very long.

The 5K is not timed so you are okay to walk.

 

[Ariel484]

I highly recommend looking for race reports on the weekend - those will give you the best idea of what it's like.

I think it sounds great for kids...Epcot in the dark, all lit up, with Star Wars music playing...and the occasional character meet. Plus, the other runners will be decked out in costume and kiddo gets a medal at the end!

I do think that the kiddo will probably HATE getting up early enough to get to the race (somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-4AM) and there is a lot of waiting around - there's a DJ and character meets and again, looking at the fun costumes, but it'll be an hour+ of waiting for the start.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

How is the experience for a 10 year old?

I just ran it with my DS10, my friend and her DS11. Everyone had a blast and my DS has asked to run it again next year. I am in the middle of writing a TR of our Dark Side trip if you want to read along and feel free to ask questions on there if you have any
https://www.disboards.com/threads/s...side-half-marathon-weekend-adventure.3600029/

 

[firstwdw]

great advice so far everyone, thanks! Looks like we have about 2 weeks until registration for next year to decide!

 

[cavepig]

I saw tons of kids running the Dark Side 5k, they all seemed to be having fun. I think even if you aren't a diehard Star Wars fan you would enjoy it as you are running in EPCOT.

I have a recap on my trip report here
https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...arathon-trip-report-update-10k-recap.3601376/

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

I agree with what everyone has said so far. My husband was recently hospitalized for 10 days and we walked it together, lots of families walking it and having a blast! Since it's untimed, a lot of people take advantage to turn it into a family bonding experience. And I also agree about the early wake-up time, but the good news is that because it's a 5K, even if you walk it, you could conceivably be back to your hotel room and take a morning nap before hitting the parks.

Chiming in with cavepig and MommaoffherRocker, I also have a 5K recap on my trip report starting with this post: https://www.disboards.com/threads/c...undisney-journey.3573806/page-5#post-57514670

May the Force be with you!

 

[kniquy]

It would be a great race for kids. I just did it this year myself and I plan on doing it with my family next year (Including 12 yo twins). One word of caution is to make sure your child (which i think they have to be over 6) can actually make it the whole 3.1 miles either walking or running a little. I would say that the majority of people walked a good portion of the course. I wouldn't set any expectations except for finishing. They do set a max 16 min mile pace and if you start in a lower coral and only walk then you could be swept off the course. I don't know if they actually do that. I put in my pace as a 12 min mile when registering and was in coral C. i think it went up to E or F. They have photo ops on the course as well, but there are pretty long lines, so again if you start late there might not be much time to stop and wait for many pictures.

There were many kids there - I saw one poor little girl (maybe 7-8) being harassed by her mother because they were doing a walk/run method and her daughter was messing up her routeing. I felt really bad because the poor little thing couldn't just enjoy the experience. Just have fun with your kid(s). This is really a family fun run/walk.

Another bit of info is that it is a very early morning with them expecting you to be at the race start by 4:30, which means if staying on site getting on a bus between 4:00-4:30, which then means getting everyone up by 3:15-3:30. You will wait around until about 6:00 to get started. There is a little entertainment with star wars movie trivia, movie clips and photo ops with characters, but a lot of waiting around. If your child is not a morning person then this might be a bit of a struggle.

 

[princessbride6205]

The wake up time was rough for DD9. We had all done the 5k out in Disneyland, so I didn't think too much of it in advance. But in DL, we were able to walk to the start from our resort and have the benefit of the time change in our favor, so I think we got up at 4:30 but it felt like 6:30am our time. In WDW, there were some grumps on race morning and that extended the rest of the day as we tried to enjoy MK. But it wasn't prohibitively awful - I wouldn't try to talk anyone out of doing this!

I would suggest explaining a little race etiquette in advance. We spent the first mile correcting DD on weaving and running in front of people, and she freaked out. "This is supposed to be fun!! And you're just telling me everything I'm doing wrong!!!" Oops. Parenting fail.

 

[firstwdw]

The wake up time was rough for DD9. We had all done the 5k out in Disneyland, so I didn't think too much of it in advance. But in DL, we were able to walk to the start from our resort and have the benefit of the time change in our favor, so I think we got up at 4:30 but it felt like 6:30am our time. In WDW, there were some grumps on race morning and that extended the rest of the day as we tried to enjoy MK. But it wasn't prohibitively awful - I wouldn't try to talk anyone out of doing this!

I would suggest explaining a little race etiquette in advance. We spent the first mile correcting DD on weaving and running in front of people, and she freaked out. "This is supposed to be fun!! And you're just telling me everything I'm doing wrong!!!" Oops. Parenting fail.

Yes, that wake-up time sounds a bit rough! I'm worried about that honestly! I also know he is not a huge Star Wars fan so I think the 5k in Nov or Jan would be more interesting-course those are all booked up and we go in April when it's Star Wars races. Thank you for sharing!

 

[chicagodisfan]

Thank you for posting this! We are in the same boat and I have many of the same questions. I'm thinking of signing up my DH and two DSes who will be 11 and 8 for the 5K. My older DS has done several 5Ks so he'll be fine and I think the younger one can get there by that point. My question are about the characters before and on the course. They are serious Star Wars fans! I know they'll want to stop for as many as they can especially any unique or rare ones. How many are there and about how long are the lines? If they start in an earlier corral, how many would they realistically have time to do? Are the ones in the starting area feasible or is it super crowded? I don't want to get their hopes up if it's too crowded to really stop. Thanks so much!

 

[cavepig]

Thank you for posting this! We are in the same boat and I have many of the same questions. I'm thinking of signing up my DH and two DSes who will be 11 and 8 for the 5K. My older DS has done several 5Ks so he'll be fine and I think the younger one can get there by that point. My question are about the characters before and on the course. They are serious Star Wars fans! I know they'll want to stop for as many as they can especially any unique or rare ones. How many are there and about how long are the lines? If they start in an earlier corral, how many would they realistically have time to do? Are the ones in the starting area feasible or is it super crowded? I don't want to get their hopes up if it's too crowded to really stop. Thanks so much!

I have a detailed recap in my trip report but this what I remember from the 5k -

There were 7 set ups in the pre & post area this year. Lines were anywhere from like 0 for Rogue One since it didn't have a character to 15-45+ for Darth Vader. We got there on the first bus from our resort and waited like 10 minutes for Jabba. Lines will be shorter the earlier you get to the pre staging area before the race. Also shorter for after if you are in an earlier corral and faster to finish. It's definitly doable to meet many of them if you don't mind getting up and on the first bus or parking early before and then staying after waiting in lines.

Rogue One - no character
Boba Fett with Han in carbonite
Jabba & S. Crumb
Darth Vader
Kylo Ren
Captain Phasma
BB-8

During the race the 5k had 6 stops, waits can be 0 if are super fast and start very first to 20+ minutes. It's all depending on when you start and how fast you are. Lines do seem to move fast though since it's no autographs but a lot of people stop so lines build fast.
They were -
Ewok (1-2 were out)
Emperor's Chair
R2-D2
Chewie
Storm Troopers
Ezra & Sabine

 

[chicagodisfan]

I have a detailed recap in my trip report but this what I remember from the 5k -

There were 7 set ups in the pre & post area this year. Lines were anywhere from like 0 for Rogue One since it didn't have a character to 15-45+ for Darth Vader. We got there on the first bus from our resort and waited like 10 minutes for Jabba. Lines will be shorter the earlier you get to the pre staging area before the race. Also shorter for after if you are in an earlier corral and faster to finish. It's definitly doable to meet many of them if you don't mind getting up and on the first bus or parking early before and then staying after waiting in lines.

Rogue One - no character
Boba Fett with Han in carbonite
Jabba & S. Crumb
Darth Vader
Kylo Ren
Captain Phasma
BB-8

During the race the 5k had 6 stops, waits can be 0 if are super fast and start very first to 20+ minutes. It's all depending on when you start and how fast you are. Lines do seem to move fast though since it's no autographs but a lot of people stop so lines build fast.
They were -
Ewok (1-2 were out)
Emperor's Chair
R2-D2
Chewie
Storm Troopers
Ezra & Sabine

Wow! Thank you! This is super helpful! I didn't realize that there were so many in the start area before. (And I love your picture with Jabba!) This sounds great for them! I will check out your trip report too.

One more question - we are DVC and will likely stay at the Beach Club which is our home resort. Can you walk to the start area from there? Or do they bus you from the Epcot area resorts too?

 

[cavepig]

Wow! Thank you! This is super helpful! I didn't realize that there were so many in the start area before. (And I love your picture with Jabba!) This sounds great for them! I will check out your trip report too.

One more question - we are DVC and will likely stay at the Beach Club which is our home resort. Can you walk to the start area from there? Or do they bus you from the Epcot area resorts too?

You have to take a bus (or drive), no resorts were allowed to walk for this 5k race. Overall they do a great job on the bussing.

 

[cel_disney]

In 2016 I ran the 5k with my 9yo. It was a fantastic experience. He finished about 20 minutes before me which was a little stressing for my DH trying to catch him at the finish line (DS was perfectly fine and not answering the phone he was carrying - loving life with his 28 min time!) but overall it was great.

It was early but my DS does well in the mornings. We did pencil in an afternoon nap that day. (We showered and went O breakfast and the park after!).

Even if you are not a huge fan - the lights and music in Epcot where awesome in 2016. The first mile is a little dull - but the last 2 miles make up for it! The pre and post race areas are entertaining. Good music, photos of you are super early etc.