WDW Marathon 2017 - Which Resort?

[SRUAlmn]

Hi! My husband and and I are signed up for the half next year and are so excited but also terrified! I've been looking through threads and trying to soak up as much info as possible as its our first Disney race. I've tried searching for advice on where to stay, but all words that would be part of that search are so common and it's giving me hundreds of results that aren't at all what we're looking for. I tried searching for an FAQ thread as well, but couldn't find one. If anyone is willing to help out with the following questions it would be greatly appreciated!
1. Is there a discount for race participants?
2. If so, can we do it online, do we call Disney, or do we call RunDisney?
2. For getting to and from the race, is there one resort that is most convenient?


Thanks so much!

 

[FFigawi]

1. No discount has been made available for the race in recent years beyond the normal discounts announced each fall.
2. You can make reservations like you normally would.
3. All resorts are host resorts and offer transportation to and from the race. Monorail resorts are probably easiest in the morning. The Epcot resorts are easiest after the race because you can walk back through the park if you have a park ticket or pass you can use. Taking the bus to any resort really isn't too bad, though. They're typically very efficient.

 

[roxymama]

I cannot speak for the upcoming year. But last year in the fall they announced a few "deals" for WDW resort stays that were not specific to rundisney, but overlapped with the race weekend. I unfortunately was staying at a resort that was excluded from the discounts (Bay Lake Tower - the DVC resort next to the Contemporary.) But there was a dining discount or a % off your room discount. Many people switched their booked resort to one of the "deal-eligible" resorts or packages after it was announced. I'll go look for the thread...but still no idea if same thing will happen this year. Though it seems it has happened the last few years.

I do not know of any rundisney specific deals unfortunately.

FYI: We loved staying at the Contemporary area for marathon weekend, but that had more to do with the very short walk to and from the Magic Kingdom instead of having to wait around for buses. And monorail to Epcot was nice too. But it was $$$.

 

[SRUAlmn]

1. No discount has been made available for the race in recent years beyond the normal discounts announced each fall.
2. You can make reservations like you normally would.
3. All resorts are host resorts and offer transportation to and from the race. Monorail resorts are probably easiest in the morning. The Epcot resorts are easiest after the race because you can walk back through the park if you have a park ticket or pass you can use. Taking the bus to any resort really isn't too bad, though. They're typically very efficient.

Thank you so much! We'll have APs, so maybe there will be a good AP rate we can use. Are the monorails running that early (pre-race?) I was envisioning what you said about the monorail and being at an Epcot resort being the easiest, but I wasn't sure if monorails would be running that early and, if so, if it would be the resort AND Epcot one? If anyone has experiences they can share from places they've stayed for races I'd love to hear! Thanks!

 

[roxymama]

Here is the thread I was thinking of. You should follow it so you can be alerted whenever any January discount codes are posted. Make sure to note that UK codes are listed here too.
http://www.disboards.com/threads/code-watch-january-2017.3498443/

 

[SRUAlmn]

I cannot speak for the upcoming year. But last year in the fall they announced a few "deals" for WDW resort stays that were not specific to rundisney, but overlapped with the race weekend. I unfortunately was staying at a resort that was excluded from the discounts (Bay Lake Tower - the DVC resort next to the Contemporary.) But there was a dining discount or a % off your room discount. Many people switched their booked resort to one of the "deal-eligible" resorts or packages after it was announced. I'll go look for the thread...but still no idea if same thing will happen this year. Though it seems it has happened the last few years.

I do not know of any rundisney specific deals unfortunately.

FYI: We loved staying at the Contemporary area for marathon weekend, but that had more to do with the very short walk to and from the Magic Kingdom instead of having to wait around for buses. And monorail to Epcot was nice too. But it was $$$.

Thanks! We love staying at the Contemporary and BLT too! However, I'm a teacher who will basically only be able to have off one day and then the race weekend days, so we are basically just going for the weekend and I don't even know how much ease of going to the parks for "fun" will even be important? I think priorities would be ease and convenience for race events and also comfort since this is our first half and I'm worried we'll be exhausted/sore/etc... Thanks for the discount info, too! I'll keep my eyes out for general public discounts that become available for that time!

 

[SRUAlmn]

Here is the thread I was thinking of. You should follow it so you can be alerted whenever any January discount codes are posted. Make sure to note that UK codes are listed here too.
http://www.disboards.com/threads/code-watch-january-2017.3498443/

Thank you!!!

 

[ZellyB]

I've not stayed personally at a monorail resort for marathon weekend, but yes they do have the monorails running early on race mornings.

 

[rteetz]

I'd say if you can stay in a deluxe a monorail resort or the Epcot resorts are the best options. If not I've stayed at Port Orleans Riverside for marathon weekend and had no problems there.

 

[SRUAlmn]

I've not stayed personally at a monorail resort for marathon weekend, but yes they do have the monorails running early on race mornings.

I'd say if you can stay in a deluxe a monorail resort or the Epcot resorts are the best options. If not I've stayed at Port Orleans Riverside for marathon weekend and had no problems there.

Thank you both! So good to know the monorails will be up and running!

 

[opusone]

Thank you both! So good to know the monorails will be up and running!

To be clear, the monorail is only open early for the half marathon and marathon, not the 5k and 10k. You will need to take a bus for the 5k and/or 10k.

 

[SRUAlmn]

To be clear, the monorail is only open early for the half marathon and marathon, not the 5k and 10k. You will need to take a bus for the 5k and/or 10k.

Thanks! We're doing the half so we should be good to go!