What resort to stay at during Marathon Weekend?

[HangWithMerida]

I am booked at AKL for this MW. I have stayed at POR, POFQ, WL, and YC for race weekends before. I second the advice above about quick service availability. As much as I love YC for its proximity to Epcot, it did not work for me for a race weekend. I really enjoyed both PO resorts and WL is a favorite resort of mine overall. It would be lovely for MW because of christmas.
I chose AKL because I am doing Dopey and will be at the resort a lot. So, I chose a resort I love to hang out in (I love the decor and the smell of the lobby!) with a nice pool area. Also between Jambo and Kidani there are a lot of food options including a quick service and Boma, which is my fav post race brunch, and Sanaa for bread service! And I don't mind walking between the 2 as it will be a good way to move around some without going overboard at a park.

 

[pluto377]

I've done Pop and AKL Kidani. This past year I did a split at ASMo and BCV. I love the values because of the food courts and the sheer number of runners at these places. As someone else mentioned, you see runners everywhere and that makes it feel really fun. I didn't get that feeling at AKL at all. I felt like I was the only runner there. But it is a gorgeous hotel and I loved my stay. BCV had more runners for sure but still not quite the same as values. But again, such an amazing resort!

Next year I'm doing POFQ because I've never stayed there before, I can't afford deluxe and I really wanted a hot tub. I like that I can easily get to DS and have POR as a pool/food option. I'm also not planning on a lot of park time so I wanted somewhere pretty and relaxing.

 

[steph0808]

For races, I have done Bay Lake Tower, Poly, AKL, All Star Sports, and Port Orleans Riverside.

I loved having the monorail - Poly was the most convenient because of the ability to walk to TTC and go straight to the race without switching.

I have been thinking about Boulder Ridge (Wilderness) this year.

 

[Novatrix]

For race weekends I've stayed at OKW (3 weekends), Poly (1 weekend), BRV (1 weekend) and BCV (2 weekends).

Would never willingly stay at the Poly again due to issues with noise from the electrical water pageant and the MK ferries. Then again, I am a very light sleeper who is naturally a night owl so I practically need to sacrifice to the tiki gods to get to sleep in the first place, YMMV.

Love BCV as a resort, but both race weekends had issues with bus availability due to to it sharing buses with Yacht Club. (This past Princess weekend was the most severe screw-up I've ever experienced with Disney buses. In line at 3:10 am, didn't get on a bus until after 4:05am.) Next time, will just walk over to Yacht Club for pick-up.

OKW buses were always plentiful as they stop there before SSR. Bus driver got lost one morning, but quickly got back on track so that was a minor. Plenty of other runners staying at OKW too, they always have nice photo ops after the races.

BRV - Not too many runners at this resort, but no major bus issues. Bus driver one morning did WL to Fort Wilderness back to Wilderness Lodge instead of going to the corrals, but again that's a minor issue.

 

[GreatLakes]

With the current Disney prices it will be a while before we stay onsite again. I used to think you "had" to stay on-property for race weekend and couldn't imagine staying off but after January I no longer think there is any benefit to staying on property. I'll never take Disney transportation to the race again, even if I were to be on property I would drive, so that takes away any remaining incentive for me.

If you do want to stay on property I really don't think it makes a huge difference but if you are running the half and plan to do Epcot after you finish going right from the race finish into the park and then walking back to your room through the IG would be my preferred place to stay. I'd just be at the Swan/Dolphin/Reserve as opposed to BW, YC, or BC.

 

[Herding_Cats]

For race weekends I've stayed at OKW (3 weekends), Poly (1 weekend), BRV (1 weekend) and BCV (2 weekends).
OKW buses were always plentiful as they stop there before SSR. Bus driver got lost one morning, but quickly got back on track so that was a minor. Plenty of other runners staying at OKW too, they always have nice photo ops after the races.

OKW did not stop at SS on the way TO the races this past January (at least neither of the ones I used did). They did share a route getting people back to the resorts after the races were done.

I will also say that while the internal bus does run to get people to the front for the rundisney bus, I think it takes somewhere between 15-20min for it to do a complete loop so if you just missed it, it would be quicker to just walk up to the front (it was well lit and lots of other people were up and around leaving, etc in the morning when I walked up.) For the half I drove our rental car to the front in the morning and let DH retrieve it once he was up and around.

 

[Novatrix]

OKW did not stop at SS on the way TO the races this past January (at least neither of the ones I used did). They did share a route getting people back to the resorts after the races were done.

I will also say that while the internal bus does run to get people to the front for the rundisney bus, I think it takes somewhere between 15-20min for it to do a complete loop so if you just missed it, it would be quicker to just walk up to the front (it was well lit and lots of other people were up and around leaving, etc in the morning when I walked up.) For the half I drove our rental car to the front in the morning and let DH retrieve it once he was up and around.

To be fair, I was at OKW for Wine and Dine and Princess. For those races, if there was any space on the bus they shared with SSR going TO the race. If the bus was full, it would go directly to the race. (Same as any other shared.)

And yes, for some people walking to hospitality house would be a disadvantage. Keep in mind, furthest room on South Point from Hospitality House is only 0.7 mile away and most are closer.

 

[BigEeyore]

I'm staying at AKV as of right now (our home resort - haven't decided if I will try to switch yet)
My favorite place we have ever stayed for MW was the Poly - easy walk to TTC to jump on the monorail. I much preferred taking the monorail to and from the races than the bus.
Worst place I've ever stayed for MW was CBR - this was pre-Skyliner, but the multiple bus stops and long walk to the main area made it less than enjoyable.