Which parks for Friday January 6th and Saturday January 7th, 2023 - that won’t be affected by the Marathon/road closures?

[Silvermist999]

We are staying at the Contemporary or Poly (need to drop one reservation soon), not doing any of the races, but need to book park reservations soon. I’m assuming we should stick to MK and Epcot for these two days due to the marathon and road closures. So we shouldn’t try to go to AK or DHS right?

Is one day going to be better vs. the other for MK and Epcot, and rope dropping. I have no knowledge about the races and how the parks will be affected. Thank you for your help!

 

[Herding_Cats]

Unless you are a "get there super early" park person, I don't think there will be much of an affect on those days because of when the races end. Historically NEITHER of those races go through AK or DHS, and there are multiple ways to get around closures.

The maps (and therefore the road closures) for that race weekend are not out yet. However, based on historical maps (and the W&D weekend maps that were just released) FRIDAY shouldn't really have an effect on you. The last runners should finish by 8am, and the parks aren't opening until 9am (pending whatever "perks" they have for on-site guests.) It also stays pretty much all inside epcot, the epcot resorts (BC/YC, BW, Swolphin) and some highway.

The SATURDAY race historically goes from Epcot, through the TTC, into MK, and then back to Epcot. The last runners should finish by 9:30ish in the morning, and the roads around MK would be open sooner than that. While road closures are something to consider, I don't think that those 2 races should necessarily dictate your park choice.

 

[Herding_Cats]

This map shows the road closures from Princess weekend, which should have similar courses to MW (the 10k and Half) but won't include any recent changes due to road construction that has started since February.

 

[GreatLakes]

Friday shouldn't be an issue, at the very worst you'll need to leave a little early. Saturday I'd probably stick with MK or Epcot and just use the monorail but I would think the only park really impacted might be DHS. Since the monorail isn't impacted at all you are good at Epcot, runners will be out of MK before opening, and the runners should be clear of any roads you'd need to get to AK before park open.

Other than Sunday road closures are a non-event as long as you leave a little early, especially if you are using Disney transportation.

 

[Silvermist999]

Thank you so much everyone for your replies and advice, I really appreciate it!