Marathon Sunday nightmare

[plutofan15]

Or you could catch on that 3-4 people are telling you the same thing.. and take a look in the mirror. Or you could keep on with your smug passive aggressive path and see what that gets you...

You really take a discussion on a difference of opinions seriously don't you. I apologize for stating my opinion that differs from others on a discussion forum.

 

[raven]

In my opinion, to feel that they were treated "unfairly" and not visit the restaurant to this day is a bit extreme.

How is not eating at that restaurant yet "a bit extreme?" I just haven't be yet. It seems EXTREME that you are going to the EXTREMES to point out something that makes no sense, just to make you feel better.

 

[Berret]

I would agree with that wager. I suppose I'm just "blinded" per say by knowing more than the average joe that often I forget to see things through their eyes.

Wow, you're very modest. Please, tell me how to be more like you.

 

[csmat99]

I think some of the posters here are basically calling the OP a moron and a liar. They had no problems marathon weekend, so therefore no one possibly could have.

No one called the OP a liar but these days with everything at your fingertips doesn't take much to figure out a marathon is going on.

 

[xdan0920]

No one called the OP a liar but these days with everything at your fingertips doesn't take much to figure out a marathon is going on.

It was implied.

 

[draybook]

Don't know and don't really care. My day goes on unaffected.

Calm down, kid, it was a joke.

 

[djdan888]

We have never been on the WDW marathon weekend but have been there for Wine and Dine and to be honest we had no idea it was going on until it was over and we seen somebody with a bag. After that we have been down there for the Princess Marathon weekend, Tower of Terror 10 mile weekend, and Star Wars Dark Side weekend and ran in the 5-10k events and never had an issue with park traffic even on the 1/2 marathon days. I know the WDW Marathon started at 5:30am (the last corral should have been through by 6:15 at the latest) to minimize any inconvenience to park guests.
I know that at every entrance to the hotel they have menu boards telling you about the races (pick up time and schedules). Should they have done a better job at the front desk letting you know to adjust your schedule, maybe. Should they include something in the check-in paperwork, probably.

What I do know, as somebody who has ran in the events in and around the parks and resorts, it is absolutely AWESOME when random park guests stop to cheer you on and give you high fives as you run through. Instead of complaining about them, take a few minutes and cheer them on! These people are running anywhere from 6.2 miles to 26.2 miles and some of them are finishing up a 48.6 mile challenge, give them a little respect.


As for making rope drop, the OP never said when he left the hotel or what hotel he was at. If you staying Moderate it can take 15 minutes to get around the resort depending on your stop. With it being the last rope drop I would expect everybody wanting to be there and resort bus and park entry lines to be HUGE!! Typically if we need to be somewhere at a specific time we leave 1 to 1 1/2 hours before we need to be there. I know for dining reservations Disney recommends leaving 1 1/2 before your reservation time.

To clarify, we were at The Dolphin hotel using the MK bus transport. The buses start running at 8AM. We got on the earliest one possible. What more could I have done?Again, all I am suggesting is how hard would it have been to have the bus drivers warn you before getting on? Or anyone tell us at all. It took an hour and a half to be just dumped off at the transportation center and not even the front gate like normal. Had I know, I could have tried to perhaps drive to the MK parking lot in my car to see if that would be faster or opted to wait until Epcot Int'l gate opened and gone in that way.

 

[21stamps]

To clarify, we were at The Dolphin hotel using the MK bus transport. The buses start running at 8AM. We got on the earliest one possible. What more could I have done?Again, all I am suggesting is how hard would it have been to have the bus drivers warn you before getting on? Or anyone tell us at all. It took an hour and a half to be just dumped off at the transportation center and not even the front gate like normal. Had I know, I could have tried to perhaps drive to the MK parking lot in my car to see if that would be faster or opted to wait until Epcot Int'l gate opened and gone in that way.

Yuck. Was it just bumper to bumper traffic the entire way? Or main roads closed forcing an alternated route?

 

[djdan888]

I guess when it come down to it somebody who is new to Disney can be caught off guard by different events they did not about in advance and yes it may cause a small inconvenience but when you take this thread from the beginning the OP is an annual pass holder whose only other post eludes that he is at the parks often: "What I always thought would be a good perk was to make the AP fast passes to where you don't have to schedule them. I know it can be done as when a ride breaks or when you go to a DVC meeting they give you fast passes that don't have to be planned. You can use them on the fly. Not saying give us more, but give us that. We spend the most time and money in the parks. Just help us enjoy the parks at a quicker pace than a tourist."

If your a Disney vet or even if you have been there a hand full of times then you know when you need to leave to be somewhere at a certain time and you know the signs to look for to see if an event is going on. To say Disney is to blame for it being your "wosrt yime" ever or making you feel "second class" is a little over the top.

Sorry, MickeyMom, as it seems like you don't understand simple posts, so let me break it down for ya. Yes, I am a AP. Yes, I live 2 hours away from WDW, so a trip to me is a car ride. Yes, I knew about the marathons, but apparently not in depth like all you wonderful experts. I did not know it took up vast amounts of park space so much so that I would have to wait in a 30 minute line at Epcot to just be able to cross over from Canada to England. I also did not know that taking the earliest bus from my resort would take an hour and half due to stand still traffic. There were others that same day that told me that their trip from Old Key West was almost two hours and being a Disney vet like yourself, you should have no problem realizing how close that resort is to MK. There were many, many people that came for the parks and not the marathon and they all said the same things I already posted.
I am not saying I did not know about the marathon. I chose to go on that day to watch a storied rope drop one last time. Especially since I am hearing the new show is terrible. Bad luck for me it was on a marathon day which I would normally not be there. We stayed on site to be close, at the Dolphin. We knew from the past and from taking the same bus on Saturday, that it is about a 15 minute ride. We were on the first bust that left the resort at 8AM. . What we witnessed on the way there was a total lack of planning on WDW part. Set your Fanboy attitude aside and ask yourself, Why were there not police or security at the lights directing traffic? The normal traffic signals were allowed to keep cycling, which to me seemed to be the major problem. Why were buses maybe not given priority lanes? Why were the buses not allowed to go to the MK main gate as normal instead of dumping everyone at the TC? Why did the bus operator not tell a bus full of people as they got on that it would be an hour and a half ride? Why was the Epcot boat not running to take people across the lake so they wouldn't have to wait to just cross lands? I could keep going.. So, yes, I do blame WDW for this. Better planning could have fixed much of this.

 

[djdan888]

Yuck. Was it just bumper to bumper traffic the entire way? Or main roads closed forcing an alternated route?

It seemed to me like roads were closed and big huge bottlenecks at traffic lights. Easily solved by a police person directing traffic instead of a traffic light.

 

[21stamps]

It seemed to me like roads were closed and big huge bottlenecks at traffic lights. Easily solved by a police person directing traffic instead of a traffic light.

That surprises me. During our marathon here there are police everywhere directing traffic because of the closed roads. You're still waiting a long time, and it can take forever to get from A to B but the police take the place of the lights.

 

[jaklgreen]

We weren't allowed to dine because there were only 2 of us. Well guess what? There are a lot of parties of 2 that go to the parks. Enough people complained and now it's changed.

Try being a party of 1. There are a few restaurants that wont let me book as a party of 1 so I have to book for 2 and then cancel 1 person.

 

[Brad Wilhelm]

We were there as well. Luckily, we left Saturday night. We did get a written alert under our door that week to alert us to plan accordingly.
I think the problem was exacerbated by all the road construction going on right now. It made all traffic that week problematic. Not awful, but a minor hassle.
OUR Marathon issue was those who chose to get their daily run in at the Parks that week. It was crowded enough without someone barreling through, checking their heart rate , and ignoring all of us just waiting in lines or trying to navigate the park.

 

[danyoung56]

Try being a party of 1. There are a few restaurants that wont let me book as a party of 1 so I have to book for 2 and then cancel 1 person.

I run into this as well. I just book at a party of 2, and then when I arrive at the restaurant I say "there will be only one dining". So far they haven't given me any trouble.

 

[plutofan15]

We were there as well. Luckily, we left Saturday night. We did get a written alert under our door that week to alert us to plan accordingly.
I think the problem was exacerbated by all the road construction going on right now. It made all traffic that week problematic. Not awful, but a minor hassle.
OUR Marathon issue was those who chose to get their daily run in at the Parks that week. It was crowded enough without someone barreling through, checking their heart rate , and ignoring all of us just waiting in lines or trying to navigate the park.

Wondering if the OP did not get the written alert because of staying at The Dolphin hotel. The hotel is run by Starwood not Disney. Just a thought.

 

[ShrunkenHead89]

My family went from the 2nd-8th for the first time in 7 years or so. We knew it would be busier on the tail end because of the marathon, but honestly our Wednesday (the fourth) was by FAR our busiest day. We went to MK and it was insanely busy. I was shocked at how long some of the lines were for being in between New Years and the marathon. No other park came close to being that busy, and honestly since it was rainy and chilly Saturday of the cancelled half there was hardly anyone at MK. It was bizarre but thank goodness for fastpasses or we would've been in real trouble. I know my parents Magical Express bus was about 30 minutes late Sunday morning and they barely made their flight even with the three hour cushion, but I had no problems Sunday afternoon.

 

[beertiki]

We were in that traffic at 830 am Sunday to check into the poly. We knew there was a marathon, and my daughter said there would be traffic. I said "Don't worry, Disney will be organized and the delays will be minimal. There is no way they want 1000's of people stuck in busses and cars and not spending money and buying tickets at the parks." I was wrong. It was a charlie foxtrot. We saw huge lines, and our GPS was all red. Took the long way around to the backside of the MK, areas I don't think they usually want you to see. Took almost an hour to do what should have been 10 mins. Runners are number 2 on my list of groups to avoid when planning a disney trip. Number 1 will always be cheerleaders.

 

[LAKid53]

Good lord, the marathon's been at WDW since January 1994...making it the grandaddy of all the runDisney events. If the OP had looked at the upcoming events section on the home page for this board, he'd have seen the Marathon weekend listed.

For those of you who want to avoid the crowds during runDisney event weekends, avoid the last weekend in February (Princess Half), the weekend of April 21st (SW Dark Side) and the first weekend in November (W&D Half).

All the runDisney events for the remainder of this calendar year are listed on the runDisney website. Yes, the races are popular - I do all the WDW ones and plan on doing the SW Light Side in 2018 (really want the Kessel Challenge and Coast to Coast medals).

Sorry, the OP should have planned better. Because there are NO discussion boards on crowd levels throughout the year at WDW.

 

[LAKid53]

I guess my question to this is that the bus service to MK usually starts about 2 hours before park open for dining reservations. If you are on the first bus and it takes an hour and a half you should get there 1/2 hour before rope drop.
And why did it take an hour and a half? Did the bus breakdown? Have issues? Once loaded I don't think I have been on a bus for more than 20-25 minutes.

The buses for the races start running at 3:00 AM since most of the races have a 5:30 am start time...specifically so the race will be completed by park opening. And the buses are not Disney Transportation, but Mears.

Most races finish at either Epcot or ESPN, so the race isn't to blame for the crowds at the entry points to the MK.

 

[LAKid53]

Is this true? Did BOG only allow parties of 4 or more? My first time dining there was in 2015, so I don't know.

No. We've eaten both lunch AND dinner at BOG since it opened and have never been turned down for seating as a party of 2. We've stood in line for lunch when it first opened, used the BOG only reservation system and now the standard ADR system. Heck, I've made a dinner ADR for just me.

Never had a problem. I find the poster's complaint a little suspicious.....