Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend

surfsupdon

surfsupdon

Well-Known Member
Demarke said:
I’ve got an AP (until August anyway) so maximizing park time isn’t as important to me as the satisfaction of finishing that fourth day in a row, but I agree about getting a good dose of park time in regardless!

We’re planning on early dinner at Sanaa after the expo; HS/MK on Thurs from open til about 5-6 after the 5K; Epcot/MK Fri til 5-6 after the 10K; I’m ditching everyone Saturday after the half to take laps in the lazy river at Typhoon Lagoon until dinner at Disney Springs; then AK/Epcot Sunday after the marathon til close. We’re staying at Pop, so might skyliner for one last Spaceship Earth ride before we drive out Monday morning. 😃
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Remember unfortunately it’s Blizzard that will be open this year. Typhoon is closed.
 
OG Runner

OG Runner

Well-Known Member
Demarke said:
I’ve got an AP (until August anyway) so maximizing park time isn’t as important to me as the satisfaction of finishing that fourth day in a row, but I agree about getting a good dose of park time in regardless!

We’re planning on early dinner at Sanaa after the expo; HS/MK on Thurs from open til about 5-6 after the 5K; Epcot/MK Fri til 5-6 after the 10K; I’m ditching everyone Saturday after the half to take laps in the lazy river at Typhoon Lagoon until dinner at Disney Springs; then AK/Epcot Sunday after the marathon til close. We’re staying at Pop, so might skyliner for one last Spaceship Earth ride before we drive out Monday morning. 😃
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Living vicariously through you guys this year. Have fun!
 
Demarke

Demarke

Have I told you lately that I 👍 you?
surfsupdon said:
Remember unfortunately it’s Blizzard that will be open this year. Typhoon is closed.
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Ohhh, I didn’t realize. I think Blizzard has been closed every other trip I’ve been on, so this will be a first for me checking that one out (other than the short run through during Marathon 2020). I know Typhoon is better, but will be glad to finally cross that last park off my list!
 
lukacseven

lukacseven

Well-Known Member
OG Runner said:
It makes me happy to see someone enjoying the parks during Marathon Weekend. I honestly am impressed by people doing the
Dopey. I just would not want to use 4 days of my vacation on the races. I usually just run the Marathon.
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One year, we went to MK on Sunday night after doing Goofy and I got stuck on Space Mt. I literally couldn't get out of the ride vehicle. Always felt better walking around the parks and keep moving after running. Standing in line for rides, not so much. Luckily, most of the newer rides are easy to get in and out of.
 
Rteetz

Rteetz

Well-Known Member
pdude81 said:
Seems like the maps are out, at least at the following site:
noguiltdisney.com

runDisney Marathon Weekend 2023: Course Maps, Event Guide, Corrals, and More!

The runDisney Marathon Weekend 2023 course maps, event guide and more. This is where you'll find everything you need to know for the 2023 Marathon.
noguiltdisney.com noguiltdisney.com

Looks like we go through Blizzard Beach, but not WWoS
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They were leaked via meetings with charity groups. The marathon course is very similar to the 2022 course.
 
pdude81

pdude81

Well-Known Member
Rteetz said:
They were leaked via meetings with charity groups. The marathon course is very similar to the 2022 course.
Click to expand...
I know I'm the outlier here but I actually liked running through WWoS and around the field. They just had too many switchbacks there for my liking.

I hope they officially release this soon, so we can get a higher definition picture of the marathon course.
 
OG Runner

OG Runner

Well-Known Member
pdude81 said:
Seems like the maps are out, at least at the following site:
noguiltdisney.com

runDisney Marathon Weekend 2023: Course Maps, Event Guide, Corrals, and More!

The runDisney Marathon Weekend 2023 course maps, event guide and more. This is where you'll find everything you need to know for the 2023 Marathon.
noguiltdisney.com noguiltdisney.com

Looks like we go through Blizzard Beach, but not WWoS
Click to expand...

Yes, it appears the Marathon course is the same. When they first made the change I did not think I would like it.
Now you go through the Magic Kingdom around 11 miles and hit 18 miles just as you leave Animal Kingdom.
I have gotten used to it and enjoy it.
 
OG Runner

OG Runner

Well-Known Member
Rteetz said:
I enjoyed WWoS as well.
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Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed running through WWoS also. You would come in around mile 17 and when you got out you were almost at mile 20. I enjoyed heading straight to the Magic Kingdom from EPCOT also, instead of looping through EPCOT and then heading out. The first time on this new course it bothered me to see runners coming by the 4 mile mark before I had even started the race.
 
surfsupdon

surfsupdon

Well-Known Member
OG Runner said:
Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed running through WWoS also. You would come in around mile 17 and when you got out you were almost at mile 20. I enjoyed heading straight to the Magic Kingdom from EPCOT also, instead of looping through EPCOT and then heading out. The first time on this new course it bothered me to see runners coming by the 4 mile mark before I had even started the race.
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Conversely, I remember how good it felt being at mile 4 with others still in the corrals. Perspective was different, that is for sure!

I preferred WWoS too, but I do like the idea of starting and finishing with a lap through Epcot. It's amazing how different I feel- and look- from the first miles to those last miles! Yikes!
 
OG Runner

OG Runner

Well-Known Member
surfsupdon said:
Conversely, I remember how good it felt being at mile 4 with others still in the corrals. Perspective was different, that is for sure!

I preferred WWoS too, but I do like the idea of starting and finishing with a lap through Epcot. It's amazing how different I feel- and look- from the first miles to those last miles! Yikes!
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Unfortunately, the pictures don't lie. I remember running into EPCOT during the 2014 Marathon. I felt great and was very happy
I was almost done. My picture was taken coming into France. When I saw the actual picture I thought I was watching an episode
of the Walking Dead. 😂 😂 😂
 
Demarke

Demarke

Have I told you lately that I 👍 you?
I wish they would zoom in on the Blizzard Beach section! But, since they didn't, that leads me to believe that we'll be relegated to running through the parking lot then backtracking (like 2022) instead of actually running through Blizzard Beach (like 2020). I was hoping that, if it was still part of the course, we'd be back to running through it with the refurb being complete. EDIT: no running inside the park at Blizzard Beach after all, thanks for posting the link to the zoomable map @skiir97

Here are the race-specific maps:

5K.jpg
10K.jpg
Half Marathon.jpg
Marathon.jpg
 
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pdude81

pdude81

Well-Known Member
pdude81 said:
I'm completely stumped by the duplicate mile markers on that map. Does look a lot like 2022 but every time I try to count up it confuses me.
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Ok, now I get it. They have the races overlaid on top of each other. I was able to turn off the other race maps to look at marathon.
 
Demarke

Demarke

Have I told you lately that I 👍 you?
Rteetz said:
A lot of people seem curious to how Disney is going to do things with Blizzard Beach operating that day.
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That's a good point, currently it says that Blizzard Beach opens at 10AM, at which point maybe half of the runners (possibly less) will have passed the lot.

I bet they may just end up announcing it will be closed that day or will delay opening to noon or 1PM. There just doesn't seem to be a feasible way to get traffic through with the route they have the runners going. Will be interesting to see what they do if they find a way! There are two lanes in and out, so I guess they could "technically" have cars/buses enter using only the right-sided northbound lane and curl around to park in the front 4 rows, then leave using the right-sided lane again going northbound only, but that seems like it would be a monumental pain in the a** and have too high of a risk of creating problems with drivers and pedestrians not following directions.

EDIT - Nevermind, it appears that there's a stretch where each direction is only one lane just after the entrance, so that wouldn't work. The only other option I could see would be if they maybe restricted the first few hours to buses only and had them loop through that (I assume) staff lot to the left and across the small pond from the main lot.

BB - parking lot marathon route.JPG
 
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