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Disney World Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Disney World Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 4.0
Number of comments: 818 [displaying comments 531 to 541]
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K. H. from St. Louis, USA
(1/16/2006)
"Yes, a Magical Experience!" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I must say I was very impressed with all aspects of the race. It was an excellent experience all the way around. I arrived at my Disney hotel late Saturday afternoon and had no problem getting the shuttle to the expo. There was even a pasta dinner dinner offered on-site, but I didn't take advantage of it. I was focused on trying to get to bed early so as to wake up at 3AM (even earlier by my body's clock, being from another time zone). The hotel opened up the restaurant at 3AM to accommodate the runners, which was nice. Transportation to the starting area worked well and was a nice chance to relax a bit more before going back out into the cold (it was near freezing). I found there were rows and rows of toilets at the staging area in Epcot and no waiting. The music and party atmosphere there helped to wake me up. It was a bit of a walk to the actual starting line, but no real problem; it kept me warm. Getting to the corral was no problem, though once we were there most of us resorted to using the tree-line, as the toilets were long behind us. The race itself was nice and flat with lots of water and aid stations. Several high school bands came out to play for us. It was great to hear them play Soul Bosanova as we ran along in the dark. I think the split start helped to solve any crowding problems. Seeing the characters along the run was a neat sideshow; I got to high-five several princesses and even Mrs. Incredible! The crowds were there at the end when you really needed them, and that's what really helped me. The finish area was very well organized and I found my wife and kids no problem. I even got my pics taken with Mickey and Goofy. Plenty of food at the end too. I was a bit worried about the buses back to the hotel, having read about problems in the past, but there was not a single glitch. I didn't have a wait at all. Heading back to the hotel with my medal and blanket to shower I felt like a star, people in the lobby cheered and applauded as we came in from the bus. It was a great feeling. I felt like a top contender, not the middle-of-the-pack runner I really am. Yes, it was magical. | |
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K. H. from Columbus, Georgia
(1/16/2006)
"Great first marathon." (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Wow! I trained for a year for this race, and it was everything I hoped it would be. I don't remember ever seeing a boring stretch during the race; Disney seemed to have something to look at every half-mile or so. Anyway, I kind of feel like if you are bored running, you must not be running fast enough. It was cold at the start, and I read in John Bingham's blog that they had heat lamps in the staging area. Must be nice to be a celebrity! I have been more comfortable waiting for a race to start, but there were things I could have done about that, so I can't really put that on Disney. Also, my Garmin registered 26.78 miles. However, it has been off in every race over 5K that I have run with it, so I wasn't surprised. | |
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J. D. from Red Lion, PA
(1/16/2006)
"Nice race but hardly magical" (about: 2006)
First Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon but not my first large race. I picked this race as my uncle lives in the area and hey, it's Disney. The course is nice and you get to run through four theme parks, although you don't spend more than 2 miles in any of them other than Epcot, which you run in twice. I thought the run from The Magic Kingdom to Animal Kindom in which you run by what seemed to be the main trash depot left a lot to be desired. Some of the water stops were well staffed and others didn't have close to enough people. Disney also had a strange corral system with two starts. I went to the expo and listened to the race director explain it, and how to change corrals as my uncle and I were placed in different ones, and then was unable to find even one volunteer with the same understanding as the race director. Frankly the organization sucked!!! My uncle and I even had one of the volunteers insinuate we were lying when we tried to explain the method to change corrals stated by the race director! Then there were the lines. There were lines for everything! The pre-race expo was small and not very interesting. The post-race food tent was also small and lacked the variety of foods I've seen at much smaller races. The spectators and the volunteers, except for that one jerk, were great! In short, I think Disney leans too heavily on the fact that you get to run through the theme parks and assume that should be good enough for anyone. Well, it's not. Nice finisher's medal though. | |
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Darren Wrintmore from Wiltshire, England
(1/16/2006)
"Brilliantly Amazing" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Over 10,000 runners lined up in the Epcot Center at 6am in unusually cold conditions for Florida. The race was started by a barrage of fireworks which lit up the early morning sky and we made our way around the Epcot Center for the first five miles of the race before heading out towards the Magic Kingdom. The support provided was fantastic with Disney cast members out in abundance along with a number of bands and thousands of spectators. In the Magic Kingdom we ran through Sleeping Beauty's castle, did high-fives with Chip 'n Dale and I even managed to sneak a kiss from Elasti-Girl from "The Incredibles." The race then went through four miles of early morning fog down to the Animal Kingdom, which is where I started to suffer at 16 miles and kissed goodbye to my sub-three hour marathon aspirations. Things then got worse for me as we then had another long drag out towards the MGM Studios and it was at this 20-mile point that I hit the dreaded "Wall" and I was reduced to a shuffle. I then struggled along the Disney Boardwalk back to the Epcot Center with my final six miles taking well over an hour to complete. I finished in three hours twenty five. Although that is my worst marathon time ever, I have to say that it was my best marathon ever and will treasure my Mickey's Marathon medal, complete with the famous mouse ears. | |
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P. D. from New England
(1/15/2006)
"It's Disney, What Did You Expect..." (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Disney is magic. Running past Cinderella's Castle, Animal Kingdom's Tree, the big Mickey hat at MGM, and finally under the big golf ball at Epcot was spectacular. Throw in a bunch of characters, enthusiastic spectators, well organized volunteers and you get a fun race to do. But if you do this race, understand that it is Disney. Be prepared for crowds to the buses (and remind me why we have to be there TWO HOURS before race time?), crowds for the porta-johns, crowds for the starting line (which is waaaay too far of a walk before a marathon), crowds for everything. Hell, there were even crowds trying to get your bag of clothes after the race. Good race to do, the medal is everything you hear about, but I wouldn't do it again. | |
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Charlie Olbrias from CT, USA
(1/15/2006)
"WOW! What a race!" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is one of the best marathons I've run. I ran this race 2 years ago & loved it! This year was no different. I set a new PR on this fast, fun course by 12+ min. There are not a ton of spectators, but they do make you feel like a star. Disney did a great job with the race itself (water stops, food, meds, post-race food etc.) but they need to change the time you get to the start. No need to have runners at the start line at 4-4:30AM. They can get everyone to the holding area by 5AM & the start by 5:30AM. But still a great race. I'll be back next year. | |
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V. M. from Philly
(1/14/2006)
"Great Time for Disney Fans!!!" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is a great marathon... a little stressful in that they want you there that early, but if you know marathons, it is not necessary. To others comments about the 26.2 compared to 27 miles: I think it depends on your own course of running & at least that is what I been told. Either way, lots of water stops, and lots of spectators; if you are a fan of Disney, it is a must in that you get to high-five so many characters. Temps were very low in the beginning though. Nice medal too. | |
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T. K. from Washington state
(1/14/2006)
"Marathon of a Lifetime!" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my third marathon in the space of a year. I'd run Vancouver and Seattle and enjoyed Vancouver quite a bit, and Seattle not as much but still enjoyed it. I was really looking forward to Disney as I am a huge Disney fan. I was always looking forward to running with my husband as this was his first marathon. Wow! Disney could teach lessons in how to set up a course. The corrals were kind of a pain since we had to stand in them in 30 degrees for quite awhile, but there was entertainment and interviews with John Bingham and Jeff Galloway to keep us entertained as we shivered. One the race got underway it was incredible. Only at the first water stop did I encounter a table without water (other tables at the stop had it). I think they were simply overwhelmed. The two start lines were great considering 14,000 were registered to run. I have never seen so much on course support in a race ever. There was no shortage of porta-potties, although some men I guess felt there was. I've never seen so many runners pull off to make like a bear in the woods. C'mon guys, some of you whipped it out in sight of lineless porta-potties. I guess you can take the man out of hickville, but you can't take hickville out of the man (or woman...saw a few of those too). The course is wonderful. Kills me that people complain that there are boring parts. Sorry, but Florida is flat and somewhat boring. It is made up for in spades by running through the parks. Epcot was wonderful. Where else can you run "Around the World" two times in one day? The Magic Kingdom was... well... magical. Guests lined the streets cheering and we all got to run through the castle where photographers caught us coming out. That was a classy touch. Animal Kingdom is a smaller park, hence the shorter run through the park. We were met with cast members with goats and owls, and we ran by the gibbons. Marathons need more monkeys I tell you, and Disney did not disappoint. It was also so neat to hear a gospel choir singing with the big Lion King puppets looking on. From Animal Kingdom we ran to MGM where they literally rolled out the red carpet! A humorous touch was Jafar and the Evil Queen at mile 23 trying to coax us into their car for a ride to the finish. Again, lots and lots of people cheering and having our names on our bibs... nice touch. I can't tell you how much it meant to hear my name called out over and over again! The race finishes once again in Epcot, through the "world" again and then out in the parking lot. Pluto and Chip were at the finish line, high-fiving us as we came in. Lots of music and bleachers full of spectators! The transportation to and from was amazing. No problems whatsoever. Cast members congratulated us all day long on our run (since of course we wore our race bling all day). The entire course made us feel special from beginning to end. The free entry into Pleasure Island was a wonderful touch and we enjoyed the comedy club that was full of fellow runners. The only complaint I have is that the food at the end of the race could be better. I really would have liked a bagel or something with protein, but that's a very minor complaint really. The oranges were the best oranges I've ever tasted; thanks for the bananas, it's just the Hostess junk muffins that I could have lived without. My only regret on this race is that I did not run Goofy! I plan to return in two years and do just that. I did, however, do the family fun run (Chicken Little) the day before and that was really neat. This is definitely a family friendly event. There were races from the diaper set on up and EVERYONE who finished got a medal (the Chicken Little medals are rubber). | |
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J. R. from PA
(1/14/2006)
"GPS and other items" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Oddly enough my Timex GPS also had the course at 27.07. I've had it for two years and have run many certified runs with it NEVER being .9 of a mile off. It's never been even .1 off. The marathon was fun; I'm not a morning person so the 6AM start and being at Epcot at 4:30 were tough, but overall a very good marathon. At the theme parks there were very few lines so it is good marketing for them to have us there that weekend but also good for the family to not have to wait at the theme parks. We did 2 days worth of parks and it didn't affect my marathon performance (many sitting rides). Bagaage was handled well, sufficient amount of porta-johns, and a decent walk to the start (it really is close to a 20-minute walk - they are not kidding). | |
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S. A. from Portland, OR
(1/14/2006)
"Need to recalibrate course?" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 My wife and I enjoyed the race and Disney experience. I was able to achieve a personal PR on the flat course. I did note however via my Garmin 201 GPS unit that I finished at 26.8 miles. I had noted the mileage discrepancy prior to the 13 mile marker. So, my PR might have been better than I thought. I have noted that a few others that ran with the Garmin units registered similar distances. We had run NY in Nov. so the throngs of spectators we experienced there were hard to beat. Certainly not fair to compare with Disney in that respect. Again, all in all a great race venue and organization. We would run the race again. |
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