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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 511 to 521]
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J. L. from NYC
(3/7/2006)
"Magical to run through Disney World" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 It's almost surreal to run through the theme parks... fun race. The characters are out and you can get your pictures taken with them. Just be prepared for a cold and dark early start! :-) | |
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C. R. from Burlington, Canada
(2/20/2006)
"Awesome Half-Marathon Experience" (about: 2006)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran the half, and it was a truly wonderful experience. POSITIVES: Nobody moves people around like Disney. Transportation between the resort and the race - and home again - couldn't have been better. Spectator/fan support was incredible. I cannot believe how many people got up so early to cheer for runners they don't even know! It was truly energizing. Having your name on your bib let people cheer for you by name. I loved that. Seeing Disney characters absolutely made the race. There's nothing like rounding a water stop then high-fiving a seven-foot tall chipmunk. Big thank you's to all the volunteers who happily took pictures of runners who stopped to pose with the characters. The runners themselves rocked! Being with 12,000 happy, enthusiastic, positive people was an experience I'll never forget. The finish area entertainment was awesome. What a great band! There was LOTS of water and Gatorade. Logistical support was excellent. Finally, the expo was pretty good. STUFF I'D CHANGE NEXT TIME AROUND: I'm not a fan of out-and-back runs, and would have appreciated a different route back to Epcot. Or does that not exist? Not a biggie, but if I could change the route back, I would. There could have been better food availability at the resort while waiting for buses prior to the race. I know, it's 4 a.m., but with maybe 250 people lined up for buses at our resort, they could have had more food available than a couple dozen packaged Rice Krispies squares. I will certainly do Disney again - next time the full marathon or, perhaps, even the Goofy. | |
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R. A. from Melrose,Ma.
(2/17/2006)
"This is my Favorite" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 6th Disney and it keeps getting better. Yes, you have to get up early for the 6 a.m. start, but so what? You're on vacation. STAY IN THE PARK! The bus will pick you up & you don't have to deal with the hassle of traffic. You get to run through all the parks & the support is better than anywhere else. The course is flat and the Disney characters are great - EVERYONE is there for you. | |
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C. J. from Eden Prairie, Minnesota
(2/5/2006)
"Enjoyable race, but not a "must-do."" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 I PR'd here so I can't complain too much. The water stops and port-o-potties were plentiful, and I especially liked all the race clocks throughout the course. But, my family had to pay the $9.00 parking fee at Epcot to pick me up; there has to be some way to differentiate marathon spectators from people going to the park for the day - maybe a parking pass or wristband? You don't see much of the parks, service entrances and service roads between the parks. The weather was fantastic - 37 degrees at the start. I liked starting at 6 a.m., so getting up at 3 a.m. isn't great, but who sleeps the night before a marathon anyway? Loved the medal and t-shirt, glad I did it, but I probably wouldn't do it again. | |
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R. M. from Lake Tahoe, NV
(2/5/2006)
"Goofy Challenge" (about: 2006)
50+ previous marathons
| 2 Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Great race and plan to do it again and again.... | |
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K. W. from Telkwa, BC, Canada
(1/31/2006)
"Great first marathon to do" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Being my first marathon ever, I have little to compare it with, but I found that the course was really fun and it was so enjoyable to run with so many people and Disney characters. The only real comments for improvement are: Family spectators who did not have park passes could not see the race really. The Disney characters were great spectators but it would have been nice to have better family support. Directions on the roads to where family should park at Epcot would have been good - regular routes were closed and nobody knew where to go. Other Disney hotels that were not actually Disney should have had at least one shuttle bus - this would have prevented traffic jams. Other than that, I thought everything was wonderful! | |
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P. M. from St Petersburg, FL
(1/28/2006)
"Do it, then cross it off your list!" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 My second marathon was this past Disney Marathon. I don't think you could ask for better course support than this. Plenty of aid stations with several flavors of PowerAde. There was some confusion at stations though, where water would be first one time, and last the next, or the flavors of PowerAde would be like one flavor on each side one time, or one flavor first and the second on the same side another time, etc. I don't want to mix flavors and risk an upset tummy, so this could be important to others too. And I think it added some confusion to the stops. Plenty of medical tents (with BioFreeze!). My GPS was also over too, as I am hearing with many others. I was over 27. My GPS was right on, exact, up until around mile 11-12, around Magic Kingdom. The course is nice, but you do this race to run the parks, and you really don't spend much time in the actual parks. Most of it is like backroads, service roads for the parks, etc. So I was a little disappointed with that. The weather was perfect this year, but I think in other years, after mile 18 being out on the open roads with no shade, going up and down entrance and exit ramps could really be extra miserable. For those of us that train in FL there are some unexpected "hills" - but more importantly, with a weird pull from the road to one side or the other on your legs. I think the split start was a great idea. Seemed to work really well (the field was split into two start areas and runners joined together after three miles). I picked up my stuff at the expo on Saturday afternoon (after the half) so had no problems that others mentioned with packet pick-up. I was upset with the lack of "goodies" in my bag. For the amount of money you spend on race entry and to stay overnight ('cause you gotta be at the start area by 4 a.m. - why so early, I don't know), they should give us something. I think they need to put something in my bag besides my shirt! Yes, you get a shirt, and your goodie bag has ads for their upcoming races. No snacks, no treats, nothing? All for what, $95? So in my opinion, once was enough for me. I got my Mickey medal, and I think for the value of what you spend for registration to what you actually get in return, I will choose other Florida marathons instead of spending all that money to do Disney again. | |
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t. g. from Fairview, Oregon
(1/27/2006)
"You have to do this once." (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my fourth WDW Marathon. I had already signed up for RNRAZ and was going to skip Disney this year.... But then I read about the Goofy Challenge and I couldn't resist. This marathon is one of my favorites. Since I had back-to-back marathons and no recovery time, I ran with a camera and planned to take lots of pictures. I rarely passed on a photo op with a Disney character and took over 65 pictures along the way. Hence the 4:50 finish time... but I sure had fun!!! And, it was great after the races to see all of the athletes in the parks with their medals and to listen to their stories. So, sign up, train, get a camera and run with Mickey and his buddies. You will get some great memories and finisher medals. The only negative thing I would say is that this event has outgrown the Milk House for the packet pick-up and expo. That building is way too small for 25,000+ runners. | |
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Richard Daymont from Northfield, MN
(1/23/2006)
"A very good mega-marathon!" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I did Disney in '96 and this year I came back with family and friends. Waiting at the start was hard as it was unseasonably cold, but no one can control that. We got up at 3:00 AM both days to catch the bus and get to the start by 4:30 AM... not sure why we were told to get there so early. We enjoyed the weekend as there was lots to do. I read the comments from several GPS-ers who complain that the race was long.... When you consider the size of the field (especially at the start) and take into account the tremendous number of turns it makes sense that you won't be able to run tangents at every turn. If you are worried about running exactly 26.21875 miles then enter a small marathon... but you'll miss out on Donald, Mickey and Goofy! I enjoyed the entire weekend, but then I also enjoyed watching the Mickey Mouse Club in the 50's and 60's! | |
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J. R. from Connecticut
(1/22/2006)
"Disney not as Magical as I had Hoped" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I am one of the runners who also found that my GPS said 26.77 at the end of the race. My GPS is usually within .1 of a mile. That said, the characters along the route were awesome. The race was my worst time-wise because of injuries, but next time I won't even worry about time. I recommend bringing an autograph book and a disposable camera for all of the characters along the route. Unfortunately, I was not impressed with the food at the end of the race. I have never run a race that didn't have bagels at the end. Also, charging runners $1 a minute for massages after the race was unbelievable to me. I had pulled hamstrings and needed a massage, but silly me, I didn't bring my wallet with me to run a marathon! Come on Disney, for $90 provide free massages, I've done 5K's that had free massages afterward. Also, the first five miles in Epcot had some completely dark sections with no lighting whatsoever. I was concerned about tripping over people because it was so hard to see. All in all I enjoyed the race itself. The course is flat, but with minimal spectator support outside of the parks; in any case, being able to run through the parks and seeing all the characters along the way made it worthwhile. Also, it was great to be able to wear my medal in the parks for the remainder of our trip and not feel stupid, instead of just putting it up on a shelf. I'll definitely be back to do the Goofy Challenge! |
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