[MJMcBride]

MaxiBarns, on Jan 26 2010, 07:01 PM, said:

Psssst...you could go a different weekend...I'm just sayin'

That is true. In this case, we wanted my cousin to go, it was college break, and that just happened to be the week due to various schedules. 10 of us went

[MagicMemories]

MJMcBride, on Jan 26 2010, 07:06 PM, said:

That is true. In this case, we wanted my cousin to go, it was college break, and that just happened to be the week due to various schedules. 10 of us went

Yeah, I didn't appreciate the marathon at all either.

It was a major inconvenience at DHS when we went. It took us 10 minutes to cross the 'path', so to speak. We were made to wait just to get into the back side of the park and literally wasted 10 minutes trying to get across, and then 10 minutes coming back. I was watching my watch while waiting and couldn't believe how silly it was. It wasn't just our group either, alot of people were ticked at it.

PLUS, the characters along the trail for the runners. We encountered a number of characters out there - Launchpad McQuack, etc., that were out there to meet the runners and as we found out, the runners only. We met the Green Army Men from Toy Story, and while they took photos with runners first, they also posed for regular paying guests. Yet several other characters would not even turn toward the guests, only the runners, and we were told by the character handlers that they would only take pictures with guests if they (the characters) chose to do so - but they didn't have to. Try explaining that to 4-7 year old kids who want to see them. It wasn't appreciated, especially after being annual pass holders and buying 10 park passes for other guests.

[MJMcBride]

MagicMemories, on Jan 29 2010, 10:46 PM, said:

Yeah, I didn't appreciate the marathon at all either.

It was a major inconvenience at DHS when we went. It took us 10 minutes to cross the 'path', so to speak. We were made to wait just to get into the back side of the park and literally wasted 10 minutes trying to get across, and then 10 minutes coming back. I was watching my watch while waiting and couldn't believe how silly it was. It wasn't just our group either, alot of people were ticked at it.

PLUS, the characters along the trail for the runners. We encountered a number of characters out there - Launchpad McQuack, etc., that were out there to meet the runners and as we found out, the runners only. We met the Green Army Men from Toy Story, and while they took photos with runners first, they also posed for regular paying guests. Yet several other characters would not even turn toward the guests, only the runners, and we were told by the character handlers that they would only take pictures with guests if they (the characters) chose to do so - but they didn't have to. Try explaining that to 4-7 year old kids who want to see them. It wasn't appreciated, especially after being annual pass holders and buying 10 park passes for other guests.

finally, some one on my side

[MaxiBarns]

MJMcBride, on Jan 30 2010, 10:59 AM, said:

finally, some one on my side

did you just need to be heard?

[MJMcBride]

MaxiBarns, on Feb 8 2010, 08:06 PM, said:

did you just need to be heard?

maybe

[Figaro]

We were there that weekend and quite honestly, I thought it was great. We worked around the events and understood that for some people this is a once in a lifetime thing. We also had a 5 yr old and 10yr old with us and it didn't bother them either.

A few years back we were also there during a triathalon which started and ended at the Contemporary, where we were staying. My son was about 3 at the time. We couldn't leave the resort at all pretty much and we just made the best of it. We watched the races from our balcony & had some down time for the morning.

How much less inconvenient can Disney make it for the other guests? They pick the slowest time of year, the runners have to be lined up at 4 AM, they run/walk ALOT of back stage areas. I'm not sure how the other resorts handled it but we got phone messages each night before the races to tell guests about what was going on and a letter the night before the full marathon.

Maybe non-participants just don't get how much training and money is involved here. There were thousands of runners that morning (and weekend with the half & 5K also). This is a really big event for Disney! They need to make it special for the runners by offering special perks if they are going to charge the fees they do. (Believe me, they way over charge for their races!) The runners are not going to come and spend mega amounts if they are stuck on back roads with no parks, characters etc. The draw for them is the special experience of being able to run through all 4 parks etc.

We did encounter inconviences too because of the traffic. My Dh ran the half (his first) the day before & because of the busses and traffic, we missed him crossing the finish line. But again, that was our fault for poor planning.

Like Iheartthestudios said, there are many events that people can see as inconvenient. What about people who don't want to pay for MNSSHP nights....parks close early. What about F&W at Epcot? Geez, sometimes you can hardly walk through World Showcase, that can be inconvenient for the guests who are not there to partake in the festival.

It was one day for a few hours!

[emilyrose0507]

One reason that it can not be in just on park is that the race is 26.2 miles. And who is to say what park it should be in. My in laws stayed off property and my father in law ran the 1/2 and they had no problem getting in that morning or the morning of the full. I guess you just need to know what your doing to make it work. And it is only two days tops out of a 7 day trip is not that bad. book a spa treatment or a long breakfast. 98% of the runners will be done by noon so it will not be a big deal. I have been there before for that time of the year and a day after the race the crowds were 1/3 of what they were during the race weekend.. I also do not think that Disney should be making sure that their guest know that this is going on. Look to see what Disney has planned while your planning on being there. most people look at a crowed calendar to see how busy it is going to be when their there. And the Calender at tour plans will tell you why the numbers will be high. So see if it going to make your trip a loss then plan around it. I have been to that weekend a few times and love it. I am also from a family of runners and love the fact that there is a race for everyone in the family.