Disney Marathon crowds - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
PassPorter.com
Award-winning travel guidebooks
Thank you to our forum sponsor:

   guidebooks   |   news   |   podcasts   |   boards   |   blog   |   worksheets   |   photos   |   articles   |   updates   |   register   |   follow us on


Forums Closed
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.

So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.

Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.

And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.

We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm​. You made it all happen.

There are other changes as well.

Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:

We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.

It's time to move on and move forward.

PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.

But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.

So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.

And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.

That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!

If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.

So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!

Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!

Go Back   PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums > PassPorter's Walt Disney World Resort (Florida) > Planning Your Adventure: Your Plans for Walt Disney World
Register


Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.

To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.

If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.

Forum Sponsor: Mouse Fan Travel™
Learn Why PassPorter Recommends This Sponsor
 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-30-2008, 10:24 PM   #1
disney777
Community Rank: Trekker
 
disney777's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: So. California
Posts: 1,676

Post Thanks / Like
Disney Marathon crowds

If going around the time of the marathon in January, what are the crowds like? Is it better to go the week before, or the week after? TIA!
__________________
10/1999 ASMu, 10/2001 ASMo. 9/2003 ASMo, 9/2004 Pop, 1/2005 Pop/AKL, 9/2005 Pop, 1/2006 Pop/ POFQ, 9/2006 POFQ 10/2006 CSR,
1/2007 Pop,9/2007 WL/BWV, 1/2008 POFQ,8/2008 POP/CR, 1/2009 POFQ, 9/2009 Saratoga Springs, 1/2010 POFQ, 8/2010 POP/BCV, 1/2011 POR/ POFQ. 8/2011 POP/BCV, 1/2012 POFQ, 8/2012 AKL/AKL CL , 1/2013 POFQ 8/2013 YC, 1/2014 Pop/POFQ, 8/2014 GF
TOT hiding in Morocco
My Countdown Counting down to: 2 weeks @ Grand Floridian
WDW here I come!
disney777 is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2008, 11:33 PM   #2
BMDMom
Community Rank: Sightseer
 
BMDMom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 79

Post Thanks / Like
Marathon Crowds

We went in Jan of 2006 and it wasn't too bad except the traffic on that morning and the day they ran the full marathon we had decided to go to AK. Big mistake. We were there for rope drop and headed for EE, they had the path that the runners were on blocked off so that you could not cross it. That essentially blocked everything off except The Tree of Life and Camp Minney Mickey. No EE no Dinosaur no Safari. They had one area where they were letting maybe 10 people at a time across with a huge crowd of people trying to get accross. What a messs. We had to come back another day just to do do EE. So I don't know what the impact is at the other parks on that day but I would not go to AK early that day.
BMDMom is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2008, 11:35 PM   #3
BMDMom
Community Rank: Sightseer
 
BMDMom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 79

Post Thanks / Like
Marathon Crowds

We went in Jan of 2006 and it wasn't too bad except the traffic on that morning and the day they ran the full marathon we had decided to go to AK. Big mistake. We were there for rope drop and headed for EE, they had the path that the runners were on blocked off so that you could not cross it. That essentially blocked everything off except The Tree of Life and Camp Minney Mickey. No EE no Dinosaur no Safari. They had one area where they were letting maybe 10 people at a time across with a huge crowd of people trying to get accross. What a messs. We had to come back another day just to do do EE. So I don't know what the impact is at the other parks on that day but I would not go to AK early that day.
BMDMom is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2008, 11:36 PM   #4
BMDMom
Community Rank: Sightseer
 
BMDMom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 79

Post Thanks / Like
Marathon Crowds

We went in Jan of 2006 and it wasn't too bad except the traffic on that morning and the day they ran the full marathon we had decided to go to AK. Big mistake. We were there for rope drop and headed for EE, they had the path that the runners were on blocked off so that you could not cross it. That essentially blocked everything off except The Tree of Life and Camp Minney Mickey. No EE no Dinosaur no Safari. They had one area where they were letting maybe 10 people at a time across with a huge crowd of people trying to get accross. What a messs. We had to come back another day just to do do EE. So I don't know what the impact is at the other parks on that day but I would not go to AK early that day.
BMDMom is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2008, 09:49 AM   #5
disney_duke
Community Rank: Explorer
 
disney_duke's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Wisconsin
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 11,022

Post Thanks / Like
Generally speaking, the crowd levels are low. Like the above post(s) say, avoid certain parks at certain times of the day if you're concerned about being roped off somewhere. Having just run the Half Marathon this past January, I must say that hearing strangers cheer me on and shouting was quite encouraging for running the race! So if you do find yourself roped off and stuck watching some runners, just get into the spirit and cheer them on please!!!
Here's a link to the course maps. WALT DISNEY WORLD® Marathon Weekend - Course Maps Races start at 6am on both days (sat is the half, sun is the full). The half goes for about 4 hours, and the full for about 8 hours. So plan accordingly!
__________________
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous TripsVisited WDW 4 times while little from 1979 to 1990 ~ Jan. 1998, Doubletree ~ Nov. 1998, Disney Institute ~ Sept. 2000, E. Caribbean Disney Magic ~ July 2001, Courtyard Downtown Disney ~ March 2003, Comfort Inn ~ June 2004, POR ~ Jan. 2006, POFQ ~ May 2007, All Star Vacation home ~ Jan. 2008, POFQ Half Marathon ~ Sept. 2008, SSR ~ Nov. 2009, CBR ~ March 2010, AsMu Princess Half Marathon ~ Sept. 2010, Disneyland Half Marathon ~ Nov. 2010, CSR ~ Jan. 2011 WDW Marathon ~ Oct. 2011 Wine&Dine Half Marathon, POR ~ Jan. 2012 Relay Marathon, POP ~ May 2012 Expedition Everest Challenge, CBR Pirate room ~ Sept. 2012 Sheraton LBV ~ Nov. 2012 Wyndham Bonnet Creek ~ Jan. 2013 Goofy Challenge, POR Royal Room ~ Apr. 2013 POP ~ Sep 2013 DL DDD ~ Jan 2014, marathon volunteer ~ Oct. 2014, ToT 10 miler, ASSports ~ Jan. 2015 Dopey Challenge, Bonnet Creek ~ July 2015, CSR/Marriott ~ November 2015 DL Avengers ~ January 2017 Bonnet Creek ~
disney_duke is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2008, 09:51 AM   #6
DopeyGirl
Dopey's biggest fan!
PassPorter's Club Passholder


What's this?

PassPorter Guide

Community Rank: Legend
 
DopeyGirl's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: China Spring, TX
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 26,975

Post Thanks / Like
We went in 2005 and the crowds were really not bad at all. :
__________________
Sarah- PassPorter Guide to:
---
DL: Planning Your Disneyland Adventure
--- DL: Getting There (and Back!)
--- DL: Staying in Style: The Hotels
--- DL: Touring the Lands: Disney Parks

Multi-Theme Park Destination Specialist with Ears To You Travel
Sarah@earstoyoutravel.com
My Countdown Counting down to: Oldest's Graduation Celebration and DH and My 20th Anniversary!
Summer fun!
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous TripsToo many trips to list! Disneyland since 1977 . . . WDW since 1996!
DopeyGirl is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2008, 10:07 AM   #7
WeRDisneyFanatics
Community Rank: Navigator
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 6,770

Post Thanks / Like
We were there during the marathon many years ago (1999) and the crowds in general weren't bad. The only "problem" was the morning of the marathon--they had a quite a bit of Epcot blocked off with ropes because the runners hadn't made it through the park yet. We were a little upset because when we made our reservations we specifically asked if there'd be any impact on the parks and we were told the entire marathon is over before the parks open, which wasn't true in our case. We ended up hopping over the MK then coming back to Epcot later in the day.
WeRDisneyFanatics is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2008, 11:50 AM   #8
Lemap760
Community Rank: Explorer
 
Lemap760's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Newtown, PA
Posts: 7,634

Post Thanks / Like
We were there in January 2005 and the parks didn't seem crowded at all. Just be sure you don't have to take a bus anywhere that morning since the roads are closed.
__________________
Lemap760 is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2008, 01:19 PM   #9
DMA
Community Rank: Explorer
 
DMA's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Western NY
Concierge Level: 4
Posts: 8,018

Post Thanks / Like
We were there this past January.
I had expected low crowds, since January is traditionally a slow time, and people on the boards had said the marathon doesn't really have too much of an effect on the park crowds. But it was more crowded than I had anticipated.

I guess I was expecting to walk onto most attractions like we did in Sept. 04, but that was not the case. We waited in quite a few lines. Some for only 10 minutes, others for 30 or 40.

I think that the crowds were due to MANY tour groups from South America. From what I heard afterwards, that time of the year is their vacation time. There were more people speaking foreign languages than English!
__________________
My Previous Trips1976 - off site, 1991 - PO, 1994 - off site, 2004 - POR, 2008 - ASM, 2009 - POFQ, 2010 - POFQ, 2011 - POR, 2012 - BLT, 2013 - BCV, 2015 - BWV, 2016 - BWV, 2017-BLT, 2018-OKW
DMA is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2008, 01:52 PM   #10
A Pair and A Spare
 
A Pair and A Spare's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Richmond, VA USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 157

Post Thanks / Like
Crowds for Marathon weekend are a relative thing. There will be more people in the parks on the actual marathon weekend compared to a nonmarathon weekend in January. That being said, crowds are still much lighter than during the Summer or over the Holidays. Crowds shouldn't be bad on the weekdays on either side of the Marathon.
__________________
a Pair & a Spare Ask me about Vinylmation trading!!!
My Countdown Counting down to: Starting the New Year with Mickey
We're off to see the Mouse!
My Previous TripsShades of Green -- WDW April 2000, July 2004, Jan 2006, Jan 2008, Oct 2008, Jan 2009, Jan 2012
A Pair and A Spare is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2008, 02:19 PM   #11
Lavendar_mom
Community Rank: Adventurer
 
Lavendar_mom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Niagara Falls, Canada
Posts: 689

Post Thanks / Like
What are the dates for the 2009 Marathon?
__________________
Lavendar


I've been BOO-ED thanks Rella
My Previous TripsWDW (POR) Nov. 12- 20 2007 WDW (POP) Oct. 22 - 29 2008 WDW (POP) Jan. 24 - 28 2009 (SOLO)
Lavendar_mom is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2008, 02:55 PM   #12
IdahoDisneyMom
Community Rank: Explorer
 
IdahoDisneyMom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Boise ID
Posts: 14,396

Post Thanks / Like
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lavendar_mom View Post
What are the dates for the 2009 Marathon?
Jan 8-11, 2009 according to allearsnet
__________________
Looking forward to another Christmas with The Mouse!!
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous Trips*many trips to DL since childhood; honeymooon Dixie Landings (POR) Jan '96; POR Dec '04; POR Sept/Oct 2007; ASMo/DCL/POR Dec '09; B2Bs on the Dream Oct '11; Aulani June '12; DCL Fantasy/AKLV 2013; Christmas at "home" VGF Dec '14; DCL Magic Northern Europe 2016; Starting to plan for 2017!!
IdahoDisneyMom is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Reply




Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Thank you to our forum sponsor:













Please login or register to hide these ads -- it's free and easy!

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:44 PM.

-->

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Feedback Buttons provided by Advanced Post Thanks / Like v3.4.0 Patch Level 1 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
(c) 1998-2017 PassPorter Travel Press/MediaMarx, Inc.
Celebrating 19 Years of Making Dreams Come True
Ad Management plugin by RedTyger