Disneyworld Jan 7, 2007

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-13-2004
Disneyworld Jan 7, 2007
3
Thu, 10-19-2006 - 1:03pm

We are returning to WDW early January. We went at this time about 4 years ago and loved how quiet the parks were. We stayed off site. I did a ton of research and had everything worked out - or so I thought.

Our only complaint was over the Disney Marathon. Don't get me wrong, it is a great event for those running it and for the charities. If I was a runner I would do it in a heartbeat. The problem was that we did not realize it meant many of the roads into the parks would be closed. We got caught in the worst traffic jam I have ever experienced. The worst part is that we had no idea what was the cause of the huge traffic jam until we finally made it into MGM and had to wait for the runners to pass by.

Disney does everything so well, I am still amazed that we had no advance warning and no one on the roads to direct us to a road we could actully drive on. Even the tour busses were turning into resort roads to turn around and try another route. It was 3 hours of wasted time. This year we are going to Seaworld on the Sunday of the Marathon.

I suggest anyone staying off site avoid that day as well. No one needs that frustration on vacation.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-13-2005
Fri, 10-20-2006 - 8:16am

I was on the property last year for marathon weekend, and everyone in a Disney resort received a phone mail message on both Saturday and Sunday reminding them of the Disney half marathon or marathon, and to expect delays and road closures. Considering the magnitude of the event IMO Disney did a remarkable job logistically. It is big news all around the Orlando area, with features on the news and in newspapers. I don't think there is anyway for Disney to notify off-site guests - if anything though, I think the off-site hotels would want to post a reminder as a courtesy to their customers. Runners need to be in the starting area by 4:00 a.m. for a 6:00 a.m. start in an effort to minimize the inconvenience to park guests.

It's great that you posted a reminder here for anyone that is going on those days and hasn't checked the events pages on Disney.com. I also would add that the half-marathon is run on Saturday, so you can expect delays on Jan. 6 as well. But don't rule out the entire weekend - the half marathon course closes by 10:00 a.m., and the full marathon course closes at 1:00 p.m....with many road closures opening up long before that. Unfortunately MGM and Epcot are the last 5 miles of the race - so you were stuck in an area that was the last to "open" up. Runners had probably cleared the Magic Kingdom by 10:00 a.m.

And if any of you do happen to get stuck in a traffic jam go ahead and lay on your horn...I'll be one of the runners in the pack assuming that you're cheering us on - LOL!

Mara

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-13-2004
Fri, 10-20-2006 - 12:37pm

Good luck on your race.

I really hope my post didn't come off as a huge complaint. I just want to warn people that there are traffic issues on this day.

I was a little disappointed that we sat in the car for so long no knowing what the problem was - there were people standing on the roads to ensure no one crossed the track, if they could have had some of them giving instructions as to where we should be driving, it would have started traffic moving again. Even some signs prior to entering the park would have helped.

When we travel I tend to live in a bubble, I avoid newspapers etc. Our hotel didn't have any postings about the marathon and we didn't see anything at the park the previous day that there would be some traffic issues.

Thanks

Avatar for shelb31
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-12-2006
Fri, 10-20-2006 - 9:41pm

That might have been the same year that we were there.

Disney 2010