Walt Disney World Marathon

Words cannot do this marathon justice. It was my first full marathon and magical from beginning to end. If you run one marathon in your lifetime, let this be that one.
You run through every single park, an experience unto itself, with attractions at every turn — character photo ops, live music, a choir, a crazy rave tunnel, you name it.
The beverage stations are abundant and stocked with Powerade and water. Keep in mind that solid food doesn’t show up until around mile 15 so prepare your fueling items accordingly. After mile 15, you get gels, chocolate (!), oranges, and licorice as well as food brought by cheering supporters.
This entire race is so well planned. I still get nostalgic thinking about that moment you arrive at Magic Kingdom right at sunrise only to hear «When You Wish Upon a Star» playing with a view of the beautiful castle lit up ahead. Every part of this race is visually stunning with the exception of one disgustingly long stretch between Magic Kingdom and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, where you literally see nothing but mile after mile of pavement. Once you get to the Wide World of Sports Complex, all is forgotten once you see yourself on that big screen with crowds in the stands cheering you on.
The course itself is flat and there are bathrooms along the way (park bathrooms and portapotties) and keep in mind that you will have to be up at the buttcrack of dawn (before, even) to get situated in your corral. I recommend bringing a garbage bag or something to sit on because you will be waiting for a while to start and the grass is wet. It’s fun to see each corral kick off since they do a countdown with fireworks. Yes, for every single corral. You can watch 10 countdowns with fireworks before you even start. Once it’s your turn, Mickey dances and waves you off and before you’ve even had a chance to warm up, there are ALREADY characters waiting to take pictures with you.
I really can’t say enough good things about this race — so highly recommended. I’d do it every year if I could.

This was hands down my favorite race I’ve ever done! I’ve done plenty of half marathons and 10Ks, a handful of 5Ks, and three marathons (this being my third.) out of all the races I’ve run, nothing compares to this!
The price is on point for marathons. It’s $ 175 for the full, I believe, which is pretty average for races with big draws such as this one. Registration is easy, just like every other run Disney race. And it is actually cheaper than the half marathons at Disneyland! Go figure. I think that has something do do with the entire WDW marathon being on Disney property.
The expo was great. We got there later than we expected since our flight was delayed, so we didn’t have as much time to explore as we would have hoped. But we did poke around a little bit and it was great. Their expo is pretty big and there’s different buildings that have bibs, shirts, and then the expo vendors.
The official merchandise area here was WAY better than Disneyland. At Disneyland everything good is gone on the first day. We came on Saturday (the last day of the expo) and there was still SO much merch. Everything we were interested in (except for a tank top I wanted) was still there.
The race itself was amazing. This is a pretty big race with 25,000 runners in the marathon alone. It’s about 100,000 over the whole weekend with all the other races included. With all these runners they still manage to keep everything extremely organized. If you stay on property (which I highly recommend), Disney will provide shuttle transportation to and from the race. It couldn’t have been any easier to get the start.
Once you get to the race staging area, there are food trucks if you need a bite as well as a couple characters to take photos with. From there it’s about a 10 – 15 minute walk to the corrals. Seriously. Get there early so you don’t miss your start! It was really easy to locate our corral once we arrived.
Their start is awesome. They light off fireworks for every corral and they are sent off about two minutes apart. Then you’re off!
This race is like no other. My boyfriend and I live in LA and have been going to Disneyland since we were kids, so the half marathons at Disneyland aren’t too big of a deal for us. We know these parks and see them all the time. Disney World is something we had never experienced, though, so we wanted to enjoy the whole race and take advantage of everything it had to offer. If you’re in the same boat as we were, you should definitely not take this as a serious race. We stopped to take photos with characters we love or have never seen in Disneyland before, rode Expedition Everest on Animal Kingdom (highly recommend), and stopped for tequila shots at Mexico in Epcot. It was awesome. At what other race can you do that?!
The finisher medals were awesome. They were very nice and not too in-​your-​face Disney. They were classy, as they are every year.
Also, don’t be afraid to dress up! My boyfriend and I dressed as Peter Pan and Tiger Lily and it was so great. If you’re considering this race, take the plunge. Register, run it, and enjoy it and you will not be disappointed.

So this was my first official marathon and overall I had a very good experience with it. There were a few negatives that came with it when i compare it to all the half marathons I have run before:
PROS:
–It is a relatively flat course with only a few hills/​overpasses. This made it a great starter marathon.
–There were enough water/​powerade, energy goo, and banana stations that I really regretted lugging my hand held water bottle and my packs of energy chews. I ended up dumping out my water out because I never needed to use it and it started to tire my arm in the last quarter of the race.
–The crowds were supportive throughout the race and seeing the characters would briefly take my mind off the intense fatigue my body was feeling. –Family can cheer you on in the ESPN zone and Magic Kingdom Mainstreet without a ticket to the park.
–The post-​race family meeting area is huge and lots of room to stretch out and unwind post race.
–You can walk around the parks after the race (if you have a park ticket) to loose up a little
CONS:
— Getting there race morning is tough. Those who have it best are staying on the monorail because they can take it straight to Epcot. If you take a bus to Epcot from a Disney hotel, still plan for plenty of time. I took a 4AM bus for a 5:30AM start time and my bus driver took a wrong turn. This put us at the back end of the traffic we were meant to bypass. I had to jog to to Corral A and made it there at the tail end of the National Anthem, with about 2 min to spare.
— One other reasons it takes so long to get there is that if you have anything on you with a pouch or zipper you have to go through security which slows you down, then from the security check to the corrals is 1.5−2 miles, depending on your corral letter. Take all this into mind when you decide when to get up that morning and head out the door.

Overall comments: This is Disney so everything requires careful study before arriving. I would absolutely recommend staying on property. The races start opening at 3 and I would seriously get there as early as possible. The start line is about 1.5−2 miles from the shuttle drop off point and is not an easy print with 20K other runners. Plus time for bathroom and gear check. Downside are the runners, many of whom are unaware of the rules of the road. Yes, get there early.
Registration: Registration was at the ESPN area. It took place in 2 buildings (fairly close together): one to get your bib and the other to get your race shirt and buy all of your souvenirs. Fairly well organized but this is Disney so expect some walking once the shuttle drops you off.
Race Day: Get there early! The shuttle ride over from the resorts will take longer than normal with all of the cars. I did buy the «retreat» package which was $ 120. It was a much quieter space with free food and drink before and after, with its own first aid station. It was very humid during the race so I thought it would help to have my refueling afterwards taken care of.
The race attracts a lot of «amateurs» who are not familiar with the rules of marathon running. About 95% of the runners will be using headphones and I almost saw once disaster when a wheelchair racer was try to pass and the woman with the headphones could not hear. She came to a halt and almost had a multi-​bike/​runner collision. Many runners decided to sit in the corral reducing space for other runners to get inside the corral. Slow runners on the left. And of course, the jerk who sideswiped me as he sprinted toward the finish. If you are looking for a PR, this may not be the event for you. I would recommend submitting a half-​marathon time to qualify for a better corral if you want to be with more experienced runners. They will double your half-​marathon time (a 1:45 half with place you with the 3:30 full marathon runners).
Course: The course was great! There were 2 «dead zones» (or relatively unexciting): one from the start to about mile 4 (Magic Kingdom) and the other from mile 7 – 10 (MK to Animal Kingdom). Everything else was pretty lively. Lots of opportunities for character photos. If you bring your own phone, a Disney staff will take a pic for you and they have the
people: the
fee is ~$ 80 to download all of your race pics which is not such a bad deal if you have 1 or 100, it’s the same price. Plenty of water stops, volunteers were awesome!
And did I mention… get there early?

The most crowded and expensive marathon you’ll ever have the privilege of waking up at 2:30AM to complete. Expect your GPS to register well over 27.5 miles, and don’t think about it unless you’re confident you can maintain better than a 16 min/​mile pace even when you’re hurting. Course-​cutting is rampant. Oh, and be sure to comply with their costume regulations.

This marathon is a well organized, well run event.
Very early start and lots of waiting before you actually start running. I can’t say much more than the other five star reviews so I’ll keep this short. I’ll be back in 2016. See you then!

What a perfect first marathon experience!!! Well, almost perfect. Close enough to perfect to get five stars.
Like everything Disney, this race is extremely well organized. Local running gear company Track Shack does a lot of work helping host this race, and it is top notch.
This is not a fast marathon, so don’t come hoping for a Boston qualifying time. This is a have fun running event. If you are just getting into running and don’t already have a qualifying proof time months in advance, you will get put in the last corral. That means that you will start a full hour after the first corral, be running in the full Florida sun for almost the entire race, be cold, have to pee like a race horse by the time you do start, face long lines at the first few restrooms, and have the sweepers (called balloon ladies) starting at the exact same time as you so you don’t have much time cushion when you are in the portalet line dancing like the Kids of the Kingdom on a midday parade.
Tips: Bring warm clothes for the hours waiting at the start line that you can throw away. They will be donated to charity. Bring some plastic or an old blanket to sit on. Use the restroom before the start of the race, even if the line is absurd. Bring purell with you for during the race to save time waiting on the hand wash stations that probably don’t work anyhow.
What’s great: Instant four park «Parkhopper» with great entertainment along the way. The prerace expo is awesome, and the Galloway training schedule really works.
What’s challenging: There are stretches that are desolate except for water treatment plants that smell like Dumbo’s tent, with nobody cheering you on. Also, you will be on angled highway ramps for a significant portion of the race, and you probably haven’t trained much running at an angle.
Still, if you are going to run just one marathon in your lifetime, this is the one. Awesome event.

I was going to create a new page for the Dopey challenge but that would be overkill since there are now four pages for this marathon weekend: the marathon is required as part of the Dopey anyway.
Ride from resort to site: 4:05 to 4:35am
Walking time from site to corral: 4:35 to 5:15am
Start: 530am
Time to cross the start: 6:10am
Speaking of corrals, I (corral K) finished at the same time as someone from corral B. What is up with that. I was also told that corral H was the 4:30 pace group — hey! That’s my pace! I think Disney knew that all the Dopeys would be injured by now and shifted us back and inserted the Goofys and marathon-​only-​ers in the corrals between us. All said, there was a corral P marathoner that finished before I did. Haha, I’m slow.
The first five miles are road. Yay road. Most of the characters and scenery are repeat from the previous races so the lines weren’t hideously long. Miles 5 goes through Magic Kingdom in the same route as the half. Miles 6 to 12 were road. Yay road. I was actually starting to hit a wall because of the right arm chaff and some elderly problems like hip pain and butt pain. I stopped by ALL 18 water stations to get powerade because I was starving, relatively speaking, American style. Needless to mention, I veered towards food offerings: bananas at mile 9, mile 18, and chocolate and gummies at 23, twizzlers from the spectators (except for the disgusting gel shots; this relatively starving American won’t eat them). I also stopped by the numerous medical tent to get more vaseline for this ridiculous chaff and tylenol for my what-​feels-​like-​must-​be-​arthritis. I wish they had motrin instead.
At one point during this horrible my-​hip-​sockets-​are-​going-​to-​fall-​out episode, I approached a huge crowd of walkers. It turned out I caught up to the 5:30 pacer. I have no idea how I got behind the 5:30 group — Must be one of the many bathroom breaks I was enjoying. Speaking of which, use the real bathrooms in the parks, don’t use the port-​a-​potties.
I was excited to get into Animal Kingdom because I had never been: the scenery in Animal Kingdom is beautiful! I spent the whole time in the park with a dopey smile on my face. Then I passed by the famed Everest and overheard the person at the entrance say, «Who cares about the marathon time? Everest is open for you runners!» A bunch of us detoured into the ride, arms flailing, super excited and giggly. Everest for sure was the only thing I was thinking about for the next seven miles of road/​ESPN before I hit the runner’s high.
Before I get to my runner’s high, ESPN from miles 17 to 20: It was cool running around the track and watching the athletes practice around the baseball field and all the other fields. As aforementioned, the bananas saved my life. I all of a sudden could run really fast and totally passed everybody in front of me for the next two miles. I kept repeating «Negative splits, negative splits!» with the goal of negatively splitting the last six miles.
Hollywood studios killed my high. I got chocolate, though!
Just sprint all the way through when you get to Epcot. You’ll find that you have all this energy you’ve been reserving just for the last mile.
Dopeys get three medals at the end of this marathon: one for the marathon, one for the Goofy and one for the Dopey! Cheers, fellow Dopeys!

No one puts on an event better than the House of Mouse. No one. This was my first full marathon and I am so happy I chose to do the Walt Disney World Marathon!
From registration to the race itself to the runners to the events for the participants, everything was just about perfect. I don’t say this lightly as my other Unilocal reviews on running events will attest. This race is run by an actual runner and it shows, in spades. Everything a runner needs or could want has been addressed in this event.
Registration was smooth and regular, detailed updates were sent to us for lodging, transportation, race preparation, etc. A detailed handbook was provided as well. Disney has a website with forum discussions for their races, which I found very helpful when planning my trip.
The start times for each corral were spaced far enough apart to avoid overcrowding on the course, especially when running through the ESPN sports complex and Epcot. Each mile had a marker with a digital readout of the elapsed time. Water and gel stations were plentiful, along with 3 banana stations and one sugar stop for Hershey’s chocolates and fruit gummies. Many thanks to the one restaurant that handed out ice water in cups with lids and straws that allowed me to run with it for a mile to stay cool and hydrated. There seemed to be more stops toward the last third of the course, which was very well thought out and very much needed as the temperature rose. Plenty of port-​a-​potties were set up but the restrooms in the parks were also made available to us.
Every 1 to 1.5 mile had some sort of entertainment set up for our amusement, whether it be live music, DJ’s, Disney characters (
) (
) (
), views of areas not open to the public, vintage cars, live animals, a chance to ride a roller coaster (!) or signs educating us about the operations that support the parks.
There were large crowds throughout most of the race cheering us on, which was fantastic! The park employees and police/​security did a great job controlling the crowds of onlookers and runners to ensure that we each stayed in our own lane. Excellent. I was warned that I would cry at mile 26 when I saw and heard the gospel choir, that they were THAT good. I did tear up a bit, but they were tears of joy because I knew that my 9 month journey to reach that finish line was about to come to an end. Hallelujah to that!
The course itself was 90% flat. The «hills» were more like inclines and were fairly infrequent. The race course takes you through the four Disney parks plus the ESPN complex. In between those areas you are running on the freeway or roads that lead into the parks. There is almost no shade so it’s best to be prepared for lots of exposure to the elements. For me the first and last 8 miles were the easiest, with the run through the ESPN complex the most mentally draining as it seemed we were led through every possible nook and cranny of that park.
One thing worth noting is that for the most part this was the most polite group of runners I have ever seen. Many runners raised their hand to signal that they were slowing down and moving over to the side to walk. I heard many runners say «sorry», «excuse me», «on your left/​right» throughout the race.
After the race runners are encouraged to wear their medal (s) around the parks. Many runners congratulated one another but the best part was the park and hotel employees that congratulated us too. No matter if it was the 5K or the Dopey Challenge (48.6 miles), they made a big deal of our achievement
I would highly recommend this race, especially for first time marathoners. I had so much fun I was actually smiling through most of the race!

**I ran the 2011 edition of the Walt Disney World Marathon, but it was only recently in January 2014, that I had discovered the Unilocal listing, courtesy of Unilocal Elite Emil C of California.
It was the first trip to Florida ever to run a race for me, but it was a good one. Everyone told me that it was a great race to run, and I believed them. Running in Walt Disney World in the early part of January was pretty sweet, considering that the weather there in Orlando can be very unpredictable. It was an eventful trip, as I was delayed an hour arriving into Orlando, missing out many of my running club’s group activities before the race, so I was miffed at American Airlines for that. Still can’t forgive them for that one, but I can’t seem to get over a grudge, so I am currently boycotting American Airlines, even if they are the cheapest, I will pay more for another airline. With that in play, the Walt Disney World Marathon boasts a the première marathon, half, 10K, 5K, Goofy’s Challenge, and the new Dopey’s Challenge. The Goofy, is the half on Saturday and the marathon on Sunday, whereas the Dopey is all races (5K, 10K, half, and full) in that order, on 4 consecutive days. You would be Dopey if you attempted it all, but it is expensive, but you get a lot of finisher’s medals and a lot of bragging rights. But for me, I am writing about my experience for the marathon only.
The Walt Disney World Marathon is a 26.2 mile loop around 4 theme parks: Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and the Hollywood Studios. I felt like majority of the course was held on the Disney back roads, so there’s nothing but a large road with trees and nothing else to look at. I figured that doing loops in the park itself is a logistical nightmare that it would be better to have majority of it outside the parks while admitting paid customers to enjoy the park anyway. The year that I did it, I was dropped off by a friend of mine, who was also running the race. The weather that year was a brisk 37 degrees F and it was windy. I remember parking the car and we headed into the reunion area, which is a big staging area for pre race food and gear check. Not needing to do that, I just waited for the start and hung out with friends and fellow marathoners. At around 20 minutes to the start, the mass group of 40,000 runners made their way about ½ a mile to the starting corrals, which kind of sucked. But at least we were moving the legs. They do a staggered corral system, along with fire works and the Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy dancing at the start line on a stage. It was a sight to see for sure.
The aid stations were adequate, at 2 miles apart. It was pretty cool to see Epcot so early in the morning, especially with the silver ball towering in the distance. My favorite scene would have been running through Magic Kingdom. My only regret would have been not to get a photo from the official photographer that was stationed just outside the castle. I had a fantastic time, performance wise and the privilege of running in Florida. The course through Hollywood Studios was particularly fascinating, but I did enjoy seeing random runners stopping to take photos with the characters. Me? Nah, I wanted to run a personal best, but in the end of the day, I got to the finish line, and got my Mickey Medal. That’s what it was all about. Just finishing and crossing off the state off the list officially, so I don’t have to come back — if I didn’t have to. I had my share of DNF’s in my journey and so glad Florida isn’t one of them. The start line was epic and adrenaline pumping, especially with the fireworks. You would want to come and do this one, especially with the hype and fanfare that draws many to see and do Disney.
However, the price tag on this race is around $ 100, if you decide to enter and it gets more expensive as it gets closer to race morning. My advice if you are traveling out of town is to arrive early and get acclimated and prepare for the arduous challenge that only 13.1 and 26.2 miles on foot can provide. The finish line, as I remembered it, ends in the parking lot of Epcot Center. There wasn’t much of a fanfare finish, since I was in the back of the pack on this one. There were streams of people still in the back of me, but thankful that I did finish ahead of many. Still, the finish was uneventful and it was a good sight to see after running 26.2 miles. The finisher’s medal is always worth bonking for and the airfare, hotel, and other travel related costs are worth the effort, if you finish the marathon officially. I would definitely recommend this marathon if you are a Disney geek or just want to run a marathon in Florida. While most shy away from big mega marathons, this one may be the one that will be the most fun ever. I do love my Mickey Medal and, while the price to play is expensive, it was definitely one of my top 10 marathons in my 50 States Marathon quest.
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A+

This was my first full marathon and I had an absolute blast. I mean, what other marathon can you say you rode a roller coaster nearly halfway through the course, other than the WDW Marathon???
Disclaimer: i did die around mile 16. and again at about 22. and miles 23 – 26 were the longest miles of my life. But either way, i finished and I am proud to have «marathoner» next to my name.
RunDisney has been holding events for over 20 years, so they know what they’re doing as far as race support, race planning, expo, transportation, etc is concerned. I have no doubt in my mind that they’re n00b status to anything, and let’s face it, you’re at Disney World.

This is usually a tough marathon for me. 3 years in a row, I’ve run this marathon as part of the Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge. This year I ran it as part of the Dopey Challenge. This race takes place on Sunday with Mickey Mouse in charge of this race!
The pre-​race logistics are the same as the half marathon. After being dropped off by one of the race motorcoaches, you will be directed towards the reunion area. There are security check stations for those with a bag before you head into the reunion area. If you have a gear bag to check, you check it before heading to the starting corrals. The starting line is about a mile away from the finish line located on Epcot Center Drive.
After they sing the Star Spangled Banner and shoot off the fireworks, it’s time to run a marathon! Each corral is released one at a time with a few minutes in between each corral. The course in a nutshell is a race to all 4 Disney parks starting with the Magic Kingdom. Then it’s off to the Animal Kingdom, followed by a trip to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, then to Hollywood Studios, and back to the finish line at Epcot. As you run around the right side of Spaceship Earth and see the singing choir, the finish line is just right around the corner! There are photo opportunities with Disney characters along the course as well as in the reunion area after the race… so bring your camera or cellphone to take some pictures!

2013 — Goofy Challenge (some of this review is the same as my review of the Half)
I loved absolutely everything about Marathon weekend. For an event this size, it is incredible what Disney is able to pull off. That said, you do need to keep that in mind. When this many people are running a race, you need to arrive early, you need to plan ahead and you need to keep an open mind.
The expo did have a lot of waiting, but I thought it was well organized! Some of the items were sold out, but they did have 2 areas selling merchandise and I didn’t check both. I picked up a shirt and a couple trinkets. The selection was the best I have seen for any race. I also got to meet Joey Fatone at the race expo, so that might have trumped all the waiting in my memory :)
Race day is early as balls and doing it two days in a row isn’t fun, but SO worth it. We got up at 2:30am on the day of the full as well because we wanted to get on the first bus to the race (stayed All Star Sports) and it went flawlessly on the day of the half. We still ended up getting there very early with some time to kill, but it was worth not being late. This time we were smart and headed straight to the corrals. During the half we waited until closer to race time and the walk was insanely crowded. They do have port o potties at both locations so don’t feel like you need to get all your business done before heading to the start.
The race itself was just as much fun if not more incredible than the half! The first few photo ops were the same as the half marathon, so at first I was a bit bummed… but this worked perfectly. I was able to get some solid mileage in before my first stops for photos. and there was TONS of stuff that was not a repeat so still totally worth it. I loved running on the speedway, but of course, my favorite part was running down Main Street and under the castle. Even the course through the water treatment plant and behind the parks was entertaining with signage and frequent characters.
I brought my camera and took my own photos, but Disney also has a camera at most of the character stops so if you can’t handle carrying something you will be okay.
I did end up getting a ridiculous time, but that was due to all my photo stops and random chatting. Starting in Corral B, the wait times for photos weren’t bad and it was fun chatting with out athletes while I was in line.
Of course the 20^th anniversary medal was stellar and the food spread after was pretty good! They also had a few characters at stations after the finish line so I could take pictures with the fiancé who ran the race as well, but we didn’t run together. The bus back to the resort was well planned. We barely waited for it take off and then we were the first stop.
I went in with low expectations knowing how many people Disney would have to cattle herd through the course, but I had SO much fun. We booked trips for the Tinkerbell and Princess races in 2014 because of it.