Marathon Weekend 2020

I am loving all of the new Instagram accounts to follow!

Random question kind of related to the past marathon weekend:
Does anyone know if you can just purchase 1 day’s worth of photo pass pictures?
I thought maybe you could for like $60-$70, but don’t see that option when looking at the website on my phone. I want to purchase my marathon pics but not sure I want to pay $200 for pictures from the whole trip!
 
I am loving all of the new Instagram accounts to follow!

Random question kind of related to the past marathon weekend:
Does anyone know if you can just purchase 1 day’s worth of photo pass pictures?
I thought maybe you could for like $60-$70, but don’t see that option when looking at the website on my phone. I want to purchase my marathon pics but not sure I want to pay $200 for pictures from the whole trip!
Yes one day memory maker is an option. I’m not sure if it’s too late for that option or not tho.
 
Good morning, runDisney all-stars!

As promised, for this week's Sundays are for Disney, we're going to talk about celebrations. Specifically, post-race celebrations. Marathon weekend is still almost 11 months away, but it's never to soon to start thinking about celebrating your accomplishments. It's also never a bad time to relive past celebrations.

With that in mind, previous marathon weekend participants (of ANY distance), how have you celebrated after the race(s) in the past? What has been your favorite post-race celebration? For everyone, have you started thinking about how you want to celebrate next year?

(This doesn't have to be all about meals. I know some folks don't have big appetites after racing. So, if you grabbed a drink, soaked in a hot tub, got a massage, kicked back at your room, etc., I wanna hear about that, too.)

After the 2017 and 2019 marathons, my family and I went to Ohana. Both experiences were great, though 2017 was a little better since I was hungrier and it was my first marathon. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a huge meal after a race.

2020 plans are firmly up in the air. I'll probably only do one "big" meal that trip. If I do something solo, I'm leaning toward Boma. But, I'll probably wait and see what everyone's plans are for DATW and possibly do my sit down meal then with the group. I am planning to do Magic Kingdom after the marathon for photos, Splash Mountain and HEA.

Have a great week, everyone!
 
SAFD:
I'm going to go retro or you can just call me old fashion, but my favorite post race experience was back in the day when race results were posted on boards in Downtown Disney and you received free admission to Pleasure Island! Ah yes, the Comedy Club [and that phone on the wall], the Adventurer's Club [Kungaloosh and the mask room] and the vendors with beer and jello shots!
 
As a gift after my first marathon DH got me a massage at Senses Spa. I was excited to get a massage but I was just so awkward at the fancy spa thing. I didn't know any spa etiquette or how anything worked. Example: She handed me a mint or some kind of candy, but didn't say it was candy, just handed me this little round thing and told me what was in it and it's supposed to be relaxing, and I was like, "What do I do with this?" And she said, "Put it in your mouth..." :rolleyes: I thought I caught her making eye contact with the other guy who worked there right then but I'm not sure lol. I would have done a "The Office" style stare into the camera at that point if I was her. I should emphasize that no matter how awkward I was the staff there was super nice and amazing. I was weird about getting undressed (You want me to take EVERYTHING off?). Of course by the end of my experience I had totally forgotten which locker number they had given me (I had ONE JOB) and everyone had to scramble to figure it out. All of that to say the massage was great but not sure I should be allowed in a fancy spa. I'll bet just getting a massage at the tables at the finish line is great too.
I did Biergarten once as I mentioned above. I am anti-ice bath and much prefer a sit in a hot tub which I do no matter where I'm staying (after a shower of course). I've also done Boma once, but again, I don't think I was ready for the food right then which is the main attraction at Boma, there is no entertainment or anything like at Biergarten.
After the Star Wars half DH and I have a reservation at that restaurant in Mexico we always wanted to try. I figure after a half marathon I will be more willing to eat and have a drink than after a full.
 
What has been your favorite post-race celebration? For everyone, have you started thinking about how you want to celebrate next year?
An illuminations boat cruise. Great experience with friends.

This year I did Ohana and Storybook Dining in terms of meals after the marathon. I would pick Storybook dining over Ohana. In the past I’ve also done Be Our Guest but that was pre menu change. DATW is of course a fun way to celebrate the day after.

I’d do California Grill after the marathon as well. That is a really great meal, my favorite on property.
 
My favorite post race celebration was after the Star Wars Half, brunch at California Grill. So good! After the full, My husband has a post race beer waiting for me at the finish and then I clean up and we spend the rest of the day in one of the parks, leaving the big celebration to later in the week. Last year, it was dessert parties in Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.
 
SAFD: our celebrations are usually spread over several days. Sunday, we hit a bar like Raglan Road, Paradiso, or La Cava before heading to dinner at Jiko or CA Grill. Monday is always DATW, and Tuesday is the big celebration with dinner at Victoria & Alberts.
 
SAFD:

To somewhat paraphrase what I said earlier in the week, when someone finds a bad way to celebrate finishing a 5K/10K/Half Marathon/Marathon (or any combination thereof) at Walt Disney World it'll be quite an accomplishment. There are so many wonderful restaurants around property to have a great meal that you really can't go wrong. It also doesn't get much better than walking around the parks wearing race shirts/medals. I never wear medals for any race or particularly advertise that I've done a race after I get home, so it's really fun doing that in the parks and also leads to some interesting conversations. It's cool seeing the reactions of people who had no idea the races existed and seem excited about running one in the future.

For me, my favorite meal on property is Sanaa. Specifically lunch with a reservation in the 1:30-2:30 PM range. It is generally very relaxed during that time period and I love being able to watch the action out on the savanna. This is more a day or two after the race celebration for me, but it could definitely be an after race celebration as well. I like splitting the day and going to a park in the AM, going to lunch and relaxing, and then going back to a different park for the evening. Works whether you're staying at AKL or not.

We also always get a post-race pizza from the resort food court. Not sure if it's the hunger or if they are actually halfway decent pizzas, but POR and AoA have both had pretty decent pepperoni pizzas. No one in our group falls into the can't eat after a marathon category, so we're ready to eat everything in sight after we're done.
 
Last edited:
SAFD: After long runs, I always feel like I could eat an entire buffet, but when I start eating I take a few bites and fill up quickly. However, I do need to eat a little every 2 hours or so.

After this year’s marathon, we headed straight to Oasis Pool Bar at Poly and I ordered a kids cheeseburger and a margarita (do not recommend getting one there). The kids meal was the perfect size. After a nap we went to DHS for our nighttime Slinky FP, snacked at Woody’s and walked onto Midway. After, we went to Disney Springs for our “meal”- the goal was to bar hop until I dropped. We started at Wine Bar George (BOGO free wines on tap with your medal this year!) and split the fried Mac and cheese, which was amazing. Then we went to Hangar Bar for drinks and split 2 apps but I don’t remember what they were. We tried to go to Homecoming, but they had just closed. We wound up at Raglan Road and at some point I fell asleep at the bar. I got in around 1 which was not ideal, but it was a fun night. I liked not having a real plan and not having to sit at a traditional meal for a long time. I think having to get up to move onto the next place was perfect for recovery.
 
With that in mind, previous marathon weekend participants (of ANY distance), how have you celebrated after the race(s) in the past? What has been your favorite post-race celebration? For everyone, have you started thinking about how you want to celebrate next year?
Following this year’s marathon, my first, I started with an epsom salt bath and a glass of wine. I relaxed in my room until it was time to leave for my celebration dinner at Boma. On Monday I celebrated with many of you at DATW (which was AWESOME!) On Tuesday I had one more celebration meal, breakfast at Tusker House. Of course I also wore my marathon medal all day, every day, until I flew home on Thursday evening. Honestly, I didn’t see many other medals after Monday. But, I had earned it and I was going to show it off!

I anticipate a similar plan to celebrate the 2020 marathon.
 
My first marathon I went to EPCOT for medal pictures and then went to the Magic Kingdom because they had the Main Street Electrical Parade and I hadn't seen that in years. Then I had dinner at Ohana and watched the fireworks. I remembered that because the only thing my oldest daughter wanted from Disney World was Ohana bread and the manager said if she's that smart, then she should get two loaves and wrapped them up for me.

This year was much more low key. I just went to the Studios that night and had pizza for dinner. I originally was going to 1900 Park Fare, but decided on park time over that. Next year will be my first Dopey, so I'm definitely planning on Magic Kingdom for medal pictures and I'm up in the air right now on Ohana, California Grill during fireworks, or Artist Point.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!











facebook twitter
Top