Marathon Weekend 2019

[Keels]

I know you don’t have it listed as an option but if you’re considering Contemporary then maybe consider Poly. You can walk directly to the TTC which takes out having to switch trains. And for park transportation, you can take the boat to MK. As someone else said, the bus is usually the best way back after the race instead of walking to the monorail. That said the bus was a nightmare after the half this year but I don’t really know what caused that.

The Ambassador of Poly speaks the truth!

 

[IamTrike]

I know you don’t have it listed as an option but if you’re considering Contemporary then maybe consider Poly. You can walk directly to the TTC which takes out having to switch trains. And for park transportation, you can take the boat to MK. As someone else said, the bus is usually the best way back after the race instead of walking to the monorail. That said the bus was a nightmare after the half this year but I don’t really know what caused that.

We stayed at Poly for marathon weekend a couple of years ago. We were in Tokelau and the the walk to the TTC was relatively close. Pago Pago and Moorea would be even better but I think they are DVC buildings now.

 

[IamTrike]

My wife and Is anniversary is Jan 2nd and I've done the last 8 marathon weekends. After Dopey in 2018 she asked to do something different during that weekend so I thought MW 2019 was out, but last night she started talking about doing a shorter trip for MW2019 so it looks like I'll be in either for Goofy or the Marathon.

 

[croach]

We stayed at Poly for marathon weekend a couple of years ago. We were in Tokelau and the the walk to the TTC was relatively close. Pago Pago and Moorea would be even better but I think they are DVC buildings now.

I was on the other side of Great House and even then the walk was maybe 10 minutes. It’s in the dark though and finding that little path to TTC can be tricky. No buses run from Poly to the start for 1/2 and full so you do have to use the monorail.

 

[JeffW]

We stayed at Poly for marathon weekend a couple of years ago. We were in Tokelau and the the walk to the TTC was relatively close. Pago Pago and Moorea would be even better but I think they are DVC buildings now.

Agree, we were on the very east end of Moorea two years ago, and TTC was closer than the lobby. But we did have to listen to the horn on the ferry when trying to fall asleep for the races

 

[IamTrike]

I know you don’t have it listed as an option but if you’re considering Contemporary then maybe consider Poly. You can walk directly to the TTC which takes out having to switch trains. And for park transportation, you can take the boat to MK. As someone else said, the bus is usually the best way back after the race instead of walking to the monorail. That said the bus was a nightmare after the half this year but I don’t really know what caused that.

There are two things that usually push us to Contemp vs Poly on Marathon weekend.
1. Cost. In general the cost for poly is typically $100 a night more than a Garden Wing room at Contemp
2. Convenience in getting to the MK and getting back to the resort at night. We make a couple trips to/from the MK during and MW trip and being able to walk to the MK is a huge deal particularly when lines for the monorail are long at the end of the night.

Poly is much more convenient for getting back to the room after the race if you take the monorail. The resort monorail can be crowded and that for us this year the resort monorail added about minutes to our travel time to the Contemp vs if we had been staying at Poly, but as others have mentioned it's easier to take the bus after the race and with that there's parity between the Contemp and Poly. (Switching monorails from the Contemp in the morning has never been a big deal as it's only one stop.)

 

[LënuSëkahsëni]

I'm in for Stupid......I mean Dopey number 6. This will also be my first time staying as a DVC member. They got me with the runDisney guaranteed week promotion.

 

[lhermiston]

Good morning, runDisney all-stars!

I hope by now any of the 2018 marathon weekend participants are feeling fully recovered and ready to tackle the next challenge! Personally, I've got 90 days until my next marathon.

Fortunately, the countdown to the next Sundays are for Disney question is over. Without further adieu...

What Disney franchise/property/character/etc. would you like to see better represented at the parks (meet-and-greets, restaurants, attractions, etc.)?

I really don't think Hercules, Tarzan and Princess and the Frog get enough love at WDW. I know Tiana is a meet-and-greet character and (at one time, at least) was featured in one of the stage shows. I think that character/movie begs for a sit down creole/Cajun restaurant, maybe in the America pavilion?

As for Tarzan and Hercules, I think they're underrated/appreciated movies from the Disney renaissance era and that lack of recognition is represented in the parks. I don't know what an attraction for either of those movies would look like, but I think they deserve more.

Have a great week, everyone!

 

[hotblooded]

SAFD: I would love to see Kingdom Hearts represented through an attraction, or at least some merchandise. I’ve kept my fingers crossed since the first game came out, and I hope something promotional will happen for KH3.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Sundays are for Disney:

I’m a huge fan of Wreck-It Ralph. I ride or die with Ralph, Vanellope, Felix, Calhoun, Taffyta, Rancis, Candlehead, etc. Certainly not Gene and the other Nicelanders, the true villains of the movie. But I digress...

I have some small degree of hope that with the sequel coming out that there may be an increased presence, but I know it’s not likely. It’s too bad because the movie would lend itself well into a rebrand on either Tomorrowland Speedway or TestTrack (although I’d prefer TT remain and a new attraction built to rebranding TT, and a huge modernization and revamp if they replaced TS with it). A TT type attraction where you play a similar game to the one Vanellope and Ralph play in the movie to design a candy car would seem appropriate. They could also do any number of candy/sweets shops/restaurants (I know they have a Vanellope themed ice cream parlour on one of the cruise ships).

Even with the new movie I know that it’s likely to be on the back burner for anything new in the parks. Which is a shame for me because it’s my favorite.

I’ll second Princess and the Frog. They’ve done a pretty good job with POR being tied to that movie. As much as I like Boatwrights (and I may be the only one), I think a rebrand to Tiana’s Place while keeping the same menu theme would be a tremendous boon to the location (I know they are doing a Tiana’s Place on the cruise ships as well, but the theme could be used more than once effectively).

I think I could ramble endlessly about my ideas for how Disney should spend money...

ETA: The primary one on that front, that I’ve been talking about since the day they acquired the franchise, is a fifth gate Star Wars only theme park. Galaxy’s Edge isn’t going far enough for me and I think they’ve left an opportunity on the table. That’s not to say I’m not excited for GE, but I think a fifth gate with multiple hotels (including value, moderate, and deluxe levels along with the “sell both your kidneys” hotel they’re building) would’ve been a much bigger opportunity. Once again, I know I’m spending Disney’s money for my own dreams, but I’m confident this would’ve been a huge money monster for them and that GE (while I’m sure it will be massively successful as well) is only a partial capitalization of what they could have achieved with the franchise.

 

[FFigawi]

What Disney franchise/property/character/etc. would you like to see better represented at the parks (meet-and-greets, restaurants, attractions, etc.)?

It's a little too new to be considered underrepresented, but I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with Coco. The Day of the Dead exhibit in the Mexico pavilion is fantastic, and I really hope they expand into meet and greets, etc.

 

[ZellyB]

My wife and Is anniversary is Jan 2nd and I've done the last 8 marathon weekends. After Dopey in 2018 she asked to do something different during that weekend so I thought MW 2019 was out, but last night she started talking about doing a shorter trip for MW2019 so it looks like I'll be in either for Goofy or the Marathon.

This is too funny. After being sure we were going to skip MW 2019, I’d been wondering if I could stand it when @Chris-Mo started talking about maybe going again.

runDisney, we just can’t quit you. Still not sure but the fact that we were both thinking about it is a pretty likely sign. We think just marathon though. That way we can arrive later and enjoy hopefully quieter park time after the races.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Sundays Are For Disney:

Black Cauldron (They like to forget this existed )
The Fox & The Hound
Oliver & Company
Atlantis

I think I love Disney Animated Movies other people didn't.

 

[lhermiston]

Sundays are for Disney:

I’m a huge fan of Wreck-It Ralph. I ride or die with Ralph, Vanellope, Felix, Calhoun, Taffyta, Rancis, Candlehead, etc. Certainly not Gene and the other Nicelanders, the true villains of the movie. But I digress...

I have some small degree of hope that with the sequel coming out that there may be an increased presence, but I know it’s not likely. It’s too bad because the movie would lend itself well into a rebrand on either Tomorrowland Speedway or TestTrack (although I’d prefer TT remain and a new attraction built to rebranding TT, and a huge modernization and revamp if they replaced TS with it). A TT type attraction where you play a similar game to the one Vanellope and Ralph play in the movie to design a candy car would seem appropriate. They could also do any number of candy/sweets shops/restaurants (I know they have a Vanellope themed ice cream parlour on one of the cruise ships).

Even with the new movie I know that it’s likely to be on the back burner for anything new in the parks. Which is a shame for me because it’s my favorite.

I’ll second Princess and the Frog. They’ve done a pretty good job with POR being tied to that movie. As much as I like Boatwrights (and I may be the only one), I think a rebrand to Tiana’s Place while keeping the same menu theme would be a tremendous boon to the location (I know they are doing a Tiana’s Place on the cruise ships as well, but the theme could be used more than once effectively).

I think I could ramble endlessly about my ideas for how Disney should spend money...

Am I crazy or were there rumors of a Wreck-It Ralph attraction replacing Stitch’s Great Escape? I agree that movie lends itself to something. Maybe a motion ride through different video game lands? Or some kind of arcade style attraction.

 

[ZellyB]

Oh and I agree that I’d like to see more Hercules in the parks. Love that movie and love Meg.

I’d also love to see Giselle from Enchanted. I know it’s live action but it’s nice to have a Princess with my name.

 

[IamTrike]

This is too funny. After being sure we were going to skip MW 2019, I’d been wondering if I could stand it when @Chris-Mo started talking about maybe going again.

runDisney, we just can’t quit you. Still not sure but the fact that we were both thinking about it is a pretty likely sign. We think just marathon though. That way we can arrive later and enjoy hopefully quieter park time after the races.

Yeah I think the Marathon only route seems to be the direction a lot of people are leaning. I think part of it is, not needing to worry about a bunch of early morning wake up calls so we can enjoy the time more when we are there, and also it lets us skip the crazyness of the expo.

Am I crazy or were there rumors of a Wreck-It Ralph attraction replacing Stitch’s Great Escape? I agree that movie lends itself to something. Maybe a motion ride through different video game lands? Or some kind of arcade style attraction.

There were rumors of an arcade racing style game. I think the race simulations would have been positioned on multiple levels all pointing in at the center of a circle.

SAFD.
So I know they have done stuff with it in the past but I really wish they had more nods to "Meet the Robinsons".

 

[PCFriar80]

What Disney franchise/property/character/etc. would you like to see better represented at the parks (meet-and-greets, restaurants, attractions, etc.)?

Friar Tuck of course!

 

[Barca33Runner]

Am I crazy or were there rumors of a Wreck-It Ralph attraction replacing Stitch’s Great Escape? I agree that movie lends itself to something. Maybe a motion ride through different video game lands? Or some kind of arcade style attraction.

I’m not sure. Disney rumors are the specialty of @rteetz.

Disney has proven they can do game-based attractions and the movie lends itself to them; so it’s not a question of whether they can do it, it’s a will they. I’m hoping the sequel does the type of business that would make them consider it, but I don’t think it’s going to be as big as most of their other properties.

 

[rteetz]

Am I crazy or were there rumors of a Wreck-It Ralph attraction replacing Stitch’s Great Escape? I agree that movie lends itself to something. Maybe a motion ride through different video game lands? Or some kind of arcade style attraction.

There were rumors of that yes but they have died essentially and stitch is staying seasonal until they figure out what to do with it.

 

[rteetz]

What Disney franchise/property/character/etc. would you like to see better represented at the parks (meet-and-greets, restaurants, attractions, etc.)?

Figment. He’s not a film character but he is a Disney character and he currently has a terrible ride. Figment deserves better.