Marathon Weekend 2021

[Neon Cactus]

Sight: The arch, skimming over Hourglass Lake on the Skyliner, the view from Tower of Terror right before the drop, the parks and resorts during the holidays, the marathon finish line.
Sound: EPCOT background music, ride spiels (This here's the wildest ride in the wilderness and permenecer sentados, por favor)
Smell: Bakery on Main Street, inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland.
Taste: Snacks from the World Showcase kiosks during festivals, No Way Jose at Beaches & Cream, La Cava margaritas
Touch: Spinning the wheel on the teacups, having a waterfight at the fountain outside Journey Into Imagination.

 

[cto4disney]

SAFD: All running themed for me in hopes of gaining good graces with the registration gods for Tuesday.

Sight - As I step out of my room prerace and see all the other runners walking towards the front of the resort. I feel a connection to all these strangers as we get on the bus and I get psyched for race day!

Sound - Disney music blasting as I run through World Showcase during the 5k and 10k!

Smell - The smell of the cool morning air, especially early in the race when things space out a bit and before it gets hot!

Touch - Feeling a new medal around my neck!

Taste - Post marathon celebratory dinner at Ohana; gotta replenish those calories!

 

[Baloo in MI]

Ok, wierd! So I responded to the SAFD from my phone, mostly I use my iPad. I had to log in and after I did and went to catch up on this thread I noticed that I was months back but ignored that. After I responded I went to see if there were new comments (today’s question is cool, enjoying the responses) and realized I had liked and replied to the SAFD under cto4disney. Upon some research I found that account (my first DIS account that I never really used and thought was defunct) was under my current e-mail but with an old password I had used by mistake. Hopefully I have not done this before? Anyway if you got a like from cto4disney, that was actually from Baloo in MI. Is there a way to delete this account and not mess up my current account?

Here is my response to the SAFD taken from my other account. I have no future as a double agent...


SAFD: All running themed for me in hopes of gaining good graces with the registration gods for Tuesday.

Sight - As I step out of my room prerace and see all the other runners walking towards the front of the resort. I feel a connection to all these strangers as we get on the bus and I get psyched for race day!

Sound - Disney music blasting as I run through World Showcase during the 5k and 10k!

Smell - The smell of the cool morning air, especially early in the race when things space out a bit and before it gets hot!

Touch - Feeling a new medal around my neck!

Taste - Post marathon celebratory dinner at Ohana; gotta replenish those calories!

 

[rteetz]

Is there a way to delete this account and not mess up my current account?

Nope can’t delete an account.

 

[DIS-OH]

SAFD:

Sight: The first glimpse of the castle

Smell: The deliciousness wafting from the Confectionery on Main Street

Touch: Getting a high-five from a character at the finish line!!!

Taste: Pina Colava at a pool bar!!!

Sound: The boat horns! Or the monorail blasting as it passes runners on the way into the MK.

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

SAFD:

Sight—Spaceship Earth changing colors; the castle all lit up; the fountain jumping in front of Imagination; the sign as you drive into the property; the gospel choir and the finish line.

Sound—the monorail narration; the music; the fireworks exploding; and everything at Haunted Mansion.

Taste—Dole Whip; the chocolate cake aboard the cruise ships; Tonga Toast; and the Cool-Headed Monkey at Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar.

Smell—Rome burning in Spaceship Earth; the cocoa butter/beach smell at Caribbean Beach checkin; and turkey legs.

Touch—the wet sponge during the marathon; the medal; the clean sheets after finishing the run, showering, and finally lying down; and the breeze in the Skyliner.

 

[Barca33Runner]

SAFD-This is hard. There are so many, but it all just turns into a jumble in my head

Sight-The Magical Express kiosk at the airport. I am so juiced walking through the airport to get to Disney every time I land. I'll never not feel like a kid in that situation and I'll never feel embarrassed about that.

Smell-Flight of Passage. I love all the smells during that ride. I know a few are the same (or substantially similar) as Soarin' and I love the smells there too. Particularly the elephant scene for some reason.

Sound-I love Happily Ever After. I love the voice over, the music, the crack of the fireworks (I'm honestly not that dazzled by the sparks). The visuals are great as well, but its the sounds that give me all the feels.

Taste-My go to combo of Cucumber Raita, Coriander Chutney, and Red Chile Sambal (along with all the other sauces with the full bread service at Sanaa). Lime soft serve from Peter Pan Float. Palmier from Les Halles. Swirl soft serve in a waffle cone from Anandapur Ice Cream Truck. Tomato and Watermelon Salad from Polite Pig. I need to stop.

Touch-I'm a bit of a germaphobe (I am able to suspend disbelief enough to enjoy Disney) so touch isn't a primary sense for me at Disney and it's not doing good things thinking about it now. I guess I'll have to go with the wave of water to the face when properly riding Splash Mountain in the front row and not ducking like a chicken. Also, the never-not-dirty (in multiple ways) use of the carnival gun in Toy Story Mania.

I went without anything rD specific. The big thing that pops into my mind for rD is touch and the sensation of not having 15 hands to carry all the stuff they give me between the finish line and the exit after pictures .

 

[stitchsnk]

SAFD:

Sight—My first time at WDW for Christmas. The castle lit up at night...it was so magical!! During my first half marathon (Princess 2018!) and seeing the 13 mile marker, I ugly cried.

Sound—Tomorrowland sounds - the music loop, the Peoplemover monologue

Taste—Mickey Rice Krispie treats - I've been hooked since my first trip in 2006.

Smell—Definitely the Polynesian lobby!! And a close second would be Soarin' smells.

Touch—this is a tough one - probably the feeling of the lap restraint on my lap as I fly down the Expedition Everest drop, or my hair in my face as we go backwards.

 

[Indigorose]

SAFD:

Sight: For me the Epcot globe thing is what I associate with Disney. Far more than the Disney Castle. I’m considering skipping Epcot (and gasp, maybe Magic Kingdom!) for this trip and I’m a bit sad I won’t see it, but I’ve never been to Galaxy’s Edge and I think I want to explore HS and AK a little more this trip. Usually I skip those 2 parks. In fact, I’d never been to AK at all before my last trip.

Sound: The sound of screams on roller coasters. It gets me pumped to get on the ride. I also love the cacophony of different languages and just the general hubbub of people.

Smell: I don’t live in Florida so there is just something different about the smell of Florida that I associate with Disney.

Touch: I love the magic band experience. I’ve been going to Disney for over 30 years and it is one thing I love about modern WDW. The last 3 times I’ve gone I’ve stayed on property and there is just something magical for me about just scanning my wristband. I’m considering the dining plan this time for even more magic band simplicity.

Taste: Epcot Food & Wine Festival. I ran W&D last year and I spent hours pre-trip looking up each and every food item available. I made a document with photos, descriptions, prices and locations for each food item and then narrowed them down to my budget (both cost and stomach space), with roughly half sweet and half savory, for both me and my daughter (it was just us). I would absolutely do it again. I’m a little sad January doesn’t have Food & Wine, but I’ll find new things to try.

 

[pixarfan24]

For Marathon weekend, does anyone think that there will not be character M&G for the races this season? Trying to stay positive but just wanted to know other's thoughts.

 

[rteetz]

For Marathon weekend, does anyone think that there will not be character M&G for the races this season? Trying to stay positive but just wanted to know other's thoughts.

Too early to say.

 

[1lilspark]

For Marathon weekend, does anyone think that there will not be character M&G for the races this season? Trying to stay positive but just wanted to know other's thoughts.

Depending on what the state of in park characters is at the time for various races this season I can see them maybe doing something like I think happened as a 'test' at a race during one of the last DL seasons where there was a taped X a distance away that runners stood on (I think it was selfie only too)

 

[Barca33Runner]

For Marathon weekend, does anyone think that there will not be character M&G for the races this season? Trying to stay positive but just wanted to know other's thoughts.

I guess I’m of the belief that if Marathon Weekend happens it will happen largely in the same manner it always has. Disney will open up more spots for the races later in the year because the world as a whole has made a giant leap forward in Covid testing and treatment. If that doesn’t happen I picture them cancelling the races.

What I can’t picture is some sort of hybrid plan with fewer runners and expanded safety protocol where we all pretend what we are doing is safe.

To be completely honest, I don’t picture Marathon Weekend happening from my no-inside-info laypersons perspective. I’m going to sign up and hope for the medical breakthroughs nonetheless.

 

[RunWI1265]

Welcome to the family! Congratulations on taking the first step back into your running career. Now you are stuck in this addictive cycle with the rest of us.

I am in the same boat as to having races cancelled that I would like to use for a PoT. I typically do a half in September. Unfortunately, it was cancelled this year. Luckily the kind folks on this board pointed out that I could use a PoT from 2020's MW half. I did not use a PoT for this year's race and got stuck back in corral F. There was a lot of weaving around people, but it did not bother me much at all (because it was Disney!)...also ran my best Half yet! A Disney PR!

Also, don't worry about diving into the Marathon distance. There are a lot of helpful folks here that can help support your training. I personally have never raced above 13.1 miles and will hopefully be able to pickup a Dopey bib on Tuesday. If not, I might end up just running the Marathon. You are not alone in your quest...we are all mad here!

This weeks episode of the Disney Insider on Disney+ had a segment on the 2020 Marathon Weekend. They used a lot of footage from the Half Marathon race...maybe some here will be able to recognize some of the runners.

Congrats on your PR! I have a local half that is the first weekend in Oct that hasn't been cancelled yet so I'm crossing my fingers I can do that one. However it's put on by one of our local hospitals so....not holding my breath!

I've done one marathon before a dabbled in ultras (50k and a failed 50mi ) so I have those under my belt. But it's been a loooong time it seems and my body certainly doesn't remember what the long miles feel like. Whether that is good or bad I don't know...Ha! Crossing my fingers you get a Dopey spot!

 

[1lilspark]

right now my mindset is that Wine and Dine more the likely will be a no go with Marathon still having a 50/50 chance of happening especially as it's the first race to have sign ups in pandemic times so there is a good chance that the RunDisney team are working on plans to orchestrate the event in our new normal- if it gets close to Aug however and it's looking like January will be a wash I possibly will gamble on signing up for Star Wars just to get a fix

 

[fatmanatee]

right now my mindset is that Wine and Dine more the likely will be a no go with Marathon still having a 50/50 chance of happening especially as it's the first race to have sign ups in pandemic times so there is a good chance that the RunDisney team are working on plans to orchestrate the event in our new normal- if it gets close to Aug however and it's looking like January will be a wash I possibly will gamble on signing up for Star Wars just to get a fix

It's weird, I sorta wonder if Wine and Dine ends up being *less* risky because of the weather being warmer, coming off summer, etc. I'm more concerned about the bigger wave that seems to be a possibility at some point during the winter.

Anyway, I'm tempted to sign up for Dopey but I don't know if I'm in the space to commit to something given the uncertainty with everything happening right now. Ideally there are spots open if I feel more confident about this later but I dunno.

 

[UNCBear24]

I was anticipating it being somewhat of a madhouse but this is disconcerting. I lost my Perfect Dopey last year but my sister is still perfect and this makes me wonder whether luck is going to play a roll in getting her registered. I’d also like a chance at redemption after last year but I’ll be fine registering for the Marathon if I can’t get Dopey.

My friend is perfectly Dopey and couldn't get registered. He called and explained the situation and they sent him a link to register early. Have your sister call today!

 

[PrincessV]

In the end, after getting shut out of Dopey and seeing multiple reports from people who called and were told yes, race capacity has been lowered dramatically, I registered for the full and called it a day. I was already feeling iffy about dropping Dopey money on something I'm not at all sure is going to happen, or that I may not feel safe doing. I feel much better about "only" the full.

Has there been any announcement as to a severe limitation on the number of entrants for each Marathon Weekend race due to Covid-19?
The reason I ask is because of the concern of some on the board about the urgency to sign up for the single Marathon, JUST IN CASE!
Typically the marathon doesn't sell out until very late in the year. I remember signing up on December 13th a few years back.
I know that is no longer viable, but still.
Is there really any reason that someone needs to panic when the aren't doing the Dopey, 5K, or 10K?

Nothing official, but multiple people - at least one of whom I know personally and can vouch for - called rD and were told yes, they dropped race caps by a lot. So it's quite possible all races may sell out quickly this time.

On another note, what do you guys think about the “color” theme for this year? Have they done anything like this in prior years? I apologize if this has already been discussed. I was checking out the website and noticed the new description about joining “mickey and friends for a colorful weekend and the vibrant hues that represent them.”

As a marketing professional I think they let the interns handle it lol! Bi-zarre.

For this week’s Sundays are for Disney, what are your favorite distinctly Disney sensory experiences? List one or more for each of the five senses (or four if you’re like me).

SAFD:

Sight: Spaceship Earth, lit up at night.

Sound: The entrance plaza music in EP and AK.

Taste: Boozy Dole Whip.

Touch: I try very hard not to touch anything lol!

 

[Barca33Runner]

My friend is perfectly Dopey and couldn't get registered. He called and explained the situation and they sent him a link to register early. Have your sister call today!

She did last Saturday. She’s in.

Thanks for posting anyway. Might help someone else.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

I'm really struggling with what to do tomorrow...
I want to sign up, but I just don't feel super good about it. Right now, I'm leaning toward waiting and hoping the marathon stays open.

By no means am I looking for a covid debate, but without the parks being opened yet, I'd also like to know how "normal" things will be. We are due to go to WDW next year (seems like we're averaging every other year... not planned that way, just timing with other vacations) and because we don't go all of the time, I want it to be as open (& safe?) as possible when we go next time.

Tough choices ahead!