Spectator advice/tips for the Disney half marathon

[iheartglaciers]

In addition to running the marathon myself, I'm hoping to cheer some friends running the half marathon in January. I had some questions that might impact what resort I stay at, which is why I'm asking so early! If it makes a difference, they'll likely be running at a 11-12 minute pace (with some photo stops).

• If I didn't want to use Disney transportation, is it possible to Uber to the Epcot parking lot to watch them at ~mile 12? Or is the traffic usually horrible towards the end of the race? I'd be coming from Boardwalk or POFQ.
• When I ran the Princess Half, I thought there were regular guests in Epcot by the time I made it to that park (my run time was 03:13, so I guess we were in there after 8am?). Is that usually a viable spectator option? Like if I'm staying at Boardwalk, could I walk into Epcot to see them? It seems unlikely there'd be much overlap with regular operating hours with a 5am start, but I have this vague memory of seeing guests in the park from Princess!

Any other tips for being a half marathon spectator? I'm hoping to avoid waking up too early since I'll have to be up early the next day to run!

 

[DopeyBadger]

If it makes a difference, they'll likely be running at a 11-12 minute pace (with some photo stops).

Alright, so that's an 11:30 min/mile or 2:30 finish time. I'll assume the following:

-they put down 2:15-2:30 estimate as well and don't have a POT.
-the race has an on-time start of 5:00am
-the balloon ladies have an on-time start of 6:00am
-The MW 2023 HM course remains roughly the same as historical.



-Your friends are estimated to hit the EPCOT Bus area at 7:32am, inside EPCOT at 7:39am, and finish at 7:49am.
-The Balloon ladies are estimated to finish around 9:30am.

The hours on WDW for EPCOT currently show the park opening at either 8:30am or 9:00am in most of April 2022-June 2022. With early resort guest entry, that would be 8:00-8:30am or so.

So if your friends slowed down, it would be technically possible to see them inside EPCOT. However, if you came from the International Gateway entrance (from Boardwalk) that's about a 12 min/0.6 mile walk (per Google) from the International Gateway entrance to the EPCOT Ball. So factor that in to your timing.

If I didn't want to use Disney transportation, is it possible to Uber to the Epcot parking lot to watch them at ~mile 12? Or is the traffic usually horrible towards the end of the race? I'd be coming from Boardwalk or POFQ.

The traffic pattern would be different because of the race, but normal resort guests are still able to access EPCOT since the park opening occurs while the race is still ongoing. So you would be able to Uber to EPCOT as well. I'm not sure what the level of traffic would be, but I would venture to guess worse than a normal day.

The race resort buses will likely be active by 7:00am. So you can also take the runDisney transportation to the finish line area. They've changed the timing of the race resort buses recently, so it may not be 7am anymore. It might be slightly earlier.

Any other tips for being a half marathon spectator? I'm hoping to avoid waking up too early since I'll have to be up early the next day to run!

The normal viewing areas during the MW HM are

1) Main Street + Finish
2) TTC + Poly + Finish

You would need to be to Main Street by 6:14am, which means you'd need to get on the monorail at EPCOT no later than 5:30am (based on my estimate timing run down here (link)). If you chose to do TTC+Poly, then you'd want to leave the EPCOT monorail station no later than 5:45am with an estimated 6:00am arrival of your runners.

 

[GollyGadget]

It's best to wait to solidify your plans once the course maps are out and you know your runners anticipated pace. However, there's nothing wrong with a little pre planning. It sounds like you just want to get to the finish line and that is certainly possible either by bus or rideshare. The roads do close for a bit but should be back open by time your friends finish. Again, this can be verified closer to the race date when the event guide comes out.

Assuming the half is in Epcot around mile 12, the very last runners will be there around 9am. This is based on a 16 min/mile pace for someone starting an hour after the first runners (which is typically when the balloon ladies start, but not always). As long as Epcot is open at the time you think your runners will be there, you can certainly go inside the park as long as you have a park reservation and ticket. Most runners will be out of Epcot by the time it opens, but not all.

My other advice is not to rule out waking up early. If you do this, you could also watch your runner on Main Street in Magic Kingdom. Last marathon weekend, I caught the early bus with my mom to escort her to the 10k start line. I ran the half the next day and getting up that early really benefitted me because it allowed me to go to bed extra early ahead of my race since I was exhausted from the early wake up.

 

[iheartglaciers]

@DopeyBadger This is amazing, thank you so much for such a comprehensive answer and all of your number crunching!!

I think I'll likely Uber to Epcot to catch them before they enter Epcot around mile 12 (factoring extra time for traffic). But I'll keep an eye on Epcot park opening to see if I can make in-park happen since that would be so much easier if I end up staying at Boardwalk! I suspect they'll be slower with photo stops, so they will likely enter Epcot after 8am. But would also hate to cut it too close and miss them!

 

[iheartglaciers]

It's best to wait to solidify your plans once the course maps are out and you know your runners anticipated pace. However, there's nothing wrong with a little pre planning. It sounds like you just want to get to the finish line and that is certainly possible either by bus or rideshare. The roads do close for a bit but should be back open by time your friends finish. Again, this can be verified closer to the race date when the event guide comes out.

Assuming the half is in Epcot around mile 12, the very last runners will be there around 9am. This is based on a 16 min/mile pace for someone starting an hour after the first runners (which is typically when the balloon ladies start, but not always). As long as Epcot is open at the time you think your runners will be there, you can certainly go inside the park as long as you have a park reservation and ticket. Most runners will be out of Epcot by the time it opens, but not all.

My other advice is not to rule out waking up early. If you do this, you could also watch your runner on Main Street in Magic Kingdom. Last marathon weekend, I caught the early bus with my mom to escort her to the 10k start line. I ran the half the next day and getting up that early really benefitted me because it allowed me to go to bed extra early ahead of my race since I was exhausted from the early wake up.

Thanks!! Yeah I wanted to get a ballpark idea of the possibilities because I'm trying to decide Poly v. Boardwalk v. POFQ. Poly would be the easiest spectator spot, but for a few reasons the decision might actually be between Boardwalk and POFQ. I was hoping to catch them inside Epcot (which is a plus for Boardwalk and being able to walk v. Uber/bus), but it seems like I'll have to wait closer to the date to get a better picture of park hours, their training pace, and the course map to know for sure. If not it sounds like it's totally doable to Uber to the parking lot to see them at mile 12.

 

[jmasgat]

Pay close attention to road closures. I was on a bus to MK from AKL on Saturday and we had detours to deal with World Drive Closures (until 7:30 am) and they weren't even allowing bus drop-off at Epcot. The bus I was on was actually an Epcot bus, but the driver couldn't drop off at Epcot so had to take the people to TTC so they could monorail back to Epcot.

It was a cluster. I think it was another case of the race starting late (if I recall) and so the roads didn't clear as expected.

 

[iheartglaciers]

Pay close attention to road closures. I was on a bus to MK from AKL on Saturday and we had detours to deal with World Drive Closures (until 7:30 am) and they weren't even allowing bus drop-off at Epcot. The bus I was on was actually an Epcot bus, but the driver couldn't drop off at Epcot so had to take the people to TTC so they could monorail back to Epcot.

It was a cluster. I think it was another case of the race starting late (if I recall) and so the roads didn't clear as expected.

That's what I'm worried about! I'm hoping that because Boardwalk/POFQ are close to Epcot it wouldn't be too bad. I'd be heading over at ~7am.