Walt Disney World Marathon 2016 Report – Part 1
Unfortunately, this particular morning I did not take many photos of the Magic Kingdom. You’ll see why later, but part of the reason why is because several of the photos I did take simply did not turn out. Again, words cannot do justice to the experience of running through the Magic Kingdom at dawn. It’s awesome, and worth the price of entry to the Half or full Marathon. (And the training effort, if that’s how you roll.)
The course spent more time in the Magic Kingdom for the Walt Disney World Marathon than it did the Half, and that’s a good thing. It’s too bad the course couldn’t weave around and double back, because if the entire race were in the MK, I think I could do the race in under 3 hours. Maybe not, but I can dream.
Some of the cooler portions of the parks are the backstage areas where we get to see various ‘working’ backstage areas in addition to staged photo ops. One favorite is always the parade floats that are out for photos. The previous day, it was the Peter Pan unit from Festival of Fantasy (a pretty cool float, I think).
As long as I’m going over my wishlist of Marathon entertainment, I’m going to add the entire SpectroMagic parade. I know the floats have all been destroyed, so I’m thinking the long game here, after Disney comes to its senses and wisely creates Spectro 2.0, including an updated SpectroMickey float. I’d run the 26 miles with my DSLR if it meant another chance to photograph that float, a sentimental favorite from my childhood.
On Marathon day, it was the coolest float currently running in any parade: the Maleficent Steampunk Dragon. Unfortunately, there was no fire-breathing, which is really a shame as it would have been a nice obstacle for runners to avoid on the course, but it was awesome getting to see the dragon up close. The detail in this float is insane.
This Mickey Mouse golf cart is so cool that I just might be willing to golf if I could drive this around on the course. On second thought, nah, still too boring of a “sport.”
Maybe it was the high of being in the Magic Kingdom (or maybe it was the pre-race PCP? 😉 ) talking, but around this point I was feeling really good. I had zero pain aside from the blisters on my feet, and even those weren’t a big deal.
This was around the first time when I started feeling pretty confident in being able to do this thing. I had a lot of built-up “minutes to give” so even if I rolled an ankle on Mile 10 and had to hobble my way the next 17 miles, I knew I could move quickly enough to avoid being swept.
The stretch of course between Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom is really boring. There’s a Reedy Creek Wastewater Collection & Treatment Center, and it’s approximately 3 miles long (or so it seems). For those of you who have never seen a water treatment plant…well, they aren’t as visually exciting as you might think.
I have to say that while I think runDisney does things really well, I was disappointed by the long stretches without on-course entertainment around here.
In talking to friends who have run these events for years, they have indicated that there has been a gradual reduction of on-course entertainment. That’s really disappointing given the premium pricing of runDisney events.
I know runDisney could probably offer no on-course entertainment and the Marathon would probably still sell out, but it would be nice if they would focus on the “Disney Difference” instead of increasing profits.
Heck, runDisney itself could be in the red and it would still be a huge success for Disney given all of the (expensive) hotel rooms Marathon Weekend fills during what would otherwise be one of the slowest weekends of the year.
This is a big part of the reason why I want to run the Inaugural Disneyland Paris Half Marathon. I think one of two things will happen: they will overload the course with tons of entertainment to create positive word of mouth and convince people to do future Disneyland Paris races, or there will be so many organizational issues in the first overseas event that it will be pure chaos.
Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if both of those things happen: pure chaos at the Expo and pre-race festivities, but an awesome course once the event itself starts. Disneyland Paris is known for one of the best entertainment divisions at any of the Disney Resorts, and I hope that is borne out at the Disneyland Paris Half.
After approximately 37.4 miles, we arrived at Animal Kingdom!
One of my favorite aspects of the Animal Kingdom leg of the race is that some of the petting zoo animals from Rafiki’s Planet Watch are out. Unfortunately, there were no goats, so I had to settle for a sheep selfie. I’m normally not a fan of sheep, because they are cocky bullies, but perhaps that’s just those stuck-up California sheep.
In any case, it was the closing day of a personal favorite of mine, Goat Galaxy at Disneyland, so I felt compelled to grab the selfie. The sheep wouldn’t cooperate, so its handler reached out with a treat as I swooped in for the selfie, resulting in this little gem. It was nice consolation since I was missing the last day of Big Thunder Ranch back home.
Animal Kingdom had some of the best entertainers out on the course.
I’m not sure why, but Expedition Everest was not running when I passed it. Not a huge loss to me as I wouldn’t have ridden anyway, but an example of a disappointing cut to entertainment.
The course passed Dino-rama, and I suspect this was my best stretch time-wise the entire day, as I wanted to get away from that garbage as soon as possible. The stench of that junk is worse than the wastewater treatment plant!
Shortly after leaving Animal Kingdom, I hit Mile 13.
Obviously, right after Mile 13 comes Mile 13.1, which is the halfway point of the Walt Disney World Marathon. If I’m reading my results correctly, my time for the first half (the “Half Split”) was 2:09:04. I was absolutely ecstatic with that time, as it would put me on pace for a <4:30:00 total time, assuming I paced myself.
That’s a bold assumption given that I don’t really know how to run, and given that the most boring stretch of the course lie ahead during the next 9 miles.
We’ll pick up there in tomorrow’s installment…
If you’re planning on getting into runDisney, read my runDisney Race Reports (plus other running-related posts). Also be sure to check out my runDisney Packing Tips post for what you should use to train, and what to carry on race day.
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Your Thoughts
Did you run the Walt Disney World Marathon this year? If you’ve run in the past, did you think there was less entertainment? What do you think is the most boring stretch of track? Any entertainment “wish list” items that you would like to see? Thinking of doing a runDisney event and have questions? Share in the comments!
I love the bread cat link!
For the record, we like the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor too. My husband was once “that guy” and they gave him a sticker afterwards that says “I was that guy”. It was probably his proudest Disney moment thus far.
Love reading these recaps! Bummed I missed you and Sarah marathon weekend, though apparently, I was just outside the frame of your picture in Japan during the 10k! For my first marathon I thought the characters they had out on course were amazing. There were a lot I hadn’t met before. The petting zoo animals were a huge boost coming into Animal Kingdom! You must have hit AK before the park opened, for me riding Everest was the highlight and gave me a huge adrenaline rush! Looking forward to your next installment!!!!
Yep, the animals were a huge boost. I’m not so sure I could’ve kept going if I sat down for Everest, ha!
Love love reading your reports – I’m coming next year for my 40th birthday amd I can’t wait to do the dopey challenge. Thank you so much in advance for your blog, I cant wait to read the next instalment. What camera are you using in the marathon run? Thanks again
I used the Sony RX100 mkII.
I can confirm the high five and that it did hurt for the second year in a row. I’m hoping the king fu kick makes it into part 2 of the report.
You’re not really living until you’ve felt the warm sensation of a crisp high five. Not only that, but they build character. So, YOU’RE WELCOME for the second year in a row!
Oh, and thanks for the spoiler on the kung fu kick…
Did you get to Everest before 9 am? We rolled in around 8:15 and my husband was upset. You know because the whole point of running a marathon is to ride a roller coaster that you’ve been on a couple dozen times…
I assume I got in there before 9 a.m., but I was definitely in there before park opening last year, too, and the ride was running. Maybe I was closer to actual park opening time last year?
Lame, regardless. Entry fees are expensive. No reason they can’t run the ride earlier (even if it’s not something I’d do).
We love the Laugh Floor too. I was once the “churro” guy and my daughter had her joke read. Good times! Excellent photo of you mid high-five! The picture is evocative of the crispness to come! An epic 5 was enjoyed, no doubt!
Congrats on completing the Goofy Challenge and I’m not joking about that. Quite an achievement.
We’ve done Laugh Floor a lot, and I’ve never been picked on. I feel left out.
Hey, don’t sell me short, it was the Dopey Challenge, not “just” Goofy. I ran an extra 15K for that distinction! 😉
When I ran past Expedition Everest around 9:15 am, it was operating so I decided to ride it. I had heard in past years that they had let runners through the Fastpass line (I’ve never done the marathon so can’t confirm this), but this year we had to wait in the regular or single rider- I did single rider and waited about 10-15 minutes to board. I was a little disappointed with how long it took; it almost seemed like it was no longer considered race entertainment, which is unfortunate because that was a huge draw for me! I also felt that some stretches of the course were short on entertainment; even having more loudspeakers playing Disney or pump-up music would have been nice!
I’ve heard the same about letting runners through the FP line, and I heard people complaining about having to do Single Rider this year on Twitter, so I’d assume that your info is accurate, and is a change for this year. Sort of a bummer.
My husband and I also love laugh floor! Way to go with every race 🙂
We noticed this time that there had been changes to Laugh Floor, but in a couple of performer voices, and also in expanding the people being “picked on” to include audience members nearby them. I really like how the show continues to be tweaked over the years, and is never the same thing twice.
I love reading your race reports! I want to do the half next year! And fyi, I also love Monsters. Thanks for sharing your adventures with us!
You’re welcome! Good luck on training for the Half next year! 🙂
The cute little animals at Animal Kingdom boosted my mood and gave me energy to power on! Of course I had to stop and pet each one. I was so tired from sleep deprivation (I did Dopey as well) that I don’t remember much of the course, and I didn’t take any pictures other than of the animals. I would have stopped for Figment and Dreamfinder for sure. Can’t you picture Figment with a little racing bib?
Oh wow, I would GO CRAZY if there were Figment and Dreamfinder on the course with racing bibs. I know D23 has had the original Dreamfinder back for a couple of events, and there are also a couple of fans who have incredible costumes. RunDisney really should make that happen–they totally could!