New to RunDisney Question

[Salf777]

So my wife and I want to do a run Disney in 2023. Is there a difference between the Marathon weekend and Princess Half Marathon weekend? Obviously I know one has a full marathon but we just want to do a 10k. Looking for advice as to which one someone would recommend for a first timer? Is one event less crowded than another?
any insight appreciated for a first timer.
also is there a way to find out what the course you run is for each of these 10k runs?

 

[luv2cheer92]

They are pretty similar in size and the courses are generally the same for the 10Ks (previous courses can be found with a Google search, they start and end at Epcot). The big difference is Princess tends to be much more female oriented and dominant, and obviously centered around princesses. While Marathon Weekend is more classic characters. The last few years, Oswald has been the featured character for the 10K at marathon weekend. Princess changes every year.

Of the 4 race weekends, Marathon weekend is my favorite and Princess is my least favorite.

 

[GollyGadget]

The other thing to consider is the day of the race. Marathon weekend 10k will be on Friday whereas the princess 10k is on a Saturday. If you're going for a long trip this may not matter but for a quick weekend getaway the Saturday race may be more feasible. Keep in mind you also need to arrive at least one day ahead of time to go to the expo and pick up your bib.

I think January may also have more wild swings of weather where it could be 20 or 80. That could also just be in my head because I've run both a cold and a warm marathon weekend race. Princess has always been warm for this midwesterner.

 

[Salf777]

The other thing to consider is the day of the race. Marathon weekend 10k will be on Friday whereas the princess 10k is on a Saturday. If you're going for a long trip this may not matter but for a quick weekend getaway the Saturday race may be more feasible. Keep in mind you also need to arrive at least one day ahead of time to go to the expo and pick up your bib.

I think January may also have more wild swings of weather where it could be 20 or 80. That could also just be in my head because I've run both a cold and a warm marathon weekend race. Princess has always been warm for this midwesterner.

Do you think arriving the day before is enough? We drive not far so we can get to Disney World by 11am the day before?

 

[fatmanatee]

Here’s a link to all the recent race maps:

http://www.magicofrunning.com/rundisneymaps

 

[fatmanatee]

Do you think arriving the day before is enough? We drive not far so we can get to Disney World by 11am the day before?

If you can drive then the day before is totally fine.

 

[accm]

I don't know where you live, but another thing to consider is the weather at home during your training. I live in the cold, so I'd rather train for Wine and Dine than Princess, but if you live somewhere with hot summers, you might prefer the opposite.

 

[GreatLakes]

So my wife and I want to do a run Disney in 2023. Is there a difference between the Marathon weekend and Princess Half Marathon weekend? Obviously I know one has a full marathon but we just want to do a 10k. Looking for advice as to which one someone would recommend for a first timer? Is one event less crowded than another?
any insight appreciated for a first timer.
also is there a way to find out what the course you run is for each of these 10k runs?

Personally I base the race I want to do on what else is going on at the parks at the time with the exception of the full. I like the Epcot festivals so I would favor Wine & Dine or the Spring Surprise so I'm there during one of the festivals. I have no interest in being treated like a second class citizen so I won't ever do princess. I do love MW and it feels like the most runner-centric weekend so if you want that atmosphere go with that one.

All the races are generally at lower crowd times of year but W&D coincides with some long weekends for some school districts so it might be the busiest. It still won't be anywhere near peak crowds.

Do you think arriving the day before is enough? We drive not far so we can get to Disney World by 11am the day before?

If you are driving from not that far away it should be fine. I would not risk flying in the day before my first event. If my first even is Friday the latest I will get in is Wednesday afternoon. If flights get cancelled you don't want to miss the expo.

If I were driving from anywhere further than about 8 miles I would also build in the extra day. You never know if a weather even up north will cause issues and I don't want long car rides the day before a race if I can help it.

 

[kps7795]

Do you think arriving the day before is enough? We drive not far so we can get to Disney World by 11am the day before?

It's fine so long as you are able to arrive in time to go to the Expo to pick up your bib.

 

[Salf777]

I don't know where you live, but another thing to consider is the weather at home during your training. I live in the cold, so I'd rather train for Wine and Dine than Princess, but if you live somewhere with hot summers, you might prefer the opposite.

Good thought we live in South Florida so its hotter here year round than Orlando

 

[kps7795]

Good thought we live in South Florida so its hotter here year round than Orlando

For what it’s worth, I live in Boynton Beach here in South Florida as well. Participating in a Disney World marathon was a bucket list item for me, so I decided to get to it once the pandemic hit us. I began training last July for a half marathon in Sunrise in an attempt to get a good POT for the marathon. Hence, I was training for a race that is double a 10K in July and August. You can do it too! If I may, I would highly recommend utilizing the MAF training method. I only wish that I knew about MAF last July. Instead, I utilized this training methodology starting in late October for the marathon. I changed everything for the better. https://philmaffetone.com/method/

 

[HangWithMerida]

I feel like I have to balance out the hate on Princess weekend. My husband and I did Princess weekend this year, I did the challenge and he did the HM. We loved it. I had heard a lot of drama can happen that weekend and that it was a more woman centered weekend in general. While I would say there were more women racing than I saw on the W&D race weekends, there were still a lot of guys, several of whom wore princess dresses and really got into the spirit of it. I really enjoyed the weekend a lot. And from a training perspective, february races mean decent training windows for those of us from warmer places and the holiday overlap with training plans happens much earlier so it is less impactful.

 

[Salf777]

So one last question please
Disney is not selling rooms yet for the Princess 10K in February so we booked a room at the Swan for now, its refundable.
Do they normally offer a package if your running?
We are DVC but the points charts are a bit high so we were thinking pay cash and use our points for more days at a more "off" time as we usually get more days with our points than we can race weekend
Any suggestions?
Also, how fast do these sell out? Do I need to be booking the day it goes live?

 

[HangWithMerida]

Disney is not selling rooms yet for the Princess 10K in February so we booked a room at the Swan for now, its refundable.
Do they normally offer a package if your running?

No special runners packages.

We are DVC but the points charts are a bit high so we were thinking pay cash and use our points for more days at a more "off" time as we usually get more days with our points than we can race weekend
Any suggestions?
Also, how fast do these sell out? Do I need to be booking the day it goes live?

There are several DVC members here, so they can be more specific about info for that. But, no, rooms will not sell out the day they go live. You will get a wide range of suggestions for race weekend resorts from this group. One of my personal favorites is PO-Riverside.
It just occurred to me that you might be asking how fast the princess weekend events sell out. This is from another thread and should give you a better idea of how long events stay open if that's what you were wondering.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/historical-race-weekend-sell-out-timing.3844193/

 

[RuntheMouse]

I feel like I have to balance out the hate on Princess weekend. My husband and I did Princess weekend this year, I did the challenge and he did the HM. We loved it. I had heard a lot of drama can happen that weekend and that it was a more woman centered weekend in general. While I would say there were more women racing than I saw on the W&D race weekends, there were still a lot of guys, several of whom wore princess dresses and really got into the spirit of it. I really enjoyed the weekend a lot.

Completely agree with this. DH and I did the Princess Challenge this year and it was way more enjoyable than I anticipated. The energy was great as well and the run etiquette. In fact we thought it was better than Springtime Surprise!

 

[jmasgat]

So one last question please
Disney is not selling rooms yet for the Princess 10K in February so we booked a room at the Swan for now, its refundable.
Do they normally offer a package if your running?
We are DVC but the points charts are a bit high so we were thinking pay cash and use our points for more days at a more "off" time as we usually get more days with our points than we can race weekend
Any suggestions?
Also, how fast do these sell out? Do I need to be booking the day it goes live?

When you say "not selling rooms", do you mean online? Because usually (in the past) you could call and reserve a room. Of course, the rate may change once they (inevitably) publish/increase rack rates for CY23, but you could still snag one. Timing for online reservations can be flaky. I booked a room online for MW22 in February '21--which was atypical.

As for DVC, I am not an owner, but have rented points. For MW22, I snagged a confirmed reservation for an AKL value studio from David's rental in late October and paid less than I would have for the room I had reserved at Pop. That was serendipity. You could just rent the points for the reservation you want--which will generally be less than Disney rack rate. But this route you are locked in, which you may not be comfortable with. My MO is to book a Disney hotel room (usually Pop these days cause the pricing is usurious) and then stalk the rental sites later in the year in case I see something I'm willing to spring for. It's hit or miss, but I'm comfortable with it.

As for sell-outs, they can happen day of for the shorter races. If you want it, register opening day. Here's a thread that shows past race sell-outs.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/historical-race-weekend-sell-out-timing.3844193/

 

[luv2cheer92]

So one last question please
Disney is not selling rooms yet for the Princess 10K in February so we booked a room at the Swan for now, its refundable.
Do they normally offer a package if your running?
We are DVC but the points charts are a bit high so we were thinking pay cash and use our points for more days at a more "off" time as we usually get more days with our points than we can race weekend
Any suggestions?
Also, how fast do these sell out? Do I need to be booking the day it goes live?

Rooms are available for Princess (they start 499 days out). You just have to call to do it. Or contact a TA who can do it for you.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

Rooms are available for Princess (they start 499 days out). You just have to call to do it. Or contact a TA who can do it for you.

I contacted a TA last month and I have my room package ready Mostly I wanted prices to help me decide where to book, I sent an email Friday afternoon and she had them for me Monday morning.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Of course, the rate may change once they (inevitably) publish/increase rack rates for CY23

Really? They’d change the rate on you? I booked my MW rooms on the phone and they told me specifically how much I will owe and never mentioned that this could increase.

 

[accm]

Really? They’d change the rate on you? I booked my MW rooms on the phone and they told me specifically how much I will owe and never mentioned that this could increase.

They can’t the change the rate on your reservation. What they could do, is change the rates going forward, so if they announce a discount, it’d be off of the new rate, not what you reserved, so you’d need to compare and see if it’s worth it.