EPCOT; Mother and Son; Spaceship Earth
  • On Feb 6, 2016
    Lynn from MI Asked Note: This answer was provided prior to the change to planDisney and may still contain references to Disney Parks Moms Panel.

    Experiences, policies, pricing and other offerings are subject to change and may have changed since the date of this answer.

    Arrive 4/16/16 & staying until 4/29/2016. Just now seeing a marathon during our first weekend, 4/15-4/17. How will this event affect crowd patterns that first week of our stay? Should certain parks be avoided during race days? Thank you & love th

    Hi Lynn!

    Thank you for the Disney Parks Moms Panel love!

    Star Wars Half Marathon- The Dark Side weekend is the first weekend of your trip.  It's actually a brand new race for 2016!   There will be three race days; 4/15, 4/16 and 4/17.  On the Friday and Saturday (15th and 16th), these races will start early and end early, so parks will not be affected. They are shorter distance races and will be over before the parks open.

    The only day you will want to plan for is Sunday.  This is the day of the half marathon.  It will begin at Epcot (at 5:30 a.m.) and end at ESPN Wide World of Sports.  The race runs a bit through Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.  Runners should be through all of the parks by noon, though, so it's not a big deal to non-racing guests.  If you wanted to avoid Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios that Sunday morning, you will be safe!  (Epcot is first on the course and runners should be through before that park opens.)

    If you look at the crowd prediction calendar on touringplans.com, you will see that Friday and Saturday are predicted to be a 7 out of 10 on the crowd level scale, with the rest of your trip being 5's and 6's.  I don't think you will really notice a crowd surge from the runners at all!  

    I hope this helps.  Please let me know if you have any other questions as your trip approaches!

thumbnail image for Lori

Meet the Panelist: Lori, Indiana

I am currently a homeschool, soccer mom to two active teenage boys. My family loves everything about Disney! Walt Disney World, Disneyland, runDisney, Disney Cruise Line and Disney Vacation Club have been a part of countless magical memories for us through the years. I cannot wait to help you make your own magical memories at Walt Disney World! Learn More About Lori

Didn't find what you were looking for? Click the Ask a Question button to open the Ask a Question dialogue box. If you are not logged in a dialogue box will appear to signin in order to ask a question.

To submit your question, please log in now if you have not already done so.

Ask a QuestionOpens the Ask a Question dialog box.
x

Update Browser

For a better experience browsing this website, please download an updated version of Internet Explorer.


Or you can continue browsing without updating.