HI Katie! That is a great idea! My husband and I are both planning to run it together too! It is the 20th anniversary, so it is going to be extra magical!
For the marathon weekend, all of the
Disney World Resorts will be host resorts. This means that they will all provide bus transportation to and from race weekend events (packet pick-up, kids races, 5K, etc.). With that being said, you have the freedom to choose which resort best fits your family's budget and style. My family likes to stay at one of the Epcot area resorts, because Epcot is our favorite park. If you plan to spend most of your time at Magic Kingdom, then a monorail resort would be a great choice. If you want to save money, all of the Value resorts and Moderate level resorts offer bus transportation to all of the Disney areas as well.
When you register for the race, you will have access to a runner's discount on rooms, theme park tickets, and also you can include the
Disney Dining Plan. This is a great value, and a great way to book everything all together. You can find the information on the
Walt Disney World Marathon website. Just click on "travel details" on the left.
One last piece of advice is once you book your resort, start choosing where you would like to dine. You can book dining reservations up to 180 days in advance. It's a great idea to have any table service restaurants booked in advance. Otherwise, you may have a long wait time to eat.
I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions!