Hi there, Arianna; welcome to planDisney!
Participating in the Walt Disney World Marathon is on my “one-day” list, but until then I’ll keep running magical miles at other
runDisney events. If your loved ones want to cheer you on, I’ve got great news for you. There are a few options for them to watch you take on the challenge, and some of them are pretty cool spots.
Keep in mind that the course can change from year to year, but in general, you will run through all four theme parks and many areas in between. Here are some locations where your loved ones can cheer you on from the sidelines during the marathon:
-A few miles from the start line in the EPCOT parking lot
-The Transportation and Ticket Center (They can take the Disney Monorail from EPCOT to get there.)
-Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom Park (Usually, no theme park ticket is needed because it isn’t open by the time the runners get there.)
-Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort (There is a street behind these hotels that Guests of the hotels can access.)
-Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios (At this point of the race, your loved ones may be able to see you if they have tickets to one or both of these theme parks.)
-Disney’s BoardWalk area
-Inside of EPCOT (with a theme park ticket) and at the finish line in the EPCOT parking lot
A week or two before the race, you will have access to the race’s official Digital Expo & Event Guide. This is full of info, including how the race bib pick-up process will go. For example, when I have a race on a Sunday morning, I usually have that Thursday through Saturday to pick up my bib. In the past year or so, there has been a Virtual Queue system on the first day of the runDisney Health & Fitness Expo at the
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. This is your go-to spot to get race-exclusive merch and goodies. You can join the Virtual Queue in the
My Disney Experience App. But, Arianna, you will not need to join a virtual queue to pick up your race bib and included participant t-shirt.
If you have any additional questions as you gear up for the race,
revisit us here at planDisney. There are so many of us who have participated in runDisney events and we could talk about them all day long. Happy training!
Magic always,
LeAndra