Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend January 2015

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

New runDisney race weekend just announced.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneyland/events.html#starwarshalf

 

[jobo]

I can't wait!!! I was almost wishing it would be in Orlando, but I'll take Disneyland!

 

[planningjollyholiday]

This is the best news ever!!!!! So excited!

 

[JillyBean1899]

I'm gonna have to pick up a part time job just to support my rD habit ....

 

[Breyean]

Already booked my nights at VGC!

Even more excited about this theme than the Avengers race in November, even though I'm doing those as well.

But Star Wars!!! Can't wait to see the theming and merchandise.

 

[GatorChris]

I'd rather just have a Star Wars week or Star Wars event like they have in WDW. Running? I'll pass. Unless you count running from Star Tours to Space Mt.

 

[stitch4336]

WAY too excited to work now! Booked a hotel already - hehe.
Was looking forward to taking January off from running as I'm doing 12x12 challenge - 12 Halfs in 12 Months this year. It will just have to be 13 Hafls in 13 Months now! No way I am missing this one!

Wondering why they put it in January so close to the WDW Marathon Weekend though. I was SO glad when they moved the Tink Half out of Jan. Oh well

 

[Eclectic Goddess]

DF and I are seriously pondering this! We were tempted by the Avengers Half, but decided it wasn't at a good time of year for us. Now, Star Wars, in January, that we might find a way for!

I even considered trying my legs for the 10k and half so I could do the Rebel Challenge, but it's WAY too expensive for me.

 

[Belle Ella]

So excited! And for anyone interested, I've started a check-in thread for those of us who plan to register!

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=51525566#post51525566

 

[awtigger]

I have always wanted to do this. But of course I never knew where I would go to find the information or to sign up for starters...lol

A few questions for a newbie do you have to be AP, or DVC member to do these? And if not do you have to have a daily park entry ticket for the day or days of the races you are entered for?

Thx
A

 

[kim3339]

I have always wanted to do this. But of course I never knew where I would go to find the information or to sign up for starters...lol

A few questions for a newbie do you have to be AP, or DVC member to do these? And if not do you have to have a daily park entry ticket for the day or days of the races you are entered for?

Thx
A

rundisney.com is where you'll find all the info for this race and all the others.

The races are open to everybody and anybody to run and they are sooooo much fun! You don't have to be just an AP or DVC, but if you are, you get to register early, but there a limited amount of spaces. General reg opens 6/10 at 9am PST, but make sure you are on the page a little beforehand b/c this will sell out most likely w/in the hour. If you have a Disney Visa card, when you register at the end when you are checking out that has a place to enter a discount code. If you enter the 1st 4 digits of the card, you will get a discount.

Park admission isn't included in the race, but the company Get Travel works w/ the race and you can order discounted park tix and you pick them up at the expo.

 

[awtigger]

Thanks for the info kim3339

 

[fujiapple]

Hello! We are planning to attend this event as well. It will be our first time at any RunDisney event. I am a huge fan of Disneyland, but my husband just barely tolerates it. I have been chomping at the bit to go... and this running event is the perfect solution that helped me convince my DH to go (he is an avid runner). Yay!

Anyway, I have some questions I hope others can answer:

1. If we were to add an extra day onto our trip for visiting the parks, would it be better to do it BEFORE the racing events, or after the race days? Which is likely to be more crowded, the Wednesday before, or the Monday after? I'm also torn between wearing ourselves out walking around the parks before the races, vs wearing ourselves out during the races and being too tired to enjoy the parks.

2. Are the Disneyland parks more crowded in general during racing weekends, even in the off season? Or will there only be a minimal increase in crowds?

3. Are the kids races worthwhile? At the time of event, one son will be 3 years old, and the other will be 11 months old**. There are racing events for both of these age groups... but I'm wondering if it's better to just skip it. I don't think the RunDisney site said what time these kids events are happening either... when I looked yesterday.

4. We are not AP holders or members of DVC. Do you think it will be challenging to book rooms at one of the Disney hotels? I tried doing this already but it said my trip has to be before December 31. Will reservations for January open on July 1 then? Or sooner?

5. Any other tips I should know?

6. In general, what attractions are usually scheduled for refurb during Jan 14-19?

OH I should mention, my husband is going to run the Half, and possibly the 10k. I will only do the 5k because I am NOT a runner at all, but I am going to do my best to train for this so that at least I can stay ahead of the balloon ladies I've heard about and finish the race. Do you think it's possible to finish if doing a combination of walking/jogging during the 5k?

thanks!

**Edited to add: Although we have 2 small boys with us, we will also have my mom on the trip so she will be watching the boys while we do the races, etc. Just in case anyone was wondering how that was going to work.

 

[kim3339]

Hope this helps ~

1. Wed would be best b/c Mon is ML day and there'll be a lot of people. Wed will have less people but also shorter hours so trade off. The other thing to keep in mind is if you go Wed, it'll be pre-race and a lot of walking and your husband might not want that. Personally, I'd go Wed, b/c less people.

2. Tink has been that weekend the past 2 years, and Fri/Sat haven't been bad and I've been able to get almost everything done, but I remember Sun post race was crazy busy.

3. Kids Races usually start around 9am. Can't answer how they are as have participated in them but they do get a medal and a shirt and they are absolutely adorable walking around the parks on Sat w/ them. They are so proud!

4. As for rooms, Disney partners up with Get Travel for the races and they usually open reservations the week of or right after race registration opens. They will have discounted rooms for not only the 3 resort hotels, but good neighbor rooms as well. As long as you book earlier rather than later, you will be able to get a room. Having said that if you are staying in a good neighbor hotel, you can usually find cheaper rates if you have an AAA Card and rates are open and really good right now. Get Travel will also have park tix at a great discount for runners also.

5. Tips ~ make sure you're online at 9am b/c this race will sell out and crazy fast. Seriously, most likely w/in the hour and maybe even 1/2 hour it goes on sale.

6. As for refurbs... last year I think everything but BTMRR was open. HM opened Fri afternoon from the change over back to regular and IASW was still in Xmas but open until the week after.

7. For you finishing the race, you will be fine! The 5k is very family friendly and as long as you are moving forward and not doddling should be okay. In the past, I've finished 5ks when the clock says 50 min, took some pics and got my medal and post race stuff and while walking out of DCA (usually the finish line) about 20 min later, there were still a lot of people running just past the mile 2 marker. The time starts when the last person crosses the start line and like I said above, as long as you aren't meandering through the course and making an effort, you will be okay.

 

[kirstie101]

Hello! We are planning to attend this event as well. It will be our first time at any RunDisney event. I am a huge fan of Disneyland, but my husband just barely tolerates it. I have been chomping at the bit to go... and this running event is the perfect solution that helped me convince my DH to go (he is an avid runner). Yay!

Anyway, I have some questions I hope others can answer:

1. If we were to add an extra day onto our trip for visiting the parks, would it be better to do it BEFORE the racing events, or after the race days? Which is likely to be more crowded, the Wednesday before, or the Monday after? I'm also torn between wearing ourselves out walking around the parks before the races, vs wearing ourselves out during the races and being too tired to enjoy the parks.

2. Are the Disneyland parks more crowded in general during racing weekends, even in the off season? Or will there only be a minimal increase in crowds?

3. Are the kids races worthwhile? At the time of event, one son will be 3 years old, and the other will be 11 months old**. There are racing events for both of these age groups... but I'm wondering if it's better to just skip it. I don't think the RunDisney site said what time these kids events are happening either... when I looked yesterday.

4. We are not AP holders or members of DVC. Do you think it will be challenging to book rooms at one of the Disney hotels? I tried doing this already but it said my trip has to be before December 31. Will reservations for January open on July 1 then? Or sooner?

5. Any other tips I should know?

6. In general, what attractions are usually scheduled for refurb during Jan 14-19?

OH I should mention, my husband is going to run the Half, and possibly the 10k. I will only do the 5k because I am NOT a runner at all, but I am going to do my best to train for this so that at least I can stay ahead of the balloon ladies I've heard about and finish the race. Do you think it's possible to finish if doing a combination of walking/jogging during the 5k?

thanks!

**Edited to add: Although we have 2 small boys with us, we will also have my mom on the trip so she will be watching the boys while we do the races, etc. Just in case anyone was wondering how that was going to work.

Hope this helps ~

1. Wed would be best b/c Mon is ML day and there'll be a lot of people. Wed will have less people but also shorter hours so trade off. The other thing to keep in mind is if you go Wed, it'll be pre-race and a lot of walking and your husband might not want that. Personally, I'd go Wed, b/c less people.

2. Tink has been that weekend the past 2 years, and Fri/Sat haven't been bad and I've been able to get almost everything done, but I remember Sun post race was crazy busy.

3. Kids Races usually start around 9am. Can't answer how they are as have participated in them but they do get a medal and a shirt and they are absolutely adorable walking around the parks on Sat w/ them. They are so proud!

4. As for rooms, Disney partners up with Get Travel for the races and they usually open reservations the week of or right after race registration opens. They will have discounted rooms for not only the 3 resort hotels, but good neighbor rooms as well. As long as you book earlier rather than later, you will be able to get a room. Having said that if you are staying in a good neighbor hotel, you can usually find cheaper rates if you have an AAA Card and rates are open and really good right now. Get Travel will also have park tix at a great discount for runners also.

5. Tips ~ make sure you're online at 9am b/c this race will sell out and crazy fast. Seriously, most likely w/in the hour and maybe even 1/2 hour it goes on sale.

6. As for refurbs... last year I think everything but BTMRR was open. HM opened Fri afternoon from the change over back to regular and IASW was still in Xmas but open until the week after.

7. For you finishing the race, you will be fine! The 5k is very family friendly and as long as you are moving forward and not doddling should be okay. In the past, I've finished 5ks when the clock says 50 min, took some pics and got my medal and post race stuff and while walking out of DCA (usually the finish line) about 20 min later, there were still a lot of people running just past the mile 2 marker. The time starts when the last person crosses the start line and like I said above, as long as you aren't meandering through the course and making an effort, you will be okay.

On #1 and #2 I agree with Kim. Since Monday is MLK holiday I'd come a day early rather than staying a day late. Crowds will be higher than normal on Sunday for sure. Saturday I still found fine the last two years. Sunday was the day I really noticed the crowds.

For #3, kids races, DD participated for the first time this past January. She was 6 at the time so she ran the 200m dash. She was super proud of herself. LOVED the attention she got in the parks after when she was wearing her medal. Though it is obviously a very short run, I'd still say it was worth the $20. My only complaint is that I wasn't able to see her run because I waited in line with her and then when it started she ran off and I was left trying to find my way to the finish line. But your kids are young enough that you'll run with them. I'd recommend having one parent waiting at the finish line so they can take pics. Oh the kids races start at 9:30 I believe. It was after the 10K was over. I had enough time to get to my room at PPH, shower and head down. The race is in the parking lot right behind PPH which was another bonus for us in choosing to stay there.

#4 Again I agree with Kim. You'll be fine. We reserved PPH for Tink and Avengers through GET travel. The rates were better than I could get with my AP discount (standard room was sold out at the AP rate). As soon as they release their rates for Star Wars we'll book through them again. Also for each night you book through them for one of the Disneyland Resort hotels, they give you a $25 credit towards park hoppers. Or at least thats what they offered for Tink and Avengers. Hopefully they offer it again.

 

[fujiapple]

Thanks for the advice so far, this is extremely helpful!

The only resort hotel I've stayed in before is the Grand Californian. I was thinking that one or Disneyland Hotel would be the most convenient - is Paradise Pier not bad in terms of getting around? I know it is always the less expensive of the three. To me it seems so far off in the distance with no direct access to either Downtown Disney or the parks. Please clue me in to the advantages of this hotel that I may be unaware of.

Thanks!

 

[Aspoonfullofsugar]

We are at the Rock and Roll Marathon and they are registering people for the races
now. The 5K, 10K, and half will all be on different days. They are offering a package with registration, three day park hoppers, and three nights in Disney hotel ranging in price from $1239 (5K PP hotel) to most expensive $1799 (half and GC.)

 

[kim3339]

Thanks for the advice so far, this is extremely helpful!

The only resort hotel I've stayed in before is the Grand Californian. I was thinking that one or Disneyland Hotel would be the most convenient - is Paradise Pier not bad in terms of getting around? I know it is always the less expensive of the three. To me it seems so far off in the distance with no direct access to either Downtown Disney or the parks. Please clue me in to the advantages of this hotel that I may be unaware of.

Thanks!

If you stay at PP, you could either cross the street to the GC and cut through their lobby to DTD or you could walk along the paths to the DLH and access DTD and monorail to DL from there. It's too early to tell for race weekend with the courses not being published, but both the DL in Aug and Tink start on Disneyland Dr so it's easy to access for PP. And if it uses the Tink course, the finish line/staging area is in the parking lot for PP.