Wine and Dine (RD First Timers) Hotel Ideas?

[rschase]

Hello All!
My mom and I are hoping to sign up for Wine and Dine for our first ever rundisney event! We're planning the 5k together and the 10K for me the next day and are looking at hotel options.
We've pretty much narrowed it down to Pop Century (Preferred) or the Dolphin (I've stayed at Pop before, but never S&D) but I'd love to hear other suggestions in case we're missing out by not looking into other options.
I wasn't sure of all the impacts/needs of staying specifically for the rundisney events, so I thought I'd ask and see what I may need to know and how the resort can impact your run weekend.
We're also looking at doing 1 or 2 park days but hadn't decided yet, in case that impacts anything.

Thanks in advance for any info!

 

[Herding_Cats]

Either resort will suit your needs. Pick whichever one appeals to you the most, or fits your budget the best.

If you are successful in getting all of the registrations you are after, the only benefit that S&D may have is that, depending on the course, your mom could potentially spectate part of the 10k by walking over to the boardwalk area.

For both resorts you will need to either take the provided bus to the race start, or drive yourself/rideshare. You cannot walk through Epcot to the start, and the skyliner does not run to get you TO the race start area. If you're driving or renting a car, factor in parking fees for S&D.

 

[Desdemona924]

Everybody has their favorite hotels for race weekend and I don't know if there are 'bad' choices. I can speak to Pop though and say that it is my favorite. It's quick to get to the expo because it's pretty much right down the street. And if you want your park days at Hollywood or Epcot, the Skyliner is perfect. We also love to get preferred rooms for race weekend.

I find that there are always a lot of buses on race morning, ready and waiting. I have had issues with drivers, but I'll give the one woman credit that she got lost in the Epcot parking lot and not out on the roads somewhere. The only other problem I had was years ago and I can't even remember if it was going to the expo or to the race, but it quickly fixed and I got where I needed to be. You can run into bus trouble at any resort.

 

[Naomeri]

I like Pop, I’ve never stayed at Swan or Dolphin

 

[DisneyParrothead]

I stayed at the Swan in 2022 and Pop last year. For RunDisney stuff they’re identical. The buses will get you to the expo and to the start line.

The difference is to the parks and Disney Springs. The Swan and Dolphin buses drop you off at different spots and not where Disney resort buses drop you off. If your park days are Epcot and Studios, you can walk over or take the boats. You can also take the resort buses from Yacht Club, Beach Club, and Boardwalk.

There isn’t a food court at Swan/Dolphin but there are plenty of restaurants at the resort and along the Boardwalk area. I enjoyed the cafe at Swan for breakfast and I walked over to the Boardwalk Bakery some mornings too. Lots of options.

 

[Disneyhanna]

I’ve stayed at both in recent years, both are good race hotels (you can’t go wrong staying on property, honestly). The beds are far better at Dolphin and the rooms are much more sound proofed, along with being more spacious (no worrying about bumping knees on furniture or finding room for luggage). If price is not a big deal I’d pick Dolphin in a heartbeat. Both are popular race hotels, I wouldn’t be surprised if Pop is one of the most popular, there will be lots of runners. That said, if saving a few bucks at Pop means you can have a nicer dinner or other experience then it’s a good choice too. If the 10k goes through the Boardwalk area (I think it usually does?) it would be really easy to walk over from Dolphin to spectate if she’s cool with waking up early.

 

[1lilspark]

I’ve only stayed at pop, AoA, movies, music,and French quarter during races and Pop especially with the skyliner is definitely our favorite

While dolphin is also a sound choice and should provide spectating for the 10k keep in mind if your park day is at Magic Kingdom you will either be dropped off at ttc and need to take additional transportation to or from the park or you will need to walk to one of the other crescent lake resorts

 

[rschase]

Thanks for all the helpful info! After further research, we're now also considering Caribbean Beach (mom has never tried the skyliner but wants to, and was worried about noise at POP), but I was concerned about the internal bus system and getting where we need to be for the race weekend events. Do the resorts with internal bus loops cause extra issues/considerations?

 

[jmasgat]

No answer re: CB as I have never stayed there, but have stayed in numerous buildings in Pop. Amazingly I have never found it to be noisy--and noise is a BIG deal for me. I always stay in a standard room, so don't worry about the pools, etc. I also try to stay on a higher floor and in a building with a lake view--I don't mind a walk, and if it gets me out of the main traffic flow, that's great.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Thanks for all the helpful info! After further research, we're now also considering Caribbean Beach (mom has never tried the skyliner but wants to, and was worried about noise at POP), but I was concerned about the internal bus system and getting where we need to be for the race weekend events. Do the resorts with internal bus loops cause extra issues/considerations?

I did not stay at CBR, but I stayed at Riviera this January and we always did the CBR loop after departing Riviera. I forget which stops but I believe it was all but 1 stop that we went to at CBR...aka a LOT of stops (4? 5?). We always got on one of the earliest busses (not usually the first bus, despite getting there before the scheduled start time, they definitely started them running early) and they must have had a lot of busses going back to back as we never saw more than like 1-2 parties get on the bus per CBR stop. Maybe later in the morning there were more people waiting at the stops, but if you are an early busser you should have zero problem. On average, from leaving Riviera to being dropped off, our ride was about 30 minutes. So from CBR it would be less. Based on my notes, from the last CBR stop (Aruba) it was closer to 10 minutes.

 

[Desdemona924]

Thanks for all the helpful info! After further research, we're now also considering Caribbean Beach (mom has never tried the skyliner but wants to, and was worried about noise at POP), but I was concerned about the internal bus system and getting where we need to be for the race weekend events. Do the resorts with internal bus loops cause extra issues/considerations?

I haven't stayed at Caribbean Beach since 2018 for a race weekend in what was, at the time, the pirate rooms. The Skyliner wasn't open yet and the new lobby building had just opened. I know that the race morning bus stopped at my bus stop and I think the expo bus did as well. It is a large resort, which puts a lot of people off.

I've also never really gotten a lot of noise at Pop, even in preferred rooms near the pool.

 

[camaker]

Thanks for all the helpful info! After further research, we're now also considering Caribbean Beach (mom has never tried the skyliner but wants to, and was worried about noise at POP), but I was concerned about the internal bus system and getting where we need to be for the race weekend events. Do the resorts with internal bus loops cause extra issues/considerations?

I've stayed at CBR the last three Marathon Weekends. The RunDisney race and expo buses stop at all resort bus stops and it's typically been well-served with a good number of buses. The Skyliner has been a game changer for me making getting to DHS and Epcot so much quicker and easier. If you're reliant on the food court, the resort size can be an issue. I don't use the food court for much other than drinks and they have the Sodastream machines installed throughout the resort, so that's not an issue.