We plan to go Sun Oct 27 to Sat Nov 2, 2019. We are DVC and hoping to book BCV or BWV at 7 months for 3 of the 6 nights (split stay). (I know I won’t get a studio, but hoping 1BR is still available.) Question: Would it be better to book BCV/BWV for Wed/Thurs/Fri and be able to walk to Epcot for RD after the races are over? Or book BCV/BWV Sun/Mon/Tues to avoid the area during the races? The second option would mean we’d be traveling to other parks on racing days and I’ve heard traffic can be awful! I guess the 5k on Thursday is at AK? Maybe just avoiding AK on that day is enough? Maybe I’m overthinking it? LOL. Any advice is appreciated.
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I’ll be there at the same time. Looking forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts.
As of today, there are still 1 bedrooms at both according to the following
https://tools.dvcvacations.com/points-calculator
A few thoughts.
Race start time for all 3 races is 5:30.
The 5k will be self-contained within one park, its parking lot, and its backstage area. It will therefore not foul any traffic, and should not impact your ability to park at or tour in any park. All runners should be (easily) done by 7, and the park picked up by then.
The 10k will probably make use of some roads, but unless you are out driving before the race, but after midnight the night before, you should not notice traffic troubles. The 10k should be finished by 8:15 and again, they will have the course cleaned up before opening.
The half marathon stands the biggest chance of snarling traffic, as the race field will be the largest of the 3 days, and take the longest to get across the starting line, but should still be all underway by about 6:45-7AM. runDisney will meticulously maintain the 16-minute/mile sweep criterion, in order to have the race mostly cleared before parks open.
There may be some detours, but they will direct you to the best route to your destination that morning. The day of the half is a good day to choose to use Disney Transportation, as they should both know what the planned alternate routes are as well as get a call when roads reopen. Any race course where it is expected that foot traffic will need to cross will have designated crosswalk areas to allow for the least disruption to both runner and park guest experiences.
While runDisney has not yet published the course maps for W&D 2019, and the official site is deliberately ambiguous, in 2018, the courses were as follows:
5K: AK parking lot and park. There is lots of parking at AK, they will probably put you in the unicorn lot and you’ll be fine.
10K: TTC to Epcot, following essentially the end of the Princess and Marathon Weekend Half Marathons. The alternate route will take you past golden oak and POFQ/R, but should not impact your day beyond rope drop.
Half: TTC to Epcot, via AK and DHS. Basically, miles 8-16 and 22-26 of the marathon (cuts out the WWoS leg). There will definitely be some funny alternate routes, but if you allow an extra 15 mins or take Disney Transportation, you shouldn’t encounter issues. Any closed roads will be reopened well before noon.
Also, lest there is any confusion, the race days are Friday-Saturday-Sunday, which means that the day of the Half is after you leave, and the impacts on the Friday and Saturday will be minimal.
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You are a Disney Goddess. I did not realize the W&D race courses would (or could) be different than Marathon Weekend 5K, 10K, and half. I ran the Marathon Weekend 5Ks years ago when they were in AK and HS (then not HS, I think since it was 2007), and just assumed they had given up on anything other than the Marathon Weekend standards. I couldn’t justify to myself going back and just running the same old courses again, but I’m going to book my rooms for W&D race weekend right now!
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Thanks for the information. You’re right, I’ll probably be leaving on Saturday am, so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue.