This was my first serious half marathon after a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. I was so excited to overcome my physical challenges at DisneyWorld for Team Diabetes. I thought the expo was fine, although it was my first one. I agree that the goody bag lacked the goodies that Disney could have offered. The course was flat and dull, and the entertainment promised along the course was non existent. The Villain signs amused me, but I also felt that their humor was lost on the majority of the participants, and that they were less than uplifting.

However, my one shining moment was entering the World Walkway at Epcot just prior to sunrise. The torches around the lake were blazing, and all the countries had their twinkling lights on. There was some inspirational music playing loudly and the scene was beautiful, and I was so grateful that I had regained the physical ability to participate in this event. That moment will remain with me forever, and for that moment alone, I will someday return to the overpriced, under spectated, boring course event.

I've noticed this marathon taking a lot of criticism by folks. Well, it's not warranted. Granted, the whole 'gotta-be-on-the-bus-at-4am' thing rather sucks...but hey, it's a bunch of flippin' idiots that can't ever be on time for sh*t that makes rules like that necessary. Trying to organize 15,000 people takes just a little effort and when 3,000 of those (even with the 4:30am deadline) STILL show up 7 minutes before the race start, it causes chaos...The organization was very good. The aid stations were super. The volunteers were the best I've seen (thank you people for standing out in the cold rain serving up goodies to all of the unappreciative whiners below). The course is interesting, and was as flat as you can get. And the weather (though it rained this year) is usually ideal.

I'm a middle-of the packer and there was support all the way. Good crowds in several spots and lots of high fives. Once again, thanks guys for coming out in the rain!

Oh yeah, there aren't really animatronic pirates at the water stations. Some of the runners looked like animatronics come the 23, 24th mile though....

I have run two marathons and a half marathon. Disney was by far the best. The course was fast and flat, the route was through four different theme parks, and had lots of spectator and character support. There were multiple medical stations, and many, many water stations.

This was my first marathon and so I have no relative comparisons to make to other marathons. I can say what I liked and dis-liked:

Pros:

Running through the parks and getting to see 'back-stage'

-We wore our cool medals to the parks for a couple of days afterward and were routinely spotted by Disney staff and congratulated.

-Registrations was incredibly smooth

-Disney Transportation moved us wherever we needed to go (except for a certain 26.2 miles) very efficiently

-Great crowds at the finish and in a few other areas

-They did a super job of keeping the park-go-ers off the course

-WDW is a pretty cool place to be to celebrate such a big personal milestone

Cons:

-Having to be on the bus from the hotel to the course by 4 at the latest. This is insane and it was cold.

-Sitting around with no entertainment (I thought this was Disney) for nearly 90 minutes in the parking lot while we froze and waitied to start running.

-Awful signs placed by Disney Villians, telling us we'll never make it.

-Lack of water late in the course for slow runners. There's a mall next to the park. Go buy some water!

-Similarly, some of the late med. stops had nothing left. They offered us vaseline for a sore muscle.

-Sparse crowds for most of the lonely parts of the run.

-Very anti-climactic finish

-Pretty pricey

-Rain (I know this is not Disney's fault)

-I heard Zip-a-dee-do-da an awful lot of times!

-Running through the Animal Kingdom did not feel safe as the terrain was very bumpy and it was wet.

-The back-side of the Animal Kingdom, where we ran a couple of miles, smelled like the back-side of something funky.

I've read all of the other comments...some of the negatives are justifiable, but others, well...you can't control things like weather. One of the coolest things is running through all five parks but to do this means there are stretchs of highway or park roads that are boring. Not many courses offer non-stop views, crowd support, etc. Besides, I enjoy the cammaraderie of the other runners more than having some unknown spectator cheering for me. It is a great 'event' marathon...but a super-serious runner concerned only about times, etc. should probably skip this one: I'd hate for you to run into me when I stop for a picture with Mickey!

I hate to admit it, but I have run this marathon 5 times in a row. The first time cost me $65, the last time cost me $80, and in 2003 they will charge $90! Floridians for the most part know that Disney is about grubbing dollars anyway it can. Along the course there were signs telling you that you could not make it all the way to the end, and this year they cheaped out big time on the finisher's book by listing only the top runners in each age category. It is appropriate that runners enter the theme parks by the back lots, so you get a bird's eye view of the facades, which includes the paid staff cheering for you in their costumes. After running Boston for the first time this year and being reminded what outstanding, excited crowds look like, I've decided not to pay people to cheer for me anymore.

I have done a lot of marathons in different states and Canada so I can give you a comparison. I do not wish to dwell on the many negatives of this race. This race is only good for runners with very deep pockets and first timers. If you wish a good race in January/ February, then do the New Orleans race and take in Mardi Gras. New Orleans race is small which is not good for me since I like a large race. However it is inexpensive and has lots of good Cajun food at the end and best of all they are not money grabbers like Disney.

It is nice to have lots of spectators, flat roads, good scenery etc but sometimes this is not possible.

I am baffled with some runners comments that they will return for this race given the inadequate conditions. Why ?? Have they tried another race like New Orleans to compare???

This was the best organised marathon I have run. Great route and superb crowd support. For a native of the UK, I found the humidity a bit tough and it was a hard struggle to keep under the 3 hour mark. I would recommend it to anyone. We had a brilliant 2 week family holiday afterwards, Disney has a great vibe.

Best Regards,

Andrew

I've done better marathons and I have done a few worse. The 6 am start has to go, it just requires getting up too early and then waiting. I liked running through the parks but that is only four miles or so of 26, the rest is through the flat swamp lands and those 'inspirational' signs have to go go go!! Reverse psychology just does not work at Mile marker 12, 16, 20 etc. Although is does make for interesting conversations after the race. Over all it is a good way to get the family to go to a race with you but save the parks with the family to after the race or your legs will be tired.

This was a disappointing marathon for the cost of things. Expo was crappy, compared to 'smaller' big races like the Gate River Run in Jax. Everything WAY overpriced, no discounts for participants and a boring course. The medal is the only redeeming feature and I did not even get the opportunity to finish and get one! The person playing Timer Nazi was using the course clock, but those of us in the back of the pack took 15-20 minutes to cross the starting line! Our chip times were within the time to finish, but we were not allowed to. Those who were pulled for time constraints at the 9 mile mark were, needless to say, furious. This was my first race after a bad car accident derailed my training and I found the DNF far more demoralizing than the villains with the negative psych signs! I will definitely waste my cash somewhere else, where the marathons are far more impressive and less pricey.