Walt Disney 2012 Transportation nightmare?

As each day passes, it's looking more & more likely that I will be running the Walt Disney Marathon Relay. Pretty excited about it too. But hubby & I really don't want to stay at a WD Resort so that leaves us with having to get to the race start on or own. Has anyone done this race before and not stayed at one the their resorts from which they provide transportation from? I'm scared we're headed for an absolute nightmare the morning of the race and I would love to hear about any tips or experiences you had.

I did this race in January 2010 and did stay at one of the WDW resorts but here's what I observed. You won't have any problem driving to and finding parking BEFORE the race. It is crazy early that they want you there and so expect a 3:30am or whatever wakeup call and then a short drive from one of the Kissimmie or nearby hotels. That won't take you anytime and even with that many runners, there's more than enough parking and you'll be parked quickly.

Leaving AFTER the race is a different story. Expect a complete nightmare. Roads will be still closed for the race itself, the parks will be open and regular guests arriving, thousands upon thousands of runners will be wandering around on the roads that are open both walking and in cars....chaos for those parked in the lots. If there's a way you could postpone leaving the race afterwards until midday or later, that woud make a big difference. Have a change of clothes in the car and go walk to lunch at one of the Epcot places or skip paying the park entrance fee and take the monorail to one of the restaurants at one of the WDW hotels. Then after your celebratory lunch with your relay team, you'll drive away no problem.

Great suggestion about staying later into the afternoon Chris! I think we will do this. A celebratory lunch will be the perfect way to wait out the crowds/traffic. Thanks!

I ran this in 2009 and it's insanely early in the morning. I did not stay on the property, we stayed at some hotel in Orlando. Since I got there plenty early, there were zero issues with getting there and parking. But I did notice while walking to the start that there was a large traffic jam in the lot from late comers. So don't plan to get there at the last minute and you should be fine. Good luck, good to see you able to plan on running races!

JohnP wrote:I ran this in 2009 and it's insanely early in the morning. I did not stay on the property, we stayed at some hotel in Orlando. Since I got there plenty early, there were zero issues with getting there and parking. But I did notice while walking to the start that there was a large traffic jam in the lot from late comers. So don't plan to get there at the last minute and you should be fine. Good luck, good to see you able to plan on running races!

Thanks JohnP!! I'm so excited to run this race!!! It's a ways off but I've got a very good feeling about it. And no worries about us being late-comers... I'm obsessively early all the time.

I'm a local, but I've got a room at the resort across the street (for Disney) from the race start. I plan to show up at the last possible minute. I need my ice bath after the race.

Thanks for that tip Chris on waiting out the post-race traffic. I will definitely consider doing that.