Marathon Weekend 2025

[amazingact21]

I love all the medal pictures. If I'm being honest, I love the medals almost as much as I love running the courses.

SAFD: My first runDisney race was the Expedition Everest 5K in 2011
Then the EE5K in 2012
DLP in 2018
SS in 2023

I really, really love the Monsters Inc 10K medal, but my favorite has to be my Disneyland Paris Half. I love the classic look of it, plus...it was my first half. I tell my kids, "It'll always be my favorite until my first full marathon."

 

[RuntheMouse]

I love all the medal pictures. If I'm being honest, I love the medals almost as much as I love running the courses.

SAFD: My first runDisney race was the Expedition Everest 5K in 2011
Then the EE5K in 2012
DLP in 2018
SS in 2023

I really, really love the Monsters Inc 10K medal, but my favorite has to be my Disneyland Paris Half. I love the classic look of it, plus...it was my first half. I tell my kids, "It'll always be my favorite until my first full marathon."


View attachment 831150

That DLP medal is !

 

[Bree]

SAFD: Late as usual I can’t math well today, but it looks like SS challenge will put me at rundisney race #50.

2015: Princess 10K
2017: Princess 5K + Challenge
2018: Princess 5K + Challenge

SW Dark Side Challenge​

W&D Half​

2019: Dopey

W&D 5K + Challenge​

2020: Goofy
2022: Dopey

SS Challenge​

W&D Challenge​

2023: Dopey

Princess Challenge​

SS Challenge​

W&D 5K + Challenge​

2024: Dopey

DL 5K + Dumbo Challenge​

SS Challenge​

DL Halloween Challenge (stupid 10k and challenge themes lured me)​

I was also registered for the Princess 5K + Challenge in 2019 (injured), 2020 Princess 5K + Challenge (horse show), 2020 W&D Challenge (pandemic), 2021 Dopey (pandemic), 2021 Princess 5K + Challenge (pandemic) and 2022 Princess 5K + Challenge (horse show).

There are some virtuals too - 2016 Princess 5K + Challenge (deferred for family reasons), 2018 Kessel Run, 2020 Disney Parks Attractions series, 2021 Lion King series, 2021 MW Half & 2021 Princess Half.

My medals are still packed in moving boxes so no personal pics. It’s probably a tie between my first half medal & my first marathon medal for sentimental reasons.

 

[camaker]

Good morning RunDisney All-Stars! Welcome to this week's edition of Sundays are for Disney (SAFD). We're going back to the parks for this week's question along with a quick straw poll at the end. For the main question this week, let's rank the Disney World parks. How do you rank the parks and what are the deciding factors? Have the walls coming down in Epcot or its relatively new rides made a difference in where you rank it? Let's hear what makes your favorite park special to you.

The straw poll: March Madness is rapidly approaching and I was thinking that it would be fun to run a tournament of our own. My initial idea was to have a couple of SAFD weeks where we listed our top 4 attractions in each park, maybe 2 parks/SAFD to minimize the number of weeks spent "prepping". I would take that info and create a 16 attraction bracket that we would vote on each week during March Madness to determine our ultimate attraction. Does that sound like running around World Showcase or past the water treatment plant and rhino house to you? I don't want to do something extended like that if people aren't interested.

SAFD:
My Disney World park rankings are:

1. Magic Kingdom
2. Epcot
3. Animal Kingdom
4. Hollywood Studios

I'm not a thrill ride person, so that heavily impacts my rankings. For me, MK is where the magic is. It's quintessential Disney and I love the park setup, the milder rides like HM and PotC, the character parades and just the general feel of the park. I can be perfectly happy going to MK to just walk around and soak in the ambience without setting foot on a ride.

Epcot has slipped back past AK to number 2 on my list now that the walls are coming down. World Showcase has always been a favorite with its food and shopping and now I feel I can venture back to the front of the park again. I am a little disappointed that they chose to remove my beloved Fountain of Nations for, what? A park area? I like the Moana water feature, but struggle to see what the new area outside of Connections really adds. Ah, well, it's still 2nd.

Animal Kingdom is great, but not great enough to be higher up on the list. I love the original aspects of the park (well, maybe not the dinosaur area so much), Kilimanjaro Safaris is always a delight, but Avatar has never felt like Disney to me. It's a beautiful addition, no doubt, but there's no draw to it for me. It'll be interesting to see what they do with the dinosaur area moving forward.

Hollywood Studios has just never spoken to me. I hoped that might change with Galaxy's Edge, as im a huge Star Wars fan. Alas, as much as I enjoy GE, it hasn't moved the needle on the park overall. Plus, maybe it's just me or bad timing, but it doesn't seem like characters are out roaming Batuu with nearly the frequency that they used to. Disappointing. Toy Story with its Midway Mania is a fun little area, too, but overall DHS is a distant 4th on my list.

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

SAFD: I absolutely agree with @camaker on the order of the parks, and mostly agree for the same reasons. I haven’t seen Epcot with the walls down yet, but am looking forward to doing that at PW in three weeks. For Hollywood, I do like the dining options better than AK’s, but I enjoy AK more overall (and there are good dining options there, too—Tiffins and Yak & Yeti in particular).

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD:
1. EPCOT
2. DHS
3. AK
4. MK

1. EP has always been my favorite park because it’s the least people-y and most relaxed. I have no interest at all in fighting crowds and rushing all over the place, and EP has never required that of me. Bonus points for relatively easy ability to hop to and from DHS or MK. More points for easy access to quiet resorts to take a break from the park. And more points for the Japan pavilion. And more for the new gardens. Huge bonus points for July 4th fireworks. With GOTG added in, it’s cemented itself into the top spot for the foreseeable future.

2. I’ve always enjoyed MGM/DHS, but the addition of Galaxy’s Edge really put it high on my list. On uncrowded days, it’s equal to EP in my rankings - it only gets notched down because when it is crowded, it’s nearly unbearable. High points for All Things Star Wars, TOT, easy accessibility to EP and resorts for more food options, and the Brown Derby. Love the old Hollywood theme. Bring back SWW and it could share the #1 spot with EP.

3. TIGERS. TIGERS. TIGERS. And the Safari. And otters. Also hippos. High marks for ambient music and incredibly detailed theming. Deductions for the hot, crowded mess that is Pandora - I like the area, but can’t ever seem to find it uncrowded enough to enjoy. Deductions too for the most miserable walk back to my car, though that’s improved a bit with the return of trams.

4. I know it’s a controversial ranking, but here’s my hot take: there's only one ride to draw me - TRON - and the place is almost never relaxed and un-people-y anymore. I’ll do other rides while I’m there, but I don’t go there specifically to ride them: it’s more of a “Well, I’m here, so I may as well ride XYZ…” When WDW first reopened after the COVID closure, I went to MK and only did outdoor rides and it was AMAZING! First time in a couple decades that I could hear the ambient music and actually see the place as it’s designed to be seen - NOT through a wall of taller people’s bodies. Major deductions for lack of seating. More deductions for the effort required to get there by car. And more for food options.

 

[marty3d]

SAFD: Other than MK, this is always the most difficult question (other than - what’s your favorite attraction?). So here is my list with the caveat that it’s only valid at this moment in time and I could change my mind by this afternoon.

MK - Disneyland was my local park and the first amusement park/ theme park I can remember going to when I was a kid. So Magic Kingdom will always win because of its similarities to DL.

HS - I know - maybe not a popular choice - but I love old Hollywood and the addition of GE adds even more to a park I already loved. I could spend all day walking around this park and never ride an attraction (other than ToT of course) and still have a great day.

Epcot - World Showcase and the food/ drinks.

AK - This isn’t last because I don’t like the park - I really enjoy it and Everest is one of my favorite attractions. I think it’s distance from everything else and no monorail/ skyliner or ability to walk to the park (like HS/Epcot from the crescent lake resorts) means this is the one we usually skip when we don’t have a lot of park days. Alos agree with @camaker , Avatar does nothing for me.

I’m all in on the March Madness theme for SAFD.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

SAfD:

Epcot
MK
AK
Studios

As an adult, I love Epcot. It has a lot going for it, especially now without the water tacos needed for Harmonious.

MK because it has the classic rides. Y’all can keep Tron. I’ll hit up Fantasyland and Adventureland.

AK because it’s so unique. I love the birds show and the Safari. Just don’t ask me to go on FoP again .

Studios for reasons already mentioned. It’s way too crowded and it doesn’t have many rides to suck up the crowds. I missed RnRC last year at Princess because it was down for refurbishment, and it’s down again this year

 

[Herding_Cats]

SAFD:
When really being forced to think about it, this is a tougher choice than I anticipated for 1 & 2.

MK--because it's not really a Disney trip if we don't go see the castle and watch HEA
Epcot--because of its more relaxed pace and places to just "hang out." Oh, and Guardians.
These could be flipped depending on the weather and if it's a kids or no-kids trip or if there's a festival going on.

AK--also because of it's relaxed atmosphere. But this park just doesn't have enough things to do IMO.
HS--it's always unbearably busy and crowded, and generally feels worse than MK, probably due to the more narrow walkways

 

[camaker]

Ok, we've had 5 SAFD responses so far and only 1 response to the straw poll portion. Is this a TL;DR situation for the original post or do people not have an opinion one way or the other?

 

[nancipants]

SAFD:

Caveat: we are locals and this greatly affects our rankings.

1. Epcot. That’s easy. It’s the park we go to most often and the best to just “hang out.” My son loves the playground, the trains in Germany, and the drums in Africa. We love the festival booths. The new gardens are amazing to just sit and chill.

2. Hollywood Studios. We love Star Wars. lol. Also my son loves Toy Story and taking him on Slinky Dog and Aliens is always a fun time.

3. Animal Kingdom. Pandora is spectacular and Flight of Passage is a life changing experience.

4. Magic Kingdom. It’s the worst park to get to as a local. But it’s fun while we’re there.



Straw poll: yes!

 

[Naomeri]

SAFD:

1) MK—a big part of why I go to Disney is for the magic, and feeling like a kid again, and Magic Kingdom just does that for me. As soon as I walk under the train station and look up Main Street to the castle, I start to feel better.

2) Epcot—I like that Epcot isn’t all about rides (although I love Guardians, Remy, and SE) and I can just walk around and look at stuff, especially during Flower & Garden.

3) HS—I like all the different themed areas that HS has

4) AK—look, I love FoP and Everest, and would ride them all day long if I could, but the rest of AK is kind of boring to me. I like Safari, but the line is usually long by the time I get there, and I don’t necessarily want to use a LL on it. I like the animal walks, but they get a little crowded for me sometimes, and I rarely want to spend my time on them, so AK becomes a half day park at best.

Straw poll: sure, sounds like fun

 

[Baloo in MI]

SAFD:

My ranking would be -
1) Magic Kingdom
2) Epcot
3) Animal Kingdom
4) Hollywood Studios

For me there is nothing like walking down Main Street just as the park opens, morning air, music playing, lots of excitement, smelling the bakery; just the best feeling in the world for me. MK is the only park I can simply walk through without going on any rides, snacks, etc and just be happy being in the moment.

Epcot and AK are pretty close for me both are themed so well (ignoring Dinoland), both have dining my family loves. AK has the Safari, favorite ride in the park. But Epcot has Guardians Cosmic Rewind, so it wins!

HS is my least favorite, and by a lot. I like Star Wars and some of the rides are really fun, but overall the park feels disjointed to me and the least Disney like. Ironically the attraction I enjoy the most there is the Walt museum and show.

Count me in the idea of a March Madness for Disney rides. Great idea!

 

[RuntheMouse]

SAFD:

1.EPCOT (Always and forever)
2.AK (Animals! )
3.HS (Food and Star Wars)
4.MK (So.many.people)

Yes to WDW March Madness!

 

[PrincessV]

Ok, we've had 5 SAFD responses so far and only 1 response to the straw poll portion. Is this a TL;DR situation for the original post or do people not have an opinion one way or the other?

Sorry - for me I think it was an “only had 1 cup of coffee when I posted and forgot the 2nd question by the time I was done lacerating MK”

I have no opinion on the straw poll and will happily add my vote to the majority!

 

[PrincessV]

I’m interested in knowing how much local vs. non-local influences opinions… I didn’t think about it until @nancipants mentioned it, but I’m a semi-local, too, and MK is very much a BT/DT, don’t need to visit more than a couple times a year now park to me. I mostly only ever end up there if friends from out of town are there and I want to see them.

ETA: I also think my opinion on MK is influenced greatly by the reservation and hopping restrictions of the past couple years. I may enjoy it more now that I can hop in and out at any time because MK has never been more than a 2-3 hours at a time, tops, park for me.

 

[LorrieAnn5]

I'm down for March Madness Disney style. Sounds fun!

 

[1lilspark]

SAFD
First yes would enjoy the March madness format

Actual question again like a few others with a locals bias

Epcot
Studios
Animal
Magic

If I wasn’t a local it probably would be different but that shlep from TTC is the nail in the coffin for me especially pre trams returning if I wasn’t with family members who have handicap placards

 

[nancipants]

If I wasn’t a local it probably would be different but that shlep from TTC is the nail in the coffin for me especially pre trams returning if I wasn’t with family members who have handicap placards

It's the worst! A few times we've made reservations at Grand Floridian Cafe and walked over to MK afterward, which is nice, especially with the stroller.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

SAFD: A sometimes-local vote here and I feel like I'm continuing the trend.

1. Epcot. I love the festivals, I love Voices of Liberty, and I love Guardians of the Galaxy.

2. Animal Kingdom. I did have a hard time deciding between AK and DHS for 2/3. But in the end AK won out because it seems a little less crowded and it's a nicer park to walk around in with a wider variety of food options. Highlights: Everest, Flight of Passage, safari.

3. Hollywood Studios. I've gotten a little blasé about it now, but the first time I went to Galaxy's Edge was really cool. DHS also has some of my favorite rides, including Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Toy Story Mania (although I do hate walking through Toy Story land which always seems super crowded). And I like saying hi to Gertie.

4. Magic Kingdom. So. many. people. SO MANY. Just way too crowded for me. Not that I mind a MK day - there are some major classics there - but dealing with the crowds is just not worth it for me most days. And you can't even walk around the park with a beer, which for me would make the crowds more tolerable.

Straw poll: I would play