Marathon Weekend 2025

[RuntheMouse]

We are [more than likely] going to be without a room for part of the day TWICE on this trip, and we are going to be over a 1/4 mile from bell services. I'm going to talk myself in circles about this, and do my usual price-stalking unless anyone has a better idea that won't include schlepping my luggage around the whole resort.

Bell services will come to your room and pick up your luggage and then bring it to you when you get into your new room. No schlepping required!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

OK, I have to ask about staying at most of the Disney resorts:
Is everyone staying at them shelling out some serious $$$, or smarter about reservations than I am?
When I look at places like Polynesian, BW, POR, Swan/Dolphin, etc., I see prices that are over $300/night on up to $1000 per night.
Pop and the All-Stars are the only resorts that (to me) are halfway affordable.

Am I doing something wrong? I welcome any advice in this department.

For us we just pay it - I know going in I’m probably paying rack, discounts will likely be blacked out, and it just is what it is. I’m not DVC and don’t like renting - neither really fit with our needs (mainly the booking process and limited flexibility), although frankly we could have saved a lot of money over the years if I had taken a different approach on the topic.

Of course there are cheaper options around but I like what I like when it comes to the resorts and it’s just something we budget for. While we do other things besides Disney, WDW is where much of our vacation $ goes to and ‘deluxe’ type lodging everywhere is really expensive. Not apples to apples at all but we priced out a 30A beachfront rental recently and it made my WDW trips look cheap.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Rental car prices are always eye-popping this far out. Every time that I've rented a car, they start out stupid high, come down to an "I could stomach this"price, and then prices real start dropping about 4-6 weeks out. I wouldn't give up on getting a rental car.

Oh for sure. I've also found, on occasion, that if I book it almost a year out, it can be ridiculously cheap. The number of cancellation and (re)booking emails I have for rental cars every year for MW are silly. But at the same time, if I could "solve" this problem, there's no way we would spend the ~$300 for a car for 8 days on ride-shares when we can just use the busses for almost everything.

Bell services will come to your room and pick up your luggage and then bring it to you when you get into your new room. No schlepping required!

Right. But we will almost certainly have groceries for one of the split days, if not both, and bell services has rules about refrigerated stuff at this point. We usually buy a $6 styrofoam cooler if we have a lot of "needs cold" stuff because it doesn't all fit in a studio mini fridge. But maybe I need to consider not ordering groceries until Thursday to save that step one time, and because we will have a full-size fridge in the 2br.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

SAFD a week late and under the wire on the next topic: Prefer on-site and I tend to like monorail resorts for a race weekend, ideally a room with a theme park view. CR is probably my favorite (Poly would be my favorite resort but tiki beverages are too tempting for a race weekend). We’re fortunate to go to WDW with some frequency so race weekends often mean more resort or balcony time, less park time. To me, nothing beats the vacation kingdom vibe of the Seven Seas Lagoon / Bay Lake Area, maybe catch Happily Ever After from the balcony (if not already in bed, lol), the monorail transportation has worked well for the half and full (knock on wood). Plus convenient access to different dining options around the monorail resorts and WL/FW now that the boat is back in the afternoons/evenings. Also plenty of ways to stay moving/walking during the day.

 

[GollyGadget]

Because rental cars are crazy priced, and I guessed the wrong "return" time for the rental car I currently have booked through costco (unless the return time doesn't really mean anything as long as I'm not returning later than I picked up the car?) Clear as mud, I'm sure

Every time I’ve rented a car, it’s a 24 hour rate. For example, if I pick it up at 9am and return it by 9am the next day, that’s only one day. However, if I don’t return the car until 10a, all of a sudden I’m at two days when it’s only an hour difference. For this reason, I always pick whatever that 24 hr interval would be and return the car before that. A lot of times this means returning my car the evening before it’s actually due.

Not sure if that’s what you were asking, but hopefully it helps with your planning.

 

[Zutroy]

Of course there are cheaper options around but I like what I like when it comes to the resorts and it’s just something we budget for. While we do other things besides Disney, WDW is where much of our vacation $ goes to and ‘deluxe’ type lodging everywhere is really expensive. Not apples to apples at all but we priced out a 30A beachfront rental recently and it made my WDW trips look cheap.

If you want to make Disney prices seem reason, take up skiing as a hobby. A single day lift ticket at Vail, Steamboat, or Beaver Creek is $300. A ski-in, ski-out hotel room will run $600-$800 a night, but they had a suite if you were feeling fancy for $14,000 a night! It’s always great to have a false equivalent to justify a park view room at the Contemporary.

 

[Cabius]

OK, I have to ask about staying at most of the Disney resorts:
Is everyone staying at them shelling out some serious $$$, or smarter about reservations than I am?
When I look at places like Polynesian, BW, POR, Swan/Dolphin, etc., I see prices that are over $300/night on up to $1000 per night.
Pop and the All-Stars are the only resorts that (to me) are halfway affordable.

Am I doing something wrong? I welcome any advice in this department.

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention earlier --

We've stayed at Shades of Green a few times when traveling with my father (USN, Retired). It's an AMAZING value for the largest hotel rooms on property and a fantastic location.

Obviously the vast majority of guests don't have that option, but if you qualify, or have close friends/family who qualify, it's worth exploring! In our case, we paid for my parents' entire trip, and it was still less expensive than if we'd paid cash rates at the Poly. (This wouldn't be true for shorter stays, but for a week+ the per-night hotel room savings outweigh the extra cost of flights and park tickets -- especially since we also got discounted military-rate park tickets through my Dad.)

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

If you want to make Disney prices seem reason, take up skiing as a hobby. A single day lift ticket at Vail, Steamboat, or Beaver Creek is $300. A ski-in, ski-out hotel room will run $600-$800 a night, but they had a suite if you were feeling fancy for $14,000 a night! It’s always great to have a false equivalent to justify a park view room at the Contemporary.

Lol... as a Coloradoan...Vail resorts are so expensive. Season passes are the way to go... never buy a single day lift ticket... I have now switched to Copper ski resort, buy one adult season passes and get the kids pass free Best deal. But yeah skiing is expensive...

 

[Herding_Cats]

Every time I’ve rented a car, it’s a 24 hour rate. For example, if I pick it up at 9am and return it by 9am the next day, that’s only one day. However, if I don’t return the car until 10a, all of a sudden I’m at two days when it’s only an hour difference. For this reason, I always pick whatever that 24 hr interval would be and return the car before that. A lot of times this means returning my car the evening before it’s actually due.

Not sure if that’s what you were asking, but hopefully it helps with your planning.

Right. That is my understanding as well, but I cannot remember if the rate was different when I had it at the full 24hrs. Right now I have a “premium” car booked through Alamo for $358(which is about what we paid last year, although that included NYE.) So we can skip the counter, etc which definitely has value.

Uber/car care center rental is also an option but I dont necessarily want to tie up vacation hours with rental car lines/shuttles to save $150

 

[RuntheMouse]

If you want to make Disney prices seem reason, take up skiing as a hobby. A single day lift ticket at Vail, Steamboat, or Beaver Creek is $300. A ski-in, ski-out hotel room will run $600-$800 a night, but they had a suite if you were feeling fancy for $14,000 a night! It’s always great to have a false equivalent to justify a park view room at the Contemporary.

Lol... as a Coloradoan...Vail resorts are so expensive. Season passes are the way to go... never buy a single day lift ticket... I have now switched to Copper ski resort, buy one adult season passes and get the kids pass free Best deal. But yeah skiing is expensive...

Don’t forget the food & drink prices up there too. Eye opening for sure!

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Don’t forget the food & drink prices up there too. Eye opening for sure!

Ohh I forget about that since we pack lunches always... lol.

 

[Zutroy]

Don’t forget the food & drink prices up there too. Eye opening for sure!

Me: I’ll be smart and buy groceries instead of paying $35 for a terrible burger.

Isolated ski town: Haha, go ahead.

 

[camaker]

Good afternoon RunDisney All-Stars! Welcome to this week's edition of Sundays are for Disney (SAFD). This week, let's talk about one of a runner's favorite topics: shoes. Everyone has different wants and needs from their shoes, so what are your go-to model(s)? Do you have different shoes for different types of runs? Do you rotate? Between models or within a model? If it's shoe related, it's fair game for this week's SAFD.

SAFD: I'm pretty simple with my approach to shoes. I've got self-proclaimed "Princess feet" that are finicky about what I can run in. So, for me, it's Brooks Ghosts for all my runs. Races, long runs, slow runs, tempo runs, it doesn't matter. I do, typically, have two pairs in service at one time and rotate between them to ensure they're "fresh" for the day's run. It used to be the Glycerin in that slot for me, but Brooks broke them with the 15s, making them too soft. I dread the day when they do that to the Ghosts and I have to find a replacement.

 

[RuntheMouse]

SAFD: I have become very loyal to ASICS. I am currently running in 3 different pairs of Novablast 3 and 1 pair of gel Nimbus 25. I usually only give the Nimbus 1 run a week, a base or recovery, and the Novablast get the rest, they are my favorite! I do have a pair of Hoka Rincon 3 that are about on their last leg, it is the only Hoka I ever got on board with besides the Mach 4, RIP. I waited too long to replace them and now they’ve totally changed the new model so no more Hoka for me.

 

[Herding_Cats]

SAFD:
I’ve been team new balance 1080 for a few years, but they are making them softer than they used to, so I’m starting to think about what might be next once my current 5 pairs are dead. I also have a pair of NB supercomp trainers that are sooooo bouncy, which I love, but try to save for race-like efforts because they are plated. I also need a wide to avoid blister and toenail issues, and like pretty colors; it makes things difficult because most wides only come in black/white.


I have some weirdness on my left Achilles, that a lot of heel cups irritate. That means I have tried on several shoes that sounded nice but ended up not working because of the irritation. (DS2 has a new pair of saucony rides coming this week that I’m going to test run as we have the same size foot.)

Things that I can’t wear: NB 880, ghosts, endorphin speeds, hyperions, most Nikes.

 

[lahobbs4]

SAFD: I've ran in Brooks ghost for years. They are fine but I know there is better out there

Q: I will take any and all recommendations for a shoe with extra cushion for under-pronating (supination)!!

 

[Naomeri]

SAFD: I have a few different shoes. Mostly, I run in ASICS Gel-Ventures. I have one pair of 7s, and a couple pair of 8s. I also have a pair of Saucony Canyons that I love. I rotate between shoes, never wearing the same pair 2 runs in a row. And for race weekends, I bring different shoes for each race, just in case it rains and my shoes get soaked or something

 

[Zutroy]

SAFD: For many years I just ran in one pair of shoes—the ASICS Gel Nimbus. I started with the Nimbus 9, and each year I just bought the new model. Then something pathological happened and I developed a serious shoe problem. My current rotation has retired race shoes for training (Vaporfly), flats for speed work (Sinister, A8, Zoom Streak 7), plated (Endorpin pro and speed), and easy day shoes (Superblast).

I think having a variety of shoes helps to develop different muscles and prevent injuries that come from structural imbalances. The Type A8 has a 1mm drop and 17 mm stack height, while the Superblast has a 45.5 mm stack height and 8 mm drop. Completely different experiences and road feel.

 

[stitchnj]

Shoes are my nemesis! I was Team Ghost for years and then had a foot injury when the version went too narrow. Switched to Nike zoomx invincible and then version 2 had QC issues and two pairs fell apart. Found out the hard way I can’t run in NB when I tripped and fell on two separate runs on those pointy toes. So the current shoe is On Cloudmonster. They’re ok.

 

[Cabius]

SAFD:

I have only ever run in Nike Pegasus Zoom shoes, though I do use arch support inserts. First running shoes I ever bought, and I like them well enough that I haven't bothered branching out.