Input on Disney races please

My dream vacation is to meet the mouse -- I've never been to Disney World and dang it, I wanna go! I also saw that they do a half every year and a full marathon at a different time every year...I set my goal of doing a full marathon for 2012 and thought about combining my trip to Disney plus the marathon into one huge memorable experience -- thoughts on this?

or if i opted for the half next year, what is the course like? is it flat?

reason I ask: we have a full marathon here each year but the hills are unreal (this was also the course for my half i did earlier this year)..even after the race, the full marathon winner commented to the press about how crazy the hills were...i just don't know if i want that for my first full marathon.

Have you ran at Disney??

I ran my first marathon at Disney World in 2009.  It was awesome.  I had never been to Disney and January is obviously a great time to go.  I actually never had any interest in going to Disney.  Not a big one for crowds.  I had to twist my wifes arm to get her to go with me.  We went down two days early and stayed till Tuesday.  The whole experience is great.  You meet so many others runners, they have an excellent expo, cater meals to runners, and the parks are fairly empty.   We didn't have to wait at any of the parks.  The biggest problem was trying not to overdue it prior to the actual marathon.  I would love to go back and run it again.  It is a nice flat course with tons of volunteers.  Being my first marathon I will say I didn't enjoy the time after the marathon as much since we still we wanted to hit some parks, and I was very sore. 

I would definitely say go for it.  Enjoy it and have yourself some fun.
Rob

I would say go for it and have fun.
However you need to decide early, because I have heard from several that it is so popular that it sells out very quickly.

Good luck and have fun.

I am a huge disney geek so when I decided that I was going to run a marathon, disney had to be it.  I ran the marathon in '07 and did the Goofy in '08 and '09.  The Goofy in the half on Saturday followed by the full on Sunday.  They also have a half in October for the wine and food festival at Epcot.  Do a search for Disney Marathon and you can find all their races.  Right now for next January's races, the half is 50% full and the goofy is 60% full.  They typically sell out more quickly but with the economy and inflated prices, it has been slow.  When I did the Goofy in '08, it sold out in about 11 days - a full year in advance.

The course is overall flat but don't be fooled by some simple overpasses.  They can be a killer.  The race is just great because there is always something to keep you going.  Whether it's the parks, bands or thousands of people around you. 

When I go, I stay for about 8 nights.  We get there on Thursday and have the races on the weekend.  We will stay for about 5 nights after that to do the parks.  Once you pay for the transportation, what's another few hundred bucks to make in into a really nice and long trip.

I have all my disney race reports on the link in my signature line.  I forgot to mention the characters.  Tons of those also.  Have fun.

I'm another Disney junkie.  I ran the half in 2008 and came back for the full in 2009.  January is a great time of year to see Disney World.  The crowds are minimal and the weather is generally mild.  To save your legs for the marathon, I'd recommend scheduling the trip so you tour the parks after the run.  Just make sure you get yourself into an ice bath after the race to promote recovery.

Cassie