Marathon Weekend 2025

[FFigawi]

SAFD: Celebrating after the races is a multi-day affair. Sunday is anything from Disney Springs to Jiko, depending on what we feel like. Monday is DATW. Tuesday ends the entire event on a high note at Victoria & Albert's.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

SAFD:
I've taken the habit of celebrating after each half marathon with a mimosa at a different restaurant.

So far I've done WBG, Homecomin', Whispering Canyon Café, GF Café and Cape May Café.

I'm not doing the Half at MW this year, only the 10k and Full. What will I do??

2 mimosas!

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

SAFD: I'm usually solo so I don't really do anything to celebrate except hit a park and allow myself to eat whatever I'm craving.

This!

 

[RunWI1265]

SAFD: The only consistent thing I've done post-race every marathon Sunday is watch the Packer game. Besides that I'm in either in Epcot or MK for the rest of the night.

 

[Psymonds]

Good afternoon RunDisney All-Stars! Welcome to this week's edition of Sundays are for Disney (SAFD). Registration for Marathon Weekend is largely done and dusted and we now enter that long wait for the event to arrive, so let's dream a bit. When you get done running your race(s), be they 5k, marathon, Dopey or anything in between, what's your favorite place to celebrate your accomplishment?

SAFD: This isn't really a great SAFD for me, as I'm usually there solo and don't do anything special to celebrate. Depending on how I feel, I'll generally chew and see if there are any appealing table service reservations available. This past year, I went into Epcot and had dinner at the Rose and Crown before heading back to rest up for DATW.

well... it's not my choice as the marathon day is my Wife's birthday. She has requested a certain dinner, but I will definitely have a shower and a beer before heading up to the MK to meet the rest of the fam.

 

[nancipants]

SAFD: I don't have any traditions yet. I've been considering where I want to eat after the marathon. It'll be my first marathon and my birthday, so I feel like I have to go all out! Of course, since it's my first marathon I have no idea how I'll feel afterward and I might want to crawl into a hole and die.

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD: Honestly, all I want to do after a race is chill and relax the rest of the day with NO commitments for anything special. For me, the race is the “celebration” - the culmination of the journey to get there. So once it’s done, I’m mentally done with it and ready to move on to whatever's next in my life, which may be laundry just as easily as going to a theme park. I’m boring like that lol! The best post-Dopey evening I ever had was when a friend brought me some takeout and we sat outside at a picnic table talking for a couple hours before I went to bed at 8pm.

 

[Herding_Cats]

SAFD: Honestly, all I want to do after a race is chill and relax the rest of the day with NO commitments for anything special.

Agree. As much as I like the idea of doing some big celebratory thing, once I'm done with a big race I want to have 0 expectations for myself for the rest of the day.

 

[kristenabelle]

Garden Grill the night of the weekend's big race (day-of the race, but at night...? lol) has been my new tradition. Shuffle over to Epcot and eat an entire bowl of mashed potatoes. Character interactions over there are the absolute best, too!

 

[PrincessV]

Agree. As much as I like the idea of doing some big celebratory thing, once I'm done with a big race I want to have 0 expectations for myself for the rest of the day.

Right?! For years, I planned and participated in these big group dinners to end a race weekend and truthfully, I was tired, hungry but also had little appetite, and internally really cranky. COVID really did me a solid by limiting my willingness to do anything social post-race because I discovered quickly that I’d really rather be alone with a TV lol!

 

[DisneyParrothead]

SAFD: I do small things to celebrate, though I did treat myself to a foot massage after the ten-miler last year. I'm considering a massage after I do the Fairytale Challenge next year. I haven't done a half since MW 2014, and I had to walk it because of injury. I had been planning a resort day between the 10K and half, but now I'm considering a resort day after the half so I don't have to hobble anywhere on a deadline. If I book a massage, I'll Uber to GF.

 

[Let's Get Kronk]

SAFD: My goals after the marathon are usually just to eat and drink everything. Lol. After Goofy in 2023 I did BOG at MK. The meal was nice enough but I didn't realize until we got to MK that the dinner was my only opportunity to drink. I had a couple cocktails during dinner and then we did castle pics at night, which was pretty cool. But I really just wanted to walk around with a beer and I couldn't at MK.

This past year for Dopey I was with my running group who flew in from all over the country and we did DATW in Epcot on Sunday together. It was perfect. I usually got a snack of sorts in each country and a drink and we just had the best time. Monday morning is medal pics in MK now and then usually one more park before I fly out that evening.

This year, I really want to make it a point to go to Beaches & Cream after the marathon. I've had it scheduled a couple times and cancelled it. It would be the perfect post-race meal before DATW.

 

[disneyrunnergrl]

Garden Grill the night of the weekend's big race (day-of the race, but at night...? lol) has been my new tradition. Shuffle over to Epcot and eat an entire bowl of mashed potatoes. Character interactions over there are the absolute best, too!

I love this! I’ve always wanted to try Garden Grill, but usually go to Epcot during festivals and want to eat at the food booths. With no festival going on I wouldn’t feel like I was missing out on food booths and would be hungry enough for a big meal! I don’t know if I’d make it until dinner though…

 

[AJollyHoliday]

I have not done the Disney marathon and won't be doing it this year, but I usually do the 10k and half. Post 10k, we don't usually do anything in particular. Maybe eat in the room then head off to Epcot because we can take our time, chill in the DVC lounge, and then eat a great dinner. For post 1/2 celebration, we usually try to eat breakfast some place fun. Typically it was 1900 Park Fare because it was one of the best breakfast buffets and it had Mary Poppins. I am so sad that with the reopening, she will not be there. This past princess race, we did breakfast at Boma because we were at AKL Kidani. For our dinner, we usually are in MK for the day and so eat at Skipper Canteen or we may hop over to Epcot for another special dinner. I have to think through what we want to do this year.

 

[superchime]

SAFD: After making and cancelling so many reservations I finally realized I am also in the "no commitment" camp. My post-race dinner usually ends up being vegan fish and chips from the Rose and Crown bar.

 

[jrsharp21]

SAFD: I don't have any big celebration after the runs are completed. On Sunday, after the marathon, I usually meet up with my family at Epcot and it turns into eating around the world. My family likes to torture me and they usually in the very back of World Showcase when I arrive back at the park. By the time I get to them, I have usually stopped at four or five food stands. For whatever reason, I always have to have one of those giant donuts. LOL.

 

[The Expert]

Tuesday ends the entire event on a high note at Victoria & Albert's.

It kills me they are still closed on Sundays and Mondays! But DH and I were talking this weekend, and I think we may extend our MW trip into a full vacay for him starting in 2026. This would definitely be the plan!

The only consistent thing I've done post-race every marathon Sunday is watch the Packer game.

How could I forget the NFL games?! This is going to be borderline TMI, but after my first marathon (2020), the Chiefs were playing a playoff game that afternoon against the Titans. Plan was to clean up just enough, get some food and watch, then later do a recovery soak in the (BWV 1-bed) tub or pool time. We were losing bad at the half, so I ran the tub, figuring I could still keep an eye on the game on the bedroom TV. WE CAME BACK AND WON!

Do you see where this is going??

Next week, another playoff game, we're behind at the half. So I got in the tub at home! Thankfully I could see a TV from in there. WE CAME BACK AND WON! iirc they didn't need tub help for the championship, but I spend the fourth quarter of our first Super Bowl in 50 years in the tub AND WE WON! Call me superstitious, but hey, it worked!

 

[Cabius]

SAFD: Marathon Weekend is the anchor of a long annual family trip (this year, we're there until 17th). So in a way I celebrate by spending another week at the parks afterwards with my family of six!.

But immediately after races are completed, we usually just hang out at the Poly. I can rest by the pool while the kids swim, eat some nice food, and enjoy the overall ambience. A welcome, relaxing day or bliss... before we start rope-dropping again the next morning!

 

[XoxoAmy]

SAFD: My usual post race tradition is to get the grapefruit cake at Hollywood Brown Derby (usually with an espresso martini). I'm very much a chocolate person, but this grapefruit cake is probably the best dessert I've ever had. Anywhere. I love it so much. I try to get a reservation at HBD but if I can't I go to the HBD lounge right when they open at 11. If I'm hungry I'll also get the famous cobb salad - it's so good.

 

[DHSsenior007]

SAFD: I've only done a few rD halves (half's?), including the cancelled one in 2017 when we DIY'ed it around the EP resorts. We already had ADRs for V&As that night, so we still enjoyed that meal. Other times we have done different things, including a fun night at Trader Sam's. Neither V&As nor Trader Sam's will be on the agenda for me after the marathon, though, as we'll have our 20-month-old with us. Will have to think of good toddler-friendly options!