Disney Marathon Weekend Trip Report: 10K & Lightning Lane Multipass

Note: This trip report is divided into seven parts. This post is part four of my trip report visiting Walt Disney World for the 2025 Dopey Challenge at RunDisney Marathon Weekend.

1. Mears & Arrival
2. Bib Pick-up & Hollywood Studios
3. 5K & Epcot
4. 10K & Lightning Lane Multipass
5. Half Marathon & Hollywood Studios (Again)
6. The Big Race, Animal Kingdom, & Ohana Noodles
7. Check-out & One More Day of Park Hopping

My family's late arrival last night meant a late bedtime and 2 hours of sleep. The lack of sleep is a little disheartening because I have difficulty leaving the parks when I should, especially with my family.

My original plan for today was to visit Animal Kingdom after the 10K. I knew I could ride or visit most attractions early in the day and then go back to the hotel and sleep. My original plan was to visit Animal Kingdom on two different days because my wife loves Animal Kingdom. When alone, I could ride the attractions my family would want to skip and then return to the hotel early to catch up on sleep. However, with my family arriving a day early, I knew my kids would not want to spend two different days at Animal Kingdom. As an alternative, I suggested they go to early entry at Epcot to ride Remy's Ratatouille Adventure and Frozen since lightning lanes would be challenging to acquire during the rest of our trip. We then planned to go to Hollywood Studios, my kids' favorite park.

I wasn't feeling well this morning. The combination of races, park visits, and being around so many people made me susceptible to feeling bad. Your immune system is already vulnerable due to the increased activity, and I knew I needed to take it easier during the day to complete the remaining races over the weekend.

Like every morning on this trip, I woke up at 1:30 a.m. and had coffee. I'm somewhat surprised at how easy it has been to wake up so early. Many previous Dopey runners have stated that the most challenging part of the week was not the races but getting up early for so many consecutive days. While this is only my second of four days waking up in the middle of the night, it is the third morning of vacation. I expected to feel some level of resentment towards waking up this early. We'll see how I feel on Sunday.

The 10K course was an extension to the 5K course I ran yesterday, encompassing Epcot and adding a lap around the boardwalk. Since my family was staying in this area, my wife planned to cheer for me when I ran by the Beach Club.

I managed to get on the bus around 3:30 a.m. I was lucky to be in Corral A for all races, and 3:30 a.m. is the latest time I suggest getting on the bus if you are in an early corral. Once you exit the bus, it's a long walk to the starting line, and you should give yourself plenty of time to make it to your corral. Even with this time, I almost missed the close of my corral for the half marathon, but I'll talk about that in a different post.

I also discovered a good tip regarding gear bags I had never used before until this race. If you are unfamiliar with long-distance racing, not just Disney, most venues will provide a place for runners to store a bag of their possessions while running. The runner receives a sticker with a number and sticks it to the back of their bib. When they wish to retrieve their bag, they go to the truck and state their number. In yesterday's race, a few runners stated their sticker fell off their bib during the race. Therefore, they didn't know their gear number to retrieve their gear. While this has never happened to me, I wanted a backup plan to allow me to get my gear if I lost my sticker. Therefore, I started taking photos of my sticker. I also entered the truck and sticker numbers in my Notes app as a third solution. Storing my gear number in multiple ways provides significant peace of mind while running.

I've made a more concerted effort to stop for character photos this week. Last year, my goal was only to finish the marathon, but deep down, I wanted to finish in under four and a half hours. For me, four and a half hours was an aggressive goal for my first marathon, so I skipped most of the character stops. The only stop I remember was with Goofy, my favorite Disney character. This year, I got to stop for my Goofy photo during the 10K race.

After the race, I took the bus back to the hotel. While I showered, my family left for Epcot, and I met them at the parks around 30 minutes before early entry.

Today was an inefficient park day. I'm a planner and spend significant time ensuring our days are as fun and productive as possible. However, my family's arrival a day earlier than planned meant many attractions were already sold out of lightning lanes. I also couldn't utilize the lightning lanes I purchased for Animal Kingdom, where I originally planned to spend the day, because my family did not have lightning lanes for those rides.

While my family rode Frozen, I asked Guest Relations for a refund on my Lightning Lane Multipass, which I originally purchased for Animal Kingdom. I then purchased Lightning Lane Multipasses for Hollywood Studios. Slinky Dog Dash, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and Toy Story Mania were unavailable, so I chose Micky & Minnie's Runaway Railway, Tower of Terror, and something else I can't remember.

We took the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios and used our lightning lanes for Runaway Railway and Tower of Terror. We then ate lunch at ABC Commissary, where I had the California Burger and Arugula Farro salad. Like the other fake meat alternative burgers I've had, this burger was ok. But the Arugula Farro salad was excellent, and it was refreshing to have a side other than fries or tater tots.

While at lunch, I secured a lightning lane for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster for 4:45 p.m. It was still early afternoon. The ride had been down for the entire day but had recently opened, so we walked over to the ride, hoping for a short standby wait. Unfortunately, the line was longer than I was willing to wait, as my legs were starting to tire from the long day so far. I told my family I was exiting the line and returning to the hotel since we had the lightning lane for later in the day. Everyone agreed a mid-day break was a good idea.

Once I returned to the hotel, I took a 45-minute nap and then accompanied my youngest son to Stormalong Bay. Although the temperature outside was only 70 degrees Fahrenheit, it would not be warmer for the rest of the trip, so it was the best time to go to the pool. The water was heated, so it was enjoyable in the water, but the air outside was frigid. Therefore, we spent about an hour at the pool before returning to our room.

After Stormalong Bay, we took the Skyliner back to Hollywood Studios to ride the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. The lightning lane wait time was 10 to 15 minutes, but unfortunately, the ride went down once we got to the front of the line. When you want to go back to your room to sleep because you're running a half marathon early the following day, having the ride break down is a terrible outcome. But I wanted to ride the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster with my family because my kids had never been on it before, and I knew they would love it. So we waited 45 minutes until the ride opened.

Afterward, my kids asked if we could ride Rise of the Resistance since Lightning Lane Single passes were available. So, I booked them as we walked to Galaxy's Edge and hopped on Rise of the Resistance.

Finally, at 7:30 p.m., I took the boat back to the boardwalk area while my family remained at Hollywood Studios. I stopped at the Boardwalk Deli for dinner and then returned to the hotel for the night.

The half marathon is tomorrow, followed by another visit to Hollywood Studios.

• Total Steps for the day: 37,870 (94,319 total)
• Total Miles for the day: 19.53 (46.38 total)