Inside the 2026 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Experience

Lots of people start off the year with lofty exercise goals and new year’s resolutions. For our 2026 start, we are running a 5K together as a family - a goal we’ve had for some time but we were waiting for our youngest daughter to be old enough to compete.

Our first trip of the year started on a lucky (maybe magical!) whim. By chance, my husband got our entire family of 4 registered to run the 5K during Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. If you have ever signed up for a RunDisney event, you know how difficult it is to get 1 race registration, let alone get 4 people signed up in one fell swoop. Magic was definitely on our side, as this typically sells out in a matter of minutes. Or you have to employ some crazy strategy where you use multiple race profiles simultaneously (done that), enter the random queue, and hope you snag a race bib before it sells out. This has worked for some races but not others. But we didn’t need those skills this year… our goal of completing a family 5K is within reach this time.

RunDisney Hype and Cult Following

RunDisney has been around since January 1994, with the running of the first Walt Disney World marathon of that same year. Now they have expanded to host events throughout the year and at several parks, all featuring:

• Themed Disney races with custom logos
• Over-the-top entertainment, including pirate ships, marching bands, choirs, live music, and DJs
• Fireworks
• Character meet and greets
• Behind the scenes access since you get to run “backstage”
• Running through all 4 parks with rides open in the WDW marathon (whew!)
• Maybe an occasional Celebrity Sighting
• The forever coveted Disney Race medals

The first race I competed in was the WDW Marathon weekend 5K back in 2015. The medal was a plastic cutout logo then - plus a cotton race t-shirt. 

The medals (and races as a whole) have come a long way, now made of high quality, die-cast zinc-alloy, with movable characters and hidden details - all contributing to the race appeal and further increasing racer participation. Plus, your included race shirt is a branded, quick-dry technical tee or long-sleeve shirt. Now you can begin to understand the reason it sells out so quickly! People want that exclusive Disney merch.

The Race Expo

It’s madness.

That’s all I have to say. (kinda, haha)

You and your closest friends (all 30,000 of them) wait in a really long line at ESPN Wide World of Sports, that painstakingly winds through 3 giant, 70,000+ sq. ft. buildings - all to grab your race bib. (Insert Scar’s song from The Lion King: “Be Prepared!”) 

There has to be a better way.

The only saving grace of this entire excruciating process is that there is a virtual queue for the Race Merch Building. At least RunDisney is flexing its crowd management skills for this one building. But 33% isn’t a passing grade in my book.

Tip: Go to the Expo after 4 pm when the lines are much shorter and the virtual queue has expired. Everything was still available to purchase later in the day, minus the Dopey merch which sells out within minutes.

The Races

WDW Marathon weekend brings in over 30,000 runners participating in one or all 4 of the races held during the 4-day weekend. If you are daring enough (insert other crazy adjectives here: Bold, Courageous, Daunting, etc.) to run the Dopey Challenge, you compete in ALL 4 races in 4 days:

• Thursday: 5K
• Friday: 10K
• Saturday: Half Marathon
• Sunday: Full Marathon

That’s 48.6 miles in 96 hours. My husband is a 2-time Dopey Challenge Finisher. Super proud of him for crushing this mind/body feat - and yes it’s Completely Dopey!

The Outfits

This is one of the most fun parts of the race: our family outfits. In years past, we’ve dressed up as the entire Finding Nemo crew and the Cars characters. We’ve even bounded Dopey, all the way down to the socks. This year we went with Toy Story.

People go all out! I’ve seen one guy dressed head to toe as Rafiki, even carrying the stick for the entire race. The sky’s the limit in this category! 

The Start Line

I know one deterrent for some people is that the races start extremely early in the morning. With the race starting around 5 am, that means you have to get up in the wee hours of the morning, get your costume on, fuel up, and get to the Epcot parking lot start line usually by 4 am. But hear me out… In true Disney fashion, one thing they always get right: fireworks. For each corral of each race, they shoot off fireworks! Not just at the start of each race - you get the excitement and official send-off for each corral! That means you get to feel like those elite Corral A runners, even if you are starting in the back. This is such a great feeling and a really magical way to start your race.

Post Race Fun

The finish line is where it’s at. It’s a huge party - announcers reading runner/walker’s names, a DJ, characters perched high on scaffolding waving to everyone - exhilarating fun! If you’ve ever considered running a Disney race, head to the finish line and you will get the inspiration you need to push you over to the yes column. The energy is palpable - I always get emotional watching people cross that finish line and witnessing the entire scene. Seeing their faces as they achieve one of their goals, tears, high fives, laughs, hugging, cheering… It’s an inspiring place to be. I’m really thankful that I got to compete this year with my whole family and achieved such an amazing goal together.

Once you are crowned the winner of your own personal race with that coveted Disney race medal, you can continue the party in the beer tent, have a dance party, buy more race weekend swag, and wait in line for character meet and greets. Some characters are even dressed in their best workout outfits. You don’t get those pictures anywhere else.

Family Disney 5K Wrapped

What a great weekend we had! This is just a small glimpse inside our experiences at a Disney race weekend. The memories we’ve created together as a family will forever be in our hearts, as we think back on the fun of crossing that finish line holding hands. Goal accomplished! However crazy (fun, tiring, exhilarating, inspirational) of an experience it is, it’s one we will cherish.