My first Walt Disney World race - the Springtime Surprise 2025 10k!! The 10k was on a Saturday,…read moreearly morning start time at 5:00 A.M EST in early April! Packet pick-up was required prior to the race day. The Health and Fitness Expo was located at the ESPN World Wide Complex in Disney World. The 10k was hosted in Epcot. My mom and I left our hotel around 3:30 A.M. The traffic wasn't too bad and we were able to get a parking spot around 4:20 A.M. The parking lot was starting to get full though! There was plenty of cast members helping runners get to the starting line. Each section had a different start coral. The corals for the Springtime Surprise 10k race was from A-F. I ended up getting in the E coral! Unfortunately, I didn't realize they release in several waves for the race. I ended up getting towards the middle of the E coral! Even though the race started at 5:00 A.M, the E Coral didn't get released until around 5:40 A.M! The course initially started on the roads going into Epcot for the first 2 miles, and then by mile 3 you were inside the Epcot theme park! The race took you through Epcot and then along boardwalk where there are multiple Disney themed hotels, and then back into Epcot to finish the race! The Springtime Surprise 2025 was superhero themed, and one of my favorite movies, Hercules, was the theme for the 10k! There were so many photo opportunities on this race with Hades, The Muses, Merida, and so much more! I didn't stop for photos as I didn't want to get swept! I finished the 10k race! Hercules was the theme for the medal. Rundisney provided a meal box to go for a recovery meal, which also included a banana and water bottle. There were also food trucks in the parking lot too! I had so much fun at the RunDisney Springtime Surprise 2025! Hopefully I'll be able to register for the 2026 race!

This is the first full Marathon that I've ran, and my friends and I agree that Disney should make a…read morecouple changes. First off, fix the bottle neck getting into the parking lot of Epcot where it started. Even though we left at 2:30 a.m. and we're only half an hour away we didn't arrive in till 4:30am the Epcot parking lot. They had hundreds of cars squeeze into turning lanes and allowed vehicles to illegally drive up on the grass and cut people off even though security vehicles were right there. We saw runners dangerously jump out of their vehicles and run in and out of traffic to get to their starting corrals at 5:00 a.m. without any security guards stopping them. It would be nice if instead of having everybody arrive at 5:00 a.m. if they would tell you specifically that different corral start at different times. Are corral which was "H" didn't start until 6:00 a.m. which is an hour later. Also most of the course was not spent in the parks, but the majority of the race was spent running on city streets or back roads. And since the park opened early for visitors who had early access so those looking to take pictures with characters had to wait in a longer queue with those who were already in the park. So if you wanted to get a good run time not only did you have to wait in line but now you have to wait in line with Disney guests as well. Don't get me started on the bathrooms, there were only about a dozen or so Portable restrooms available every 5 miles or so. They were extremely crowded and did not have hand washing stations which cut into the minimum pace of 16 minutes per mile. A lot of people lost good pacing/racing time waiting for the toilets. I can't honestly say that I had fun on this race since most of the time we were funneled into narrow spaces, had to face hot temperature and high humidity and people's racing etiquette was atrocious. People disgarded what they were wearing in the middle of the street, causing a tripping hazard, instead of on the side to be collected. Banana peels were thrown on the pavement causing people to nearly trip, and people constantly threw ice on the floor which is a slipping hazard. I saw multiple people trip over street cones or pavement reflectors and no one offered to help. We found this race to be the opposite of what Disney should be. The only pros were seeing the characters along the way and the good people who cheered us on and/or played music (such as the many bands we saw). I felt this race was poorly organized, regardless of the weather which was out of their control they should plan for more restrooms, more water breaks when they know it's high humidity, and better overall organization of the course itself so runners don't have to funnel into a narrow corral behind walkers, and get stuck, or visa versa. People were literally stepping on each other's shoes near the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom routes. This year's course is the 1st time in 20 years that marathon runners could race through blizzard beach which would have been a treat to all runners but due to weather and safety a lot of runners were diverted away I heard.

I had such an amazing experience at the Disney Wine & Dine 2025 Half Marathon race. I had…read moreregistered for the 5k which was on a Friday morning at 5:00 A.M! My mom also ran the race with me! The flight was from Las Vegas to Orlando Florida. We ended up going to the Expo hall on Thursday, a few hours after it had opened around 1:00 P.M. We were also able to get into the virtual queue for the official RunDisney Merchandise and Brooks Shoes. This year's 5k theme was Mulan! Mulan was one of my favorite Disney movies growing up. I was super excited! The Bib and shirt pickup was at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The first stop was to pick up the bib. There was a queue line. It took us approximately 20 minutes to get our bib. There were a few photo ops with characters, but the wait time was about an hour each. After picking up our bib, we had decided to go get the shirts in the Expo Hall. It was super busy inside, but we had no issues getting our RunDisney 5k shirts. There were lots of vendors inside the Expo Hall. You could easily spend a few hours just shopping at all of the vendor booths! The 5k race was on a Friday morning. We drove to Epcot and parked in the parking lot. The walk to the start line wasn't too long. You did have to go through a security check and then walk over to the starting Corral. I was placed in E and my mom was in F. I ended up running the race in Corral F! We ended up not starting the race until 5:40! There were plenty of character picture opportunities throughout the race though! The path ran directly through Epcot and the World Showcase, ending very close to the start of the race! Afterwards, RunDisney provided a snack box and drinks! There were some food trucks too! I'm looking forward to seeing the RunDisney calendar release for 2026! Hopefully I'll be able to register for this race again!

It was in 2016 I signed up for a Disney race...and I didnt go because work was busy. And I…read moreregretted it since. So, when I started working out again, I remembered the Disney race and signed up for the half marathon in Disney World. I didn't know what to expect...but I was ready for the challenge. I arrived in Orlando on Friday afternoon...too late to go to the expo so I went to pick up my bib and check out the expo as soon as it opened on Saturday. The line to pick up my bib wasn't too long so it didn't take longer than 15 min to get my bib and pick up my shirt, but I took some time to check out all the vendors. Then, there's a whole other part with the Disney race merchandise. Since it was the last day, there wasn't much variety. For my accommodations, I stayed on property...best planning ever since Disney arranged for shuttles to get you to and from the expo and the start and finish lines, so I didn't have to worry about transportation (if you've never been to Disney World, it is HUGE). Not to mention, they had tables set up for the finishers at the hotel to be able to get a celebration button...after all, we just ran a half marathon. The race path was great and not so bad for a beginner runner as it's mostly flat ground and the weather wasn't too cold or hot. The race goes through Epcot and Hollywood Studios, so you get to see the parks "after hours". Disney knows how to entertain as they had characters throughout the course (yes, people would wait in line for a picture) and had various types of musicians throughout the course...plus many employees would be in the parks cheering us on. Added bonus, if you had to use the bathroom, the bathrooms in the park by the race path were open so you didn't have to use the portopotty. Overall, it's a fun experience and worth the money for the registration fee.

*Pre-race* Get to the staging area early if you want to take…read morepre-race photos with the Star Wars characters. For their inaugural year, they had Boba Fett, Jabba, Darth Maul, Darth Vader, Captain Phasma, BB-8, Rathtar, and First Order Stormtroopers. There will be cast members there to warn you when it's time to shut down the character lines and for the runners to start heading to the corrals. Runners are not released to the corrals until the time specified in the runner's guide. You are surrounded by a perimeter of portapotties while you wait. Off to the side of the corrals are a line of portapotties in case you need to go again right before the race. *The course* This is a point to point race course that starts from Epcot and finishes at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. Along the way you'll run through Hollywood Studios before running on some roads, highways, and even half a mile of dirt road as you head towards the finish line. The dirt road section was pretty cool since it also had a lot of tree covering. You could pretend that you're running on Endor. *Post-race* They give you a bottle of water, a bottle of Powerade, a banana, and a snack box. You can also take a picture in front of a backdrop. In case you missed the photo opportunities before the race, they've transported all of the dioramas and the characters to the finish line. If you stayed on Disney Resort, find the number that corresponds to your hotel and get in line for a shuttle. They also have shuttles back to Epcot if you've parked at the start. *Overall* If you're a fan of Star Wars and remotely interested in running, you should definitely run this race, the half marathon, or both as The Dark Side Challenge! It's actually pretty cool to see some of your fellow runner's costumes. Some people are really creative! I'm planning to run this race as often as possible!

I ran my first Disney half marathon this past weekend and it was quite the experience! From start…read moreto finish, there were lots of different emotions. Let me break it down for ya... The Good: - In true Disney fashion, the organization was impressive. I arrived at the Expo the afternoon before the race and it didn't feel crowded, taking about 20 minutes to get through the entire process. - I stayed at the All Star Sports resort which was great for snagging transportation to/from the race on the shuttles. They even had coffee and concessions open at 3:00 am for the runners! - There were a couple of bands and some speakers playing Disney tunes along the way. A good excuse to turn off my headphones and tune into my surroundings. The Great: - I got my best time on a half marathon yet! Mostly due to the cold I'm sure, but I was also in Corral B so didn't have too many people to weave through. - Snacks at the end were clutch, with lots of water and Powerade provided. Water and Powerade were also available throughout the race at regular intervals by so many volunteers who I applaud! - The medal is super cute! There were also photo opps at the end with certain characters like Dopey, Goofy and Donald, the race mascots. - The fireworks at the start of each corral was a pleasant surprise! - It's fun to see how into the race and theme people get with their attire. Whether you want to wear a princess tutu or go full out in a costume, you'll see a little bit of everything! The Meh: - $188 entry fee and no, that doesn't get you entry into the park afterwards like some would assume. - The race starts at 5:30 am and they said you have to be on the buses by 3:30 am to make it there in time. Don't be scared and hop on that 4:30 am bus... I promise you'll make it in time and be thankful for that extra hour of sleep. - I wasn't a huge fan of the course. You really only run through Magic Kingdom and that doesn't feel like a very long time. It is magical when you make it there though. Besides that, you're stuck on the highway and roads that can get a little boring. There are characters for photo opps along the way but I was too worried about making it through to stop and wait in line. Overall, I'm very happy I did it! I wouldn't rush to do another Disney race though. When you add up the cost of entry, cost of park tickets later on, and hotel, coupled with the lackluster scenery, it's hard to justify. Even so, there's something special about the Happiest Place on Earth that keeps ya coming back for more.

Orlando's January is cold!…read more Besides that, I love the Walt Disney Marathon Weekend. I love the courses, the medals, the entertainment, the Parks, the excitement! But there was something at the WDW Marathon Weekend, something really special that, had I known about it beforehand, I would have registered my daughter for: A Diaper Dash! Come to find out, all of the Disney races, whether in Orlando or Anaheim, promote Diaper Dashes. I'd known there were kids races, but I hadn't known that babies were also included in the fun! Now, this was exciting: little ones, dressed in their best Disney "running" attire, crouched at the starting line in ready position, while Mickey Mouse himself encouraged all dashers from the finish line, 10-or-so yards away! All of the dashers received not only hugs from the Big Cheese, but were awarded medals as well. We loved it!

I loved this race! I ran it as part of the Dopey's Challenge. This inaugural 10k took place on…read moreFriday, a day after the 5k. The organization was superb. The setup for the start and finish was identical to the 5k race. After being dropped off by one of the race motorcoaches, you either head left to check your gear bag or head towards the right for the corrals. Runners enter corral pens and are then released one corral at a time starting with corral A. The start and the finish lines were the same as the 5k. The course had us out further on the highways than the 5k course and took us around a loop of Epcot as well as the Boardwalk before heading to the finish line. The course was pretty flat and fast. There were plenty of photo ops if you wish to take it easy. I loved the course even though most of it was run through in the dark!

Doing the 10k is part of the Dopey challenge of which there were 7,000 runners taking part: 5k on…read morethe first day, 10k on the second day, half on the third, and a full marathon on the final day. Anyway, 2014 was the inaugural year of the 10k during Walt Disney World marathon weekend and I was impressed! The 10k set high expectations for the half marathon (which were decidedly not met. In fact, the half completely sucked). The 10k ran on a stretch of roadway for the first three boring miles or so then wound around Epcot in all its sparkly nighttime glory. It detoured into the Walt Disney World resort, which I thought was still part of Epcot and spent all day at Epcot looking for Hurricane Hanna. I was thoroughly impressed with the resort with its beach front and pirate ship, and to add some sprinkles to the cake, a lone old lady with a walker sat at one of the benches and cheered us on at 6 in the morning. Awww. We then ran through the real Epcot with its spaceball and finished at the start area. Yay! The medal and red long sleeved tech shirt featured Minnie, the mascot for the race. My first red running shirt! The only cons to this race were the lines for the character pictures (to be expected) and my right chicken wing chaffed so badly I woke up from my post-race nap burning in pain. But it isn't Disney's fault my right arm is flabby. Even the post-race handing out of the medals and the congestion of checking off Dopey requirements were a significant step up from the 5k. Onto the next requirement: the half.

Would Never Go To A Park Without Them Again! Kunal Is The Best!!…read more Our Crew - 9 people. Ages 5, 12, 14, 44, 45, 48, 48, 69, & 70. With those age ranges, i was thinking it would not be so easy to navigate everyone's wishes, but our guide Kunal (or K as we called him) did just that. I would also like to point out that it is also difficult to join in on a vacation of 9 people and get along with them all, and that is exactly what Kunal did. Everyone loved him. He had a calming affect on both the kids and the adults. We are still texting him pictures he took with us! The Process - Shay from World Class handled all of my 30 annoying questions asking her about how things work. Their service was recommended by a friend of mine, but i was still skeptical if the extra cost was worth it knowing I had such a large party. Once I agreed to pull the trigger, Shay sent me an excel spreadsheet with all of the rides listed from each park. We chose which rides were a "cant miss for us" , and others that we would have interest if there was still time available. I then gave Shay my login for my Disney account so they can organize each of our fast passes. Magic Kingdom - Kunal got us in prior to the park opening to the public. We were 12th or so in line for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.Once they completed their test runs, we were all on the 2nd train out together! We rode 10 rides or so and were done around 2:30pm, giving us plenty of time to relax back in the pool at the hotel. Hollywood Studios - We were at the line early and rode Slinky Dog within 10 minutes of us entering the park. We were done at this park by 1pm after 8 rides/shows. Toy Story Mania was super fun. Universal Studios/Islands of Adventures - Kunal got us in the park 45 minutes prior to it opening. It was almost weird walking around the park by ourselves. We did the Minion Show, Transformers, and Mummy ride all prior to 9am. Pretty Crazy. It was tough to time how long we were here, because thunderstorms caused some delays, but we completed almost 20 attractions at both parks and did not stay till closing. Another added benefit - Last year the kids fought over what ride was next and who got to pick it, this year all they asked was "Which ride is next K?" - after every single ride. Never was there an argument over what was next. That is worth its weight in Disney gold... Cost - It is not cheap at $175/hour, but the value you receive well surpasses the price tag. If you can add this splurge, it is a must. The way I look at it, you are literally buying back hours of each day for use doing other things. Verdict - 100000% I would use them again. I can not speak for their other guides, but just request Kunal and you will be as happy as can be. We joked that the longest lines we waited on in 3 days were for popcorn and dole whip. I do not think we waited more than 10 minutes for any ride in 4 parks. Insane. And we are hooked.

Disney Tours VIP is an amazing company. Our extended family of 13 used their services for 4 of our…read more6 days in Orlando during high season this past summer, and I can't even imagine visiting Disney's theme parks or Universal without them. Our group consisted of 3 6-yr olds, 2 11-yr olds, 1 13-yr old, and 7 adults ranging in age from 38 to 70. It is absolutely not conceivable that we could have enjoyed our trip even 1/2 as much without the services of this remarkable company. Our tour guides all 4 days were Gabby and Kristen, and they quite literally and immediately became part of our family. You would think that with our group covering such a large range of ages and interests, that there would have been pulling in different directions while seeing the parks. And you would be wrong. Everyone just wanted to always be with Gabby and Kristen, as they guided us onto every ride and attraction that everyone wanted to see, no lines, no waits for our VIP seating in the shows - I still don't understand how they do it. This is an absolutely awesome company. From you first phone contact to the day you sadly say good-bye to your guide, this is a 1st class, one of a kind, experience. I feel as though I'm so enthusiastic about this company, someone might think I've got a connection to them other than as a customer. I am simply a most satisfied customer. If a Disney World experience with no waits in line, VIP show seats, no rushing around, and all reservations made for you, is what you want, use this company. I strongly recommend Disney Tours VIP.

First time here in a long time and we had a blast! There was a posted 45 min-1 hour wait time but…read morewe only waited about 20 minutes. There was plenty of seating out in front but we took the opportunity to walk over to the swan reserve and get drinks at their coffee shop upstairs. The only things I can complain about are (1) there is practically no shaded area once you're out mini golfing and (2) the speaker they use to call out the names on the wait list had super low volume so we almost missed our name being called. Keep that in mind if you decide to wander off. Overall, so much fun. Highly recommend!

Very fun time playing on the Fantasia themed course. Very friendly staff. The other course is mor…read morefor pro golfers. If you book directly with Disney chances are that you have free passes as part of your package. You do have to call ahead for a tee time. Worth it even if you have to pay to golf. Reasonably priced.

Race weekend started Thursday with packet pick up at ESPN Wide World of Sports and Race Expo…read more Character photos and many vendors were there. The expo was opened until 8pm on Thursday but closed at three on Saturday. Friday was a 5k fun run, Saturday was the timed 10k and Sunday was the timed half marathon. I competed in all three races. The pace was set at 16 minute a mile, so If those pace setters passed you, you were swept off onto a bus to not finish. Races start at 5am for the first group. I was in the last group all three days, so I didn't start until almost 6am each day. Standing in the corrals in the cold really stinks but I had on layers and a Mylar blanket, so I wasn't nearly as bad off as some others. Overall, it's not something that I would do again due to the standing around and the stress of registering way back in June, but it's something to check off my bucket my list...

I wish I could bring myself to pay to run this race virtually, because 2021 will be the first year…read morein awhile that I'm not running any of the Princess Race Weekend races. The 10K has always been my favorite. The costumes are amazing. The course is long enough to have tons of great character shops and the time limit is generous where I can usually stop for all of them (or at least most of them if I'm in an early corral.) It's a magical experience! When in-person races return I suggest taking an uber/lyft to get there early. You can get photos with some of the princesses before the race even begins. It's also good to get there early because this race is MASSIVE. It starts on the highway and you end up going through Epcot and the boardwalk area. I may have stopped at the bakery a time or two in the past so I can finish with a treat-- literally as I'm crossing the finish line. I obviously don't run this race to get any kind of "pace/time"- it's just a good time for me!

Begging you to read reviews, or one of the many many Running Disney books or blogs before you go…read more.. most people who complained had zero idea what to expect because they were unprepared. There are 25,000 people, mostly WALKERS, then joggers and very few actual runners coming to this and Disney has to organize them in a way that makes it possible for all to visit characters, get photos and experience the parks before they open. Stroll through this... my husband actually wore slip on shoes to the 5K.. take your photos and take in the park in the pre-dawn hours. I was in the very last corral so didn't start the race until 6:30am.. those at the back of my corral, probably closer to 7am. (You arrive here by 4:30 so it's a long wait) It really is amazing to enter Epcot early morn and soak it all in... dress up as your favorite character for the 5K, (it's harder to do if you're running the half marathon and still be comfortable), and greet the countries along your way.. they are out there to cheer you on! (Except japan? Who sent one tiny quiet person for both the 5K and 10k??). We were back at the Beach Club resort by 7:30 with our medals and my teenager was still asleep, lol If you're doing all three race days, make sure and stroll this one because the big one is worth every mile and you don't want to be on tired legs.

The 5k was labeled as a fun run and it sure was fun! The organization was superb from the expo…read morethrough race day! I ran it as part of the Dopey's Challenge. The race now falls on Thursday. The start and finish lines are located at the Epcot parking lot. When you first get there, you can go to the finish line area and check your gear bag if you have stuff to check. They encourage you not to check anything unless you absolutely need to since there will be security check for all bags. Then you can head to the starting corrals. They then release the corrals one at a time starting with corral A. The course itself was pretty much a loop of the parking lot and a loop around Epcot. It was a fun course. Nice and fast!