Hi Emma,
Welcome to planDisney and thank you for asking us a question! I’ve participated in several
runDisney events over the past few years and while Every Mile is Magic, I will admit that the early morning wakeup calls for races that begin at 5 AM can sometimes be less than magical! Normally, those early start times help minimize disruption to non-runners, because the races are over shortly after sunrise, but that isn’t always the case, so I completely understand your concern.
For any race weekend, the half marathon course is the most disruptive for traffic throughout Walt Disney World Resort because it’s the longest, both in terms of miles as well as in terms of time that runners are given to complete the course. This means that road closures typically last until mid-morning on those race days.
Although the courses for the
Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend haven’t been released yet, typically that half marathon course starts in
EPCOT’s parking lot, goes up World Drive, through
Magic Kingdom Park (and
Cinderella Castle!) and then back down World Drive to head back over to the finish line at EPCOT. The good news is that, if you’re staying “on property” in a Disney Resorts Collection hotel, unless you’re staying in a
Magic Kingdom Resort Area hotel, you’ll probably be pretty removed from the race action, which means that you will only face minimal disruptions, if any. If you really want to play it safe, however, I’d recommend avoiding either EPCOT or Magic Kingdom Park on Sunday February 26, 2023, especially in the morning.
Based on my experience, neither the 5k (scheduled on Friday, February 24, 2023) nor the 10k (scheduled on Saturday, February 25, 2023) races should have a significant impact on traffic or on your Disney Day, because they’ll be over before any of the theme parks’ posted opening times. That said, sometimes the EPCOT parking lot can fill up pretty quickly (that’s where races typically begin/end), with
Preferred Parking no longer available at some point during the day. Again, if you want to play it safe, I’d recommend avoiding EPCOT on race days if accessing a premium parking spot is a concern.
I hope that my answer helps you plan a smooth visit to Walt Disney World Resort this February. Please don’t hesitate to come back and see us if you have any other questions.
Have a Magical Day,
Lynne