Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend 2026

[Rarity]

Okay…maybe should have done this first, but whatever. For planning purposes…..

QOTD: Who is interested in a meetup? Suggesting Friday at 2 or 3 pm, for a beverage/snack. A chance to put a face and name to an avatar, and maybe find some pre-race support (well….except for those only doung the 5k).

If you are interested, please chime in. It’s not a commitment, just trying to figure out logistics.

I would go, along with my sister who is also racing the half.

 

[AZMermaid]

I won’t be there till Saturday so I can’t go but hope you get a good crew!

 

[DIS-OH]

My daughter and I are in for a meet up!

 

[jmasgat]

I won’t be there till Saturday so I can’t go but hope you get a good crew!

Date is flexible. We could do Saturday as well.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Ran 11 today. Felt great. Gonna do a simulation for dumbo next weekend then taper

My Dumbo simulation is this week.

Anyone have experience with getting sick a few weeks beforehand and missing a week of training? Last Sunday, I did a 10K run and then Monday did a 12 mile run, so I've completed all my long training runs. But then last Tuesday I came down with a bug and haven't been able to work out all week. I'm assuming so long as I get my hydration and fuel back to normal, my training will take care of the majority.

Honestly, more than I would like. But that turned out to be a good thing.

In 2012 I got pretty sick shortly after my last long run heading into Wine & Dine. When I left for WDW a few days before the race, I was getting better, but still taking some medicine. Finished Wine & Dine with no problems.

Then in 2019, I got sick during the taper for my first marathon and Dopey. Unable to run at all in the week leading up to the races. I was once again on the downside, but still taking medicine when I left. I took the 5K and 10K really easy and found myself gradually day by day feeling better heading into the Goofy portion. Despite really hot weather and my first marathon, I finished the marathon just fine.

Echoing jmasgat. I wouldn't worry at all about it and focus on recovery. You'll only delay that if you stress over it and push yourself to try to make up training. Last year, I missed out on a week of training due to a very rare snow storm hitting north Florida a week before race weekend, and I ended up PRing my half time!

In October 2023, I lost an entire month of Dopey to Disneyland training due to being in the hospital with pneumonia. By the time I could safely run again, I was back to square one with 2 months to the 71 miles in 11 days attempt since that was the year when Marathon Weekend and Disneyland Half were back to back. I certainly had to modify my training plan, but it worked.

I was undertrained, but injury free and wound up finishing the marathon with a PR and while pretty much tired of running the next weekend, finished all 3 Disneyland races with no troubles. While that was definitely my hardest marathon due to being undertrained, I relied on "mental memory" when the marathon miles started to mount and I discovered even more parts of my body that I did not know were capable of hurting to trick my brain and keep moving.

Ultimately, trust your training and don't stress over the "lost" runs. My race experiences regularly remind me that diligence and consistency in training are sufficient to overcome a late non serious illness.

 

[LKing]

Date is flexible. We could do Saturday as well.

I don't know about the other areas, but the picnic area (near the lockers) is being used for a large pin trading meet up from 12-4 pm on Saturday.

 

[cburnett11]

Will be going to my first Disneyland rD weekend in 2 weeks. I’ve done lots of rD events at WDW. Looking for any information comparing marathon weekend vs DL half weekend. For example, photo stop popularity, will they use your phone, do people show up super early to the corrals, etc? Just trying to get some general info about the vibe there.

 

[jrsharp21]

Will be going to my first Disneyland rD weekend in 2 weeks. I’ve done lots of rD events at WDW. Looking for any information comparing marathon weekend vs DL half weekend. For example, photo stop popularity, will they use your phone, do people show up super early to the corrals, etc? Just trying to get some general info about the vibe there.

I was just thinking the same thing this morning. I have no idea how the DL runs work. Hopefully you don't have to get there as early as WDW runs. LOL.

 

[LKing]

I've never done a WDW run. Can you tell me how early people arrive? If so, I might be able to compare DLR to WDW.

 

[jrsharp21]

I've never done a WDW run. Can you tell me how early people arrive? If so, I might be able to compare DLR to WDW.

Runs start at 5am (marathon at 4:30am). There will be people arriving to Epcot at 2:30am if not sooner. I usually pull in the parking lot at 3am and then walk out to the meet up/reunion area around 3:15. I will usually head over to the corral area around 3:50 or so. Then do some stretching, warm up, one last bathroom stop, and then head into the corral around 4:15am to stand around until start time.

 

[DianaMB333]

Will be going to my first Disneyland rD weekend in 2 weeks. I’ve done lots of rD events at WDW. Looking for any information comparing marathon weekend vs DL half weekend. For example, photo stop popularity, will they use your phone, do people show up super early to the corrals, etc? Just trying to get some general info about the vibe there.

DL is different on logistics… less photopass photographers, more CM using your phone.

Yes, getting early is more convenient particularly the 5k that starts within the park. Sometimes there has been a jam in security lines (remember they open each bag), sometimes it had been easy…

10k/HM starts in the street, which means plan for portapottie if needed, because of lack of real restrooms i prefer to get there close to release time at my corral

 

[MinnesotaDisneyFan]

Will be going to my first Disneyland rD weekend in 2 weeks. I’ve done lots of rD events at WDW. Looking for any information comparing marathon weekend vs DL half weekend. For example, photo stop popularity, will they use your phone, do people show up super early to the corrals, etc? Just trying to get some general info about the vibe there.

One difference with the character stops (and other Photopass photos) is that photo downloads are included in your race registration for FREE at Disneyland races. So while I'm not sure they prohibit using your phone, there isn't a need to and the character stops move more quickly without having to use people's phones.

That being said, since only the first miles are on Disney property, that is where all the character and course photos are--so they are quite busy and popular since they cannot be spread out over 10K or 13.1 miles.

As for arriving at the corrals, my experience post-Covid on both coasts is that you have to arrive much earlier than you did pre-Covid. With fewer corrals and waves that are solely based on when you show up, you just have to be willing to get to the corral earlier and sit around and wait. If you don't care about being in the last wave of your assigned corral, you can show up up until the posted closing time for the corral.

 

[AZMermaid]

You do not need to arrive as early as WDW. There’s not anything really to do ahead of time- no characters in the start area.

If you are in a DL Hotel you’ll have to go through security twice and it’s not very fast. If you are on Harbor, just once. Planning to arrive around 4 will give you plenty of time- maybe 3:45 of you are in A.

I did the first one back in 2024 and there were only about 5 characters in the half. I think they’ve upped that but there still aren’t any once you hit the road. Lines were very long because there are so few stops. That year they didn’t have any castle pic stop. Anyone know if that has changed?

 

[Rarity]

When I did Dumbo last year, we only had the castle pic stop during the 10k.

This is only my second race weekend at Disneyland, but I didn't arrive too early and don't plan to this time, either. I think I got through security and into my corral around 4, which was plenty of time to get to my corral and not be towards the back.

I actually greatly prefer the way they handle photos at Disneyland races. Having PhotoPass built in is really nice, especially for those post-race medal pics, and reducing so much phone usage really kept the lines moving. I remember CMs telling everyone in the lines that if they wanted both group and solo pics, they'd need to go through the line, again. As someone who runs solo, it was great not having to wait for a group to cycle through a bunch of group and solo set-ups.

 

[kirstie101]

For the Halloween Half I got into my corral around 4:30. I was probably in the middle.

 

[jrsharp21]

Sounds like I can sleep an extra hour more than MW! LOL. So it looks like if I leave my hotel, at the corner of Katella and Harbor, at 3:30am I should be okay.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Sounds like I can sleep an extra hour more than MW! LOL. So it looks like if I leave my hotel, at the corner of Katella and Harbor, at 3:30am I should be okay.

Easily. I left around 3:15 in 2024 but I was meeting people for a 4:15 photo before going into the corrals. Security gets longer the longer you wait, but if you just want to be there before the start, that's more than enough time.

 

[jmasgat]

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Thanks. Do you know if it’s easy to get into GCH from Disney Springs? Every reference I see to an entrance is fairly dated and google street view is 8 years old!

@LKing Maybe 10 or so people?