Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend 2026

[amazingact21]

SO much FOMO this morning! The 5K start at DL really can't be beat. Those of you who loved it and are doing the 10K tomorrow... just wait. It's even BETTER! Hands down the best running course of all the Disney races ever. I so wish I still lived closer!


... I wasn't up quite early enough to respond with "should we tell them?"

I’m so excited for the 10K! My husband’s favorite race was the DLP 10K, and I think this is going to be similar.
I might be setting unrealistic expectations for my kids with this course!

 

[jmasgat]

Turns out the Alley at Splitsville is not an open seating area. But for anyone coming this afternoon at 2 pm, let's still meet out front there. It was empty when I went by yesterday and chatted up the person at the host stand.They do have a walk up bar, as well, so I expect we can make something work.

 

[The Expert]

My husband’s favorite race was the DLP 10K, and I think this is going to be similar.

I've done both, and yes it is. My favorite Disney HM course is still the DLP Half!

 

[DianaMB333]

That 5k was pretty dang cool. That’s how a run through the parks should be done. Lots of time in both parks. Loved running in front of Rivers of America. The Mack truck from Cars was awesome. Really fun race.

It was really congested at the start, but as soon as there was the first character stop at Small World, it opened up.

i agree.. rhe 5k and 10k here are superfun and well themed, I love wdw but these is where DL has stand it out these past years…

The HM though it is too much outside in non meaninguful sighseeing Anaheim blvd but I love the medals so will do

Today the preshow song and fireworks were super cool… I didnt record a video but if you did or if you see a noce youtube video about it, would you mind pls posting it here?

Thanks!!

Ps. See you later at meet up.. might be 10-15 mins late, I will run there upon finishing a work call

 

[jrsharp21]

i agree.. rhe 5k and 10k here are superfun and well themed, I love wdw but these is where DL has stand it out these past years…

The HM though it is too much outside in non meaninguful sighseeing Anaheim blvd but I love the medals so will do

Today the preshow song and fireworks were super cool… I didnt record a video but if you did or if you see a noce youtube video about it, would you mind pls posting it here?

Thanks!!

Ps. See you later at meet up.. might be 10-15 mins late, I will run there upon finishing a work call

Agree about the song and fireworks. When they first came out, my first thought that this was going to cheesy. Then the fireworks over the castle went off and it turned out to be really cool.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I just love the Disneyland races--I'm so sad this is it. DS and I are staying at VGC and were back in our room by 6:08. Hard to beat that, LOL. It would have been before 6 if they still had the back entrance open I missed the photo op at the end... so bummed.

 

[fatmanatee]

Finally settled down, that was a fantastic race. Only complaints are my usual gripes about not having a proper Avengers photo op, would have been nice to have a character or two backstage too but I suspect there's a reason for that. Pretty surreal to both start and end the race in parks, I got done and got a photo at the pier but then you could hang out and cheer for the racers coming down. To get out it's a pretty decent walk through Grizzly Peak and then you get to the esplanade cheering section.

They should figure out a way to keep doing this lol.

BTW, Fritos, banana, cheese, gummies, and I get to try the PBJ Honey Stinger. No comment on the crappy biscuits.

 

[jrsharp21]

BTW, Fritos, banana, cheese, gummies, and I get to try the PBJ Honey Stinger. No comment on the crappy biscuits.

Same boxes as MW. I was disappointed to see most of the stuff. But Fritos and cheese, yes please. lol

 

[bmr1591]

Anyone have a link to the runDisney ******* with the character leaks?

 

[fatmanatee]

Anyone have a link to the runDisney ******* with the character leaks?

There most likely won't be any character leaks for these races, hasn't happened before at DL and didn't happen with the 5k. Whoever is leaking seems to be associated with WDW.

 

[jpholic]

anyone have eyes on the merch situation going on at the expo? ive heard from a few friends that its pretty cleaned out with no restocking.

 

[DIS-OH]

Stuck in Lightning Lane for Radiator Springs…will get to meet up as soon as I can.

 

[The Expert]

I'm seeing some accounts of the 5K course being cut this morning and also an rD employee acting as "balloon lady" at the back. Anybody know more about this?

The one video I saw was from a woman who started in B corral who said she and her young son were barely an hour into the course, stopped for the first bathroom in CA and when they came out, the crowd was being redirected. They ended up skipping much of CA, including Avenger's Campus, and joining up with other runners back by Pixar Pier. Very strange.

 

[DianaMB333]

We are sitting at the open bar tables - on the shaded area

 

[TarynM]

I'm seeing some accounts of the 5K course being cut this morning and also an rD employee acting as "balloon lady" at the back. Anybody know more about this?

The one video I saw was from a woman who started in B corral who said she and her young son were barely an hour into the course, stopped for the first bathroom in CA and when they came out, the crowd was being redirected. They ended up skipping much of CA, including Avenger's Campus, and joining up with other runners back by Pixar Pier. Very strange.

I have friends who said the course was cut about 10 people in front of them and they were redirected down the main corridor, they were pretty bummed that they were that close to being able to do the full course.

 

[TarynM]

Double post, terrible service at DL sometimes.

 

[Smooth_Whiskey]

Dang no challenge gear that I saw this afternoon. No biggie but I wanted a peanuts shirt

 

[fatmanatee]

I'm seeing some accounts of the 5K course being cut this morning and also an rD employee acting as "balloon lady" at the back. Anybody know more about this?

The one video I saw was from a woman who started in B corral who said she and her young son were barely an hour into the course, stopped for the first bathroom in CA and when they came out, the crowd was being redirected. They ended up skipping much of CA, including Avenger's Campus, and joining up with other runners back by Pixar Pier. Very strange.

They were definitely enforcing the 16 min per mile rule or close to it. They had everyone out in 15 minutes, and if they're maintaining balloon lady pace then the race should be done at 6:15 or maybe a bit earlier. That would align with the video you saw I think. If they were in B and were at the beginning of CA when caught around 6:05, that's roughly 2.5 miles in.

A few other anecdotes:

- Someone mentioned that because they cut off AC, the folks who made it to AC ended up converging on the folks who missed it, causing a bit of a logjam. There's a chance this ended up slowing everyone down, and I mention this because...
- Other place has a message from someone who said that the Joy line got cut at 6:18. It's possible that was sent post-race but worth noting that its basically right off the finish line. So who knows, maybe the logjam ended up negating the course cut. Like I'm looking at this map and thinking was it really worth it to cut this part? Because it doesn't look like it takes that much time.
- Someone else told me that its possible that they cut the course because they need to do extra prep at AC prior to opening (which i have to mention is an hour earlier than Epcot opening). I umm... don't know if I buy that. I guess it's possible but seems odd. I definitely buy that they cut the course because it's obviously the part you would cut if you wanted to get things moving. Of course, that's assuming no logjam.

 

[The Expert]

The whole balloon lady thing is just weird because the 5K is not timed and they never have them in that race. My mom was the last finisher once (at MK) and was on the course for about two and a half hours. Yes, they shortened the course and cut off characters then, but not until much later in the race. There were only a few dozen people impacted.

You'd think of they were suddenly going to enforce a shorter time limit on an untimed race, they'd have communicated it better. I'm not there, but everyone impacted seemed very surprised.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

It is annoying that they do that, but the DLR 5K has always had a much stricter time cut off than WDW. They get everyone on the course much faster, and then basically stick to the 16 minute mile. I almost got swept last year when I left in A or B (I can’t remember) because we stopped at 1-2 character stops. I had to run around the pier in my crocs which I had worn as part of my costume lol. They also diverted the course then too.