Springtime Surprise Weekend 2025 (April 3-6)

[MissLiss279]

Revenge of the 5th?

YES!!

 

[fatmanatee]

I love Hercules so much! I wonder why they didn't pick a different guardian though?

Little bit surprised by this too. Could have gone with Star Lord, instead we get ummm… the Groot to Groot Challenge?

Fun theme though, nice mix. I wonder what characters they’ll have for the 5k, given the Marvel restrictions.

 

[Isabelle12345]

Oooh I wasn’t planning on attending springtime surprise but my kids just looove guardians and Groot and it would be such a fun first 5K for my daughter…
I will have to think about it - but I agree, great themes!

 

[BigEeyore]

I wasn't going to do this, but the themes are pretty great and I just realized that it falls on our school spring break! Booked DVC and hoping to do the challenge.

 

[The Expert]

I'm so relieved Hercules is a shorter race distance. I have (twice now) sworn off distances longer than a 10K in Orlando after February.

 

[Naomeri]

I feel like we need to page @Mr_Incr3dible now that there’s a race theme tailor-made for him

 

[Herding_Cats]

I may or may not have already priced out 2 nights at All Stars ($211/nt+tax) and figured out the least expensive way to fly down Friday-Sunday. There are American flights out of our tiny regional airport for 7.5k points to MCO. The return is.....a lot more. I texted DH about it and he was like "well when is it?" and when I told him April his reply was, "Oh. No virtual option?" Bless this sweet man. The numbers aren't even horrible. 27,500 miles, and around $11 in fees for the flight. The miles would come from chase points, so no cost there. Around $500 for a room after tax. Plus race reg. $25 for a pin. $34 for the mears shuttle to/from the airport. And whatever food ended up being.

I'm like 90% sure I won't be going, but it's fun to have a trip to mock-plan for.

 

[Zutroy]

FFS! What do I have to do to get another Star Wars race weekend?!? These are cute, but why not bring back Star Wars?

I have to wonder if they chose a Heroes theme in coordination with the information being released about the Disney Destiny which has a Heroes and Villains theme.

I used to do Star Wars, and was signed up to race in March of 2020 when it was cancelled and never came back. I feel like Springtime Surprise is an event without an identity. It seems to be a random grab bag of characters each year only loosely tied together with a generic theme. I would love it if Disney attached the spring race to a park like how Princess is MK and W&D is Epcot. Make it Hollywood Studios, and you’ve got Star Wars, Pixar, Indiana Jones, heck, Marvel might fly despite Universal having the IP on the east coast.

 

[jofo]

Uh... is the proof of time a typo? It's saying 1:55 or less for half marathon.

 

[amazingact21]

This is supposed to be the year I took a break from Springtime Surprise. My son's birthday is the following week, and I obviously want to be around for it.
But of course the 5K has to be Guardians, my son's favorite Marvel movie. And Hercules is my husband's.

I spent the afternoon trying to see how I could justify a birthday trip for a family 5K run. And then have my husband participate in the 10K while I watched the kids.

I mean, what kid doesn't want to go to Disney for their birthday? The biggest drawback is that the kids would have to miss 3 days of school, and Texas does not allow a lot of absences a semester. (6.) And last year I came back from SS with the plague, so it would be a risk.

Someone remind me I didn't even like the Neverland 5K last year!

 

[fatmanatee]

Uh... is the proof of time a typo? It's saying 1:55 or less for half marathon.

I suspect it’s yet another edition of RD not proofreading their sites for updates. On the 10 miler page they indicate that it’s 1:55 or equivalent for a 10 miler, which would fit what they’re doing with expanded POTs for other weekends. Previously the POT cutoff was more stringent for this race (1:30 IIIRC?).

 

[Baloo in MI]

I am going - they had me at Groot! Well, I suppose there is the whole registration thing. But should I succeed then challenge # 4 here I come.

 

[ghrundis]

Uh... is the proof of time a typo? It's saying 1:55 or less for half marathon.

I think that is the pacing for a 10 mile race not a half, but I could be wrong

 

[marty3d]

I like the themes but not enough I think. I'd hoped to do 2 race weekends this race season but I think I'll stick with MW this time.

 

[flav]

My delayed response has to do with being confused about racing and in a funk regarding vacations.

I don’t know what races I really feel like doing or what distances I should work on. The themes of Springtime Surprise 2025 are fine but I am not thrilled about running the same courses/distances three years in a row. I guess I was hoping for a true surprise!

Up until two days ago, to everyone asking if I had taken some vacations or were leaving soon, I was answering no, not before the end of December. That was because of my DH and DDs irreconcilable work schedules. Now, there is an October plan in development and a pair of MNSSHP purchased! That definitely checks a bucket list item and solves my vacation bank (expiring April 30th) challenge.

So I now need to decide whether I want to race that Springtime Surprise weekend and commit to that trip to Disney or if I would be happier going in April without racing thus keeping my options opened to do something else entirely.

 

[ars0525]

Do they post what the courses are? What have the courses been like recently? Is the 5K just running around a parking lot? I like Groot but $114 to run in a parking lot is a little crazy. The other themes for me are ok but if they have cool courses IN parks I would really consider it.

I did the Star Wars 10k twice. 2018 was awesome--MK parking lot thru back entrance of HS out around the Boardwalk into Epcot & then finish in the parking lot. 2019 they cut out HS & Boardwalk for more road/parking lot & just Epcot.

I want to actually run IN the parks not just around parking lots

 

[Naomeri]

Do they post what the courses are? What have the courses been like recently? Is the 5K just running around a parking lot? I like Groot but $114 to run in a parking lot is a little crazy. The other themes for me are ok but if they have cool courses IN parks I would really consider it.

I did the Star Wars 10k twice. 2018 was awesome--MK parking lot thru back entrance of HS out around the Boardwalk into Epcot & then finish in the parking lot. 2019 they cut out HS & Boardwalk for more road/parking lot & just Epcot.

I want to actually run IN the parks not just around parking lots

Unless there’s some kind of big shocker, the 5K will be around World Showcase

This was this year’s course

 

[MissLiss279]

Do they post what the courses are? What have the courses been like recently? Is the 5K just running around a parking lot? I like Groot but $114 to run in a parking lot is a little crazy. The other themes for me are ok but if they have cool courses IN parks I would really consider it.

I did the Star Wars 10k twice. 2018 was awesome--MK parking lot thru back entrance of HS out around the Boardwalk into Epcot & then finish in the parking lot. 2019 they cut out HS & Boardwalk for more road/parking lot & just Epcot.

I want to actually run IN the parks not just around parking lots

The 5k generally has run around Epcot World Showcase.
If you scroll to near the bottom of this page, you can see last year’s map (this year’s?? 2024). They were pretty similar to the year before, so I would guess that they would be similar again.
https://noguiltdisney.com/2024-rundisney-springtime-surprise-course-maps-event-guide-and-waivers/

 

[fatmanatee]

Do they post what the courses are? What have the courses been like recently? Is the 5K just running around a parking lot? I like Groot but $114 to run in a parking lot is a little crazy. The other themes for me are ok but if they have cool courses IN parks I would really consider it.

I did the Star Wars 10k twice. 2018 was awesome--MK parking lot thru back entrance of HS out around the Boardwalk into Epcot & then finish in the parking lot. 2019 they cut out HS & Boardwalk for more road/parking lot & just Epcot.

I want to actually run IN the parks not just around parking lots

We find out the courses within about a month of the races, either directly through RD’s guide or sneakily when someone gets a hold of USTA’s certification map. Things have changed a lot since you ran in 2019: at this point the expectation should be that every race will start and end at Epcot. 5k is a loop from the parking lot, on backstage roads, eventually into and around Epcot. FOR THIS WEEKEND, the 10k has been roughly the same map for the last three years: about three miles on the roads nearby and backstage before entering Epcot, exiting Epcot for a loop around Crescent Lake, then back into Epcot for the rest. There are a couple of other maps that RD has used for the 10k in the recent past, including one that goes into Hollywood Studios, but if I were doing this weekend I'd operate under the assumption that they'll just repeat what they've done for the last few years. Honestly it's my favorite of the routes I've done for the 10k.

The 10 Miler has been structurally the same for the last three years as well. This one involves Epcot and Hollywood Studios and it features the longest length of time that you can spend running there, including Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land. Someone can correct me on this (I only did 2023) but I think the biggest change for these races over the last three years is the construction walls coming down, so they can do different things with the maps in that area.

I don't think there's an expectation that any of the three races will change substantially next year but there's a lingering question on how the Test Track refurb might impact how people get around that area.

 

[ars0525]

Thanks all I wish they would post the race courses before you shell out the money. I understand last minute changes tweaking it, but some idea. The 10 miler might entice me with more "park" time. I need to check out my other spring races. Darn you enablers.