The Walt Disney World Marathon is underway at Walt Disney World, and it’s the biggest runDisney event of the year! More than 30,000 runners will race, run, jog, and walk their way around Walt Disney World property this weekend. While the most iconic parts of any runDisney race are when you run through a theme park, there are a lot of miles logged on roadways in between those theme park moments as well. That’s where road closures come into play. Here’s what you need to know if you’re visiting Walt Disney World this weekend.
Saturday, January 10th | Half Marathon
On January 10, runners will fall for 13.1 miles of half-marathon magic featuring lovebirds Donald Duck and Daisy Duck.
- Saturday, January 10, 2026 – Race Start/Finish: EPCOT Parking Lot
- 2:30 AM – Event Open
- 5:00 AM – Official Race Start
- 9:45 AM – Estimated Final Finisher
- 10:00 AM – Event Close
The Walt Disney World Half Marathon will take guests from EPCOT, north along World Drive to Magic Kingdom, through Magic Kingdom, and then south again along World Drive back to EPCOT. From there, a short jaunt through the front half of EPCOT will find runners finishing the 13.1 miles back in the EPCOT parking lot area.
In terms of roadway closures, there are a number to be aware of. This might be a good day to sleep in, as you can avoid all of the roadway closures by 10am. The biggest impact will be the closure of World Drive at various points through roughly 9:30am. There will also be closures around EPCOT until 10am.
Here’s a full map of the roadway closures and impacts.
Sunday, January 11th | Full Marathon
On January 11, experience 26.2 fun and fantasy-filled miles ruled by Sir Mickey Mouse and Lady Minnie Mouse.
- Sunday, January 11, 2026 – Race Start/Finish: EPCOT Parking Lot
- 2:30 AM – Event Open
- 4:30 AM – Official Race Start
- 12:30 PM – Estimated Final Finisher
- 1:00 PM – Event Close
The full marathon is on Sunday, and it is a massive undertaking. Some 15,000 to 20,000 runners will participate in the full marathon, which routes through all four Walt Disney World theme parks. Just thinking about the driving that is required to get around Walt Disney World property is one thing, but then doing it all on foot during a race is another thing entirely!
Runners will start and finish at EPCOT. Their first stop after leaving EPCOT will be Magic Kingdom. From there, they will use a backstage roadway that goes from near the Magic Kingdom parking lot over to a backstage entrance to the north side of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. After Animal Kingdom, runners will head down to Blizzard Beach before making their way for a quick run through Disney’s Hollywood Studios. From there, runners will go through the BoardWalk Resort area on their way to a finish in EPCOT.
As you can see in the map below, the impacts on the Walt Disney World roadways will be extensive. Some of the same advice from the half-marathon applies to the full marathon and is expanded upon. In general, the roadway impacts will be the most extensive along the south side of property. That is, near Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach, and toward Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Again, it might be advised to sleep in or enjoy a morning/early afternoon day at the hotel if you’re planning on driving. That said, if you’re using Walt Disney World bus transportation, they will generally have routes to get you where you need to go. Rideshare is a particular headache during runDisney events, given the roadway modifications and drivers who may not be familiar with the closures.
Here’s a full map of the roadway closures for the full marathon.
Good luck to all the runners this weekend, and congratulations to the runners who have already completed the 5k and 10k races the past two days!
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
