In an email to Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend runners, runDisney announced a change to the marathon’s course and start time.
Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend 2025 Updates
The Walt Disney World Marathon will now start at 4:30 a.m. instead of 5 a.m. Disney notes this allows them to make changes to the race course, including more running through theme parks.
The race will now start with World Showcase at EPCOT. In previous years, that’s where the race ended. Runners will then pass Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, running along the Seven Seas Lagoon, before entering Magic Kingdom. In Magic Kingdom, they will race through each land and through Cinderella Castle.
See the updated race course below.
Disney has made changes to race courses and start times before. During the last Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, the Half Marathon started early and was shortened last-minute due to severe weather.
The 2025 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend is January 8 through 12, with the marathon on the last morning. As usual, the weekend also includes a 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon. Runners can participate in multiple races to complete Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge and the Dopey Challenge. Check out the medals for each race.
How do you feel about this year’s marathon race course? Does an earlier start time affect your race plans or training in any way? Let us know in the comments or on social media.
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I love how Disney screws you over while telling you it’s exactly what you always wanted.
Asking runners to begin a marathon at 4:30 a.m. is, simply, unfair and unkind to the people who are spending hundreds of dollars to race and probably thousands of dollars to be there in January.
The correct move would be to simply open the parks to the public 30 minutes later.
Paul, seems like a reasonable request until consider some realities. RunDisney is not Disney World but a separate entity. Things also become clearer when you do the people math. The race is 28K runners and say 3K volunteers. For Disney World, all 4 parks would be about 25K guests per park, (100K total) plus 5K cast members, ground crews per park, so 120K total. Disney World would rather, and rightly so, make some of 28K runners unhappy rather than 100K park guests unhappy. And, to be honest some of us runners have are training runs at 4:30 anyway except with skunks, coyotes and deer instead of music and character stops.