We’ve made it past the holiday season in Disney World, and we’ve celebrated the beginning of a New Year. Now, you might think that this means that the crowds will be gone from Disney World for a while.
Running at Animal Kingdom
Now, January can often be a good time to visit Disney World to avoid crowds (although that’s not always the case), but there’s one long weekend in particular that is sure to bring tons of folks to the parks: January 7th through January 11th. You see, those dates coincide with a runDisney marathon weekend, which means you can expect a lot of extra people all over the resort.
Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend is happening from January 7th through 11th, which means people are coming from all over the world to race through Disney World. The races generally start VERY early in the mornings, but you’ll still see them running through the parks, and many runners visit the parks after they’ve crossed the finish line. That means you’ll see a lot of extra people in Disney World, higher wait times, and even longer waits for dining.
Crowds in Magic Kingdom during a runDisney marathon weekend
This also means that you might encounter some road closures because several roads may close during the early morning hours to accommodate the runners. Some of these road closures will run into the later part of the day, too, so you’ll want to keep that in mind if you’re driving. You can get an idea of what roads will be closed here:
©Disney
You’ll want to bring your patience if you are visiting during those days, plus you may want to consider purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass to bypass the long lines at rides.
Kilimanjaro Safaris Lightning Lane
You’ll also want to be aware that EPCOT will be opening an hour later than normal on January 10th and 11th, due to the marathon. Instead of 9 AM, EPCOT will be opening at 10 AM on those two dates.
EPCOT will open later on two of those days
This is only the first runDisney event of the year. Other events have also been scheduled. Here are all the events you can expect to see in 2026:
- 2026 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend: February 26th – March 2nd, 2026
- 2026 runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend: April 16th – 19th, 2026
- 2026 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend: October 22nd-25th, 2026
We’ll keep an eye out for more events, so be sure to stay tuned to DFB for details.
Learn More About Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Here
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How is the Wednesday before run Disney events? We were planning to do Epcot Wed before Princess Marathon to avoid FARTs that Monday but now I’m second guessing.