runDisney has released its official guide for the 2026 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend, and this year comes with a genuinely new procedure for anyone running the 5K.
If you’ve done a runDisney race before and think you already know the drill, this year’s 5K has a twist worth reading before you assume you’re all set.
The 2026 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend runs Thursday, October 22 through Sunday, October 25, with the 5K, 10K, and half marathon spread across the weekend and the half marathon closing things out on Sunday morning. The biggest procedural change this year affects 5K runners specifically: bibs now come with two tear tags instead of the usual single tag. The top tear tag gets removed at the Expo and used for participant shirt pickup, while the bottom tag displays each runner’s individual Start Group Opening Time and has to stay attached to the bib all the way until race morning, when it gets handed to a cast member at the entrance once that runner’s assigned group opens. The timing tag on the back of the bib stays put the entire time and isn’t affected by any of this. This new tear-tag system applies only to the 5K, the 10K and half marathon bibs work as they always have, with no Start Group tear tag involved.
The Expo itself runs 9 AM to 8 PM on Day One, with complimentary race-weekend transportation running 8:15 AM to 8:30 PM for guests staying at Disney Resorts Collection hotels, Shades of Green, and the Swan, Dolphin, and Swan Reserve, all dropped near the ESPN Wide World of Sports entrance. Bib and shirt pickup varies a bit depending on which race you’re running: 10K participants collect both bib and shirt from the Auxiliary Court of the Field House, while everyone else picks up bibs from the Field House Main Floor and shirts from the Athletic Center. After Day One wraps, all remaining bibs move to the Main Floor for the rest of the Expo.
This year’s race themes lean hard into classic Disney storytelling. The 5K draws on The Aristocats for a Parisian-inspired run, the 10K is themed around The Three Caballeros, and the half marathon centers on Mary Poppins, appropriately enough for a race that starts before sunrise and asks 13.1 miles of “practically perfect” effort from every runner. The Two Course Challenge, which combines Saturday’s 10K with Sunday’s half marathon for 19.3 total miles and an extra medal, carries its own Grumpy-themed design on top of the two individual race medals.
If you’re not running but you’re staying at Walt Disney World that same weekend, it’s worth knowing this race pulls real crowds. Wine & Dine has always been tied to the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival, and a lot of runners build entire trips around doing both, so expect parks, especially EPCOT, to run busier than a typical late-October weekend, even if you have zero interest in the race itself.
For runners finishing up Sunday, there’s a Post-Race Party at EPCOT the same day, included for anyone registered for the half marathon or the Two Course Challenge, with additional tickets available for friends and family who want to join the celebration without lacing up themselves.
We’ll keep tracking runDisney updates as Wine & Dine weekend approaches, so check back with Theme Park Scope for the next update, and follow us on social so you don’t miss it.
Are YOU running Wine & Dine this year, and if so, which race or challenge did you sign up for?
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