RunDisney has announced dates for the 2025 Walt Disney World Marathon and Disneyland Half, plus a brand-new Halloween race and other events that have been added to the schedule between Fall 2024 and Spring 2025. This post shares the news, plus why we’re excited for the return of a spook season race, timing of the flagship Florida and California races, and more.
Here’s the announcement from runDisney: Ghouls and ghosts! We’re calling on you, wherever you dwell, as we heard your sympathetic vibrations and are excited to share that some frightfully fun news has materialized.
Get ready to mark your calendars as we are dying to share event and registration dates for the runDisney 2024-25 race season, including an all-new event coming to the Disneyland Resort in September 2024!
What’s this? What’s this? Why that’s the sound of happy runDisney haunts making their way to The Happiest Place on Earth for a grim grinning good time during the 2024 Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon Weekend.
Taking place September 5-8, 2024, the Disneyland Resort will be conjuring up high spirits with four days of events, including yoga, Kids Races, 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and Challenge, all themed to the 2024 Halloween season. Stay tuned for more details about the frightfully fun weekend to come.
The wickedly wonderful news doesn’t stop there! You won’t want to miss out on one of runDisney’s other bewitching events coming to the 2024-25 runDisney race season, which includes four onsite events at Walt Disney World Resort and two at Disneyland Resort. From exciting races through Disney parks to virtual events you can run almost anywhere.
Join runDisney at Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort for unique events through the Disney parks featuring on-course entertainment, beloved characters, and Disney magic at every mile. There are also runDisney virtual events, good for training for your next runDisney race or to get a taste of the magic wherever you run.
Here’s an overview of the specific registration and race dates for the 2024-2025 runDisney Half Marathon & Marathons at Walt Disney World and Disneyland:
2024 runDisney Virtual Series
- Events: June 1 to August 31, 2024
- Registration: March 26, 2024
NEW 2024 Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon Weekend
- Events: September 5-8, 2024
- Club runDisney Registration: February 6, 2024
- General Registration: February 13, 2024
2024 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend
- Events: October 31 to November 3, 2024
- Club runDisney Registration: March 5, 2024
- General Registration: March 12, 2024
2024 runDisney Virtual 12Ks of Christmas
- Events: December 1-31, 2024
- Registration: July 9, 2024
2025 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend
- Events: January 8-12, 2025
- Club runDisney Registration: April 2, 2024
- General Registration: April 9, 2024
2025 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend
- Events: January 30 to February 2, 2025
- Club runDisney Registration: June 11, 2024
- General Registration: June 18, 2024
2025 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend
- Events: February 20-24, 2025
- Club runDisney Registration: July 23, 2024
- General Registration: July 30, 2024
2025 runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend
- Events: April 3-6, 2025
- Club runDisney Registration: August 20, 2024
- General Registration: August 27, 2024
Turning to commentary, the most obvious thing to discuss is the 2024 Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon. We haven’t done a Halloween-adjacent runDisney event since the inaugural Tower of Terror 10-Miler, which was way back in the day. If I recall correctly, our biggest complaints about that event were the course, weather, and price. We loved everything else about it, including the spook season atmosphere.
I would hazard a guess it’ll be a similar story with the 2024 Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon. This course won’t have an interminable stretch through the ESPN Wide World of Sports, but it will have one through random roads in Anaheim and its local sports stadiums. Very different, yet surprisingly comparable!
The price will easily be double or triple what we paid a decade ago for the Tower of Terror 10-Miler. However, there’s little sense in complaining about or even discussing pricing for runDisney events anymore. It’s a demand-driven market, and the 2024 Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon will have a virtual queue and sell out within hours of going on sale. You’ll be lucky to get a spot.
Southern California weather is a gamble in early September, which is often one of the worst times of the entire year. Yet, it’s still considerably better than Central Florida weather pretty much any time of the year. So not much sense in complaining about that, either. Moreover, if I were coming from out of town and doing time at Disneyland, I’d happily take early September and everything that entails over the prospect of better weather in October, but everything else that entails.
To that point, I’m really looking forward to the 2024 Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon. It’s an inaugural event, so runDisney should put a ton of effort into it. The courses will feature Halloween entertainment, which Disneyland does really well. I’d expect to see characters in retired Halloween costumes, parade performers and floats, and much more. My guess is that it’s the highlight of the upcoming runDisney season.
Unless I have an absolutely horrible time doing the 2024 Disneyland Half Marathon, I’ll definitely be doing the 2024 Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon. Heck, even if the upcoming Half is a bad experience (which I highly doubt), I still might do the Halloween Half. My only “complaint” is that it’s not Christmas–but Halloween sounds fantastic, too!
For those planning ahead, the 2024 Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon will likely coincide with the beginning of Halloween Time at Disneyland and the first dates of Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party. That is, unless Disney starts the parties in late August to dilute some demand, which would be a really savvy move and good for both their bottom line and for event attendees.
Speaking of which, multiple events happening in such close proximity is going to make registration for the 2024 Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon even more competitive. It’s obviously going to be bad because it’s an inaugural event, but it’ll be even tougher due to the timing around Halloween.
Ditto buying Oogie Boogie Bash tickets when those go on sale. You think this year was bad? Well, scheduling these together sounds like a “hold my beer” moment from Disneyland. Again, I really hope they start Oogie Boogie Bash in late August. I get why people bemoan “holiday creep” happening with Halloween starting earlier and earlier, but demand is there–it’s supply/capacity that’s the problem. Halloween starting in the late August off-season would help so much!
Not much commentary to add to that. There is the matter of timing, which is interesting. I had a lot to say about runDisney scheduling the Walt Disney World Marathon and Disneyland Half Marathon back-to-back in 2024, and potential theories as to why (attendance projections, City of Anaheim dictating dates, not wanting to double-book with D23 Expo in the autumn off-season).
Some runDisney fans responded that a September event wouldn’t be viable due to weather. That definitely was a valid point, but now we know that’s not the key consideration. (I agree with those runners–moving this to mid-September would’ve been better from a weather perspective, but early September is not awful.)
Beyond that, I actually really like this runDisney schedule. In fact, moving the Disneyland Half Marathon to January now makes much more sense–it opens the door for a Halloween event, which obviously could not be held in the winter.
I’d far prefer a vanilla race in the winter and a Halloween race in September, as opposed to something Star Wars or Marvel in January and the regular Half Marathon in September. The timing of the Disneyland Halloween Half also leaves the door open for a Holiday Half in mid-November when there’s usually a lull in crowds. It’s likely too late for that in 2024, but here’s hoping it’s added in November 2025!
Speaking of which, the 2025 runDisney calendar also puts more daylight between the Walt Disney World Marathon and Disneyland Half Marathon. That’s good news for anyone trying to do the coast-to-coast. At least, I think so as someone who doesn’t particularly care for training and whose body would still be recovering a week or so later!
Ultimately, a really good lineup of dates and events for the 2024-2025 runDisney race calendar. I plan on doing at least one of these events, and potentially more depending upon how things go and schedules line up. The 2025 Walt Disney World Marathon is something that’s been on my calendar for a while for personal reasons, and I’ll likely be doing it as a pre-planned, quasi-midlife crisis. So that should be a good time.
It’ll be interesting to see the race themes for that race plus the Disneyland Half Marathons, and the rest of the events. RunDisney has been crushing it with these lately, and if they can continue that run, it’s likely that these events will continue selling out in record time. As a very casual “runner” who dislikes the act of running but very much enjoys “themed things,” I’m hoping for something that compels me to lace up my shoes at Walt Disney World or Disneyland once again!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Excited about the 2024-2025 runDisney schedule of races? Planning on doing the 2024 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend or Disneyland Half Marathon? Disappointed that the two flagship events are one week apart? Which race(s) will you run? Planning on doing any of the virtual races? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
