5 Things You Need to Know About Wine & Dine Race Weekend
Wine and Dine race weekend is the first race weekend of each RunDisney season at Walt Disney World because Disney’s calendar year starts on October 1. Historically, this race weekend typically occurs the first weekend in November, but in 2025 it’s taking place the last weekend in October.
I’ve run this race weekend the most of of any of the race weekend so I want to share some things you need to know:
There are 3 race distances- the 5k on Friday, the 10k on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday. You can also choose to register for the challenge which includes registration for both the 10k and the half marathon (plus you get a special challenge medal).
There is a Post Race Party at EPCOT on Sunday night after the half marathon- and access is included if you run the half marathon distance (half marathon bib or challenge). Other guests can purchase a Post Race Party ticket as well to join those athletes. This event starts usually around 9 or 10 pm once EPCOT closes to standard park guests, though anyone with the Post Race Party ticket can enter EPCOT starting at 5pm. During the event, there will be special character meet and greets, a dance party, plus the festival food booths for Food and Wine Festival are open. This event can be very crowded and I personally would never pay for a ticket, but I enjoy stopping in when I’ve registered for the half so I get access at no additional cost. These tickets are mailed out in advance to guests in the US (non-US athletes can pick theirs up at the expo).
The theme is food more than specific characters which means during this race weekend you can get some unique characters including medals, merchandise and more. This makes it very fun but also means it can be harder to predict that race weekends like Marathon or Princess.
As with all RunDisney races, the official maps will be released in the event guide about 2 weeks before the race but typically the races will center around EPCOT and Hollywood Studios for the park mileage. In years past (pre-2020), they used to race through Animal Kingdom as well during this race weekend and it was one of my favorites but that has not been the case in a while. Every RunDisney race will include a little bit of park mileage but the majority of miles for every WDW race take place on the roads around Disney property. Disney will still have entertainment including character stops along the course and they also have porta-potties (note that the first ones usually aren’t for at least 1-1.5 miles!) but it’s important to know that you won’t actually be running in the parks for all your magical miles. And this race weekend does NOT include any park time in Magic Kingdom typically.
Finally- prepare for ALL kinds of weather but especially wet weather. Wine and Dine happens during hurricane season in Florida and it often rains during this race weekend (though it is often a warm rain). Bring a poncho to wear before the race start and definitely bring more than 1 pair of running shoes if you are doing more than 1 race (and do NOT wear your race shoes to the parks). It is also often still very warm during this time of year but it can drop and get very cold too so have plans for your race attire and have layers available because Florida weather can change VERY quickly.
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