Tips for Cheering at a WDW runDisney Half Marathon

Last month my daughter Josie and her friend Kelsey ran the Princess Half Marathon at Walt Disney World. I went along to be their personal photographer, sherpa, ATM, and cheer squad. Pre-pandemic (significantly pre-pandemic), I completed three runDisney half marathons myself and had cheered for friends participating in runDisney full marathons several times, so I thought I knew everything I needed to about being a spectator for half marathon runners – that was not the case.

Here are some things I learned that may help you as you cheer for runners at any of the Disney World half marathons.

There are Two Main Places to Cheer

The half marathon starts and ends at EPCOT, passing through the Magic Kingdom at about mile six. The main cheering locations are on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom and along the last half mile or so in the EPCOT parking lot area. Ancillary spots to watch are along the roadways adjacent to the Contemporary and Grand Floridian, but those are essentially impossible to get to unless you’re staying at one of those resorts.

It’s possible to spot your runner at both the MK and EPCOT locations – immediately after you see them in the Magic Kingdom, make your way to the monorail to EPCOT. Unless they’re speed demons, you’ll beat them to the second park. Note that while the runners wend through much of the MK, the only place viewers were allowed was on Main Street, from the park entrance to the hub. Viewers were not allowed into the EPCOT park.

Transportation Options Will Be Limited (aka Cheerers Need to Be Up and Out Almost As Early as the Runners)

The first corral of runners departs EPCOT at 5:00 a.m. and all runners are expected to be in their corrals by about 4:00. Staying at the Wilderness Lodge, Josie and Kelsey were out of the room by 2:45 to grab a 3:00 race bus that would get them to EPCOT in plenty of time.

Based on corral assignments and typical pace, we estimated that Josie would hit the Magic Kingdom at about 6:15 a.m. and that Kelsey would follow about 15-20 minutes later. However, this was both their first Disney half marathon and they didn’t have a good sense about whether they would be stopping for character photos or how much time that would take. Would they need to stop at a restroom? Where would they be within their corrals? My guesses about their arrival times at various points truly were guesses.

Given that information (or lack thereof), my goal was to be in place on Main Street by 5:30 to have time to get settled in a position. I ended up leaving the room at 4:45. I could have (spoiler alert – should have) taken a free race bus to EPCOT and then hopped on the monorail to get to the Magic Kingdom. But given that we were at the Wilderness Lodge, a resort quite close to the MK, it seemed silly to travel in the opposite direction, so I decided to take a rideshare.

When I checked the apps, all the Uber/Lyft options said they would not arrive for more than half an hour, likely due to the fact that roads in the Magic Kingdom resorts area all shut down by 3:30 a.m. in preparation for the runners. However, the Minnie Van option said it would arrive in 15 minutes. Despite the $35 estimated fee, I decided to order the car, thinking that a Minnie Van would be able to drop me directly at the park as they normally do, saving me time. (It was early, my decision-making wasn’t yet fully functioning.)

As it turned out, the Minnie Van ended up taking nearly half an hour to arrive as well. Even though this was Disney’s official rideshare option, I later learned that they did not have any special privileges on race morning, having to adhere to the same traffic rules as everyone else.

The Disney-trained driver was friendly and knowledgeable, letting me know that given the modified traffic patterns he could drop me neither at the Magic Kingdom nor directly at the Transportation and Ticket Center. The only thing he could do was take me to the Polynesian Village resort where I would be able to walk to the Transportation and Ticket Center monorail hub. I was well versed in this tactic, so it worked for me, but I imagine that if I had been unfamiliar with the Walt Disney World walking paths or transportation system I would have been quite confused.

So, despite ordering a car service, I still ended up needing to take a monorail to the Magic Kingdom, albeit just the shorter resort loop.

After all that, I did get make it into the MK near my target time of 5:30, but I could have achieved the same thing with less anxiety and less money had I just hopped on the runDisney bus to EPCOT. Though I did make my goal arrival time, in retrospect I felt that target was too late. At 5:30 the viewing spots at the front of the race route were long gone, I ended up staking out a spot about three rows behind the first spectators.

Note: Early morning race viewers do need to go through security at the Magic Kingdom, but admission is not required. Observers are ONLY allowed on Main Street and that area is cleared before the park opens for the day.

Communication is Key

Josie and I both have iPhones and are able to track each other’s location via the “Find My” app. (She was carrying her phone during the race.) This allowed me to see where she was along the route. And I was able to text her where I was on Main Street (a few yards past Casey’s). Given that I knew approximately where she was, I was confident that I wouldn’t miss her if I needed a bathroom break.

I was also able to tell the other spectators when my runner was nearby. They allowed me to step toward the front for a minute so I could see better. Most of the spectators were helpful about letting people step ahead to see their friends or family if they knew they were getting close. I was successfully able to see Josie and give her a quick hug of encouragement in the Magic Kingdom.

Tracking Josie allowed me to find her and cheer again in the last half mile of the race and just past the finish line. Whew!

Things were more difficult with Kelsey. I could text her my location, but we were not linked on “Find My” and I was less sure of her pace. I ended up staying at the MK about 15 minutes after she had passed by, because I had no way to know exactly where she was and didn’t realize that she was already beyond my location. If we do this again, I’ll request to have tracking ability for everyone I’m watching.

Signs Can Help Your Runner Find You

Since the races are so early in the morning, it will likely be dark during much of your cheer time. Be sure to have something with you that can help your runner spot you along the pathways – a sign, a noisemaker, a memorable outfit, etc.

I had made relatively small posterboard signs with the girls’ names on them. Even though Josie knew generally where to look for me, she said the sign was what alerted her to my exact location.

Limited Early Morning Food Options are Available for Spectators

Runners are typically aware of their pre-race nutrition needs; spectators may not be. I had a banana that I brought with me, but that didn’t fill me up. Luckily there was a station set up near the Wilderness Lodge lobby with free coffee and granola bars available to anyone heading to the race buses, runners and viewers alike. Additionally, Casey’s Corner was open in the Magic Kingdom, selling coffee and a small menu of breakfast items. If you need more than that or are afraid of losing an advantageous position along the race route, be sure to bring whatever food you’ll need while waiting.

BONUS TIP

I am a WDW annual pass holder with the MemoryMaker add-on. Neither of the girls had purchased Memory Makers, but since we were all My Disney Experience “Friends and Family” I was able to add their runDisney photo registrations to my MemoryMaker account. This allowed us to get all the photos taken during the race at no additional charge.