Credit: runDisneyIf you are heading to Walt Disney World this weekend and you have not been paying attention to what is happening across the resort over the next several days, now is the time to catch up. This is not a normal weekend at Disney World. The kind of logistical complexity that descends on the property during a runDisney race weekend is genuinely different from a standard busy Saturday, and the guests who feel it the most are almost always the ones who did not know it was coming.
Road closures, altered park hours, compressed crowd patterns, and transportation delays are all part of the package when thousands of runners and their families descend on Walt Disney World at the same time, and that is exactly what is happening right now. The 2026 runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend officially kicked off today, and if you are arriving any time between now and Sunday, here is everything you need to know before you pull into the parking lot.
The Expo Is Open
The runDisney Health and Fitness Expo opened today, Thursday, April 16, at Walt Disney World, and it runs through Saturday, April 18. Today’s hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday runs from noon to 7 p.m., and Saturday wraps up from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Every participant in the weekend’s races is required to attend the Expo at least one day before their first event to pick up their race bib, participant shirt, and any pre-purchased merchandise. Yoga participants are the exception and can check in on the day of their event at the yoga location.
The Expo is also where runners and fans can shop the full runDisney merchandise collection for the weekend. The theme of this year’s Springtime Surprise is iconic Disney duos, and the merchandise reflects that throughout. The 5K is represented by Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde from Zootopia, the 10K features Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, and the 10-Miler is themed around Joy and Sadness from Inside Out. The full 19.3-mile challenge is tied to Genie and Aladdin, and new Genie-inspired Brooks running shoes are available as part of that collection.
General runDisney merchandise includes puffer vests, jackets, cardigans, jewelry, and a white zip-up hoodie, among other items. Most merchandise is limited to two per guest, and Gold and Platinum Club runDisney members had first access to shopping on Thursday morning. All other guests must join a virtual queue for the merchandise shop on the first day, which can be joined from a hotel room or any location within 45 miles of Walt Disney World property.
The Races This Weekend
The Springtime Surprise Weekend features a full schedule of events centered on Disney duos. Participants can run a 5K with Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, a 10K with Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, or the 10-Miler featuring Joy and Sadness from Inside Out. The Aladdin and Genie challenge combines all three races for a total of 19.3 miles across the weekend. Each race comes with its own finisher medal, and challenge runners earn a fourth medal for completing all three events. Registration sold out well in advance, and the combination of active participants plus the friends and families traveling with them creates crowd levels across the resort that extend well beyond the race courses themselves.
The Day That Requires the Most Attention
Sunday, April 19, is the day that demands the biggest adjustment in expectations from anyone visiting Walt Disney World this weekend, and EPCOT is the park specifically affected. The 10-Miler begins at 5 a.m. on Sunday, and the race operations required to run that course safely through Disney property directly impact when EPCOT opens and how difficult it is to get there. EPCOT will open to all guests at 10 a.m. on Sunday instead of the standard 9 a.m. Guests with Early Entry access through a Disney resort hotel or eligible partner hotel can enter at 9:30 a.m. rather than the usual 8:30 a.m.
That one-hour delay is not a minor inconvenience. It eliminates the rope drop advantage that experienced Disney guests depend on to get ahead of the crowds at popular attractions, and because all general guests enter at the same time rather than trickling in over an hour, wait times at Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Test Track, Frozen Ever After, and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure will surge immediately after the 10 a.m. opening rather than building gradually.
Road Closures and Transportation
Getting to EPCOT on Sunday morning will take longer than usual, regardless of how you are traveling. The road closures needed to run a 10-mile race through resort property will create detours and congestion, turning a 10-minute drive into a 45-minute ordeal. Disney transportation, including buses, the monorail, and the Skyliner, may also experience delays, with some estimates suggesting an additional 30 to 60 minutes beyond normal travel times. Guests driving to EPCOT should leave significantly earlier than they think they need to, and guests relying on Disney transportation should treat the schedule as a rough estimate rather than a guarantee on Sunday morning.
What to Do If You Have Options
If your itinerary has any flexibility at all, Sunday is the day to be at Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom rather than EPCOT. All three parks will operate on regular hours with standard crowd patterns and no race-related complications. If EPCOT on Sunday is unavoidable, lean into the EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival, which is running throughout the month, and build your day around festival booths and dining rather than a strategy that depends on low wait times for major attractions. Lightning Lane will be worth using aggressively, and arriving with adjusted expectations rather than a rope-drop mindset will make the day easier to navigate.
The weekend has started. The expo is open. And Sunday is coming faster than it feels like it is right now.