Disney Princess half marathon recap 2025

It’s time for another Princess half marathon! Having already completed the Princess 10k the previous morning, it was now time to get up at 2am once again for an even longer race.

Jenn and Erika were running as well, and though we did not have coordinating costumes for this one, we all had pretty good costumes (if I do say so myself!). I have traditionally dressed as a princess for the Princess half marathon each year, but I’ve now done it enough times that I’ve done almost all of the official ones. The only one I really had left was Merida, so that was my costume for this year!

I’m not usually a big prop person, though I had run the Princess 10k with a small prop and that worked out fine. But I didn’t really plan for a bow and arrow for my Merida costume. Jenn felt confident that she could change that, and piece together a prop for me from various supplies we had at the cabin.

I must say, I was impressed with my bow and arrow made of chopsticks, packing tape, string, and cardboard! Not bad at all for about 20 minutes the night before a race using whatever Jenn could find.

Race morning

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with RunDisney events. Part of it is that there are some flaws that can definitely trigger my anxiety. The unreliable bus transportation is one of these.

And our experience for this race was less than ideal. We got to the front of Fort Wilderness and onto a bus by 3:19am. There was even a whole row of buses waiting – probably about 5 or 6! So having a physical bus is a good thing. We then sat on the bus for over 10 minutes before it even left, which it did at 3:31am.

We still had a stop to make at Wilderness Lodge, where we continued to sit, and did not depart until 3:46am. We finally arrived at Epcot at 4:05am, and by the time we got through security, walked to the race area, and checked bags, it was 4:38am when I entered my corral (B).

I did track all of these exact times, and I share this in case it is helpful for others to figure out how much time to allot. We left our room at 3:15 and were on a bus by 3:20, but it was still over an hour to actually make it to the race start.

This isn’t always the case, but it’s not out of the norm. My nerdy self tracks the timing for my bus experience every race – maybe that’s another separate blog post. And while this was a bit stressful, I have to say that I don’t even think it makes my top 5 of stressful RunDisney transportation experiences.

The Start

Regardless, I was in corral B in time! I started around 5:05am. I was hoping my body would be feeling good this morning, but I knew as soon as I started it was an “off” day for running. It wasn’t anything terrible, but some days you can just sense it.

I kept my usual strategy of trying to go a bit faster in the beginning to hopefully get ahead of some of the chaos (and hit character lines when they are shorter later in the race). There were quite a lot of character stops within that first mile – about 3.

I almost never stop that early on, but the third stop was with Flora, Fauna, AND Merryweather. Not only are they rare characters, but they were all together! The line was pretty long vs. what I’m used to, but given that I knew today wasn’t going to be a speed day anyway, I decided to stop.

I probably waited about 5-6 minutes, which is a good bit longer than most of my character stops but not terrible. We headed on towards Magic Kingdom, and I passed a few more character stops as well. Somewhere between mile 2 and 3 I saw a character I was really excited about – but on the other side of the road!

Merida was out getting ready, and I knew I had a chance of meeting her for a photo on my way back to Epcot. My fingers were crossed that she was still out and hadn’t switched with a different character by the time I got there.

Magic Kingdom

The half marathon course for this race was the same as it was in January during marathon weekend – which is different than what the course has been for many of the previous years. Prior to this year we would run through the TTC, past the Contemporary towards Magic Kingdom, and then after passing through the park we’d head back past the Grand Floridian and on the roads to Epcot.

This course reverses that, so that you are going past the Polynesian and Grand Floridian before entering Magic Kingdom, and then passing the Contemporary and TTC on your way back to Epcot. I had a lot of issues with the course in January, particularly miles 4-5. This was due to construction, the course being tight, and feeling generally dangerous (especially since it had rained that day and was slippery).

While I still didn’t love it this time around, they had at least made a few improvements. There was better lighting, for one. And like last time the Electrical Water Pageant was out, but there were cast members telling anyone who wanted to take pictures that they had to step off of the path and onto the grass. That helped too. Of course, it helped that it wasn’t wet and slippery as well, but that’s just luck!

And then we were in Magic Kingdom! We went up towards the castle and then turned into Adventureland, before looping around Frontierland. Naveen was out by Tiana’s Bayou Adventure so I stopped for a quick pic with him!

Then it was through Liberty Square and Fantasyland before coming up through the castle! After the castle moment we made our exit through Tomorrowland.

Back to Epcot

There were a decent amount of character stops right after Magic Kingdom too. Somewhere during mile 7 I stopped again for a photo with Ariel and Prince Eric.

Around this point Jenn also had sent me a text to let me know Merida was at mile 9. I had already seen her but it was good to have it confirmed! Hopefully Merida was still there when I got there. And it gave me something to look forward to.

So I kept on, and sure enough there she was at mile 9 – with basically no line! She “recognized” me instantly, and suggested in full Scottish brogue, “Shall we take a bow and arrow shot?”

Thank goodness Jenn had pieced together this bow for me! (I had an arrow to start with but lost the tip somewhere around mile 3, so I ditched it once I was only holding a chopstick).

My bow survived for that photo and then its life ended shortly after that. The string was falling off and it was in sad shape. But it made it all the way to mile 9 for its photo opp with Merida, so I was okay with tossing it in the trash after that.

We continued down the road, where I saw the Hag from Snow White with literally no line. I’d never stopped for this character before because the few times she’d been out in past races the lines had been very long. So it was exciting to be able to hop over and get this photo!

Around mile 10 is a series of short hills and inclines. Being from Pennsylvania I do a lot of running on hills but they still aren’t my favorite. Honestly, the worst part about this section is that it’s curved, and my plantar fasciitis does not like sloped surfaces. But this might have been the best I’ve felt running this section of the course. And I did end up running most of it rather than walking most of it.

I managed to get in one more character stop with Joy and Sadness before heading into Epcot. (I was going for a “Fear” or “Anxiety” pose here, but I’m not sure it worked. I think I’m just too inclined to smile all the time, so I guess I’ll stick with Joy from now on!)

In Epcot

The last mile of the race brings you back into Epcot for a short period of time. Running through the parks is always the best part of a Disney race, and it’s nice to not have construction walls everywhere in Epcot!

I stopped for a PhotoPass shot with Spaceship Earth. I never stop at the castle but often do here. Part of it is that there’s not usually a wait for this photo, while the castle pictures are much more popular. The other part of it might be that I still have some energy in Magic Kingdom, but by the time I get to Epcot I’ll take that 10 second photo break!

We were almost at the end of the race, but there were still characters left! I stopped at one spot, where Anna and Elsa were out. Sadly they didn’t have Kristoff with them like yesterday, but I do enjoy their Frozen II costumes.

The finish

And then – finish line! I had taken it easier on this race than some Disney half marathons, so while my time was perhaps not the best, I actually felt good. I really didn’t feel too much soreness or pain, which is a very good sign that my body is recovering. So that’s a win!

I got my half marathon medal and my challenge medal, then went to find Jenn. She had finished before me and was hanging out in the finish line. I grabbed a post-race drink and we hung out for a little bit while Erika finished.

It was definitely a cool morning. While that was great for running, it wasn’t the best for just hanging around outside after running. So instead of trying to get more character pictures we decided we’d jump on the bus and head back to our cabin.

And another Princess challenge was complete!

Characters at the Princess half marathon

I’ve done my best to put together a list of all of the characters on the course. This includes who I remember seeing (to the best of my ability!), and what I’ve heard from others. Some characters switch out with others too, so when I know that occurred I noted that below.

• Mulan & Shang
• Moana
• Sleeping Beauty Fairies
• Jester Goofy
• Mushu
• Mirabel/Bruno
• Daisy
• Donald
• Vanellope Von Schweetz
• Mickey & Minnie
• Aladdin & Jasmine
• Naveen & Tiana
• Peter & Wendy
• Cinderella
• Belle & Beast
• Atta
• Ariel & Eric
• Merida (or Pocahontas)
• Jafar
• The Hag
• Joy & Sadness
• Jessie
• Mrs. Incredible
• Anna & Elsa

Have you ever run a Princess half marathon? Which characters would you want to stop for?