Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend 2026

If you didn't take a picture of the MCO carpet did you even go to Orlando?

Before the magic of another runDisney weekend, it was time to spend a few days at Universal Orlando Resort. In fact, I'm pretty sure that despite the races I spent more time at UOR this trip than at WDW. Not that I'm complaining.

Hard to beat a ride on my favorite coaster to start a trip

The next morning it was time to knock out some early entry rides and see if I could make it all the way through HHN the same day

Still the best screen based dark ride ever created. And it's not remotely close.

I did attempt to take a power nap back at the hotel before HHN but it was not to be ...

Time to power through and check out HHN 35!

I'm not gonna bore you with a whole bunch of HHN stuff, but the event was amazing this year. It's always awesome checking out the event on both coasts to compare the two. Also, it was WAY weird going through houses at 2:00pm. Weird. But awesome. You can check out a slideshow of my night at HHN below.

I wisely skipped early entry on my last day at UOR but did manage to head back over to the park to ride what I missed at IOA the previous day. This included the water rides, and my first ever ride on Bluto's. More on that below. As you can see I already had my recovery sandals on. A must for any runDisney weekend!

So, I hadn't ridden Rip Saw Falls since 2006 and had never ridden Bluto's. Not because I don't like water rides (I love them) but because I know you have to go in fully prepared to ride these two attractions. Especially when riding them back-to-back.

Luckily I came fully prepared. Check out the reel below to see how I did it.

After Rip Saw Falls. Wet, but manageable.

After Bluto's, definitely not manageable.

After a quick change it was time to celebrate with Popeye and head to the Wine and Dine Expo!

After another quick theme change it was time to check out the Wine and Dine Expo!

Those that know me know how much I loved the theme for the half marathon

After braving the merchandise building it was time to brave the bib pick-up line. Yikes!

I think I'm in the right place

And then it was off to my hotel, I had no problem remembering my room number. =)

My hotel for the weekend was the Homewood Suites in Flamingo Crossing. Since I was solo there was really no need to do an on-site hotel. This was actually perfect for getting to Epcot every morning as the drive over avoided the road closures.

I'm not sure if that would apply for the Marathon though. I would definitely stay here again. Reasonably priced and easy access to WDW.

One thing I will mention for runners is there is no bathtub for after race soaks and there is no hot tub at the pool. I don't think I'd EVER seen that before. But the pool area is really nice.

After what could only be considered a long nap it was time to head to Epcot for the 5k. Traditional half awake Spaceship Earth selfie before a Disney race.

And away we go!

When I took my medal pic I didn't realize there was Styrofoam on it.

After a quick nap I found myself not at a Disney park to celebrate, but at SeaWorld Orlando. You'd better believe I still wore my medal!

I had 3 new credits to grab and revisit some favorites and get some new ride POV's! You can check them out below.

Had to see my Penguins, but sad that half the exhibit was shut down.

Also checked out this new attraction, enjoyed it but it did make me a bit nauseous. I think you sit too close to the screen maybe?

Called it an early day with a nice lunch at Raglan Road before vegging in the hotel for the rest of the day. Can I just say how nice it is that you can get your streaming apps in hotels now!

Traditional half awake Spaceship Earth selfie before a Disney race.

Ran into the Theme Park Comedians! Really cool dudes. Love their positivity!

Just like with the Dopey in 2025, I felt REALLY good for the 10k. And if it had been my only race I would have definitely pushed it a bit. Something about those Florida 10k's.

I got my cup!!

After the race and shower it was time to head for my park for the day. Nope, not a Disney park (I promise we'll get there) but back at Universal Orlando to hit up what I missed at the Studios. But I did make sure to wear my medal of course.

My two main goals for the day were to obviously ride ET

And see the Animal Actors show for the first and last time

Best Theme Park Show Is Best! After a very chill few hours at the park it was time for another lazy night before the half marathon.

Traditional half awake Spaceship Earth selfie before a Disney race.

This was the most stressful part of the day. I got my picture with 1 minute left.

One last starting line

VOTES FOR WOMEN!

Look at all those crazy people

Mission Accomplished!

Added the Challenge Medal and Coast to Coast for good measure

After a super nap it was time to finally head into a Disney park other than running through it. Traditional half awake Spaceship Earth selfie before a Disney post race party.

Finally got to check out Test Track 3.0. I like it better than 2.0, but the original is still my favorite.

I love learning about lettuce!

Every time I ride this I like it more and more. Definitely better without the 3D.

If I had one bone to pick with Disney it's that every Quick Service restaurant in World Showcase shut down directly at 9:00pm. With a park full of tired (and probably hungry) runners waiting for the after-party. Thankfully Germany didn't get the memo and this was amazing.

I don't know that I'd ever seen a more tired line of people. LOL!

I have to be honest, I was pretty wiped out after this and didn't stay too long for the actual party. I had a long day ahead of me visiting all 4 parks.

I did get the fried pickles though and TBH they were probably the best fried pickles I've ever had. Or I was just super hungry. But I think it was the pickles. And the sauce.

Goodnight Epcot! See you tomorrow!

The next morning I rope dropped Disney's Animal Kingdom as I had a wild idea to visit all 4 parks the day after running 3 races in 3 days. And had plans to use every resort transportation option available. Can I do it?

I realize I'm not the target audience for this and I absolutely loved It's Tough To Be a Bug but this was awful.

Hi babies!

I still need to post our Elephant Tour that we did in May 2024. Oops. LOL!

I had plans to collect all 4 of these plates in 1 day, but that would mean 4 quick service meals and I wasn't about to go there. Sorry not sorry.

After driving over to Magic Kingdom it was time for my first resort transportation of the day. Parking Lot Tram (to TTC).

And then quickly transportation number 2. Monorail (to Epcot).

Even though I did everything the previous day at Epcot (except Guardians and Frozen) I did feel like I needed to ride something in every park.

As an honorary Canadian I had to get some Poutine.

Resort Transportation #3. Friendship Boat (to Hollywood Studios).

Frozen Old Fashioned was AMAZING!

Judging by my shirt you can probably tell I was excited to finally check out Muppets Rock N' Roller Coaster!

The retheme is great. But at the end of the day it's still Rock N' Roller Coaster.

Cookie Butter Churros came highly recommended and did not disappoint.

Resort Transportation #4. Skyliner (to Caribbean Beach).

Resort Transportation #5. Bus (to Magic Kingdom).

Ooooh. Ahhh. Construction. Really did like the updated Big Thunder though.

I got to ride actual Haunted Mansion during Halloween Season. Take that Disneyland!

Absolutely LOVED the updates to Buzz Lightyear: Space Ranger Spin. Once I figured out to shoot the Z's and not the spot in the middle like the previous version.

Ended my trip with a ride on the Peoplemover. Take that Disneyland!

Resort Transportation #6. Ferry (to TTC).

Resort Transportation #7. Parking Lot Tram (to Car).

After a week and 7 theme parks and lots of miles I was glad to be home with my kitty, who didn't seem too mad at me.

Thanks everybody who took in all of this gargantuan update! We'll be back at it in just over 2 months with Dopey 2026!