Hiya, Nicole. Thanks for stopping by
planDisney with this awesome planning question. I totally get wanting to find a time to visit when there is less going on. Let’s see what we can figure out!
The
Wine & Dine Half Marathon is one of the favorite races amongst the
runDisney enthusiasts. I got to run it a few years back, and there are a lot of really great aspects to it, especially that it coincides with the
EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival. Having experienced the weekend, I can understand that if you’re not there to participate in the races, it could be a little crowded and hectic with all that’s going on.
Unfortunately, the dates have not yet been announced, so we’ll have to make an educated guess as to when the weekend could take place. The dates for the 2026 Wine & Dine are October 22 through 25. Those dates are important for two reasons. First, the dates for the following year are traditionally announced close to the race weekend. Secondly, we’ll use that date as a reference to predict what date they’ll choose next year.
Over the last five years, the dates for race weekend have been moved around between the fourth weekend in October and the second weekend in November. Previously, this has meant that one of the three races is on
Halloween. This year, the weekend jumped a week earlier, probably to avoid the holiday. This definitely makes it more difficult to guess. Will they keep it a week before Halloween, or will they push it back into November?
If you’re arriving on October 16th, you have a good chance of missing it entirely. If you wanted to play it safe, maybe moving your date a week earlier would be a safe bet. The Food & Wine Festival starts in late August and concludes mid-November, so if you come a little earlier, that will still be something you can enjoy.
Follow runDisney on all your socials to get updates, and definitely check the
runDisney website for confirmation around the end of October, 2026. The official dates should be announced by then.
Nicole, whenever you’re coming to the parks, I’m sure you’ll have a magical visit. For your sake, I hope the only racing taking place is your party racing from ride to ride! If you have any other planning questions, don’t hesitate to bring them to us at
planDisney.
I hope you have a magical day!
Corey