Why We're Warning You About a Random November Weekend in Disney World

If you ask us, one of the BEST parts about fall at Disney World is the opportunity to check out EPCOT’s International Food and Wine Festival. With the Food and Wine Festival comes another special event… .

Wine and Dine Half Marathon Finish Line

Yes, it’s the Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend! In the 2023, it will take place from November 2nd to 5th and you can participate in one, or all, of three races themed to fan-favorite Disney movies — and the dinner tables you’ll find in them. 😉 Wine and Dine is great for those participating in the races, because you wake up early, run through empty parks, return to the hotel for a nap, and then replenish with all the cuisine at EPCOT (or another park, but we recommend taking advantage of those festival booths). However, if you aren’t participating in the races, you might be… inconvenienced.

For the runners, the things that take place over the weekend are all part of the experience. It’s fun! However, if you’re not a runner and don’t really care about the races, these circumstances are less than ideal. Let’s talk about it!

Crowds

Throughout the weekend, there might be a spike in crowds as the weekend runners will be visiting the parks after the races. As a runner, it’s fun to see everyone in their participant shirts and new medals, but as someone not participating, this spike in crowds can be less than ideal.

Last year’s Wine and Dine crowds in EPCOT

Just be prepared for longer lines, especially at food locations. wink 😉

Road Closures

Disney doesn’t really want anyone to run over the runners, so they do close the roads. If you’re driving to Disney World, the path you have to take might be a bit frustrating.

Pro tip: MONORAIL.

We recommend working out plans to use the Skyliner or Monorail as soon as possible. Typically, the roads are back to normal by 10AM.

Lack of dining reservations.

We runners LOVE to eat. We recommend making those dining reservations sooner rather than later because there will probably be slim pickin’ closer to time.

A post-run meal for us looks like THIS

There also might be looooong lines throughout World Showcase for all the runners hoping to fill up on carbs and booze.

You probably won’t have luck at last-minute spa visits

We know a lot of folks who have made last-minute spa appointments while visiting Disney World, but that probably won’t happen during a race weekend.

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

All the runners will be getting those post-run massages! Like dining reservations, we recommend booking spa days sooner rather than later as well.

There you have it! We hope that this post is helpful as you guys are wrapping up plans for early-November trips to Disney World. Make sure to follow along so that you never miss a thing!