WDW Magic Kingdom Disney Princess Half Marathon 2020

In February 2020, I spent a week in Orlando, Florida for the runDisney Disney Princess Half Marathon. While I did not run it this year, I have run two half marathons so far. I didn’t have the time to train for the 2020 version. However, my wife trained every Saturday for weeks in preparation for a fun Disney race. WDW Magic Kingdom was about to get overrun with thousands of runners.

We arrived at EPCOT Center before dawn along with tens of thousands of participants and spectators. The easternmost parking lot looked like a mix of race prep and a late-night rave all mixed with a splash of Disney. We coordinated where I’d meet them by the finish line and off they went.

After watching the start of the race, we rode the monorail to the WDW Magic Kingdom. While I have done this many times in my life, it was my first time riding at sunrise. We watched thousands of runners run on the street below us like tiny ants. As we approached the Magic Kingdom stop, we could see the normally crowded ticket gates wide open for runners and guests.

As a guest myself, it was very strange just walking into the Magic Kingdom without scanning a ticket. We made our way down Main Street U.S.A.’s sidewalks as the street was reserved for runners. We knew we had some time before they would run through Cinderella Castle and head back to EPCOT. So while we waited, I photographed the hub area at sunrise, which I had never done before.

The race participants ran through the castle from Tomorrowland to Adventureland. Here are a few of my favorite Magic Kingdom photos (Main Street U.S.A. photos) from race day and from another day on which we visited the park!

runDisney offers several race weekends each year with the Princess weekend being in February. It is normally a good time for a race, but when the sun comes up, the race can get hot.

I am a Dayton Ohio based travel photographer.