Walt Disney World Announces Sweeping Closures Ahead of Busy October Weekend

runDisney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend is officially here, and if you thought you could just roll up to EPCOT on Saturday or Sunday morning like any other day, think again. Disney just dropped the full list of road closures and transportation details for the 2026 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend, and some of these closures start at 3:00 AM. Yes, really.

Whether you’re running, cheering someone on, or just trying to make it to a park without sitting in a detour, here’s what’s going on.

Saturday Is Annoying but Manageable

The Wine & Dine 10K runs Saturday morning, October 24, and the closures are mostly around EPCOT. Backstage Lane at the Red Lot Entrance closes from 3:00 AM to 8:00 AM, and the Epcot Parking Exit Loops to Epcot Center Drive East close from 3:00 AM to 7:30 AM. The Crush Lot Exit Bridge to Epcot Center Drive East shuts down from 3:30 AM to 7:30 AM, and the World Drive South Ramp to Epcot Center Drive East closes from 3:45 AM to 7:30 AM.

Epcot Center Drive West to the Epcot Auto Plaza and Epcot Center Drive West between Bonnet Creek and World Drive are both closed from 4:15 AM to 7:30 AM. The two that stick around longest are Overpass Road West at Bonnet Creek and Woodpecker Lane at the Yellow Lot, both closed from 3:00 AM to 9:00 AM.

So most of it clears out by 7:30 AM. Not terrible.

Sunday Is the Real Problem

The Half Marathon on Sunday, October 25, is a whole different story. This race covers much more ground, and the closures extend well beyond EPCOT.

Buena Vista Drive East between Osceola Parkway and Cypress Drive, the Buena Vista Drive West Ramp to World Drive South, and the Osceola Parkway West Ramp to Buena Vista Drive East are all closed from 4:00 AM to 9:30 AM. The World Drive North Ramp to Buena Vista Drive closes from 4:00 AM to 9:00 AM.

On the World Drive side, the World Drive South Flyover Ramp, World Drive South to Osceola Parkway, the Vista Boulevard Ramp to World Drive South, the EPCOT Center Drive West Ramp to World Drive South, and Floridian Way South at the Bear Island Road Exit Ramp all close from 3:45 AM to 9:30 AM. The World Drive South Ramp to Epcot Center Drive East stays closed even longer, from 3:45 AM to 10:00 AM.

Around EPCOT, Backstage Lane North at the Red Lot Entrance closes from 3:00 AM to 8:00 AM, the EPCOT Parking Exit Loops to EPCOT Center Drive East close from 3:00 AM to 7:00 AM, and Epcot Center Drive West between Vacation Club Way and World Drive closes from 4:30 AM to 9:00 AM. The Crush Lot Exit Bridge to Epcot Center Drive East is closed from 3:30 AM to 10:00 AM on a modified schedule.

And the winners for longest closure are Overpass Road West at Bonnet Creek and Woodpecker Lane at the Yellow Lot, both shut down from 3:00 AM all the way to 10:30 AM.

If you have an early breakfast reservation or rope drop plans Sunday, you’re going to want to leave way earlier than usual.

Getting to the Expo

The good news is Disney is running free transportation to the runDisney Health & Fitness Expo at ESPN Wide World of Sports from all Disney hotels, Shades of Green, the Swan, the Dolphin, and the Swan Reserve.

Buses run Thursday, October 22 from 8:15 AM to 8:30 PM, Friday, October 23 from 11:30 AM to 7:30 PM, and Saturday, October 24 from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM. If you can swing Thursday, that’s your biggest window by far.

Race Day Buses Have Hard Cutoffs

For the 5K on Friday, October 23, buses run continuously both ways from 2:30 AM to 10:00 AM. Easy enough.

The 10K and Half Marathon are stricter. For Saturday’s 10K, buses run from the resorts to EPCOT from 3:00 AM to 5:00 AM and back from 6:30 AM to 9:00 AM. For Sunday’s Half Marathon, buses run to EPCOT from 2:30 AM to 5:00 AM and back from 6:30 AM to 10:30 AM.

Miss that 5:00 AM bus and you’re on your own, with half the roads already closed. Not a fun way to start race day.

Disney recommends 5K runners and spectators arrive one hour before their projected start time. For the 10K and Half Marathon, you should be at the EPCOT parking lot by 4:00 AM.

Parking and Ride Share Details

Race parking is in Crush (rows 201 to 216), Dory (rows 401 to 417), HeiHei (rows 101 to 110), Moana (rows 301 to 310), and Wall-E (rows 501 to 513). Parking is free before 7:30 AM, which is at least one perk of getting up in the middle of the night.

For the 5K and 10K, ride-share drop-off and pick-up is next to the HeiHei lot. The Half Marathon is more confusing because the spot moves. It’s at the EPCOT ride share loop from 12:00 AM to 4:00 AM, the Charter lot from 4:30 AM to 10:30 AM, and then back at the loop after 10:30 AM. Make sure your driver knows where to go, because this is exactly the kind of thing that turns into a mess at 5:00 AM.

Race weekend is always a blast, but it comes with a lot of moving parts. Check your routes, set multiple alarms, and plan around these closures before the weekend sneaks up on you.