Disneyland Half Marathon Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Jason L.
Chino Hills, CA

  (02-11-2010)

"This was my first ever half marathon so I can't compare it yet to any other races. I chose this one mainly because I knew a lot of other people that were running it and also thought it would be pretty neat to get to run through Disneyland, California Adventure, and Angel Stadium.

The registration process was simple enough. I received an e-mail that had a one-page form that I filled out and brought with me when I went to pick up my number and race packet. When I got there, I was told they were charging all the race participants to park but I just told the parking attendant I was also having dinner at Goofy's Kitchen with my family. My friend was staying at the hotel that weekend with his family and having dinner at Goofy's Kitchen that evening so I asked him if he could have my parking ticket validated and he kindly did so.

On the actual race day, I arrived really early (around 4am) because I wasn't sure about the traffic and parking situation and also meeting up with my friend to have breakfast. I was there early enough that there wasn't even a parking attendant at the parking structure so I was able to get in and not have to pay for parking.

The first 4 miles take you through parts of Disneyland and California Adventure and were pretty crowded along the course. I remember having to come to a complete stop for several minutes at the first water stop. Once you leave the parks, there's not much to see until you pass by the Honda Center and Angel Stadium. I was surprised that there was actually a small crowd inside Angel Stadium cheering for the runners. That was pretty cool.

There was plenty of water and Powerade available about every 2 miles along the race route. Crowd support was good and there were a lot of bands, cheerleaders, and other entertainment along the route. I carried a camera with me and actually took pictures during the race and some short video clips. Looking back I'm glad I did this.

I'll probably run this race again next year because I had a lot of fun doing it. The only drawbacks for me was the bottlenecks throughout the race and the cost! "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Zachary E.
Toluca Lake, CA

  (09-30-2009)

"I've run this race 4x now, and they made some noticeable changes for this race. One, the registration and packet pickup were not well organized - they put the initial packet pickup downstairs, below the expo, without any real signage to tell people... just Disney employees trying to tell everyone where to go, where not to go, not to exit those doors, exit these doors, etc. So you go down to get your stuff, just to get a few things and then you have to come back upstairs to the expo hall to get your bag of goodies/shirt/etc. It just seemed to be confusing and not necessary... it worked fine the way they had it the past 3 years, why add this now?

Second, they changed the first part of the course, taking out a lot of where we had run in the parks the last 3 years, replacing it with more running behind the scenes on park property. Now, true, inside the parks the paths are narrow and get very crowded, which is probably the complaint they tried to fix... but it's also a big reason why people want to do the Disney 1/2 in the first place!!! The behind the scenes running was wider in most places, but it also took us by their dump and stables (ugh... what a stink!), and definitely wasn't as scenic as it had been in the past. The end of the course took us a bit more into CA Adventure, but we didn't get to run through Downtown Disney.

We did get to run on the field at Angel stadium though, unlike last year, which was cool... but that was because the Angels had an away game that weekend...

Overall, I still really like this race and would recommend it to others, though it's $100+ and it is only a half marathon! So, I'm definitely having to rethink whether I can afford it again next year.
"

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2009

Jennifer T.
Los Angeles, CA

  (09-06-2009)

"Let me start by saying that a good amount of the course is pretty fun. You get to run the grounds of the "Happiest Place on Earth" - run off a ramp on the 5 fwy, run around the bases at Angel Stadium and around the surrounding neighborhoods in Anaheim.

I didn't have a goal time for this half and was doing it for fun... despite that the course traffic drove me crazy! The first 4-6 miles were filled with bottle neck after bottle neck of really narrow parts of the course (about 10 runners wide). There were parts where runners were at a dead stop.

The expo was fairly small and nothing to write home about, the finisher's medal and shirt are very cool! I would definitely recommend doing this race to folks for the novelty and the sights but I doubt that I will be running it again.

If Disney offered free park admission (which they don't) to runners I would definitely do it again. The fact that you don't get park admission and have to pay $12 bucks for parking for the Expo and Race Day make it a one and done for me. "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Sandra .
San Francisco, CA

  (08-18-2009)

"I am a huge fan of Disney races. The DL half winds through both Magic Kingdom and CA Adventures. That takes you up to about mile 3 of the race. The rest of the race is on the streets of Anaheim. This portion is not as fun. The year I did it, we weren't allowed to run through the baseball stadium which was a bit of a bummer as it would have been a nice pick-up at the end of the race. When in Anaheim they do have high school bands/cheerleaders out to cheer.

This race is usually warm and humid! If the weather cooperated it is actually a pretty fast course, though. Not a lot of hills at all.

I recommend carrying a camera at Disney races. When on Disney property there are a lot of photo-ops with characters. They always have a Disney employee/handler with them who will gladly take a photograph for you.

Disney race medals are THE BEST!! They also give out tech tees."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2008

Zachary E.
Toluca Lake, CA

  (07-29-2009)

"I ran in the inaugural race in 2006, and have run in it every year since. This is the race that got me into running. I love the Disney aspect of it, and think they do a good job of organizing it. The first 4 miles or so are crowded, as they go through the parks, but I run in the first corral, so it's not too bad... the majority of the course is through boring parts of Anaheim, but then it ends up over by the Honda Center and Angel Stadium, which is fun. The only thing I would hold against it, is that it can still be hot in So.Cal Labor Day weekend - so the race needs to start earlier or change dates (I prefer starting earlier). :-)"

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2006