Dopey Challenge Redux: The WDW 5K

Hello and welcome to my Dopey Challenge 2025 trip report! Read all the entries in this report here. Onward!

And just like that, my Dopey Challenge began! Race number one dawned rather chillier than we all would have liked, but the stress levels were low – trip buddies Kate and Erika were doing the WDW 5K with me, and we had already agreed to walk the course. We had a long weekend of races ahead of us, and there was no need to get overexcited.

That did mean that we had minimal prospect of substantially warming up on the course, and we made some minor modifications to our costume plans. Although initially scheduled for the 10K, we pivoted to our Lock, Shock, and Barrel costumes. I added a thermal shirt under my rib tank – I’m sure it was a great look!

Alas, it wasn’t enough; I could tell as soon as we headed to the race bus that it would not be enough. Luckily I found salvation! Somebody in the corrals had abandoned a fleece blanket… not just a fleece blanket, but a fleece SPIDERWEB blanket. Holy thematically appropriate for Oogie’s boys, Batman! I draped it over my shoulders and instantly felt 100% better. I kept it on like a cape for the entire race and felt surprisingly comfortable the whole time. The race was saved!

The 5K is a pretty chill (no pun intended) affair, and after the usual race-chatter-and-anthem fanfare, off we walked across the start line. We were by no means the only ones electing not to run; in fact, I’d say more people around us were walking than running. Mind you, we started from corral D, which may have been a factor. Still, I bet the Dopey Challenge had something to do with it.

That doesn’t mean there weren’t any runners, of course, which is how we came to see a woman eat pavement in the first half mile. She was running, tripped on one of those raised light reflectors on the dividing line, and went right down. Thankfully she popped back up and claimed to be okay! But I made a mental note to keep an eye out for those all weekend.

Shortly after that I witnessed a little kid come across a lone shoe, which he sprinted forward to return to a different little kid who had apparently walked out of it and decided to just keep going. Never a dull moment during the 5K!

Which is good, because for a little over a mile we were hanging out on random roads, and I don’t remember that much course entertainment during that period. We entertained ourselves instead, chatting at random, and finally found ourselves entering Epcot via the backstage area near Test Track.

Once inside Epcot proper we encountered our first characters in the form of Hollywood dapper Minnie and Mickey. They looked very cute, but the line was so impossibly bonkers none of us even so much as floated the idea of waiting.

So we forged on, up the promenade to the lagoon and into World Showcase. Here we stopped in Norway so Erika and Kate could use the bathroom. From there we meandered along, seeing character stops for Bambi, Snow White, and Pinocchio characters, and lines to match. We elected to skip.

As we exited World Showcase, we briefly considered stopping for Jose Carioca and Panchito Pistoles, but not even two out of three caballeros could entice us between the line length and the temperatures.

The line for the Spaceship Earth photo op was crazy too! We contented ourselves with a selfie.

And so we left Epcot, strolled under the finish line, and got out. I know! Hardly a riveting report. One could even argue we didn’t enter into the spirit of the thing. But we all had two to three more races ahead of us and whew, the 5K character lines sure are a LOT. I’d estimate every line was at least 40 minutes.

As it was, the bus line was itself a wait – I’d say it took 20 minutes and five or six busses before we boarded. Erika was particularly icy, and we snuggled under my newly acquired blanket until we made it back to Old Key West.

This was my first runDisney 5K since my last Dopey Challenge in 2015, and it was fine. I enjoyed walking and talking with my friends. I was pleased by how open the course remained, and while character lines were long it’s always lovely to see Epcot lit up for a race.

That being said, I don’t anticipate signing up for another one any time soon. They’re expensive for a 5K, and for me personally, the value isn’t there. I just don’t have the patience for that length of character lines over so few miles.

On the other hand, I could see it being worth it for families with children eager to runDisney but too young for longer distances. Ditto people who are just getting started with running, or speedy Corral As who want to really race. (Remember, kids, value is subjective!)

In conclusion, the WDW 5K was a relatively relaxed beginning to my Dopey Challenge adventure. Thank you to runDisney for putting on another delightful event and Kate and Erika for being my race buddies. Most of all, thank you to whoever abandoned that fleece spiderweb blanket – its race adventures weren’t over yet…

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