What is an "Ultra Dopey"?

Any conversation about planning a Disney World vacation usually starts with “So exciting!” before transitioning to “So exhausting!”. It can be overwhelming just thinking about the myriad of decisions. When are we going? How will we get there? What resort should we choose? How should we plan our park days? What’s the best way to structure Lightning Lane return times to optimize additional Tier 1 attractions while mixing in scheduled shows and targeting our favorite snack options? You get the idea. And that doesn’t even account for the actual vacation, which if done right will be anything but relaxing. But I love it. The months of planning, the on-the-fly execution, and the satisfaction of seeing my family create new memories from all the little moments that make Disney World special. Disney World is a once every year or two vacation for us, and I make sure we seize each day from rope drop to fireworks. Carpe Mickey!

Conversely when you tell people about the Dopey Challenge, runDisney’s crowl jewel of race weekends, you’ll probably skip the “So exciting!” and go straight to “WHY?!?”. Admittedly it sounds like a crazy thing to do. Four straight days of races, progressing from the 5k to 10k to half marathon to marathon, adds up to 48.6 miles (a figure any Dopey Challenger could tell you without hesitation). Not only that, but the races all start at 5am (or 4:30am for the 2025 Walt Disney World Marathon), so you’re running all those miles on limited sleep as well. Thankfully runDisney always puts on a great event, and you will forget how tired you feel the instant you get to the Epcot parking lot and feel yourself immersed in the entertainment. DJ’s! Characters! People in elaborate costumes that are not characters! Completing Dopey Challenge, and really any of the other runDisney challenges throughout the year, is a remarkable achievement and incredibly fun.

Running the Dopey Challenge is also a big deal. But does that mean I will sacrifice a family vacation to Disney World to run in a bunch of races? Nope! If we’re at Disney World, then we are doing Disney World big. That means when I finish my race for the day I’m hoping on the first bus back to the resort so we can be ready to rope drop. We do a full park day (maybe a mid-day nap built in, as applicable), and we don’t leave until the last firework has gone off and we get ushered to the exit.

After I completed my first Dopey Challenge in 2023, a friend congratulated me by equating it to an ultramarathon. So what do you call a Dopey Challenge plus full park days with the family? An Ultra Dopey, of course! Think of it as Disney World on Hard Mode. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart, and I would certainly recommend being well trained to not only run long distances but to also press on for a full day of walking (and carrying tired children) on limited sleep. After my first in-person marathon in 2022, when I “only” ran the Walt Disney World Marathon (sidebar – the Dopey Challenge is one of the few places you’ll ever hear “only” and “marathon” together), I was hurting pretty good and certainly could not have done a park day. But I learned my lessons, trained up, and was able to power through in 2023. The above picture was taken in Epcot after I finished my first Dopey and then hustled back through the park entrance to meet my family at Frozen Ever After (for the sake of everyone around me I did make it back to my resort to shower off… eventually).

If you’ve run the Dopey Challenge and felt scared off from fully enjoying the rest of Disney World, or if you’re thinking of running the Dopey or any other runDisney weekend and find yourself wondering if going all the way to Disney World or Disneyland is worth it for one or several races, I’m still standing to say you can do it. Henceforth, the completion of the Dopey Challenge along with full rope-drop-to-fireworks park days shall be dubbed the Ultra Dopey. Carpe Mickey!