runDisney has officially announced the changes for Wine & Dine Half Marathon weekend and they are pretty major. Here is a summary:

• There is now a Wine & Dine 10K on Saturday Morning;
• There is a Lumiere’s “Two Course Challenge” that incorporates the Half Marathon and the new 10k; and
• The Half Marathon is now a morning race with a route that does not involve the Studios (NOTE: there is still a special “after hours” party later in the evening).

These are pretty drastic changes to Wine & Dine weekend. I was expecting the 10K to be added, but I didn’t think they would move the half marathon to the morning. Personally, I’m going to lament the loss of a night race through Disney World. Also, part of the charm of Wine & Dine was running the Half Marathon and going right to the post-race party. It’s weird to run in the morning and then wait all day to go to the party. (Also, I wonder how many non-runner tickets they’ll sell to the party.)

It will be interesting to see how other runners react to these changes, but I suspect people will be a little bummed that we’re losing a night race.

UPDATE: In a blog post explaining the changes, Disney says that “with all four theme parks at Disney World soon remaining open during the nighttime hours, daytime races allow us to give race participants the best possible runDisney experience along with fantastic entertainment. Based on that explanation, I don’t think we will be seeing a nighttime race at Disney World for some time.