Hi Paige!
Welcome to planDisney! Your Walt Disney World Resort vacation is approaching fast - how exciting! April is a wonderful time of year to visit the parks. One of my favorite festivals, the
EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival, will be in full bloom and I hope you can check it out!
Paige, your vacation will also overlap with the
runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend. I've participated in several runDisney events and I don't think you'll notice much of an impact on your vacation plans. While the
park hours for Magic Kingdom Park are not available just yet for your arrival date, I did a quick check of park hours during the upcoming
runDisney Princess Half Marathon Weekend later this month. You'll be happy to hear that
Magic Kingdom Park is open until 10:00 PM and 11:00 PM on the nights ahead of those races.
runDisney races have very early start times - typically 5:00 AM - and the Cast Members and volunteers who work hard supporting these events are out throughout the night preparing. You may notice some signage or character areas being set up in the areas outside the parks and around the roadways, but your evening in the park should be uninterrupted. I would encourage you to take a peek at the scheduled park hours when they post (typically 60 days ahead) so you can make all of your final plans. You may see some traffic delays on Sunday morning in particular as the Hakuna Matata 10 Miler is the longest race of the weekend, but if you're staying at a
Disney Resorts Collection hotel and taking advantage of
Disney's complimentary transportation, they should be able to navigate that for you with ease!
Speaking of 60 days ahead of your arrival, don't forget that you can soon start making
advanced dining reservations and booking many activities from the
Enchanting Extras Collection. If you're looking for a fun evening outside of the parks, I recommend a round of golf at
Fantasia Gardens and Fairways Miniature Golf and then walking over to
Disney's Yacht Club Resort for dinner at one of my favorite hidden gems,
Ale & Compass Restaurant.
Paige, I hope this helps as you prepare for your upcoming Walt Disney World Resort vacation! You've got a friend in me here at planDisney! Please stop by and see us again with any other questions you have!
See ya real soon,
Kristi