Are Pre-Park Opening Breakfasts Still A Thing?

[jpeden]

We did a ton of these pre-COVID when it was just the wife and I as a way to jump the lines (and back when you could order a la carte at Be Our Guest, get a muffin and drink and be on your way to SDMT). Now that we have kids, I wanted to do Tusker House for our AK day and since we are staying at AKL, I thought it would be a great idea if we could get an early reservation so we could go and be close to the Safari when it opened. However, I can't seem to find if the breakfast restaurants open early anymore (and I wonder with every park having 30 minute early entry if it's even worth it), and if they do, how it works now versus how it worked pre-pandemic.

Thanks!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Yes, this is still a thing, but it's not going to gain you any park time.

Example: Animal Kingdom might open at 9:00. The earliest you're going to get a reservation for Tusker House is 8:05. The park opens to resort guests at 8:30. There's zero chance you'll be done with your 8:05 breakfast by 8:30, so you'll actually be getting a later start at the attractions than the people who didn't do breakfast.

Separately, Kilimanjaro Safaris usually doesn't open during Early Entry anyways, so none of the 8:30 people are rope dropping it. They're all going to Avatar.

If you arrive before 8:30 and head right to the Safari, you'll be on one of the first trucks at 9:00.

Final piece of unsolicited advice... Tusker House has an excellent mix of both sweet and savory options. We like to book it around 10:15 AM and cover both our breakfast and our lunch, since a lot of the options are very lunch-y.

Try the overnight oats.

 

[jpeden]

Yes, this is still a thing, but it's not going to gain you any park time.

Example: Animal Kingdom might open at 9:00. The earliest you're going to get a reservation for Tusker House is 8:05. The park opens to resort guests at 8:30. There's zero chance you'll be done with your 8:05 breakfast by 8:30, so you'll actually be getting a later start at the attractions than the people who didn't do breakfast.

Separately, Kilimanjaro Safaris usually doesn't open during Early Entry anyways, so none of the 8:30 people are rope dropping it. They're all going to Avatar.

If you arrive before 8:30 and head right to the Safari, you'll be on one of the first trucks at 9:00.

Final piece of unsolicited advice... Tusker House has an excellent mix of both sweet and savory options. We like to book it around 10:15 AM and cover both our breakfast and our lunch, since a lot of the options are very lunch-y.

Try the overnight oats.

This is what I thought. I think we will go with the brunch-ish time period instead of trying to do the pre-park opening. Thanks!

 

[nickys]

This is what I thought. I think we will go with the brunch-ish time period instead of trying to do the pre-park opening. Thanks!

I agree. If you’re early risers you’d be better off using the early entry and the next hour or so and then going for brunch.

Just be aware that the Safari doesn’t usually open until the official park opening time, and even then is variable depending on the animals.

 

[jpeden]

I agree. If you’re early risers you’d be better off using the early entry and the next hour or so and then going for brunch.

Just be aware that the Safari doesn’t usually open until the official park opening time, and even then is variable depending on the animals.

We have been to Disney probably 15 times since 2015 and I always forget that about the safari (how I don’t know).