getting to a ard at crystal palace on time..

[patch553]

hi i have booked our first adrs ever on our upcoming trip in feb 14. I have one quick question i have made a 8:05am reservation at crystal palace for breakfast the park is open for e.m.h that morning so it also opens at 8am. But my issue is when ever we tried to get to mk for rope drop our last trip the ferry or monorail never seemed to be working great to get us there so always missed rope drop by 20 mins. I'm thinking if we get the bus instead from the resort instead of driving that it takes us really close to park entrance missing having to do ferry or monorail am i right in thinking this as only ever drove parked and done ferry/monorail to mk before, also what time do buses start taking people to parks from resorts in morning?? How do you all make it to mk on time for rope drop??

 

[Monty]

Buses will start at 7AM. When you get to MK, go to the far right [I think] turnstiles where they will let you in early if you have breakfast ADRs. There's a banner above the turnstiles that says it's for breakfast reservations.

Trying to get from rope drop to CP for 8:05 would be almost impossible. They know that, so they'll let you in earlier.

 

[patch553]

Thankyou that sounds easy was worried with rope drop making it on time. Have you ever done rope drop at mk what sort of stuff do they do or is it just drop the rope and let you in??

 

[Monty]

Thankyou that sounds easy was worried with rope drop making it on time. Have you ever done rope drop at mk what sort of stuff do they do or is it just drop the rope and let you in??

There's a show. The train arrives with characters and the family of the day. they sing the viagra song [j/k, they sing the song that happens to be used in their commercials] and do a countdown to park open. I would recommend doing that on a different day than your ADRs, or you'll probably be late getting to CP.

 

[RedDad]

We actually caught a bus from our resort at 6:45am during our last trip for this same reason. If you want to make your ADR, then you definitely need to skip the opening show. Talk to your resort front desk when you check in and ask what time the first bus will run, then try and catch that one. They will start letting people with ADR's in well before rope drop. I'd try and be at the gate by 7:30am at the latest. Being able to walk down Main St while it's virtually empty is a great experience!

 

[patch553]

We actually caught a bus from our resort at 6:45am during our last trip for this same reason. If you want to make your ADR, then you definitely need to skip the opening show. Talk to your resort front desk when you check in and ask what time the first bus will run, then try and catch that one. They will start letting people with ADR's in well before rope drop. I'd try and be at the gate by 7:30am at the latest. Being able to walk down Main St while it's virtually empty is a great experience!

thankyou that sounds great we have been in mk at 5am for our wedding portrait session there was nobody in there but us its great seeing it empty.

 

[fbp]

...they sing the viagra song [j/k, they sing the song that happens to be used in their commercials].

They sing 'Casey Jr's coming down the track' in Viagra commercials? I guess that works...

 

[Monty]

They sing 'Casey's Jr's coming down the track' in Viagra commercials? I guess that works...

Close, but not quite:

 

[journ116]

In November 2012, I had scheduled an 8:15 a.m. ressie at CP, and when we arrived at MK at 7:30 a.m. (caught the 7 a.m. bus from AKV to the park), the front entrance was already crowded. Came to find out that the "powers that be" added an AM EMH for that morning about a week out from our trip....errr. We were instructed to go to the far left of the turnstiles where we were corralled near "the tunnel." I was getting extremely nervous that we'd be let in with all the other guests, but a CM let guests with breakfast ressies into the park at 7:50 a.m.. Thank goodness! This gave us time to take some uninterrupted photos in front of Cinderella's Castle, but it also put us slightly behind for our reservation. We weren't seated until 8:30 a.m., and by that point, the park was being flooded with travelers.

Rope drop begins about 10 min. before the park opens...if you keep your current breakfast reservation, you will miss the show.

If it's at all possible, I would try to switch your breakfast reservation for a non-AM EMH. You will run less of a chance of riding a crowded bus to MK, can kinda saunter down Main Street, and fit in some nearly crowd-less photos of the castle! Keep in mind, busses run an hour before park opening, sometimes 1 hr. 15 min. prior.

BTW, we'll be in WDW at the same time in February 2014!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We've actually gotten buses before 7am, but for the 8:05...you should be ok between 7 and 7:30 for a bus. I usually go on the early side just in case the buses are running late. You can also ask most early morning bus drivers to see if they can help you make a character meal...just in case you have a long wait for an MK bus. We had an 8:05 at CP 2 weeks ago, got a bus from AKL a little after 7 and were just fine.

 

[luv]

If you're at the bus stop at 6:30, there is little chance you'll miss your 8:05 breakfast. If you drove out at 6:30, there would be little chance you'd miss it, too.

The key to making it on time is really just leaving early enough to make it.

I've had many, many 8:05 Crystal Palace breakfasts. Never missed one.

Good luck!