Is it possible to do a "walk up" to Crystal Palace before MK opens

[gonetowdw]

We planned our trip later than normal. It has been our tradition to eat breakfast at the Crystal Palace either on our first day or last day. I have always been able to get an ADR for before park opening but so far no luck, I will keep checking though! I do have reservations for 9:25. I know with the frozen characters and Mine train things have changed. I did read somewhere that people are making reservations just to get in early and they are not going to the reservation. I guess the logic is that it is worth the $20 or so to be first in line for the Frozen meet and greet. So, my question is will they let you in the park early to try to get into the Crystal Palace or do you absolutely have to have an ADR? We have no desire to see the Ana and Elsa and I already have fast passes for mine train.

 

[ShookieJones]

Unfortunately, they won't let you into the park if you're not on the reservation list.

 

[jaysmom4285]

You're supposed to have a valid ADR in order to get into MK before park opening. That being said, there have been several times when I have gone to the designated turnstile for those with ADRs and not been asked to show any proof that I had one. I just said I had an ADR (which I did) for a specific time, and I was just waved in without a word and without anyone checking. I am NOT saying this to encourage anyone to cheat the system. I'm just stating a fact - they don't always confirm that you have the ADR.

 

[gonetowdw]

Unfortunately, they won't let you into the park if you're not on the reservation list.

Thank you, that is what I thought. Just hoping to get in early to see my empty Main Street!

 

[sxeensweet]

Unfortunately you cannot get into the park before opening w/o a reservation, and even if you could Crystal Palace is ALWAYS really busy/full. We have always had to wait in a long line even to check in for breakfast. I have seen them turn away walkups especially before park opening b/c that is a popular time for reservations.

 

[gonetowdw]

You're supposed to have a valid ADR in order to get into MK before park opening. That being said, there have been several times when I have gone to the designated turnstile for those with ADRs and not been asked to show any proof that I had one. I just said I had an ADR (which I did) for a specific time, and I was just waved in without a word and without anyone checking. I am NOT saying this to encourage anyone to cheat the system. I'm just stating a fact - they don't always confirm that you have the ADR.

Same here, I did have a reservation once for after 9 and I did go to the reservation turnstile. They just waved us in without checking. I am not trying to cheat the system either. I was actually hoping to be able to get into my reservation early. Thanks so much for replying!

 

[gonetowdw]

Unfortunately you cannot get into the park before opening w/o a reservation, and even if you could Crystal Palace is ALWAYS really busy/full. We have always had to wait in a long line even to check in for breakfast. I have seen them turn away walkups especially before park opening b/c that is a popular time for reservations.

Thank you!

 

[dadddio]

It seems that magic bands would make it easy for them to verify the reservation since you have to swipe at the turnstyles and your reservation is tied into your MDE account.

 

[katie123]

We had pre park opening breakfast ressie at CP two weeks ago and cast members were checking every reservation prior to letting people through the turnstile. No way would we have got in without a reservation that morning- cast members being very vigilant!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

We planned our trip later than normal. It has been our tradition to eat breakfast at the Crystal Palace either on our first day or last day. I have always been able to get an ADR for before park opening but so far no luck, I will keep checking though! I do have reservations for 9:25. I know with the frozen characters and Mine train things have changed. I did read somewhere that people are making reservations just to get in early and they are not going to the reservation. I guess the logic is that it is worth the $20 or so to be first in line for the Frozen meet and greet. So, my question is will they let you in the park early to try to get into the Crystal Palace or do you absolutely have to have an ADR? We have no desire to see the Ana and Elsa and I already have fast passes for mine train.

If you book a reservation for 8am, get into the park early, they're not going to let you hang around the rope, that's for sure. Not sure what you would do for the full hour wait. If people are really booking ADRs early and then not going, that's pretty awful especially considering there are people out there who WANT those ADRs and can't have them now because some greedy Gus has it booked just so they can be first in line for a ride. If they catch on people are doing that, they may implement the same thing at CP that they do at CRT. Full deposit when you make the reservation.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Our CP experiences are very similar to @jaysmom4285 . We've done pre-park opening at CP multiple times, CRT and BBB. Never once have we been asked for our ADR numbers nor have they ever checked the list. MK is the only park where we've experienced this...i.e. every other park will check your ADR time/info and will hold you back until you hit an OK time to enter the park. Still, that shouldn't be license to abuse the system.

 

[gonetowdw]

If you book a reservation for 8am, get into the park early, they're not going to let you hang around the rope, that's for sure. Not sure what you would do for the full hour wait. If people are really booking ADRs early and then not going, that's pretty awful especially considering there are people out there who WANT those ADRs and can't have them now because some greedy Gus has it booked just so they can be first in line for a ride. If they catch on people are doing that, they may implement the same thing at CP that they do at CRT. Full deposit when you make the reservation.

I agree 100% with this. I want a legitimate reservation and I have read multiple times that seeing Frozen characters are so important to their children that they will make the reservation, walk around, take pictures and then go stand at the rope (first in line). I think this is what made me wonder if I could get in on one of these no shows. I am afraid that CP is going to get like CRT. Back in the day (sound really old now) Tony's had a breakfast and it was awesome. Need more choices in MK for breakfast.

 

[gonetowdw]

We had pre park opening breakfast ressie at CP two weeks ago and cast members were checking every reservation prior to letting people through the turnstile. No way would we have got in without a reservation that morning- cast members being very vigilant!

Thanks...it used to be that you could walk in with a reservation around the 9-9:30 timeframe. I am not trying to beat the system at all, just trying to see if we could get into CP earlier. Thanks for replying!

 

[gonetowdw]

Our CP experiences are very similar to @jaysmom4285 . We've done pre-park opening at CP multiple times, CRT and BBB. Never once have we been asked for our ADR numbers nor have they ever checked the list. MK is the only park where we've experienced this...i.e. every other park will check your ADR time/info and will hold you back until you hit an OK time to enter the park. Still, that shouldn't be license to abuse the system.

I agree...I am not trying to abuse the system. I also have been able to get in early at MK multiple times for a 9:10 (or reservation before 9:30). Most of the time, I have been able to get the pre park opening ADR so I never had to think about this. What annoyed me was when I read ( on a couple other forums) that people are making these ADR's to get in early to be "first in line". I read that someone had a family of 5, made a reservation at CP for 2 and did not show up for the reservation. They were out 20 to be "first in line".

 

[PEPPER2029]

when we went in april they did check our adr's. with that being said if they didn't check i could say i had a ressie and just go to the frozen line then that would turn into a mob before the park even opens.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Its going to get to a point where you get physically escorted from gate to CP to prevent this happening.