Beach Club to DHS Early, and Jedi Academy Registration

[clippercfx]

We will be staying at the Beach Club. On the morning of Sunday, March 8, we have a breakfast ADR for 8:00 a.m. at Hollywood & Vine in DHS. (My five year-old daughter loves Sofia). DHS opens at 9:00 that day. The plan is to get to DHS early enough so that we can be at Hollywood & Vine at exactly 8:00 a.m. for breakfast. My eight year-old son and I will then leave breakfast early to get on line for Jedi Training Academy registration (hopefully beating everyone else who can't get on the line until after DHS opens at 9:00 a.m.) Some questions:

First, what is the best plan for getting from Beach Club to DHS in order to be sure to be able to be seated at Hollywood & Vine at exactly 8:00 a.m. (thereby maximizing our time at breakfast before my son and I leave breakfast early to get on line for Jedi Training Academy registration)? It seems to me that a cab is the way to go ... the other option would be the semi-secret early ADR bus service. How much would a cab from Beach Club to DHS cost? How long would it take? Will there be cabs waiting in front of the Beach Club that early in the morning, or will I need to make arrangements with the concierge the night before?

Second, at what time should my son and I leave breakfast to get on line for Jedi Training Academy registration? We need to score an early time for Jedi Training Academy, either the 10:10 or 12:35 slots, in order to make all of our FP+ reservations in DHS that morning.

Thank you!

clippercfx

 

[Pinkos]

Following ... We want Jedi Training in May ... any tips much appreciated!

 

[philharmagic fan]

Two suggestions - first, ask the concierge what time the boats begin running in the morning. It's a nice ride and they shouldn't be at all crowded at that hour (if, in fact, they're running). Second, if your family is up for a 1-mile-or-so walk first thing in the morning, just use the path along the canal between EPCOT and the Studios. With teens/adults, it takes us about 25 minutes, roughly the same time as the boat (once it departs Beach Club, and allowing for the stop at Swan/Dolphin). Walking is relatively fast, although probably 30-40 minutes with kids the age of yours, and totally reliable.

 

[Alesia]

Buses start running at 6:30 every morning. You would need to be at the bus stop by 7:00.

You can look up cab fare at taxifarefinder.com

I would just walk.

 

[hiroMYhero]

DHS typically opens at 8:45 and sometimes earlier.

Make sure your son and one adult exit H&V by 8:40 or so, and the CMs will release them to head to JTA sign-ups as soon as the park opens. They can return to H&V after they sign-up.

Have a screenshot of your Plans for the day so you can select from the available JTA timeslots that fit your schedule for the day.

 

[cgattis]

I would definitely walk. You are then 100% in control of when you arrive. It's a very easy walk--nice, wide, flat path. Just be prepared...kids get excited and may make the journey a lot more quickly than you want to!! LOL

 

[philschrek]

Another walk vote here. We're quick walkers and we 'raced' the boat from the Beach Club several times and beat it. Like someone mentioned, you can make your own schedule which I prefer rather than worrying about missing a boat and having to wait too long for the next one. We even walked it in the rain last May and had a fun time

 

[Robo]

 

[Cloudless Nights]

There's no way I wouldn't just walk there in this situation. It's a nice (and pretty calming) 15-20 minute walk along the river, and we did it everyday we went to HS from BWV and Beach Club. That way, you know exactly when you will get there and won't have to wait for a cab/a very slow boat (if it's even running).

 

[lillygator]

we have 8am reservations that day too, where are the sign ups located now? we were thinking of cancelling since that is the first day of day light savings!!

 

[hiroMYhero]

we have 8am reservations that day too, where are the sign ups located now? we were thinking of cancelling since that is the first day of day light savings!!

The sign-ups are currently in the Sounds Dangerous/ABC Sound Studios building. There will be CMs directing the JTA crowd to that site.

 

[mydisneykids]

Buses start running at 6:30 every morning. You would need to be at the bus stop by 7:00.

You can look up cab fare at taxifarefinder.com

I would just walk.

No buses to the Studios from the Beach Club. They only run buses there if the boats are shut down due to severe weather.

We stay at the beach club/boardwalk often and walk to the studios more often than taking the boat, the walk is always quicker. I can't tell you how many laughs and memories we have with our kids during that walk. They are not tired yet, excited for a day at the park and in Disney surrounded by a beautiful surrounding.

 

[Arden01]

We ended up walking last summer. Stayed at the BC. The boats don't start running that early as we found out and the buses weren't either. We fast walked it around 7:40 and made it to the tap stiles at HS by 8. I would obviously leave a little earlier for your 8am ADR. BTW, we got into the 12:40 JTA, but it was very crowded that day. It was the highlight of my DDs trip!

 

[Ryansdad0727]

Love the walk.

 

[clippercfx]

Hi Everyone, I just wanted to report back on how this all worked out. We set out from the Beach Club at around 7:20 a.m. to walk to DHS. Unfortunately we got lost. We took a wrong turn at the Dance Hall and ended up in between the Swan and the Dolphin, with no idea which way to go to get on the path to DHS. So we ducked into the Swan and took a cab from the Swan to DHS ($20 after tip). We arrived at the gate at DHS at around 7:45. There was a long line of people with 8:00 a.m. ADRs for Hollywood & Vine. It took a long time for the cast members to process this line and we were not seated at Hollywood & Vine until around 8:20. No problem! We enjoyed our breakfast and I ducked out with my son to sign him up for Jedi Training; we were second on line for Jedi Training registration and got the 10:10 session. We then rejoined the rest of the family at Hollywood & Vine, where the cast members arranged for the characters to come off their normal routes for pictures with us so that we could make our FastPass+ at Toy Story Mania at exactly 9:15, which gave us the time we needed to get back to Jedi Training at 9:40. Jedi Training was AWESOME! I especially loved how the Master was able to train the padawans while at the same time cracking jokes for the parents (which went over the kids' heads). In conclusion, my only suggestion would be that the way to walk from Beach Club to DHS should be clearly marked with signs. Many thanks to everyone on this board for your great advice ! ! !

 

[Fraeli]

Thank you for reporting back! We are also planning on doing the jedi academy with my son and niece next month. No breakfast and H&V, though, since DHS will open at 8am that day.

 

[msb578]

clippercfx, that's so funny because it's so familiar. Back in college ('99) we tried to walk from Epcot to DHS. Ended up on the wrong side, cut through tennis courts, pools; jaywalked across Buena Vista, ending up in a Fantasmic cast member area. Oops.