Breakfast before park opening

[MarieKat]

I have two breakfast ADRs, one in the MK and one in Epcot, that are before the opening hours of the park. Do you just use your Magic Band to get in? Is there anything I need to know? Thanks!

 

[mzsarah10]

You will need your band to get in. They will have a list and will ask you your name to verify. I always take my reservation number just in case.

 

[Nancyg56]

The only thing I will add is that they do not line you up in "order" so if it is possible, get there earlier rather than later. You check in and are seated in the order you check in, not according to your time.

 

[RafikiTiki21]

At the front gates to both parks, look for a CM with (likely) a clipboard and people queuing up. They are confirming your party there, then letting you in before the park opens. Usually forms a line on the far right or far left of the gates. Then you check in again at the restaurant.

You definitely need your MagicBands because you are getting into the park, and will need it again to pay, etc. Wear it as you would for any other park day.

At the front gates, they will care less about your exact time and more that you have a pre-opening ADR at all. At the restaurant they will probably be seating based on actual reservation time, give or take.

 

[Lori74]

where does bag check fit into this at mk?

 

[RafikiTiki21]

where does bag check fit into this at mk?

Bag check is before the gates/queue. "Lower", or closer to the water than the actual gates/entrance.

As you approach the MK from the bus/boat/monorail, the bag check is approached first. Go through this step, then look to the far right or far left for the CM and people lined up for pre-opening ADRs. Don't hesitate to ask a CM, plenty standing around and welcoming guests. It won't be terribly crowded given the time and pre-opening crowd, so it shouldn't be stressful.

 

[Lori74]

ok great thank you!

 

[gem21]

The last time I had a pre-park opening ADR was before MagicBands/MDE (May 2013), and they didn't ask for anything, name, confirmation #, nothing. We used our KTTW card, so maybe it was linked to that (I don't think that's how it worked back then, but who knows!), but we were never asked for anything.

 

[RafikiTiki21]

This year, they asked for name/party size/ADR time to look up on the clipboard. I was suggesting MagicBands for the rest of the day, and also to physically get in the park. Sorry if that was confusing...

 

[DisneyDreamer ♥]

I was wondering about this myself, good to know!

 

[cruisingmom1977]

The only thing I will add is that they do not line you up in "order" so if it is possible, get there earlier rather than later. You check in and are seated in the order you check in, not according to your time.

This wasn't the case at Hollywood and Vine last year. We had an 8:05 reservation and they lined us all up at the gate in order of when we arrived. They didn't open the gate until exactly 8:00. We all filed to H&V where we all lined up to check in at the podium. Even though we were mid to end of the pack, we were one of the first families called in to a table. I don't know what the policy is at any of the other restaurants or even if this is the normal policy at H&V, I am just stating our experience.

 

[nkereina]

My experience in late 2014 at MK was that no one verified our ADRs from a list. We scanned our bands and were held after the Mickey tapstyles before you go under the train into Town Square. We were all let in as a group around 7:45 (9am park open) to proceed to whichever restaurant we were headed to. There were A LOT of us since there was 2 breakfast restaurants (now 3) so it would have been difficult for them to check people off.

At AK, they DID cross our name off a list but there were fewer people entering at that time.

 

[Nancyg56]

This wasn't the case at Hollywood and Vine last year. We had an 8:05 reservation and they lined us all up at the gate in order of when we arrived. They didn't open the gate until exactly 8:00. We all filed to H&V where we all lined up to check in at the podium. Even though we were mid to end of the pack, we were one of the first families called in to a table. I don't know what the policy is at any of the other restaurants or even if this is the normal policy at H&V, I am just stating our experience.

That's interesting because we lines up at the entrance of both Epcot and MK to be admitted and from there, when we were allowed entry we checked in at the podium of BOG and Akershus. First checked in first called. I guess it depends on who is checking you in.

 

[Dislover1991]

We did Tusker House & AK only has 1 pre-opening meal. So we had our bags checked & had to meet someone off to the side who checked the reservation list for our names (we didn't need a confirmation number) then we scanned our magic bands.

At MK, it was the same process, but since they have 3 pre-opening meals, they had 3 different CMs looking up the ADRs (1 for each restaurant) and we then scanned our magic bands at the turnstile.

 

[PoohsFan1]

My experience in late 2014 at MK was that no one verified our ADRs from a list. We scanned our bands and were held after the Mickey tapstyles before you go under the train into Town Square. We were all let in as a group around 7:45 (9am park open) to proceed to whichever restaurant we were headed to. There were A LOT of us since there was 2 breakfast restaurants (now 3) so it would have been difficult for them to check people off.

At AK, they DID cross our name off a list but there were fewer people entering at that time.

This is what we usually find only at MK though, however if we are dining at AK or Epcot, there is a person with a clip board waiting at the tapstyles asking if we have a reservation and then they would cross our names off of the list. And as for when you are actually seated, we have seen where it is in order of when you check in at the actual restaurant, and I have also seen where, for instance, we had an 8:05am reservation (at CP) and we didn't check in until 5 or 10 minutes after our time due to the line being so long, and once we checked in, we were seated right away. Of course that could of changed since we were last there.