Crsytal Palace Breakfast

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Hi, I have a breakfast reservation at CP at 8.05am, on a day when the park opens at 9am. We will probably drive to the park rather than wait for a resort bus, but once we park up will the trams be running that early to take us from the carpark to the ferry/monorail?

If we did decide to get the bus from Pop instead of driving, how early do they start running?

Hope someone can help - am having a panic!

 

[bigbabyblues]

The buses start running around 6:30 or so, if you're at the bus stop at 7:00, you shouldn't have any problem. I don't know when the monorail or boat starts, sorry.

 

[mom2my3kids]

We crystal palace breakfast..So Yummy!!!

 

[lisareneeo]

We always eat at the Crystal Palace for breakfast when we visit WDW. We always get an early seating (8:05-8:20) before the park opens. We have never had a problem catching a bus and making it there in time.

Have a great breakfast and get some pictures on Main Street when there is hardly anyone on it!
Lisa

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

We crystal palace breakfast..So Yummy!!!

I've never been there for breakfast before -can't wait!!!!!!

 

[vcunning]

We'll also have an 8:05 am Crystal Palace reservation on a 9:00 am park opening. And we're trying to figure out transportation from the Boardwalk Inn.

When I made the PS, Disney told me that I might need to take a cab as park transportation starts running about 45 minutes before schedule park openings. When I referenced the Character Bus on WDWinfo.com, they weren't really sure.

For reference, the information says:

"Magic Kingdom: Disney Bus service begins approximately 1 hour prior to the park opening time listed for that day. Bus service for Character Breakfasts will begin ½ hour before the earliest seating. The marquee on the bus will read "Character Breakfast." It should be noted that guests should verify with the driver which park the bus is going to for the character breakfast because there are different ones for different parks. "

When I get a chance, I'm going to call Guest Services at the Boardwalk and ask about the Character Breakfast Transportation. I'll post my answers when I have a chance.

We've been to Disney a bazillion times before and think we have done most of the hidden and little-known activities. But we've never had the opportunity to be in the Magic Kingdom before it opens. My camera batteries will be well charged!

 

[Sysyphus]

We had some issues with early morning buses from AKL early in our stay so for our 8:05am CP breakfast last Friday we took a cab from AKL to Contemporary and walked to MK from there... had him drop us in the parking lot so it really wasn't much further to walk than some of the more remote resort bus stops, certainly less than ten minutes, with 5yo & 2yo... if you get a cab to MK it will drop you at TTC and you will still have to wait for a ferry/monorail.

 

[MommyBuzz909]

I called a CM and asked them about this. She told me that buses to all parks starting running an hour before the earliest park opens. (Usually they'll start running at 7, but have been known to start up around 6:30). She told me that for my 8:10 Crystal Palace ADR, coming from ASMo, it should not be an issue at all.

 

[abish19]

If you have your own transportation, I would suggest driving yourself to be absolutely certain that you will be able to make your ADR that morning. Be sure to figure into your travel time the time it takes to park your car, unload, walk up to the monorail or ferry, and travel from the TTC to the Magic Kingdom.

Of course, I am one of those people who likes to have their own transportation anyway.

Good luck with your breakfast - we did the same thing on our recent trip and really enjoyed it!

 

[laughinplace199]

Hi, I have a breakfast reservation at CP at 8.05am, on a day when the park opens at 9am. We will probably drive to the park rather than wait for a resort bus, but once we park up will the trams be running that early to take us from the carpark to the ferry/monorail?

If we did decide to get the bus from Pop instead of driving, how early do they start running?

Hope someone can help - am having a panic!

You probably won't need to take a tram. If you're getting there for an 8:00 breakfast and the park doesn't open until 9:00, there's a very good chance that you'll get a parking spot close enough that you can walk to TTC.

 

[missymj]

I do have an 8:05 for breakfast at CP, how early do they let you in the park?

 

[Sysyphus]

last Friday they started letting people in at about 7:45

 

[HdnMickeyGrl]

We eat at CP at least once on our annual trip every year for breakfast. We always try to get an early reservation such as 8:05, 8:10 etc...

We have never stayed at a resort so I can't speak for the buses but I can tell you that you don't have to worry about parking lot trams. You will be there so early you can walk from the parking lot to the TTC and vice versa.

As far as the monorail and ferry to MK: This early in the morning they will not have the maximum or even normal number of trains and boats running. There will likely be one ferry running and maybe even just one train. We had early Kona reservations one year and waited for a monorail for 20 minutes before we gave up and walked to the Poly from the TTC. Factor in the fewer transportation options when figuring out your time. You may make it to the TTC in plenty of time but have to wait for a while for some form of transportation. If you do have to make a choice you might want to try the ferry. We rode the ferry over one morning for an early CP ressie. We were probably one of only about 5 families on the entire boat. And much to our surprise, Mary Poppins, Bert, and two penguins rode over there with us! We got some great pictures and they even sang for us while the penguins danced! It was awesome.

Enjoy the Crystal Palace. We always do!

 

[vcunning]

So here's what I've found out . . .

I placed 2 calls today (one in the am and one in the pm) and talked to 2 different cast members in Guest Services at the Boardwalk.

The first one said . . . transportation starts running about 2 hours ahead of park opening, you'll have no problem meeting that reservation. We suggest you leave 1 hour early.

The other said it starts running about 45 minutes ahead of park opening and we would need to find our own transportation.

When I inquired about a "Character Breakfast Bus", neither had ever heard of it.

So, I'd be interested in what others experience. We're not going until the end of August.



Given the lack of clarity, our plan is to take a cab to the Contemporary Resort and walk over from there (avoiding the transportation center and another 10 to 20 minutes).

 

[Sysyphus]

Given the lack of clarity, our plan is to take a cab to the Contemporary Resort and walk over from there (avoiding the transportation center and another 10 to 20 minutes).

That's exactly what we did last Saturday.

 

[vcunning]

That's exactly what we did last Saturday.

I agree. It certainly makes it easier . . . We don't have to plan an extra 10-20 minutes to wait for a bus. We get there right away.

 

[MommyBuzz909]

So here's what I've found out . . .

I placed 2 calls today (one in the am and one in the pm) and talked to 2 different cast members in Guest Services at the Boardwalk.

The first one said . . . transportation starts running about 2 hours ahead of park opening, you'll have no problem meeting that reservation. We suggest you leave 1 hour early.

The other said it starts running about 45 minutes ahead of park opening and we would need to find our own transportation.

When I inquired about a "Character Breakfast Bus", neither had ever heard of it.

So, I'd be interested in what others experience. We're not going until the end of August.



Given the lack of clarity, our plan is to take a cab to the Contemporary Resort and walk over from there (avoiding the transportation center and another 10 to 20 minutes).

I've learned from calling there so much, that there's a lot of CM's who aren't all on the same page. I usually question them first before I get into deep questions (i.e. how logn have you been a TA with Disney) - if they're a newbie, I don't really get deep into it, but if I get one who's been there for more than 5 years, they tend to know what they're talking about.

But I was told that buses start running at 6:30-7AM - usually an hour before the first park opens.....