Early ADR....Where do we park?????

[Pocahontis]

Ok, we are days from our awesome Vacation. And I am getting panicked about little details!!! I have never been to DW before, and from what I am reading you can not just park at MK and walk to the front gate. Well we have an early ADR at 8am, but the park does not open that day till 9am. Where do we park and how to we get into MK so early. We are taking our own car because we have 4 children all under the age of 7. And we are staying off-property.

Second question. We also have an early ADR at AK on a different day. From what I have read the parking lot does not open until just 15mins prior to the park opening which is 9am! But our ADR is for 8:15. Where do we park and how do we get in?

Thank you so much for your help

 

[goofy4tink]

Ok, we are days from our awesome Vacation. And I am getting panicked about little details!!! I have never been to DW before, and from what I am reading you can not just park at MK and walk to the front gate. Well we have an early ADR at 8am, but the park does not open that day till 9am. Where do we park and how to we get into MK so early. We are taking our own car because we have 4 children all under the age of 7. And we are staying off-property.

Second question. We also have an early ADR at AK on a different day. From what I have read the parking lot does not open until just 15mins prior to the park opening which is 9am! But our ADR is for 8:15. Where do we park and how do we get in?

Thank you so much for your help

You can park at the TTC...the parking lot for the MK. Then, you can take the monorail over to MK. I would plan on being at the TTC by 7:20ish.
Or, you can pay to valet park at the Contemporary. Should be about the same to valet park as to park at the TTC, not including the tip for valet. Then, you can just walk over to the MK..there is a sidewalk that runs pretty much beneath the monorail line. It takes less than 10 mins.

For your AK ADR...you could valet park at the AKL and then take their bus over. I would plan on being at AKL-Jambo House by 7:30ish. The parking lot at AK would probably be open by 8ish....but it will take you time to get to the park entrance and then to walk to Tusker House...That's where I imagine your ADR is??

 

[Pocahontis]

You can park at the TTC...the parking lot for the MK. Then, you can take the monorail over to MK. I would plan on being at the TTC by 7:20ish.
Or, you can pay to valet park at the Contemporary. Should be about the same to valet park as to park at the TTC, not including the tip for valet. Then, you can just walk over to the MK..there is a sidewalk that runs pretty much beneath the monorail line. It takes less than 10 mins.

For your AK ADR...you could valet park at the AKL and then take their bus over. I would plan on being at AKL-Jambo House by 7:30ish. The parking lot at AK would probably be open by 8ish....but it will take you time to get to the park entrance and then to walk to Tusker House...That's where I imagine your ADR is??

Thank you! Yes our ADR is at Tusker. I was hoping not to have to take a bus, since we will have 4 kiddos and 2 double strollers. But I do want to get there on time, Lol.
Do we have to pay for the bus ride since we are not staying on property? I believe the TTC parking is about 14-16/day. Can we self park at AKL and keep our stub to park elsewhere later in the day, like TTC. Or is the self park for hotel guests only?

 

[seashoreCM]

No charge to ride the bus.

Self parking at a resort is for guests while they are staying, eating, shopping, etc. at that particular resort.

But because of the Animal Kingdom lot opening problem I myself would try to self park at a resort, telling the guard I was going to eat there (suggest All Stars or Coronado Springs) and take the bus to AK.

 

[goofy4tink]

Thank you! Yes our ADR is at Tusker. I was hoping not to have to take a bus, since we will have 4 kiddos and 2 double strollers. But I do want to get there on time, Lol.
Do we have to pay for the bus ride since we are not staying on property? I believe the TTC parking is about 14-16/day. Can we self park at AKL and keep our stub to park elsewhere later in the day, like TTC. Or is the self park for hotel guests only?

Self-parking is for those staying at that resort, or for those that are staying there. All others really should pay to valet park...especially if heading to a park for the day.
When parking at the TTC, you can hold onto your parking receipt and then show it at other parks that day. But, valet parking is completely different than park parking.
I have to imagine that the AK parking lot opens an hour prior to park opening. There is no way they open the lot just 15 mins prior to park opening...that would be insanity.

You can pay to park at the TTC and then take a bus to AK from there. Many people take double strollers on the buses...you just need to be considerate of other passengers.

 

[Thumper_Man]

I don't know if anything has changed since the last time we were there; but I remember the parking lot being open for both places when we went in Oct. 2010. I'm pretty sure I still have the parking receipts and will look at those when I get home. We had the early ADR's as well.

For MK, they didn't have the monorail running that goes directly to MK. They made us hop on the monorail that stops at the resorts from the TTC.

For AK, we got to park pretty close up front. They didn't have the shuttles running yet, so we had to walk to the entrance. It was only like a 5 minute walk or so.

 

[jujube]

The AK parking lot is open earlier than 15 minutes before because we had an 8:15 ADR and we parked.

 

[Pocahontis]

I have to imagine that the AK parking lot opens an hour prior to park opening. There is no way they open the lot just 15 mins prior to park opening...that would be insanity.

You can pay to park at the TTC and then take a bus to AK from there. Many people take double strollers on the buses...you just need to be considerate of other passengers.

The AK parking lot is open earlier than 15 minutes before because we had an 8:15 ADR and we parked.

Thanks.
Well These are really what has had me worried :


http://www.disboards.com/showthread....5#post39135185

Tusker House is our most favorite character Breakfast and we always schedule it at 8am for a 9am opening...You will really have a jump on the safari rush...We love it and do it every trip....its a must do and usually the very first park day for us

The biggest issue with the very early breakfast is they do not like to open the parking tolls early...we got there at 7:15 anout 2 weeks ago for an 8am bfast and they didnt open till 7:40...it really frustrates me...happens every year...if staying onsite it shouldnt be a problem though if taking the bus

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http://www.disboards.com/showpost.ph...11&postcount=5

When we went for an early breakfast the parking lot opened about 7:47. We were a little late (I use a scooter so we have to assemble it when we park) but it wasn't a problem

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http://www.disboards.com/showpost.ph...02&postcount=9

In the past several posters have indicated on the Transportation Board about having problems parking for their early morning ADRs.

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http://www.disboards.com/showpost.ph...5&postcount=15

We did have a problem two trips ago when we had reservations for a tour at 8:30 and park opening was at 9. We got there at about 8:15 and had to wait almost until 8:30 before they would let us in. And, I'd like to add, they did not have the most "magical" attitude toward anyone.*

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http://www.disboards.com/showpost.ph...7&postcount=17

It's been a while, but we've had a few occasions when we arrived by car at the AK for EMH or early entry day and the parking lot did not open until about 20 minutes before the regular park opening time. Since it happened these times to us, we always take a Disney bus from our resort if we plan to go to AK for EMH in the morning.
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http://www.disboards.com/showpost.ph...7&postcount=30

We had an 8:05 reservation for a 9:00 opening. We arrived early, I don't remember what time exactly, but I'd guess between 7:20 and 7:30. We had to sit in a line of cars (not a long line, there were probably only 2-3 cars at first, 5-6 later, in each line) for about 10 minutes while the parking attendants set up.

It wasn't a big deal, just a bit curious because we'd never seen Disney not ready for us.

 

[Thumper_Man]

If you read all the posts you posted, specifically pertaining to the ADR's, you'll notice everyone said they were let in about 7:40 or so. If this is the case, then you will have no problems making your early ADR. I think that's about the time we got there and we made it in with plenty of time to spare.

 

[Pocahontis]

If you read all the posts you posted, specifically pertaining to the ADR's, you'll notice everyone said they were let in about 7:40 or so. If this is the case, then you will have no problems making your early ADR. I think that's about the time we got there and we made it in with plenty of time to spare.

Umm, Yes I read them, Thank You!!
Where in NM are you from ABq im quessing....

 

[Thumper_Man]

Umm, Yes I read them, Thank You!!
Where in NM are you from ABq im quessing....

Close. I was born in raised in the state capitol, Santa Fe. I live in Rio Rancho which is just on the outskirts of Abq.

 

[Pocahontis]

Close. I was born in raised in the state capitol, Santa Fe. I live in Rio Rancho which is just on the outskirts of Abq.

Ha, I would have never guessed! I am also a Santa Fean, born & raised! My family goes back, well to the Spainards, Lol.

Most of the locals have all been pushed out to Rio Rancho, I have so many friends that live there now.

 

[Thumper_Man]

Ha, I would have never guessed! I am also a Santa Fean, born & raised! My family goes back, well to the Spainards, Lol.

Most of the locals have all been pushed out to Rio Rancho, I have so many friends that live there now.

Same here, although most would probably try to tell us that they came from Mexico. I have to tell them, not my family.

Yeah, that's what happened to DW and I. Before we got married, we looked at buying a house in Santa Fe. We made too much to qualify for low income housing, but not enough to qualify to buy a home. We looked out in Rio Rancho and got qualified right away. I still work in Santa Fe, just can't afford a house there.

Anyways, good luck with you ADR's. Have fun and don't stress too much. I'm sure your vacation will turn out great. Nice meeting a fellow Santa Fean on these boards. Well I guess you can call us former Santa Fean's now.