Early entry with early breakfast reservation?

[Rich Bastien]

WDW regular, 2nd time upcoming DLR guest. I know in WDW, if you had an early morning breakfast reservation for opening (and in some cases before opening) you could get into the park early to make it to your reservation. We have an 8:10am breakfast at Plaza Inn for Easter. Can we expect we won’t get in before 8, or if we go to guest relations, is there a chance to get in to get to breakfast before the crowd hits?

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

WDW regular, 2nd time upcoming DLR guest. I know in WDW, if you had an early morning breakfast reservation for opening (and in some cases before opening) you could get into the park early to make it to your reservation. We have an 8:10am breakfast at Plaza Inn for Easter. Can we expect we won’t get in before 8, or if we go to guest relations, is there a chance to get in to get to breakfast before the crowd hits?

At Disneyland California, everyone waits in line outside the main gates on The Esplanade. They open the gates and start scanning everyone in at 7.15am.

Everyone has access to Main Street and The Hub area. Just before Plaza Gardens they set up a roped area for people with early entry. CMs scan tickets with a hand held device at this roped entrance.

All other guests at held at the hub. There are multiple groups waiting in line behind rope barriers. There are rope barriers

1. In the middle of the Hub - People who want to go to Fantasyland
2. Across the street from the Hub to Tomorrowland - People who want to go to Fantasyland
3. At Tomorrowland entrance
4. At Adventureland entrance - People who want to go to Galaxys Edge / Rise of The Resistance
5. At Frontierland entrance

At 8.00am there is an announcement and all the rope barriers are taken down. This is "rope drop"

You will have no problem making an 8.10am reservation at Plaza Gardens. You just need to be at Tomorrowland side of The Hub. The big crowds are for Fantasyland ,Adventureland and Frontierland.

Once the ropes are removed, the crowds disperse fairly fast from The Hub and you will be able to walk easily to Plaza Gardens entrance.

 

[Rich Bastien]

OK Thank you. Since we can already get up to the hub for 8, we might hit a short Fantasyland dark ride before doubling back to Plaza Inn. As East Coasters, we thought breakfast on Main Street on Easter would be nice, as a planner, I hate giving up rope drop time, but as we know, reservations are limited so you take what you can get, even at the 60 day mark.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

OK Thank you. Since we can already get up to the hub for 8, we might hit a short Fantasyland dark ride before doubling back to Plaza Inn.

Highly unlikely.
If your reservation is 8.10 at Plaza Gardens, you wont have time for a Fantasyland ride.

If your day is Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday, then all the early entry people will be already waiting in line ahead of you.

If its any other day, by the time you walk from The Hub into Fantasyland , and then get in line, then wait in line, then do the ride and then walk back to Plaza Gardens , it will be after 8.10am.

Your choice at 8.00am is go to a land and do a ride OR do your 8.10am Plaza breakfast, not both.

As East Coasters, we thought breakfast on Main Street on Easter would be nice, as a planner, I hate giving up rope drop time, but as we know, reservations are limited so you take what you can get, even at the 60 day mark.

Kinda a big mistake, as things are different at Disneyland California. The first 3 hours from opening to about 11.30am are the quietest crowds and lowest wait times. Disneyland California is a locals park, so the crowds only build from lunch time. When I rope drop Fantasyland I can usually do every ride before 9.30am. By having 8.10 reservation at Plaza Gardens you are wasting the "golden hour" sitting in a restaurant.

 

[MonocularVision]

If you show up to a reservation 10 minutes late, they aren’t gonna turn you away.

But I agree that giving up the first couple hours of sweet rope drop bliss isn’t a great idea at Disneyland.

 

[maleficent55]

I would chance it and ride something (NOT Peter Pan, too long of a line) in Fantasyland before your breakfast
If you’re at the front, belly up to the rope for rope drop, you can do one thing before breakfast
There is a grace period for arriving at your dining reservation…maybe 15 min?
I’d do it!

 

[Jawwdoc]

OK Thank you. Since we can already get up to the hub for 8, we might hit a short Fantasyland dark ride before doubling back to Plaza Inn. As East Coasters, we thought breakfast on Main Street on Easter would be nice, as a planner, I hate giving up rope drop time, but as we know, reservations are limited so you take what you can get, even at the 60 day mark.

If you are coming from the East Coast, a Sunday morning rope drop at DL is not that early of a morning. Everyone seems to have a slightly different definition of “rope drop”. For me, rope dropping means I’m standing at the rope and when it drops, I’m briskly walking to Peter Pan, Space Mountain or perhaps RotR. If you are truly rope dropping and are at or near the rope drop area for Fantasyland, you would have absolutely no problem riding 2 rides in FL and making your 8:10 reservation at Plaza Inn (The Pp AiWL combo might be a stretch but almost any other FL combo can typically be accomplished in 10 min at a true rope drop. In fact, it might even be slightly easier to double back to Plaza Inn if you wait until 8:10 am to do so as there will likely be fewer guests heading into FL from Main Street. Now, if your definition of rope drop is simply scanning into DL prior to 8:00 am and sauntering down Main Street to join the rope drop crowd on the outskirts of the hub, then you may not have time to ride an attraction in FL prior to your Plaza Inn reservation.

 

[Rich Bastien]

If you are coming from the East Coast, a Sunday morning rope drop at DL is not that early of a morning. Everyone seems to have a slightly different definition of “rope drop”. For me, rope dropping means I’m standing at the rope and when it drops, I’m briskly walking to Peter Pan, Space Mountain or perhaps RotR. If you are truly rope dropping and are at or near the rope drop area for Fantasyland, you would have absolutely no problem riding 2 rides in FL and making your 8:10 reservation at Plaza Inn (The Pp AiWL combo might be a stretch but almost any other FL combo can typically be accomplished in 10 min at a true rope drop. In fact, it might even be slightly easier to double back to Plaza Inn if you wait until 8:10 am to do so as there will likely be fewer guests heading into FL from Main Street. Now, if your definition of rope drop is simply scanning into DL prior to 8:00 am and sauntering down Main Street to join the rope drop crowd on the outskirts of the hub, then you may not have time to ride an attraction in FL prior to your Plaza Inn reservation.

Thank you. We are staying at VDH, and will still be on east coast body clock time, so being at the gate at 7:15 to make sure we are closer to the front of FL rope drop to complete a ride or two in FL is possible before heading back to Main St for Easter Breakfast.