EARLY morning at MK, ferry only option?

[Jennybump]

We are traveling Nov. 17-24 with a homeschool group, and the kids are attending morning classes. One class meets at the TTC at 7:15, so no problem there. But the other meets at the MK turnstile at 8:15, meaning we want to be there closer to 8, and MK is supposed to be open at 9. Reading in the Unofficial Guide it seems to imply that at 7:30 when our first child is off to his class, the rest of us have only the ferry as an option, that the MK monorail will not be running until 8 (when we want to already be there). Can anyone confirm that for me? I wouldn't stress except it's a class and we HAVE to be on time. Thanks so much!

 

[Alesia]

It's only the express monorail that starts at 8:00. The resort monorail will start at 7:00.

 

[Jennybump]

Oh, awesome! So as long as all goes well we can swing through the monorail loop and be at MK in less than 30 minutes? Or is the ferry really more reliable (weather notwithstanding) and the better choice to be sure we make it on time?

 

[seashoreCM]

I consider the big ferry to be more reliable than the monorail, mainly due to the large number of glitches and even breakdowns on the monorail.

But on many mornings the ferries start at the same time as the express monorail so you only choice for earlier service is the resort monorail.

 

[wdwrich]

We are traveling Nov. 17-24 with a homeschool group, and the kids are attending morning classes. One class meets at the TTC at 7:15, so no problem there. But the other meets at the MK turnstile at 8:15, meaning we want to be there closer to 8, and MK is supposed to be open at 9. Reading in the Unofficial Guide it seems to imply that at 7:30 when our first child is off to his class, the rest of us have only the ferry as an option, that the MK monorail will not be running until 8 (when we want to already be there). Can anyone confirm that for me? I wouldn't stress except it's a class and we HAVE to be on time. Thanks so much!

Are you staying on property, or off? How are you getting to the TTC?

Another option: if you can get to the Contemporary, you can just walk to the MK turnstiles.

 

[goofy4tink]

Are you staying on property, or off? How are you getting to the TTC?

Another option: if you can get to the Contemporary, you can just walk to the MK turnstiles.

If you have to pay to park in any case, it does make more sense to pay to valet park at the CR and then walk to the MK. You could drop off the early class folks at the TTC and then drive back to the CR and valet park there and then walk to MK...takes about 8 mins via the sidewalk.

 

[Jennybump]

Oh, that hadn't even crossed my mind...

Yes, we are off site guests, so how long would we be allowed to be in valet parking at the CR? I thought I remembered that you're limited to a certain time past your reservation when parking at a resort for a meal. Would this be similar, do you think? Also, any idea if this would be an additional charge, so we'd still have to pay $15 later when we move the car, or if we can save the receipt and have it cover the whole day as with regular parking?

Thanks so much for the outside the box thinking!

 

[eangel12]

Oh, that hadn't even crossed my mind...

Yes, we are off site guests, so how long would we be allowed to be in valet parking at the CR? I thought I remembered that you're limited to a certain time past your reservation when parking at a resort for a meal. Would this be similar, do you think? Also, any idea if this would be an additional charge, so we'd still have to pay $15 later when we move the car, or if we can save the receipt and have it cover the whole day as with regular parking?

Thanks so much for the outside the box thinking!

You can valet park all day--and leave and come back to valet with the same ticket. You CANNOT park in general parking all day. We are staying off site and I've already included $15x3 for our Magic Kingdom days!!

 

[Jennybump]

So valet at CR is $15, the same as general parking at the TTC or other parks? Plus a small tip to the valet? Sorry, just want to be sure I have all the details correct. I'm sure you're used to that style of crazy around here.

 

[eangel12]

So valet at CR is $15, the same as general parking at the TTC or other parks? Plus a small tip to the valet? Sorry, just want to be sure I have all the details correct. I'm sure you're used to that style of crazy around here.

Yes, plus tip so more like $25. I usually tip $5 at drop off and $5 at pick up. It could be more if you leave and return because of additional tipping. For us, we do early morning breakfast at Polynesian and Contemporary and then dinner on the same day at the hotels too. Makes it more convenient.

I've heard that the gate will turn you away at busy times even if you say valet if you don't have reservations of some type--breakfast or dinner! Not sure how accurate that is but I could see it happening!! When we stayed Beach Club the gate turned 3 cars away that were in front of us and the guard was telling us that people try to park and access Epcot. He was having NONE of that...haha!!

 

[Jennybump]

Well, I guess we'll figure something out, I'm sure other families in our group are facing the same questions. Thanks for all your help!