Early Morning Dining Reservation

[Matthew Fralley]

Hey there!

I had a question about one of my dining reservations and thought this would be a good place to ask it! I am currently planning a trip to Disney (139 day! WOO!) and while we are there, we will be using the Disney Dining Plan. One of the dining reservations I booked was The Crystal Palace at 8:15am. I have not been to Disney since I was a kid, but I can assure you that I'm and indeed a Disney nerd. When we fly down, we are taking advantage of the Disney Magical Express and bus transportation. I recently read on the bus transportation FAQ's that the buses start running 45 minutes prior to the park opening. I'm not entirely sure what to do if that is the case. I want to make sure I am at the park no later that 8am, but the buses don't start running until 8:15 that day since the park opens at 9. What would be the best way to figure out how to get there?

Thank you so much for your answers!
Matthew Fralley

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Depending on where you are staying will depend on the best way to get to mk. They have character transportation for dining reservations. Talk with your resort the day before to see what time you should expect transportation to start.

 

[Matthew Fralley]

Depending on where you are staying will depend on the best way to get to mk. They have character transportation for dining reservations. Talk with your resort the day before to see what time you should expect transportation to start.

We are staying at the All Star Music Resort. Was just wondering what the alternate ways to get there were besides the bus because that wouldn't work for us in this case.

 

[22Tink]

I'm not sure of the exact time the buses start running, but we had a few 8:00am breakfasts last year and the buses were always running plenty early enough to get us there in lots of time. If I recall correctly, we were at the bus stop shortly after 7 for an 8:00 ADR. You can double check at your resort but I'm pretty sure they'll start running earlier than 45 minutes prior to park opening. If you're very concerned about the bussing though, Uber is an inexpensive alternative.

 

[purple figment]

Buses to the parks start at 6:30 in the morning. It is a common misconception that buses do not start until shortly before park opening, but with so many who need to get to pre-park opening dining reservations, the buses have to be available earlier. Since they may not run as frequently this early in the morning, i would be at the bus stop by 7:00.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Not sure how large your family is, but another option would be to get Uber to pick you up and drop you at the Contemporary. It's reliable, cheap and it's a brief 6-7 minute walk to the gates of MK from there. Do not have them drop you at the TTC!
This way you're assured of making it on time.
Also, if your ADR is for 8:15 am, I would absolutely plan on being at the gates of MK by 7:30 - 7:45am AT THE LATEST! You still have to check in on the far left side with everyone else who has ADRs and get through security. All time suckers, lol!

 

[xsarachireex]

We stayed at All Star Movies and had a 7:55 CRT reservation. We got on the bus around 7:15 and still ended up waiting at the gates to be let in

 

[jgl130]

My sister and I had an 8:10 Be Our Guest reservation last May and were staying at CBR. We took an Uber at about 7:05 (gotta love being able to look up past trips!) were in line to get in by 7:30. They let us start heading down Main Street about 7:40. I'd highly recommend the Uber route. If you don't mind paying. Ours was $8.18.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

Buses will start running early in order to get people to their breakfast reservations....or use Uber...it is so convenient and worth if occasionally to jsut hop in and go! If you go with buses, just ask them when you check in about ht best way to catch the bus. If there are any issues they will let you know. But, we always catch the Disney bus for our early morning breakfast reservations

 

[Dashzap]

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[Hannah S.]

We always have at least one or two ADR for breakfast before the parks open and have never had a problem getting there on time. The buses are usually already running before we get to the stop (and I'm big on being early for everything) and we make it in plenty of time.