ETPE help on check in morning

[PrincessK&A]

Hello, we are planning to head to MK on December 17th for ETPE which is currently set for 8:30am but I’m anticipating it will change to 7:30am. We will be staying off property the night before but checking into pop that day.
My question is, should we aim to park at pop and take the first bus out that morning to get to MK for ETPE or should we simply drive to the MK parking lot from our other hotel? We have done ETPE many times but never at MK, so not sure how each option differs and which one would give us the best advantage.
I do understand that parking at MK requires us to take the monorail or boat from the TTC, whereas the resort bus does not.
If we chose to park at pop and get on the first bus out, realistically what time should we aim to get there and do we have to check in with the hotel before parking? If ETPE is at 7:30, I understand we would need to be at the bus stop 90 mins before, so 6am… what would we have to do to be ready for this beforehand? Haha thank you if you followed along this far. I appreciate everyone’s expertise.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Neither bus nor parking at TTC offers a huge advantage to getting to the gate. Normally all transportation begins to arrive at approx the same time each day and which one arrives first changes from day to day. If you are willing to arrive early, which you are, those choices don’t really change things.

You do not need to check-in at the hotel prior to going to MK. Doing online check-in is recommended.

One of the biggest decision makers might be what will be in your luggage and do you want it sitting in the car all day? Even this time of year, a car sitting in the FL sun all day will get quite warm and has potential to melt things in luggage.