Maximizing Morning Touring by Using Breakfast Reservations

[bwbuddy5]

For each of the parks, what are your recommended times and restaurants to maximize beating the rope-drop crowd and therefore hitting the elite attractions early?

A couple of caveats - our group will often be a group of 8 adults plus a 4YO granddaughter.

 

[Willlyb]

It's getting more and more difficult to do without really hurrying through breakfast.

Assuming 9am park openings (which is not always the case at each park - particularly AK this summer):

Tuskerhouse at AK
BOG at MK
Akershus at Epcot
Hollywood & Vine at Hollywood Studios

Breakfast isn't the best bang for your $, but if you want to knock out some characters and fill up, it may be the way to go.

Shoot for 8am (or as close to that as you can) reservations and show up EARLY so that you not only have the 8am reservation but that you are first in line (or close to it). They really seat those places in waves, so if an 8:10 reservation shows up at 8am right before an 8:05am reservation, they will seat the 8:10 party immediately followed by the 8:05 party.

Also, it is pointless to have an 8:30am (or later) reservation if elite rides/attractions are the reason you are doing the breakfast. You will still be sitting in the restaurant while lines fill up.

 

[ppjluvsdvc]

Willyb is right on with his recommendations. We have pretty much decided that PPO breakfast do not really give you any advantage anymore. I know you have a 4yo who will enjoy the characters maybe especially princesses at Akershus. That and BOG at the Magic kingdom are the only ones that really give you any advantage as long as they are not on an EMH morning and 8am. I do not think that they are having any ADR time earlier than 8am at any park anymore.

 

[GillianP1301]

If you can get an ADR between 8:00 and 8:10 you're in pretty good shape to get a jump start. For the most part, you will be seated long before the restaurant is filled up which means you are getting the characters to you faster. We did an 8:00 at CP and had all the characters done by 8:30 and we were not long after that finished eating. Take that same CP at 9:30 and we were over an hour before we saw all characters. Garden Grill was probably the best bang for our buck for an early ADR. We did 8:15, checked in at 8:00 and were one of the first in the restaurant and we had seen all characters in the first 15 minutes and had seen them 2 or 3 times by the time we left at 8:45. It's a smaller restaurant, so they cycle through all the tables quickly. With that one, you can get a jump on the RD crowd to Soarin' which is just one floor away in the same building.

So they do work, but you really do need to have an ADR in the first 15 minutes and check in as quickly as possible and as close to 8:00 as possible.

 

[bwbuddy5]

Just listened to a podcast that mentioned a family that makes a 915 at Akershus, they were always let in the park at 830, rode Frozen, then went to their breakfast. Have you guys had luck with this timing?

 

[theyoungs07]

Another issue I've run into trying PPO reservations...at 180 days I made an 8:15 res at Crystal Palace for a park opening of 9am. Then at 14 days or so ahead of our trip they expanded hours for the park to open at 8.

 

[srauseo]

Yes - you have to keep an eye out to see if they move park hours on you. That said, I've had good success at H&V, BoG and Akershus. I do follow the recommendations above - we try for the earliest possible ADR time and we check in early. The meals themselves have never felt that rushed to me. We saw all the characters easily at H&V and Akershus - some twice. I'm aiming to be heading out at 8:40. After BoG I've always gotten to ride 7DMT at least once before the rope drop crowd. After H&V we were right behind the rope for the walk to TSMM. Even running a little late at Akershus we just mixed in with the rope drop crowd and only waited 20 minutes for FEA. I have not done Tusker House yet. That's on the agenda for the upcoming trip. I think what I like best about it is...even though you have to get up early, it's actually a bit more of a relaxed morning overall because you don't have to do the rope drop march with a mass of humanity. I've never liked that feeling.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I would do AM EMH in the park and get the latest breakfast reservation for 10:30. To me that would be maximizing my time. I wouldn't want to rush through breakfast or them changing park hours.

I will say I want to do a PPO ADR at Tusker House so I can see AK empty and quiet. Not to try and get to the elite attractions because that would involve too much rushing.

 

[bwbuddy5]

We did an 8:00 at CP and had all the characters done by 8:30 and we were not long after that finished eating. Take that same CP at 9:30 and we were over an hour before we saw all characters

I assume this was before the park opening show was moved to the hub? I thought I'd read Crystal Palace is no longer a good option, because you're now behind the crowd after you've eaten.

 

[Jamie77]

Another issue I've run into trying PPO reservations...at 180 days I made an 8:15 res at Crystal Palace for a park opening of 9am. Then at 14 days or so ahead of our trip they expanded hours for the park to open at 8.

I made my PPO BOG breakfast on an EMM day in the hopes that they won't extend the hours.

 

[bwbuddy5]

Have any of you done Crystal Palace breakfast since the morning opening show moved to the hub? Is CP off the table for this discussion now?