Minnie and friends opens 40 minutes AFTER rope drop?

[HopLow1968]

The calendar said that Wed Oct 21 park operating hours were going to be from 9 am to 10pm. I got a reservation for the character breakfast at 8:40 - the earliest they were offering.

Now the calendar says the park hours are from 8am to 8pm. But that breakfast starts at 8:40. Is this right? Anybody else hear this?

One factor for us was the fact that the breakfast started before the park opens. I was already a little dissappointed that it would only be 20 minutes early.

 

[Malcon10t]

More than likely, the earlier spots were already taken.

ETA - Plaza Inn is not opening until 840am.

Also, to clarify, Plaza Inn only opens when the park opens. If park opening is 9am, turnstiles open at 830a, and first available dining would be 840am. If the park opens at 8am (no magic morning), the turnstiles do not open until 8am, then the usual start time is 810am. I am unsure why it is 840a if the park is opening at 8. But there have been major glitches in the October calendar.

 

[HopLow1968]

More than likely, the earlier spots were already taken.

But there have been major glitches in the October calendar.

The page lets you see when breakfast runs. So it wasn't just a case of no earlier spots. But, like you said, there have been major glitches.

I switched my reservation to Saturday, but now I have an additional question. We are not staying on-site and so are not eligible for Extra Magic Hour, and we will have already used our Magic Morning. Park opens at 7 for early admission, 8 for general public. Our reservation is for 7:10. I thought I saw people mentioning here that you can get in early without EMH or MM, as long as you were going to Minnie and Friends character breakfast.
My goal here is to get in a little extra time of park ambience. I understand that we'll be eating and not going on rides, but it's still in the park.
But as I was making my reservation I noticed a blurb about EMH, it wasn't very clear and just mentioned that EMH is for on-site guests only.

If I have a 7:10 reservation, and the park doesn't officially open until 8, and we are not eligible for EMH or MM, will we have any issues getting in? I thought I saw people mention that there is even a reserved turnstile for those with early reservations at Minnie and Friends.

 

[tlovesdis]

The page lets you see when breakfast runs. So it wasn't just a case of no earlier spots. But, like you said, there have been major glitches.

I switched my reservation to Saturday, but now I have an additional question. We are not staying on-site and so are not eligible for Extra Magic Hour, and we will have already used our Magic Morning. Park opens at 7 for early admission, 8 for general public. Our reservation is for 7:10. I thought I saw people mentioning here that you can get in early without EMH or MM, as long as you were going to Minnie and Friends character breakfast.
My goal here is to get in a little extra time of park ambience. I understand that we'll be eating and not going on rides, but it's still in the park.
But as I was making my reservation I noticed a blurb about EMH, it wasn't very clear and just mentioned that EMH is for on-site guests only.

If I have a 7:10 reservation, and the park doesn't officially open until 8, and we are not eligible for EMH or MM, will we have any issues getting in? I thought I saw people mention that there is even a reserved turnstile for those with early reservations at Minnie and Friends.

There is a turnstyle at the far left (closest to DTD) for those doing the breakfast that don't have EMH/MM. Your name will be on a list and they will let you in.

 

[HopLow1968]

There is a turnstyle at the far left (closest to DTD) for those doing the breakfast that don't have EMH/MM. Your name will be on a list and they will let you in.

Wonderful! Thank you!

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

There is a turnstyle at the far left (closest to DTD) for those doing the breakfast that don't have EMH/MM. Your name will be on a list and they will let you in.

I agree. We have done this ourselves on day trips to get that "extra ambiance" you mentioned. An extra bonus is that if you finish your breakfast at say, 7:45, you can head on in to the open area of the parks.

 

[agamble]

They will definitely let you in if you have reservations for Minnie's. I wouldn't plan on being out at 7:45 to enjoy the parks as breakfast will likely take you about an hour. But even getting out at 8:10, just a few minutes after the park opens to general public, is nice. Or if it feels crowded, you can always hop over to DCA.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

I wouldn't plan on being out at 7:45 to enjoy the parks as breakfast will likely take you about an hour.

It probably depends on your server, your family's dining style, and how much time you spend on character interactions, but our kids were more interested in getting on their first ride than eating or meeting a character.