MK Rope Drop & The Wave ADR @ 7:30am

[erij11]

Can this work? Has anyone done this? We are staying off-site in July and as of now, the park opens at 9am. We'd like to see The Welcome Show as we've never seen it. We did a CP pre-park opening last year and to be honest, it wasn't great. Our server was kind of bad and we never got to see Tigger and he was the only one DS really wanted to see. We waited around too long for Tigger to miss the crowds coming into the park at RD. So once and done with that.

I hear really good things about breakfast at The Wave and I'd really like to start our day with a nice breakfast. I'm trying to figure out parking...should I park at the CR and then move to the TTC, park at the TTC and walk over to the CR or do Valet parking for the day? Should we walk after breakfast or take the monorail? I've read that if we do valet, valet parking is free for the rest of the day at any resort but what if we parkhop? I'm thinking of doing Epcot and maybe even HS after our afternoon break from MK. How would parking work out for that?

Any advice would be awesome. I've seen Robo's map of the walk from the CR to the MK (thanks, Robo!) and it doesn't look bad. What will be the easiest for us?

 

[ghtx]

I think that it might be tight but it is doable. You definitely do not want to try to move your car from the CR lot to the TTC between breakfast and RD - you will never make it.

I vote you valet at CR and plan on keeping your car there all day (I think that is allowed). If you hop, take monorail or bus, then at the end of the day take monorail or bus back to CR. I recommend walking from CR to MK, especially in the morning after breakfast.

If you valet at CR then drive to park at Epcot lot, I am not sure if you will have to pay again.

 

[wdwrich]

OP - I see that you mentioned walking from the TTC to CR. You cannot do this- there is no walkway between the two. I agree with ghtx that you should pay to valet park at CR and walk to MK from there after breakfast.

Also, paying to valet park does not include parking the rest of the day in a theme park lot. Valet parking and theme park parking are managed separately.

 

[Itinkso]

We ate at The Wave at 7:30 last year and were in the park by 8:45 (7:00 EMH on Pres' Day). We had taken our time as we weren't even planning to go into MK but decided we would walk over to do a few things.

The buffet is completely set up for the 7:30 guests and as soon as you are directed to a table, you can go to the buffet. A gentleman seated near us went to the buffet, ate, and was out of The Wave before 8:00.

It really is an easy walk from Contemp to MK and we prefer to Valet park there.

 

[erij11]

I knew I'd get excellent advice here. Thanks so much! I'm going do valet parking. Sounds like the easiest thing to do. I've read on other threads that I'll have in and out privileges but will need to tip each time my car is brought to me. We will take an afternoon break, return to valet parking and take the monorail to Epcot for the evening.

We ate at The Wave at 7:30 last year and were in the park by 8:45 (7:00 EMH on Pres' Day). We had taken our time as we weren't even planning to go into MK but decided we would walk over to do a few things.

Did you enjoy your breakfast at The Wave? Did you have the buffet or order of the menu? I'm leaning towards the buffet due to timing.

 

[erij11]

OP - I see that you mentioned walking from the TTC to CR. You cannot do this- there is no walkway between the two. I agree with ghtx that you should pay to valet park at CR and walk to MK from there after breakfast.

Also, paying to valet park does not include parking the rest of the day in a theme park lot. Valet parking and theme park parking are managed separately.

Can you tell I'm a newbie? It will only be our 2nd trip. I had no idea there was no way to walk from the TTC to the CR. Thank you for letting me know. This is why I love these boards. Also, I couldn't find out if I had to pay for theme park parking if I valet parked earlier so you answered that one too. I read that I could valet park for free at other resorts with valet parking but could find nothing about theme park parking.

 

[erij11]

I think that it might be tight but it is doable. You definitely do not want to try to move your car from the CR lot to the TTC between breakfast and RD - you will never make it.

I vote you valet at CR and plan on keeping your car there all day (I think that is allowed). If you hop, take monorail or bus, then at the end of the day take monorail or bus back to CR. I recommend walking from CR to MK, especially in the morning after breakfast.

If you valet at CR then drive to park at Epcot lot, I am not sure if you will have to pay again.

Valet parking does sound like the best plan and moving the car from the CR to the TTC seemed like a hassle to me too. I don't want to feel extremely rushed.

 

[Itinkso]

Did you enjoy your breakfast at The Wave? Did you have the buffet or order of the menu? I'm leaning towards the buffet due to timing.

We very much enjoy The Wave's buffet and ate there again later in the week and made it to DHS for opening.

The Wave serves local produce as well as lox and bagels. My DD loves lox and bagels and that's why we lingered during our first breakfast - and then had to go buy mints in MK's confectionary! Many of the a la carte items are on the buffet - sweet potato pancakes, Mickey Waffles, etc.

 

[erij11]

We very much enjoy The Wave's buffet and ate there again later in the week and made it to DHS for opening.

The Wave serves local produce as well as lox and bagels. My DD loves lox and bagels and that's why we lingered during our first breakfast - and then had to go buy mints in MK's confectionary! Many of the a la carte items are on the buffet - sweet potato pancakes, Mickey Waffles, etc.

I'm glad your DD enjoyed herself! Sounds awesome. My DD's only breakfast request is Mickey Waffles so it will be a great way to start off our first day. Thank you!!

 

[Itinkso]

Valet parking does sound like the best plan and moving the car from the CR to the TCC seemed like a hassle to me too. I don't want to feel extremely rushed.

If you Valet at Contemp, when you decide to park hop to Epcot or DHS, you can then Valet park at BWI, BC, or YC. You can walk to the International Gateway to enter Epcot, or, walk to DHS.

 

[erij11]

If you Valet at Contemp, when you decide to park hop to Epcot or DHS, you can then Valet park at BWI, BC, or YC. You can walk to the International Gateway to enter Epcot, or, walk to DHS.

Wow, this is even better than returning to MK and taking the monorail to Epcot! We are definitely doing Epcot but then want to catch the last Fantasmic at 10:30 if we aren't too tired.

 

[Amanda999]

Just FYI It is possible that you will not be permitted to valet park at CR - that can happen when their lot is full or they expect it to get full. (It happened to us last week of August, when crowds were low, so I'd guess they had a convention or other event going on; this was at 8am on a weekday IIRC.) Everyone else says its rare, but just wanted you to know - just in case, have a back up plan (park at TTC and take the monorail to CR, or bus to MK and walk to CR). HTH.

 

[erij11]

Just FYI It is possible that you will not be permitted to valet park at CR - that can happen when their lot is full or they expect it to get full. (It happened to us last week of August, when crowds were low, so I'd guess they had a convention or other event going on; this was at 8am on a weekday IIRC.) Everyone else says its rare, but just wanted you to know - just in case, have a back up plan (park at TTC and take the monorail to CR, or bus to MK and walk to CR). HTH.

Thanks so much for this tip! I definitely need a backup plan. I think I'll just plan to get there super early just in case. I appreciate it! Parking at the TTC and taking the monorail to the CR doesn't sound too bad for a backup plan.