Parking@ Epcot monorail to MK

[jameyh]

i just saw a trip post on Facebook, they just returned and had the suggestion to park at Epcot in order to ride the monorail to mk. If we plan on rope dropping is this a good idea or is it just as easy to get to MK early and park close?
I've never seen this suggestion so now I'm curious.
How would this work if we had a chef Mickey reservation at 7:15am then plan on going to MK, if we parked at Epcot would that be easier than parking at contemporary for breakfast and then parking at Mk? How early does the parking lots open????
Thanks

 

[Happiest.Haunt_999]

Park at the TTC and take the Resort line to your breakfast at Contemporary, then go to MK from there.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

i just saw a trip post on Facebook, they just returned and had the suggestion to park at Epcot in order to ride the monorail to mk. If we plan on rope dropping is this a good idea or is it just as easy to get to MK early and park close?
I've never seen this suggestion so now I'm curious.
How would this work if we had a chef Mickey reservation at 7:15am then plan on going to MK, if we parked at Epcot would that be easier than parking at contemporary for breakfast and then parking at Mk? How early does the parking lots open????
Thanks

To me, parking at Epcot then taking the monorail to MK would only make sense if you were park hopping and planning on ending your day at Epcot later that night and were do so to have your car close.

Taking the monorail to MK from Epcot requires parking at Epcot, going through security, taking the Epcot monorail to the TTC, then transferring to the Resort Monorail, Express Monorail, or MK Ferry to continue your way on to the MK. Fun journey, but a lot of steps in there.

Also an important detail - the Epcot Monorail line usually doesn't start running until 7:30am.... so for your example of a 7:15am ADR at Chef Mickey's, it's not an option at all. You can check monorail times on the weekly Times Guide here: http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/p/weekly-walt-disney-world-times-guides.html

 

[jameyh]

Also an important detail - the Epcot Monorail line usually doesn't start running until 7:30am.... so for your example of a 7:15am ADR at Chef Mickey's, it's not an option at all. You can check monorail times on the weekly Times Guide here: http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/p/weekly-walt-disney-world-times-guides.html[/QUOTE]


What time does the TTC open for parking and will the resort monorail be working at 7am?
Thanks for your help

 

[GADisneyDad14]

What time does the TTC open for parking and will the resort monorail be working at 7am?
Thanks for your help

You can pretty much arrive/park as early as you want to. I read reports sometimes of people arriving before the toll booths are even staffed.

Using this week as a guide, the MK monorail lines started at 7am, which is more or less a normal time but it CAN vary week to week.

Your ADR time at CR is pretty darn early. An expensive option is to valet at CR, that way you can leave your car there all day (but it's sort of a silly high cost).

 

[CAS239]

What time does the TTC open for parking and will the resort monorail be working at 7am?
Thanks for your help

The parking lots for all parks doesn't close. You can enter at 2am if you wanted to.

 

[jameyh]

You can pretty much arrive/park as early as you want to. I read reports sometimes of people arriving before the toll booths are even staffed.

Using this week as a guide, the MK monorail lines started at 7am, which is more or less a normal time but it CAN vary week to week.

Your ADR time at CR is pretty darn early. An expensive option is to valet at CR, that way you can leave your car there all day (but it's sort of a silly high cost).

I just found a link to Disney parking, deluxe valet is $33, but if we arrive before the parking lot attendants at TTC I'm guess we park free? Otherwise it might be worth the extra $7 + tip to valet at contemporary

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I just found a link to Disney parking, deluxe valet is $33, but if we arrive before the parking lot attendants at TTC I'm guess we park free? Otherwise it might be worth the extra $7 + tip to valet at contemporary

If you were to arrive before the MK toll booths are staffed, you'll park for free. But you still have a problem of getting to CR - you'd either need to take the Resort Monorail around to CR (will stop at Poly, GF, MK, then CR), take the Express Monorail and walk to CR, or take the MK Ferry and walk to CR. If the monorail opens at, say, 7am... that makes for a very tight / 'everything has to go right' / pretty much impossible timeline to get to CR by 7:15. Way too close for my comfort.

Assuming your plan is to go to the MK for the day after your CR ADR, if you can stomach the $33 + tip valet charge at CR that's what I'd do.

Does that make sense?

 

[jameyh]

If you were to arrive before the MK toll booths are staffed, you'll park for free. But you still have a problem of getting to CR - you'd either need to take the Resort Monorail around to CR (will stop at Poly, GF, MK, then CR), take the Express Monorail and walk to CR, or take the MK Ferry and walk to CR. If the monorail opens at, say, 7am... that makes for a very tight / 'everything has to go right' / pretty much impossible timeline to get to CR by 7:15. Way too close for my comfort.

Assuming your plan is to go to the MK for the day after your CR ADR, if you can stomach the $33 + tip valet charge at CR that's what I'd do.

Does that make sense?

Yes it makes perfect sense. I hadn't really given parking much thought, but since we will be at MK the day of our reservation I think using the valet is the best option. Using the monorail is too risky for me!!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Yes it makes perfect sense. I hadn't really given parking much thought, but since we will be at MK the day of our reservation I think using the valet is the best option. Using the monorail is too risky for me!!

Yeah, it’s the safer/more comfortable option at that early hour. Nothing’s worse than starting out a early day with a little transportation chaos if you can help it.

Good luck!

 

[LiveToTravelNicely]

I'd try to minimize the commute time as much as possible, so even if the dining wasn't causing issues, I'd still avoid parking at Epcot for a day MK unless you are going to end at Epcot. If the fam wants to ride the monorail and time allows, you can just do that at your leisure at some point during the day. The resort or express monorails around Bay Lake are fairly entertaining, so you'll probably get enough monorail fix just doing one of those.