Poly to Epcot early ADR

[StarTink]

We are staying at the Poly and have an 8:05am reservation for Akershus for the Princess Breakfast on a day Epcot opens at 9:00. Will the Epcot monorail be running that early or do we need to take a bus to Epcot? How early do the buses and the monorail start?

I'm not worried about getting there in time. I know Disney takes care of transportation for early ADRS. I just want to know the options.

Thanks in advance.

 

[canopynut66]

We are staying at the Poly and have an 8:05am reservation for Akershus for the Princess Breakfast on a day Epcot opens at 9:00. Will the Epcot monorail be running that early or do we need to take a bus to Epcot? How early do the buses and the monorail start?

I'm not worried about getting there in time. I know Disney takes care of transportation for early ADRS. I just want to know the options.

Thanks in advance.

should have no problem with monorail getting you there

 

[StarTink]

Thanks!

 

[Polydweller]

should have no problem with monorail getting you there

Actually I think the monorail might be a problem because the Epcot monorail starts at 8:00 am, 1hr before Epcot opens. It is a six minute ride from the TTC to Epcot plus about 5-10 minute walk to Akershus so i don't think you are going to make it. The bus or taxi are likely the only options for that time.

 

[kaytieeldr]

It would be really surprising if WDW were to provide early morning Character Breakfast transportation to each park from tha Moderate and Value resorts, and the Campgrounds - but not from the Polynesian.

 

[StarTink]

Actually I think the monorail might be a problem because the Epcot monorail starts at 8:00 am, 1hr before Epcot opens. It is a six minute ride from the TTC to Epcot plus about 5-10 minute walk to Akershus so i don't think you are going to make it. The bus or taxi are likely the only options for that time.

Thanks. That's exactly the information I was looking for. No problems riding the bus. I just didn't want to walk over to the Epcot monorail and find out it doesn't start running in time.

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Thanks. That's exactly the information I was looking for. No problems riding the bus. I just didn't want to walk over to the Epcot monorail and find out it doesn't start running in time.

Just make sure you leave yourself about an hour travel time to get there ... don't forget that Akershus is also in World Showcase so you also need to walk from the front of the park all the way to Norway.

 

[vinotinto]

In September 2010, we had an 8:10 am ADR at Akershus and were staying at the Poly. We arrived at the TTC monorail station at around 7:30ish am. They started testing the monorail before 8:00 am, but it did not start running until 8:00 am. We boarded a few minutes after 8 and arrived at the Akershus podium for our 8:10 am ADR at 8:30 am. There were more than a dozen families with little girls in princess outfits staying at the monorail resorts who also had pre-8:30 am ADRs and we were all late.

If there is a bus that goes to Epcot pre-8:00 am, it's not well-publicized. I wonder if anyone has actually *seen* an early Epcot bus from Poly.

We had a car and should have driven, but by the time we were at the monorail platform at the TTC, we figured we would not save that much time going back to the Poly, getting the car keys out of our safe, going to the parking lot, driving to Epcot, and then parking.

We also had issues waiting a long time at the Poly bus stop for a pre-8:00 am bus to AK for an 8:05 Tusker House breakfast. Eventually we decided to walk to TTC and ask someone there. After a 10-minute wait at TTC, we got a bus to AK (there are buses to DHS and AK from TTC). TTC seemed a better choice to AK because many employees take early public transit to TTC and then switch to Disney buses there. We arrived late to Tusker House, but not as late as Akershus.

If I were staying at the Poly again with an early ADR at Epcot I would definitely drive or take a cab or choose a time after 8:30 am. Trust me, you don't want to be up by 6:30 am, get all dressed up, only to wait 30 minutes for the monorail to start working.

P.S. - I had also read in here that some thought that the EP monorail started at 7:30 am, and if the monorail wasn't running they would have a CM directing us to an Epcot bus at the TTC. Well, since they were testing the monorail, we originally thought it was running. Also, there wasn't a CM at TTC directing us to an Epcot bus. So, don't be silly like us and know that it doesn't run until 8 am, they just test it before. There is probably a bus from the TTC to Epcot early because they need to provide transport fo rthe employees trying to get to Epcot, the same way they provide transport to AK and DHS throughout the day. HTH!

 

[joelkfla]

This seems to be a gray area that is not covered by SOP.

2 suggestions:

Before the day of the reservation, ask concierge/guest services at the resort. It might be best to ask on a morning, so you're more likely to get someone with personal experience. If they tell you the monorail will be running, point out that the signs at TTC say the Epcot monorail opens at 8, and that you've heard from other guests who were unable to get a monorail before 8. Hopefully, if they don't know the solution, they will do some phone research to find it.

Or try asking at the bus information booth at TTC, again before the day of the breakfast. If the cm in the window can't help you, ask to speak to a manager; their office is in the same building so there's usually one around.

I also want to point out that the OP is traveling in 5 months. Everything could change by then.