Pre-RD ADR at Crystal Palace question

[g8torphan]

I've got an 810 for CP on a day when there are no AM EMH's.

Park opens at 9.
Will be 4 adults and 1 almost 5yo.

What time is reasonable to plan on being able to start touring?

I was thinking 920 or so...

 

[Robo]

I've got an 810 for CP on a day when there are no AM EMH's.

Park opens at 9.
Will be 4 adults and 1 almost 5yo.

What time is reasonable to plan on being able to start touring?

I was thinking 920 or so...

Figure approx. an hour for breakfast, give or take.

 

[Wanna be Ariel]

About an hour is usually what it takes. Big thing, ask for the bill right when you sit down and pay that. This will help you got out when you are done I love pre opening CP ADR. We have one this trip and hope to have one in December also. Get there early for some great pictures. Have a great vacation!

 

[NavyDad]

I've got an 810 for CP on a day when there are no AM EMH's.

Park opens at 9.
Will be 4 adults and 1 almost 5yo.

What time is reasonable to plan on being able to start touring?

I was thinking 920 or so...

This last trip we had an 8:15 ADR. We were seated about 5 minutes early and asked for our check as soon we put in our drink orders.

We have been to CP every Disney trip so we don't have to see every character every time. We had plenty of time to eat, get pics with a few characters and were out the door in about 35 minutes.

We were crossing the bridge towards Space mountain when they dropped the rope and were probably in the first 15-20 people to ride and then DW and DD8 got right over to ETWB 2nd show while Myself DS15 and DD10 rode Space about 3-5 more times.

We met up at 10 in the Circus area to see Minnie (DD8 favorite), Goofie and Donald and were the 3rd or 4th family in line. Then headed to Frontier and rode BTMR 3 times and Splash mountain twice.

We were able to get all of this done by around 11 in late June on a crowd lvl 7 or 8 day. CP ADR before park opening can really be a great start to your day!

On the other hand during our second trip we had Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle and Cousins with us. Our ADR was 8:05 but since we had a big group and they were new to CP (and also the Dining plan) it was about 9:30 before we got out and we fell behind the crowds. It's amazing the difference 20-30 minutes makes...

 

[bdtracey]

We've done pre-RD @ CP many times with success. My biggest tip would be paying for your meal as soon as you're seated. Simply tell your server that you'd like to pay right now before things get busy. This can easily save you 10-15 minutes at the end of your meal. Being in there so early you should see all of the characters within 30 minutes. It also depends what your priorities are. We wanted to get into MK early for some photo opportunities and this was one of the only ways to do it.

Also, there is apparently a couple of new gals visiting from Arendelle that people in your group may want to see. Sounds like they're pretty popular. If you're getting tight on time you may want to split up your group and send one person to wait at the rope (near the castle???) for them if you don't have FP+.

Hope this helps.

 

[ShannonMB]

We always get an 8:05 ADR, always pay the bill at the beginning of the meal, and always get to the Fantasyland rope before it drops! DD is a little older now, so we don't have to linger if Pooh hasn't come by twice yet or whatever.

Lots of times you hear how amazing it is to have the parks to yourself for pics with those pre-opening ADRs, but I don't think it's all that amazing. There are always still people in our pics anyway! One or 2 quick castle pics, then I get over and check in for breakfast and get seated as early as possible. Rope drop awaits!!

 

[2DisPrincesses]

We just did this Spring Break and were in and out in less than an hour. I agree to ask for your check right away. Our server told us it would take an hour and half to see all of the characters, but we saw them all in less than an hour.

 

[sunb75]

Do characters do autographs at this time, too, or just pictures?

 

[NavyDad]

Do characters do autographs at this time, too, or just pictures?

They will do both.

 

[ashley23]

Don't wait for 8:10. Get to the hostess stand as soon as they let you into the park. You will likely be seated before that time. As the restaurant fills very slowly, you may get lucky with the character rotation and see every character in maybe 40 minutes. I know I rarely spend more than an hour there and usually see every character. There is no reason not to make it out to the 2nd rope drop area before the park opens. Everyone who says it takes more than an hour must be slow eaters. Worst case you might miss one character, but that is only if you hit bad luck and they do the parade just before the character is to head your way then they go on break or something.

 

[nkereina]

We had an 8:10am ADR back in November. We arrived at the park early but were held at the gate until about 7:50ish before they would let us in. Once we got in, we took a few quick pics of the castle and then checked in. We were seated almost right away and didn't waste anytime eating. We were done eating by about 8:45, and left but were held at the ropes to Adventureland until about 9am before they let us proceed anywhere else.

 

[Wendybird55]

You can probably get into the park by Fantasyland by 9am or a little before...BUT the biggest factor that can change that is the characters...sometimes it takes longer for characters to get to your table than other times. They usually have 2 characters work one side of the restaurant and 2 the other then they switch. You may quickly see the 2 on your side then have to wait for the other 2 to get to your side. One time we ate our entire breakfast at CP and not one character had yet come by our table! DS was young but had been to CP before and was OK with us leaving before we got to see any character up close (only saw them roaming around restaurant).

So if your children (and you) want to see and interact with all the characters it may or may not hold you up a bit in getting to the park. But you should be able to get to Fantasyland soon enough to hit rides without a long wait. As PPs suggested ask for your check early also have camera and autograph books ready for characters. Another helpful hit to see characters sooner is have one parent go up and get food while other stays with the kids at the table. Of all of you go up for food together and a character comes by and your table is empty you may have to wait for them to circle around before you can see them. If someone is always at table with kids then characters can stop by more readily.

 

[2excited2sleep]

I was able to get a 8:05 ADR for CP next month. We are staying at Pop and plan on driving to TTC. The monorail will be operating to get us to MK, right?

 

[Robo]

I was able to get a 8:05 ADR for CP next month. We are staying at Pop and plan on driving to TTC. The monorail will be operating to get us to MK, right?

Yes.

 

[ashley23]

I was able to get a 8:05 ADR for CP next month. We are staying at Pop and plan on driving to TTC. The monorail will be operating to get us to MK, right?

Sometimes you get the first journey of the day for the monorail at those hours, which is brutal as you sit there waiting on it to go through all the safety checks.

 

[2excited2sleep]

Are we better off taking a bus from Pop to MK? Can someone remind what time Disney transportation starts operating? We've always used our car even when staying on property.

 

[NavyDad]

Are we better off taking a bus from Pop to MK? Can someone remind what time Disney transportation starts operating? We've always used our car even when staying on property.

You will be just fine with the bus. They usually start about 6:30 AM