Storytellers B'fast and WOC fast pass

[Mama Who]

Has anyone done breakfast at Storytellers in order to take advantage of the early entry through the GC gate to get a WOC fast pass? What time would you make a reservation for in order to not have to rush through the meal but still be in line in time?

 

[sonnyjane]

Were you planning on eating at Storyteller's anyway, or are you only doing so to get a WOC fastpass? If you are only doing so to get the passes, you should know that since WOC has been open for almost a year now, the lines are no longer the crazy, hour-long waits to get WOC fastpasses that they once were. Throughout the day, you can easily walk up and get one in less than a minute. There is a bit of a line in the morning, but I've never waited longer than 10 minutes. If you are wanting to line up early to get a blue or yellow FP in particular (instead of red), you should know that you will be guaranteed a blue or yellow if you order a WOC picnic, which is about $15 - less than breakfast at Storyteller's. If, however, you wanted to do Storyteller's anyway then maybe that is a good option to be near the GCA entrance in the morning.

Also, I wanted to mention that I believe they are opening the special entrance up for hotel guests only at 9:00 AM (can someone chime in?), but they check for a room-key, so your Storyteller's receipt will likely not get you in that early. Guests are allowed in from the main front entrance starting at 9:30 AM to line up near GRR, so if they do allow everyone else in later, like Storyteller's guests, it would be around that time.

 

[starry_solo]

I believe you're only guaranteed a yellow FP for the WOC picnic. Blue is for lunch at the Trattoria ($29.99 per adult), premium dining area is for dinner at the Trattoria or Ariel's Grotto ($39.99 per adult).

At least, that's what the CM told me when I asked at DCA last week.

 

[DizNee Luver]

We got a blue FP for our picnic in early March.

If you are not staying at one of the 3 resorts, you will not be allowed to use the special entrance in the GCH to DCA. You will have to show your keycard before even reaching the gates. Each adult will have to show their card.

 

[sonnyjane]

I believe you're only guaranteed a yellow FP for the WOC picnic. Blue is for lunch at the Trattoria ($29.99 per adult), premium dining area is for dinner at the Trattoria or Ariel's Grotto ($39.99 per adult).

At least, that's what the CM told me when I asked at DCA last week.

No, if you pay for a premium dining package at WCT or Ariel's, you get a premium viewing area FP (even if you do the early seating). Blues and yellows are given for WOC picnics, and blues, yellows, and reds are given for free from the FP machines.

 

[sonnyjane]

We got a blue FP for our picnic in early March.

If you are not staying at one of the 3 resorts, you will not be allowed to use the special entrance in the GCH to DCA. You will have to show your keycard before even reaching the gates. Each adult will have to show their card.

Later in the day, after the parks have been open, they will let guests that aren't staying on-site in through the GCH entrance if they have a receipt, such as from Whitewater Snacks. I'm not sure if they will do the same early in the morning for opening or not.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Later in the day, after the parks have been open, they will let guests that aren't staying on-site in through the GCH entrance if they have a receipt, such as from Whitewater Snacks. I'm not sure if they will do the same early in the morning for opening or not.

That's news to me.....last summer we ate lunch at WWS & asked about going thru the gates & they told us only if we were resort guests. So we walked all the way back around........sometimes I think it depends on who's working the area.......weird!!

 

[mathmom32]

We stayed at the GCH this week. On Tuesday, we entered DCA at 9:45 and I had only 1 person in front of me to get WOC fastpasses. I was able to get the Blue section for the early show. On Wednesday, at 1:30 in the afternoon we were walking past the WOC FP distribution area and they were still giving out fastpasses for the later show.

I really don't think it is a problem getting WOC FP anymore.

 

[Mama Who]

If you are not staying at one of the 3 resorts, you will not be allowed to use the special entrance in the GCH to DCA. .

The gate is also available to those who dine at the hotel restaurants. You just have to show a receipt. We have only ever had one CM not know this and his supervisor quickly corrected him. If it is not allowed in the early morning, that might be an issue. I think I'll call ahead. I'll post back here when I get a definite answer.

Thanks to all for the information. We are doing Storytellers for breakfast anyway, not just to get a fastpass, but we figured we might as well combine the two.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

The gate is also available to those who dine at the hotel restaurants. You just have to show a receipt. We have only ever had one CM not know this and his supervisor quickly corrected him. If it is not allowed in the early morning, that might be an issue. I think I'll call ahead. I'll post back here when I get a definite answer.

Thanks to all for the information. We are doing Storytellers for breakfast anyway, not just to get a fastpass, but we figured we might as well combine the two.

We did Storyteller's on a Tuesday in February. Our reservation was for 8 AM. We had already decided it would be our "go to DCA first day" and wanted a leisurely breakfast beforehand. When we left the restaurant it was around 9:20. We went to the GCH DCA entrance and asked if we would be allowed to enter since we had a Storyteller's receipt. The front-line CMs did not know but called their supervisor over to ask him, and he said yes, definitely and then quickly explained the situation to the 2 front-line CMs. We entered at 9:30 that morning. We weren't interested in WoC, but there was no line to get those fastpasses when we wandered back past 20 or so minutes later after riding Soarin. BTW, while I'm not wanting to deter you from trying Storyteller's for yourself, I would recommend not going in with too high expectations. The restaurant's atmosphere is lovely, and the food was tasty. The character interactions for our experience were very poor though, and DS9 was disappointed that we only saw 3 characters during our meal (and one more as we were leaving).

 

[Mama Who]

We did Storyteller's on a Tuesday in February. Our reservation was for 8 AM. We had already decided it would be our "go to DCA first day" and wanted a leisurely breakfast beforehand. When we left the restaurant it was around 9:20. We went to the GCH DCA entrance and asked if we would be allowed to enter since we had a Storyteller's receipt. The front-line CMs did not know but called their supervisor over to ask him, and he said yes, definitely and then quickly explained the situation to the 2 front-line CMs. We entered at 9:30 that morning. We weren't interested in WoC, but there was no line to get those fastpasses when we wandered back past 20 or so minutes later after riding Soarin. BTW, while I'm not wanting to deter you from trying Storyteller's for yourself, I would recommend not going in with too high expectations. The restaurant's atmosphere is lovely, and the food was tasty. The character interactions for our experience were very poor though, and DS9 was disappointed that we only saw 3 characters during our meal (and one more as we were leaving).

Thank you! Honestly, the characters are less important than breakfast and location. My kids are 13 and turning 1, so the main reason we're going is that DH has wanted to try their breakfast for a while. Is it buffet? We've only done dinner at ST in the past.

Maybe we'd do better to use the opportunity to get to TSM early... Are there still huge lines for that?

 

[RweTHEREyet]

At Storyteller's you have the option of either going thru the buffet or ordering from the menu, whichever you prefer. I can tell you that their buffet is pretty good.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Thank you! Honestly, the characters are less important than breakfast and location. My kids are 13 and turning 1, so the main reason we're going is that DH has wanted to try their breakfast for a while. Is it buffet? We've only done dinner at ST in the past.

Maybe we'd do better to use the opportunity to get to TSM early... Are there still huge lines for that?

We went for the same reason: DH wanted to try breakfast out. You can choose to order off the menu or get the buffet. You pay almost as much to order off the menu though once you add a drink; drinks are included in the buffet price. I would recommend just getting the buffet. The selection isn't huge, but the food was tasty. DS9 really enjoyed getting a made-to-order omelet. Also, pancakes and waffles aren't on the buffet line, but if you ask your server for some, they will bring you out a fresh-made plateful.

As for TSM, yes, there are still huge lines for that. Waits got up to 60-75 minutes at times over the last few days (spring break = busy). You should be able to do both though. Get your WoC fastpass first then go to the Toy Story lineup. The thing is though that you very well could end up waiting as long in total to ride Toy Story waiting in the rope drop line-up as waiting in line later in the day. If you are Soarin' fans, you could ride Soarin' first thing at 9:30, then get your WoC fastpass after that, then head to any ride when 10 AM rope drop comes and save Toy Story for later in the day. The line surges early then sometimes drops down a bit for a while. There really isn't a good solution to Toy Story unless it's raining hard. Just throwing some suggestions out there.

 

[Mama Who]

Yeah, DH wants to try the buffet. Of course, I'll make him take me back for dinner one night too if I have to because I'm not sure the pain au chocolat bread pudding will be out at breakfast.

 

[Snurk71]

We stayed VGC for 5 nights a couple of weeks ago and I don't remember a CM asking for our room keys to go through the GC entrance but maybe once for early entry - never for going through later in the day. And we had a real nazi (sorry if that's offensive) security checker one afternoon - made us unzip our jackets. Even she didn't ask to see our room keys.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

We stayed VGC for 5 nights a couple of weeks ago and I don't remember a CM asking for our room keys to go through the GC entrance but maybe once for early entry - never for going through later in the day. And we had a real nazi (sorry if that's offensive) security checker one afternoon - made us unzip our jackets. Even she didn't ask to see our room keys.

We entered with no problem in the afternoon earlier this week as well. The policy of maintaining that entrance exclusively for Disneyland resort hotel guests seems only to be enforced at DCA opening time. I don't know at what time of day they stop bothering to check.