Trans. to MK for Early reservations from off resort

[Oceangrace24]

We have early reservations at MK on 2 consecutive days. We have a reservation for Crystal Palace at 8:20 when the park opens at 9am. We also have a reservation the next morning at 8:10 am for BBB, but the park does have EMH that morning, so it will open at 8am.

I was reading in one of our tour guides that if we are a day guest, we will be allowed to board the monorail between 8:15 and 8:30 for a 9am opening. We need to be at the front Gates of MK around 8am at the latest for our CP breakfast Reservation.

What is the best way to get there from the TTC?

 

[dmunsil]

They start running the monorail early enough to get people to their dining reservations. I mean, that's the way that people from the Poly, GF, and Contemporary get to their ADRs at the MK, so they kind of have to run it. Even if they didn't stop at the TTC (which I very much doubt) you could walk over to the Poly and pick it up from there. You could also walk over to the Poly and pick up a boat if they're running early.

Another option would be to drive to the Contemporary and valet park, then walk over to the MK. It's a short walk, and you can leave your car in valet parking as long as you want. You can't self-park and then go to the MK though.

 

[Alesia]

The express monorail doesn't start until an hour before the park opens, but you'll be able to take the resort monorail - it starts running at 7:00.

 

[Oceangrace24]

The express monorail doesn't start until an hour before the park opens, but you'll be able to take the resort monorail - it starts running at 7:00.

So we are probably better off just parking at one of the resorts using their valet parking and then ride the monorail from there to the park. Actually, wouldn't the best plan be to park at the Contemporary Resort and just walk?

It looks like Valet parking costs the same as regular parking (excluding tip). Any reason not to use the Valet parking?

 

[Alesia]

So we are probably better off just parking at one of the resorts using their valet parking and then ride the monorail from there to the park. Actually, wouldn't the best plan be to park at the Contemporary Resort and just walk?

It looks like Valet parking costs the same as regular parking (excluding tip). Any reason not to use the Valet parking?

I would use valet parking at the contemporary and walk. The resort monorail does stop at the TTC, so you can park there if you want.

 

[seashoreCM]

I would say, park normally at the Ticket & Transportation Center (Magic Kingdom lot) and take the resort monorail.

You will probably get there early enough to park near the concourse (TTC itself) and not need to ride the tram.

 

[Oceangrace24]

I would say, park normally at the Ticket & Transportation Center (Magic Kingdom lot) and take the resort monorail.

Ok, so the resort monorail that starts running earlier does indeed stop at the TTC before the express monorail begins service...

Why would you recommend parking in the TTC lot instead of paying for Valet parking at CR? I would think that it would be a lot less hassle and much quicker to get parked and to the front gate by parking at the CR using valet parking? You don't have to take a tram or have a long walk from your car to the TTC monorail station, wait on a monorail and then ride to the MK Gate.
Am I wrong in this thinking? Yes, I would have to tip the valet attendant, but that doesn't bother me if it saves me time..

Thanks!

 

[dmunsil]

Why would you recommend parking in the TTC lot instead of paying for Valet parking at CR?

There is a potential "what if everyone did this" problem. Right now, Disney is fine with people valet parking and leaving their car as long as they want and doing whatever they want while they leave it. If people start getting the idea that valet parking at the Contemporary and walking over is a better way to go for the MK, then they'll have to start restricting valet for everyone.

Myself, I think it's unlikely that this will be a problem going forward, but I have no special knowledge about it. This policy of letting people valet park as long as they want has been around a long time, and lots of people know about it. It's not a hidden policy; any CM will tell you. I tend to think that if it was a problem, it would have shown up before now.

The problem of people self-parking at a resort and walking to a park is a real one. In that case people are just trying to avoid paying the parking fee.

Keep in mind that occasionally at peak seasons the parking lots at the resorts get so full that they start restricting even valet. If that happens, you just have to go back to plan B and park at the TTC.

 

[Oceangrace24]

Keep in mind that occasionally at peak seasons the parking lots at the resorts get so full that they start restricting even valet. If that happens, you just have to go back to plan B and park at the TTC.

We are not worried about that, we will be there on one of the lowest crowd days of the year!