Will new 8AM MK start throw off my entire touring plan?

[TVmom]

I have a 8:20 CRT ADR for June 10. I just read that they are going to open the park up at 8am instead of 9am. I really don't want to cancel the ressie as I believe my DD will enjoy the experience, but now I'm worried that my touring plan that I worked on painstakingly for months will be a mess with much longer wait times. Do a lot more people come at 8am to push up wait times by 9am?

Also, would I be able to sneak in a ride on PP before our ADR if we show up at rope drop?

 

[Robo]

I have a 8:20 CRT ADR for June 10. I just read that they are going to open the park up at 8am instead of 9am. I really don't want to cancel the ressie as I believe my DD will enjoy the experience, but now I'm worried that my touring plan that I worked on painstakingly for months will be a mess with much longer wait times. Do a lot more people come at 8am to push up wait times by 9am?

Also, would I be able to sneak in a ride on PP before our ADR if we show up at rope drop?

If experiencing high-priority attractions is the principle goal of arriving early, it is unwise to be sitting in a high-priced, slow-to-complete character meal during the best-of-day, lowest-crowd "riding time" in the park (in this case, 8AM-10AM, or so.)

The usual more desirable workaround is to re-schedule breakfast for 10AM, or so.
(Or to dump the ADR altogether on that day and change it to another day.)

 

[itchin2go]

To your first question, I would (personally) try to move your ADR to more like 10:30.

I don't know that your touring plan is out the window, but by the time you start riding (after 8:20 CRT), lines will have been building for, like, an hour. That puts you at a disadvantage. It doesn't mean you can't have a good day, but I don't think your day will start out as optimally as it would have had the 9:00 opening remained the same. What you do with that information is up to you, and no one can tell you what the right answer is. As I said, if it were me, I'd move that breakfast to later in the morning. We did a CRT breakfast on our first trip, and it WAS magical - and probably more important than any rides we were missing, but that was not our only MK day (not sure what your situation is with park days).

To your second question, yes, it's possible to squeeze in a nearby ride before your ADR, but I would play that one by ear.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Not in our experience. Crowds still come rolling in at about 10:30, so that extra hour really is a bonus!

 

[itchin2go]

Not in our experience. Crowds still come rolling in at about 10:30, so that extra hour really is a bonus!

Yes, but if the OP keeps her reservation, she'll be dining during that extra hour ....

 

[mom2rtk]

Try for lunch or dinner. Keep trying. Since it's prepaid people do cancel all the way up until the day before.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Yes, but if the OP keeps her reservation, she'll be dining during that extra hour ....

ITA with that. I'd totally cancel that ADR because it conflicts with prime touring time. Sorry, I hit Reply too soon and didn't finish my thought!

 

[bumbershoot]

In December 2010 it threw us off completely. And we had no advance warning, as we had NO idea this could happen. Walked up to MK for our pre-opening CP reservation to find the park opening. UGH. So while we sat and ate for over an hour (group of 8 relatives with 3 kids needing to see the characters), people were swarming into the park, getting in lines and having all the fun we were supposed to have been having.

 

[itchin2go]

In December 2010 it threw us off completely. And we had no advance warning, as we had NO idea this could happen. Walked up to MK for our pre-opening CP reservation to find the park opening. UGH. So while we sat and ate for over an hour (group of 8 relatives with 3 kids needing to see the characters), people were swarming into the park, getting in lines and having all the fun we were supposed to have been having.

That would have made so sad!

 

[denise5374]

I had an 8am ADR for Crystal Palace on 6/23/15 and the park opening was moved to 8am, I changed the ADR to 9:25am. That way I can take advantage of the first hour of park opening. Our first FP+ is 10:25-11:25, so it will work out perfectly.

 

[Tomh]

Listen to robo, he is wise. Either reschedule the ADR for later in the day, or for another day. You don't want to waste that first hour in a meal. The park will be more crowded that day because of the early opening, so you want to take as much advantage of that early opening as possible.

 

[bumbershoot]

That would have made so sad!

It wasn't even a little bit of fun. Sniffle. And a buffet breakfast for a vegetarian at Disney isn't worth it, especially since their scrambled egg product makes me ill, AND I don't like characters (never have), AND there were some other issues.

Then it absolutely poured for about 15 minutes while we were inside, and my cousin's stroller for her 4 year old was drenched. They are Floridians but had no poncho or anything over it, so that issue lasted the whole day. (of course that would have happened anyway)

Traveling in a pack is hard enough, let alone when you're behind the hordes.

 

[AngiTN]

When Disney started moving MK opening to 8:00 AM more often than not I started to suggest to everyone not to book 8 AM ADR. You almost have to just assume MK will open at 8:00 anymore. When it doesn't, think of it as a bonus. Makes me wonder why they won't just change it already.

It's highly frustrating to plan dining 180 days out when you can't be sure the park schedule will be set in stone at 180 days, or even 8 days. We quit with breakfast ADR for this reason, or grabbed the last seating.

 

[itchin2go]

It wasn't even a little bit of fun. Sniffle. And a buffet breakfast for a vegetarian at Disney isn't worth it, especially since their scrambled egg product makes me ill, AND I don't like characters (never have), AND there were some other issues.

Then it absolutely poured for about 15 minutes while we were inside, and my cousin's stroller for her 4 year old was drenched. They are Floridians but had no poncho or anything over it, so that issue lasted the whole day. (of course that would have happened anyway)

Traveling in a pack is hard enough, let alone when you're behind the hordes.

I ate at CP once (pre-park opening, of course ), and I won't do it again.

It's super popular, so even though it was pre-park opening, it was mobbed. It's the only Disney buffet where I felt like I had to fight for my food. I would have been raging mad had I been going through what you describe above as well.

 

[itchin2go]

When Disney started moving MK opening to 8:00 AM more often than not I started to suggest to everyone not to book 8 AM ADR. You almost have to just assume MK will open at 8:00 anymore. When it doesn't, think of it as a bonus. Makes me wonder why they won't just change it already.

It's highly frustrating to plan dining 180 days out when you can't be sure the park schedule will be set in stone at 180 days, or even 8 days. We quit with breakfast ADR for this reason, or grabbed the last seating.

OMG - you are so right! When did they start opening at 8 am all the time (not literally, but you know ...). It happened on my Thanksgiving trip and I figured, oh, it's a super busy time ... but it seems to be happening more and more!

 

[TVmom]

Thanks everyone. I will try to move the ADR but it's such a popular meal that I don't think I'll be able to Man, I got up at 4:30 in the morning, 180 days out, and I was so happy to get the ADR, I'm a rookie so I never saw this caveat coming. This is our first trip and may likely be our only trip so if I can't move it, I guess I'll just have to roll with the punches. Thanks for all the input.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

TVmom, FWIW, I really think as first timers you'll get more out of arriving at RD and actually riding rides than eating at CRT. And I say this as someone who eats at CRT every trip. Your daughter won't know what she's missing, and really, the meals can be hit or miss. Sometimes you get some great princesses, and sometimes you sit there wondering why Orlando seems to lack actors who have any hint of personality. But the rides are fun no matter what, and there isn't anyone who appears at CRT who you can't meet elsewhere in the parks.

Also, there are services you can pay to ping the Disney servers for you to find hard-to-get ADRs. They'll send you a text and/or email when an ADR becomes available. One service is DisneyDiningBuddy, and they charge $8. The other cannot be named on the Dis, but they charge $10. You can Google Disneysniper and you'll find that one. I've used both with great success.

 

[SillySallySews]

OMG - you are so right! When did they start opening at 8 am all the time (not literally, but you know ...). It happened on my Thanksgiving trip and I figured, oh, it's a super busy time ... but it seems to be happening more and more!

I totally agree with this! We've gone every year in June for the last several years, on almost the exact same dates. It's always busy in June, but this is the first year where our MK days have all been switched to 8am openings.

 

[tstottle]

TV Mom, when are you going? I am in July and BOG lunch and dinner has opened up a lot over the past week.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

When Disney started moving MK opening to 8:00 AM more often than not I started to suggest to everyone not to book 8 AM ADR. You almost have to just assume MK will open at 8:00 anymore. When it doesn't, think of it as a bonus. Makes me wonder why they won't just change it already.

It's highly frustrating to plan dining 180 days out when you can't be sure the park schedule will be set in stone at 180 days, or even 8 days. We quit with breakfast ADR for this reason, or grabbed the last seating.

This!! I've just discovered this will affect our Wednesday MK day in June. We have a 8:05 a.m. CP ADR. Right now it still shows Friday of that week opening at 9 a.m. How likely is it for that to change? I think it stinks that Disney pushes all this pre-planning but then changes the hours when they have to know it messes up all those that followed Disney's plan and did all the pre-planning!!