What to do if you have breakfast reservations at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, or Hollywood Studios BEFORE the official park opening time?
First, don’t stress! This is Disney, after all, and they plan for everything. If you’re staying on-site, don’t worry, there are accommodations for you to get to your reservation. If you’re staying off-site and traveling to the parks, also don’t worry, because there are signs and helpful cast members who can help you get where you need to be.
The earliest breakfast reservation you can make at the parks is 8:05. Most parks will open at 9am. Be sure to check, though, because your park may have Morning Extra Magic Hours. Extra Magic Hours are a perk for on-site guests, allowing them extra times in the park, either before official opening times or after official closing times. We saw Hollywood Studios open as early as 7:30 this summer! When you’re making those dining reservations, you also want to be aware of Early Morning Magic at the Magic Kingdom. This is a ticketed event (ie, you have to pay for it) that happens in Fantasyland on select days, before the park opens.
If you’ve got an 8:05 reservation, it’s recommended you get to the parks around 7:30am-7:45am. This will allow you time to join the reservations line and get to your restaurant.I would say if you’re scheduled a little later than 8:05am, say 8:15am or so, it’s still not a bad idea to get to the parks closer to 7:45am. If they can seat you early, they will, and it never hurts to try. We had an 8:20 for Akershus, got to Epcot by 7:40, were at the restaurant by 7:50, and sat by 8:05am. This may not be possible at some of the harder to get reservations (haaaaaai Cinderella’s Royal Table) but it’s worth a shot.
But how will you get to the parks? Why, fly of course! It’s easy. Just think of a wonderful thought. Any happy little thought. Ok, just a little Peter Pan humor for you. In all seriousness, many on-site guests get nervous because they are told the buses run an hour before the park opens, and that won’t get them to their reservation on time.
First, you should know that the buses run closer to two hours before the park opens, one hour before the first breakfast reservation. That Akershus trip I told you about? We were on a bus at 7:15, headed for Epcot. This is especially helpful now that we have the bus wait time aspect on My Disney Experience. As soon as you wake up, check the app and see when the next bus is headed towards you. Same goes for the monorail, so if you’ve got an early reservation for the Supercalifragalistic Breakfast, you can take a bus over to Magic Kingdom at 7, and then the Monorail to the Grand Floridian as soon as you get there, and still be at the front doors by 7:45am.
There is also the option of the Minnie Van for those who don’t mind paying a little extra. The Minnie Van is an uber like service provided by Disney that can be reserved any time of the day. If you’re worried about times and bus stops, this might not be a bad option for you. Just know you do have to pay out of pocket for it. There’s also the rumored “Breakfast Shuttle”. This is an early running bus that supposedly functions solely to take people to their early breakfast reservations. I have never seen it, but heard tell of it from cast members and other guests. For my money, you’re better off sticking with the very real buses, that can be tracked via apps.
Once you’re at the parks, you will see a sign, or a cast member holding a sign, indicating where reservation holders should queue. They will check your Magic Band to be sure you really do have a reservation before letting you into the parks all willy nilly. Because early diners have access to some hot rides before actual park opening, they will want to verify that you’re really supposed to be there. Which means that walk ups for pre-opening breakfast reservations don’t happen. Best bet is to keep on checking the MDE app the days leading up to your trip. We actually scored an 8:05 Be Our Guest reservation for our second day while we were on the plane headed to Florida.
Just a bunch of people waiting in front of a sign, asking it to let them go have breakfast.
One final hot tip? Pay as soon as you can. Once your check is taken care of, you’re free to roam the parks. You can get some gorgeous photos without the 70000 strangers and the chance to ride the big rides before the crowds descend. That’s part of why those early morning dining reservations are so popular. They are a perk that comes with a perk! We were done at Akershus by 8:50 and walked right on to Frozen Ever After.
Do you hit up parks for breakfast pre-opening, or do you like to sleep in? What’s your favorite early morning breakfast at Disney World? Have you ever caught the mythical “breakfast shuttle”? Shout it out in the comments!
Kristen B. is wife to the best Prince around, mama to the spunkiest little princesses, and lover of all things Disney. She started her savings journey three years ago and is now dedicated to making her family’s wishes come true one coupon at a time. She is so excited to take her love of saving to the next level and share her journey with you! Click here to catch up on Kristen’s Savings and join in on your own savings adventure!