MK/Fantasyland “Early Morning Magic” (EMM) (Thread Now Closed, See New MK EMM FAQ Thread)

[SaintsManiac]

FWIW, I have found coffee-only and 8 rides on 7DMT does not go over well with me. Not that 7DMT is bad at all... but over and over with no breakfast and summer heat... yeah... I start feeling it!

This is why we might pop in for a quick pastry grab between rides!!!

 

[MIAMouseketeer]

Perfect! I’m worried in our rush to get on the monorail we won’t have time to grab coffee so just want to know the options. Would rather not waste time though, good point.

Glad you were able to decipher famstasyland

Question:
If you are doing EMM, why would you go to Starbucks to get coffee? They have coffee at the breakfast.

 

[mekay1012]

Just be warned, trying to find a Minnie Van in the morning is difficult. We've done EMM twice and both times were unsuccessful in getting a Minnie Van. The second time, it took 40 minutes for a bus to come to our resort (tried to get a MV the entire time) and we got to the park at 7:55am.

What time were you at the bus stop? We are planning on using the bus to get to emm.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

I think Valet Parking at Poly is up to $33 these days. MK parking is $22. So you'll have to pick your poison.

Both seem valid to me. I can see how it'd be nice to have your car right there at Poly after the Luau. But it's not a terrible walk over to the TTC if you want to go that route.

Poly Valet would be your only option to leave your car there all day. If you do this, just take the Resort Monorail to MK.

If you park at the TTC, the Ferry and monorail should be running. Sometimes it's just the Resort monorail and not the Express at that hour, but that's not the end of the world. If neither the Ferry or Monorail were to be running (rare, but it happens), there would be buses. Personally, I'd over-allocate travel time - the worse thing to happen is you arrive at the MK entrance way early and wait for awhile. It's better than running late and the stress meter instantly going to high.

Hope all of that made sense.

Awesome, thanks!

What time do you recommend being AT the TTC to get over there?

I agree, I’d rather be early than stressing it.

PS. Thank you for doing this thread and maintaining it! So helpful

 

[MIAMouseketeer]

What time were you at the bus stop? We are planning on using the bus to get to emm.

We were there at 6:55am. The bus time originally said 7:20a, but kept going up and up. I would suggest trying for a Minnie Van, but going to the bus stop early as a backup. It's better to be early than late for EMM.

 

[hereforthechurros]

FWIW, I have found coffee-only and 8 rides on 7DMT does not go over well with me. Not that 7DMT is bad at all... but over and over with no breakfast and summer heat... yeah... I start feeling it!

Welp. Something new to fear!

 

[hereforthechurros]

Question:
If you are doing EMM, why would you go to Starbucks to get coffee? They have coffee at the breakfast.

Because I don’t plan on doing breakfast until 9:45 am. How do I make it from 6:45- 9:45 am?!

 

[ninafeliz]

Because I don’t plan on doing breakfast until 9:45 am. How do I make it from 6:45- 9:45 am?!

Instead of stopping at Starbucks when you get into the park, paying for coffee and waiting in a line during your EMM time go straight to Pinocchio’s and get coffee, or ride SDMT once and then get coffee, then keep riding. Go back for breakfast at 9:45 as planned.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Because I don’t plan on doing breakfast until 9:45 am. How do I make it from 6:45- 9:45 am?!

I make sure to have it in my room. I’m super picky about my coffee, though.

 

[123SA]

We had problems getting to the park last year. We went twice in August. The first time we drove to park, but once we got to TTC, it was unclear how we would get to MK. An employee told us to go to the ferry, so we raced over there only to be told to go back to the resort monorail. It was needlessly stressful.
So the next time we decided to take the bus. We got to the bus stop (ASM) at 647am. The bus arrival time said 705, then 715, then 720, then 725...so we left the bus line at 705 and raced to car, drove way too fast to the TTC and this time the ferry was running, so we took that to MK.

I REALLY don't want this kind of stress in the morning (or EVER). We're staying at Art of Animation this time. What do you think the best way to get there on time is?

 

[SaintsManiac]

We had problems getting to the park last year. We went twice in August. The first time we drove to park, but once we got to TTC, it was unclear how we would get to MK. An employee told us to go to the ferry, so we raced over there only to be told to go back to the resort monorail. It was needlessly stressful.
So the next time we decided to take the bus. We got to the bus stop (ASM) at 647am. The bus arrival time said 705, then 715, then 720, then 725...so we left the bus line at 705 and raced to car, drove way too fast to the TTC and this time the ferry was running, so we took that to MK.

I REALLY don't want this kind of stress in the morning (or EVER). We're staying at Art of Animation this time. What do you think the best way to get there on time is?

Minnie Van straight to MK or Uber to contemporary and walk over.

 

[123SA]

Minnie Van straight to MK or Uber to contemporary and walk over.

Thank you. I'm not happy about the additional expense, but I vividly remember my stress on those mornings and I am unwilling to set myself up for that again.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Minnie Van straight to MK or Uber to contemporary and walk over.

There have been reports that Minnie Vans are hard to come by at that time in the morning.

Parking at the TTC and riding the monorail is a good option, I think. Unless the monorail is down for some reason, it will be running early enough to get to EMM. And if it’s not running, there will be buses.

 

[123SA]

There have been reports that Minnie Vans are hard to come by at that time in the morning.

Parking at the TTC and riding the monorail is a good option, I think. Unless the monorail is down for some reason, it will be running early enough to get to EMM. And if it’s not running, there will be buses.

Ughh. I wonder if I can pre-order a ride?

I've been to EMM 3 times and each time arriving via TTC did not go smoothly. I just don't trust it anymore.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Ughh. I wonder if I can pre-order a ride?

I've been to EMM 3 times and each time arriving via TTC did not go smoothly. I just don't trust it anymore.

I don’t think you can pre order a ride, but I could be wrong.

When we did EMM, we actually took the bus from the resort and arrived with plenty of time to spare.

Just curious on the problems at the TTC...I’m pretty sure the resort monorail is the only transport running from there that early...was it not running when you went?

 

[123SA]

in 2016, the monorail was not running. Cast Member told us we had to wait for ferry, which at that time did not start until 8:00am. (At least that's what we were told.) I was trying to figure out what to do when a maintenance man approached us and said I'll take you over to MK. We jumped into his unmarked white van and off we went...about two minutes into the ride, I had a near panic attack when I realized I jumped into an unmarked van with a stranger with my kids and never asked for ID. It was fine, he was a very nice man, but it was incredibly stupid of me.

In 2017, as I listed above, the parking lot attendant told us we would need to take the ferry, ...but this was wrong, we needed to take the resort monorail. So we headed over to the ferry only to have to race over to the monorail. Then the next time, we decided to take the bus and the bus, arrived at 647am (I know this because I wanted to be at bus stop at 645 and was irritated at my lateness) and the next bus wasn't scheduled to come until 720...so we raced to MK in my car.

So upon writing this out, I realize it wasn't actually the TTC each time. I guess I just need to get my crew to the bus before 645am...which just seems like a lot of standing around.

 

[ninafeliz]

we're going on June 17th from the BC, and I had been thinking of using a Minnie Van but after reading that we might have trouble with availability I am wondering if we would be better off driving to the TTC or taking a bus? I'm leaning toward driving, since if we just miss a bus there will probably be a long wait for the second bus and it is going to be a hard morning getting two 15 month olds ready and situated with a sitter and getting 2 older kids, my DH and myself ready and to the bus stop on time. Plus I'm definitely not a morning person (except at Disney )! Being at the bus stop by 6:45 is probably impossible with the sitter coming at 6:30, it would be more like 6:55. Ugg, why is this so difficult? What's annoying is that we'll be at the perfect resort for this event, the CR, June 18-22, but there was no EMM those days! So close!

 

[SaintsManiac]

There have been reports that Minnie Vans are hard to come by at that time in the morning.

Parking at the TTC and riding the monorail is a good option, I think. Unless the monorail is down for some reason, it will be running early enough to get to EMM. And if it’s not running, there will be buses.

We didn't have any trouble with Minnie Van service, but that was back when it was new.

 

[SilSprBea]

we're going on June 17th from the BC, and I had been thinking of using a Minnie Van but after reading that we might have trouble with availability I am wondering if we would be better off driving to the TTC or taking a bus? I'm leaning toward driving, since if we just miss a bus there will probably be a long wait for the second bus and it is going to be a hard morning getting two 15 month olds ready and situated with a sitter and getting 2 older kids, my DH and myself ready and to the bus stop on time. Plus I'm definitely not a morning person (except at Disney )! Being at the bus stop by 6:45 is probably impossible with the sitter coming at 6:30, it would be more like 6:55. Ugg, why is this so difficult? What's annoying is that we'll be at the perfect resort for this event, the CR, June 18-22, but there was no EMM those days! So close!

Push comes to shove, what about valet parking at the Contemporary and walking over??? Is that allowed without and ADR?

 

[KrazeeK120]

Push comes to shove, what about valet parking at the Contemporary and walking over??? Is that allowed without and ADR?

It’s allowed, but it’s expensive (33 plus tip I believe).