All 4 Disney World parks have restaurants that open at 8 a.m., giving you a fantastic opportunity to eat before the park opens and maybe even position yourself in a prime spot to visit an attraction as soon as the park opens.
I’ll get into the details of how that works, and also discuss news and a quick tip regarding Disney gift cards.
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These are notes from this episode. There’s much more info included in the audio so be sure to listen to the episode for a better explanation.
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Pre-park opening breakfast info
First, some basic things that are true for all pre-park opening breakfast reservations:
- The earliest breakfast reservation time is almost always 8:00, regardless of when the park opens.
- Disney will provide transportation to get you there, even though they often tell people that buses begin an hour before park opening. Magic Kingdom buses usually begin at 6:30, and buses for the other parks usually begin at 7 or 7:15. The resort monorail usually begins operating at 7 a.m.
- At every park, there will be a special line for people with early reservations to enter. They’ll check your name on the reservation list and then you’ll be allowed into the park.
Magic Kingdom
Some things to know about Magic Kingdom pre-park opening reservations:
- Park hours often change from 9 to 8 a.m. so you may want to make 2 reservations and then cancel later when you know which one you want to keep.
- There will be PhotoPass photographers in the park to take pics.
- The three restaurant options are Crystal Palace, Cinderella’s Royal Table, and Be Our Guest. Be Our Guest will be the fastest and give you the best opportunity to position yourself for an attraction.
Epcot
A couple of things to know about Epcot breakfast reservations:
- Akershus and Garden Grill are your two options (Garden Grill begins on November 8).
- People entering through the International Gateway won’t have any issues getting in early.
Hollywood Studios
- Hollywood Studios often has park hours changes so I’d recommend making 2 reservations and then canceling the one you don’t want.
- The only restaurant option is Hollywood and Vine, which has Disney Jr. characters.
- People interested in Jedi Training Academy might want to finish up eating just before the park opens to go jump in line.
Animal Kingdom
Just 1 option at Animal Kingdom (Tusker House), but it is good food and puts you in a great spot to ride Kilimanjaro Safaris after you’re finished eating.
News
- Be Our Guest breakfast is now a permanent option that opens up 180 days beforehand, just like all other restaurants.
- Minnie’s Holiday Dine is a dinner option at Hollywood & Vine at Hollywood Studios from November 7-January 3. The Fantasmic dinner package option is available online, and the non-Fantasmic option is available by calling 407-WDW-DINE.
- Pizzafari (Quick Service restaurant at Animal Kingdom) is scheduled to be closed August 24-October 19, 2015.
Quick tip of the day
DisneyGiftCard.com can be used to not only purchase Disney gift cards, but it can be used to combine your cards into 1 card worth up to $1000.
Featured company
Today’s featured company is Garden Grocer which is my favorite way to get groceries on Disney World trips. Check out my article on 8 ways to get groceries for Disney World trips for other options as well.
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Rachel
Monday 8th of January 2018
Hello! I am on a budget and would like to have breakfast at Epcot but spend the day at MK. Is it possible to do this without a Hopper ticket?
Shannon Albert
Monday 8th of January 2018
No, you won't be able to visit multiple parks in 1 day without a hopper ticket.
Ashley Clodfelter
Friday 25th of August 2017
I have a early dining reservation for Be Our Guest at 8:20 for 3 people. We are a party of 5 people. Would they allow our whole family Early entrance into the park, even though the other two will not be eating at Be our guest due to lack of reservation. This was the only reservation I could get and my daughter loves B and B. But would hate to leave my husband and son behind at the gate. We would need to all be together to beat the rush to the mine train because i will have our infant son that we would need to get a rider switch pass for.
Marie
Saturday 20th of January 2018
Did this work out for you? We are in the same boat!
Kelley
Wednesday 27th of September 2017
I'm curious about this question and if it ever worked? We have run into the same situation & I'm hoping it all works out.
Disneyfreeek
Wednesday 7th of June 2017
Do we know how early you can snag a res for Tusker House? Would love to be able to eat before park opening and then either do Safari or Pandora rides.
Shannon Albert
Thursday 8th of June 2017
Their earliest reservation time is usually 8:00 or 8:05.
Danielle
Wednesday 19th of April 2017
I've been seeing reservations as early as 7:30 AM lately (for example today 4/19 there is a 7:30 for BOG available). Any insight on when Disney decides to open those up? It's obviously on days when they pushed park opening up to 8 but those earlier times aren't available at 180 days.
yasmin
Thursday 23rd of March 2017
I just had 8:05 reservations at CRT last week, was able to get on SDMT twice afterwards, before the park opened! CRT isn't always listed as on of the best ones for a PPO breakfast, but it worked out great for us!