Grand Californian Early Entry

[bayareadisneyland]

Leaving soon to stay at the Grand! A few questions:

1. What time should we line up for early entry to DL? DCA? Should we not use the DCA entry? Before Covid the main entrance was better for DCA but not sure about now.

2. Where do you get breakfast? It looks like the craftsman doesn’t open until 6:45 but might be in line for security by then? Any mobile options?

Any other tips?


Thank you!

 

[mouschievous]

We stayed at GC in July. When we went, the hotel entrance to DCA was not super busy at rope drop. We were rope dropping Pixar Pier, so we chose to go in that side side it's closest.

For breakfast, we ordered food from Amazon. We were staying VGC and had a Kitchenette, so we got bagels, cream cheese, fruit, etc and ate it in the room (or in the security line while we waited!). Mobile order is great, abs is easy to pick up, so you can always mobile order and have 1 person go pick up.

 

[EEva]

We stayed at GC in July. When we went, the hotel entrance to DCA was not super busy at rope drop. We were rope dropping Pixar Pier, so we chose to go in that side side it's closest.

Can I ask, what time did you line up at security at the DCA entrance? Did security open at 7 like the other locations?
TIA

 

[twodogs]

Can I ask, what time did you line up at security at the DCA entrance? Did security open at 7 like the other locations?
TIA

We stayed at the GCH in October. We did EE and lined up at 645, with a pretty long line already ahead of us. Security opened at 7am on the dot. If you want to be near the front of the line, you will need to be down there by 630 or earlier, especially during a busy holiday time.

I will add that they had two lines for EE into DTD from the GCH when we were there. There was the usual main one, and then they opened one over by the other end of the courtyard (gate opens into DTD right by the end of World of Disney). There was a very long line for the main security, and the guards just happened to start letting the line form at the far courtyard table/x ray machine right when we were about to join the long line. So we were only a few people back and lines started moving right at 7am. It was interesting because I had noticed the bag check table and x ray machine set up in the court yard earlier that morning when I was out on my GCH balcony, but there were no security folks there that early, so I was not sure if it would be used or not.

 

[mouschievous]

Can I ask, what time did you line up at security at the DCA entrance? Did security open at 7 like the other locations?
TIA

We were there in July, before EE started. The park opened at 8. We arrived to security about 7:30. When we got in line, we were back around Storytellers, but the line went really fast and we were just 1 person back from the rope when we got in.

 

[kikismom]

Is there a line for people without bags at the GC or should we go to the other line for early entry?

 

[jcatron243]

We were there this week. We left our room at 6:30 and lined up at the main entrance to Downtown Disney. We got through the line quickly. The line by World of of Disney was meant to be a no bag line, but it didn’t turn out that way for us.

We mobile ordered starbucks (we had the order in the cart and ordered right at 7). One of us picked it up the other for in line.