What is open in MK prior to 8am park open?

TulipMom

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 24, 2015
I'm sure this has been asked at least 500 times, so forgive me! o_O My searches for previous threads on this aren't generating quite what I want to know.

What is open at the Magic Kingdom before the park opens at 8am? (Regular park hours, not EMH). I know all about how main street is open and the welcome show is now at the castle. Will Starbucks be open? Any other coffee or pastry kiosks?

I'm asking because I'm planning to ask my family to leave Poly at 7:15am (which is 6:15am their body clock time) and if everything goes perfectly then we could end up at the MK quite early. Of course, if it doesn't go perfectly, then we'll be there just in time for the welcome show. (Or after the welcome show if things go reallllly badly, but let's pretend that never happens, mmmmkay? ;) ) Hoping to buy early morning happy attitudes using the promise of coffee and pastries before we start our RD sprint.
 
I'm sure this has been asked at least 500 times, so forgive me! o_O My searches for previous threads on this aren't generating quite what I want to know.

What is open at the Magic Kingdom before the park opens at 8am? (Regular park hours, not EMH). I know all about how main street is open and the welcome show is now at the castle. Will Starbucks be open? Any other coffee or pastry kiosks?

I'm asking because I'm planning to ask my family to leave Poly at 7:15am (which is 6:15am their body clock time) and if everything goes perfectly then we could end up at the MK quite early. Of course, if it doesn't go perfectly, then we'll be there just in time for the welcome show. (Or after the welcome show if things go reallllly badly, but let's pretend that never happens, mmmmkay? ;) ) Hoping to buy early morning happy attitudes using the promise of coffee and pastries before we start our RD sprint.
If you’re early, your family will be standing at the entrance touchpoints and then at one of the tunnels to walk through at approximately 7:45.

Main Street Bakery/Starbucks and the Emporium should be open. But with the 7:45 entrance time, you’ll be able to go find a spot for the Welcome Show.
 
I'm sure this has been asked at least 500 times, so forgive me! o_O My searches for previous threads on this aren't generating quite what I want to know.

What is open at the Magic Kingdom before the park opens at 8am? (Regular park hours, not EMH). I know all about how main street is open and the welcome show is now at the castle. Will Starbucks be open? Any other coffee or pastry kiosks?

I'm asking because I'm planning to ask my family to leave Poly at 7:15am (which is 6:15am their body clock time) and if everything goes perfectly then we could end up at the MK quite early. Of course, if it doesn't go perfectly, then we'll be there just in time for the welcome show. (Or after the welcome show if things go reallllly badly, but let's pretend that never happens, mmmmkay? ;) ) Hoping to buy early morning happy attitudes using the promise of coffee and pastries before we start our RD sprint.

MK doesn't "open" an hour before an 8AM opening like it does for a 9AM opening. They open the gates 7:45ish and you can walk down Main Street to the hub. The opening show is at 7:55, after which the "ropes drop" to places outside the hub.
 
What is open in MK prior to 8am park open?

On days with an 8AM "regular hours" opening time (and no AM EMH) he whole park (for the most part) will open at 8AM, give or take 5-15 minutes.

However, on days with an 8AM "regular hours" opening time, plus AM EMH,
some stores/shops/food offerings will be open starting at near 7AM.
 
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Ohhhhh... So glad I asked and that does make sense.

This is a regular hours 8am open with no EMH. So, we can expect to walk through the tunnel at 7:45am, at the earliest? Still a good idea to leave Poly at 7:15, though? We really don’t want to miss the welcome show.
 
Ohhhhh... So glad I asked and that does make sense.

This is a regular hours 8am open with no EMH. So, we can expect to walk through the tunnel at 7:45am, at the earliest? Still a good idea to leave Poly at 7:15, though? We really don’t want to miss the welcome show.

Yes, in my experience, 7:45ish at the earliest. Exact timing can vary from day to day but that's a safe time to plan around.

7:15 should be plenty of time, IMHO. I don't like to spend a lot of time waiting, so if this were me I'd be walking up to the monorail platform more like 7:30ish. That doesn't leave much room for errors or delays, but it's within my personal risk tolerance. :D

If you haven't been to WDW in awhile, note that now you'll go through security at the Poly monorail station. I find this to be extremely quick/easy in the mornings with minimal wait. This also makes the actual entry time once you get to the MK very quick/efficient as well. I am a huge fan of the changes they made earlier this year in this regard - it makes getting to RD from the MK resorts SO much easier than it used to be.

Hope that helps/makes sense!
 
7:15 should be plenty of time, IMHO. I don't like to spend a lot of time waiting, so if this were me I'd be walking up to the monorail platform more like 7:30ish. That doesn't leave much room for errors or delays, but it's within my personal risk tolerance. :D
Great, thanks!! My crew won't be pleased if they leave at 7:15am when they could have left at 7:30 (though, they really are all good sports). Maybe we'll shoot for walking out of rooms at 7:15-7:20. Thanks, again! :thanks:
 


Kona Island has delicious coffee that you could get prior to getting on the monorail at Poly
DH is a coffee snob and a morning person, so he probably won't mind to wake up even earlier than the rest of us to deliver coffee bribes. Good idea!
 
Been away from the boards for awhile so please excuse me. So with a regular 9:00 am opening Main Street opens up an hour early? Would there be any advantage to having a prepark ADR at BOG? would we still have the opportunity to be one of the first ones in line for SDMT?
 
1. So with a regular 9:00 am opening Main Street opens up an hour early?
2. Would there be any advantage to having a prepark ADR at BOG?
3. would we still have the opportunity to be one of the first ones in line for SDMT?
1. Yes.
2.& 3. Same as in the past.
(Which also means that, as in the past, they COULD decide to open MK ("regular hours") an hour earlier as the date gets much closer... which then renders the early BoG to no advantage.)
 

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