Welcome Back, Emily!
How exciting that you're planning another trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth! Be sure to keep up with the
Disney Parks Blog so you don't miss a minute of the new and now at Walt Disney World Resort!
I completely understand the desire to start your Disney Day in the fastest, most stress-free way possible, especially when there is a
whole hour of pre-park opening fun to be had! I think if you look at driving yourself vs. the same ride you had the last time you took a Minnie Van, you'll come out way ahead with the Minnie Van. When parking at
Magic Kingdom Park, you'll actually be in an area beyond the Seven Seas Lagoon. From this lot, you'll make your way to the Ticket and Transportation Center, which is where you'll go through bag check, and then you'll either take a
Monorail or a Ferryboat to the actual entrance of Magic Kingdom Park. (
I'm linking a page that is actually about Bus Transportation, but if you scroll all the way down, you'll see a Map. The number 2 on this map is the Ticket and Transportation Center, and if you can move the map up a bit, you'll see the Magic Kingdom Park parking lot just below it.) This can easily take about half an hour from locking your car to tapping your MagicBand at an entry point.
The major perk I appreciate in taking a
Minnie Van to Magic Kingdom Park is that aside from Disney's Resort Buses, Minnie Vans are the only other mode of transportation allowed to drop you off as close to the castle as possible. (
Going back to this map, Minnie Vans drop off at the number 1, where there's also a convenient bag check on your way to the turnstiles.)
I am happy to report that since the last time you used a Minnie Van, the service has been expanded to serve the entirety of Walt Disney World Resort, and more cars have been added to the fleet, which should both mean a reduced wait time when you call your car. There should also be a way when you first open the app that you can see how close time-wise the nearest car is. I usually check the app a few times while I'm getting ready in the morning to gauge if I should request the ride while I'm still primping or as I'm leaving my resort hotel room and heading down to the meeting point.
I hope this helped solidify your plans, Emily, and We'll See You Real Soon!
~Kristen