Hi, Holly!
Early breakfast reservations at Chef Mickey's are definitely the way to go so you can get an early start to your day with The Big Cheese himself! You can make your
Advanced Dining Reservations up to 180 days in advance and I highly recommend doing that the minute you know the date you'd like to try for.
As far as travel time, I always recommend allowing 90-minutes total when you're using Walt Disney World transportation. If you've got an 8:00 a.m. reservation at Chef Mickey's, I would plan on being out at Disney's Pop Century's bus stop by 6:30 a.m. The buses start running very early for early breakfast reservations, so not to worry. Once you arrive at Magic Kingdom Park, the monorail is just a quick walk from the bus stop in front of the Park entrance. You can also follow the walking path right over to Disney's Contemporary Resort, it's about a 5-minute walk.
I hope this helps, Holly. Please let us know if we can help with any other questions you have.
Wishing you and your family a Pixie Dusted vacation!
~Jackie