Hi there, Michelle!
A warm welcome back to planDisney and thanks so much for stopping by with your question about your upcoming visit to The Walt Disney World Resort! Your vacation at The Most Magical Place on Earth is just a few months away - are you counting down the days yet!?
Michelle, you'll be staying at the
Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando Lake Buena Vista, which is located just half a mile away from
Disney Springs! You made a great choice when you selected this Walt Disney World Good Neighbor Hotel. In addition to the free hot breakfast buffet, convenient location, and complimentary shuttle service to all four Walt Disney World Resort theme parks, you'll also be able to take advantage of
early theme park entry. This benefit allows Guests of Disney Resort hotels and other select hotels to enter the theme parks 30 minutes before they open to the public! (Michelle, keep in mind that in order to enter a Walt Disney World Resort theme park, valid theme park admission and theme park reservations are required.)
You have a couple of options to ensure that you arrive at Magic Kingdom Park early enough to take advantage of your early theme park entry benefit. Michelle, after chatting with the Front Desk at the Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando Lake Buena Vista, I found out that the hotel's complimentary shuttle service begins an hour and a half before the early theme park entry window opens. (For example, if early theme park entry begins at 8:30 a.m. at Magic Kingdom Park, the hotel's shuttle service begins at 7:00 a.m.) The shuttle picks up Guests at the hotel every hour, on the hour, and it's approximately a 10-15 minute shuttle ride to Magic Kingdom Park. Guests are dropped off at the Transportation and Ticket Center, where they'll board a ferry boat or monorail to make their way around Seven Seas Lagoon to the entrance of the theme park! While transportation operating hours are subject to change, at this time, ferryboat transportation between the Transportation and Ticket Center and Magic Kingdom Park begins approximately one hour before the early theme park entry period, and the Express Monorail service begins approximately 30 minutes before this window opens. Alternatively, you could use a personal rideshare service. However, these services would also drop you off at the Transportation and Ticket Center.
Michelle, I hope that you've found this information helpful. I can certainly understand wanting to arrive at Magic Kingdom Park well ahead of the theme park opening in order to maximize your time in the magic! I'm wishing you a vacation full of special memories. If you have any additional planning questions, please feel free to
stop back by planDisney again anytime. We're here to help you make the most of your time at The Most Magical Place on Earth!
Enchantment awaits,
Lauren