Help with MK Opening Ceremony

We are hoping to make the Opening Ceremony-Rope Drop at the Magic Kingdom this September during on our Disney Trip. :thumbsup:

We have never done this BEFORE during any of our many, many trips.
Any tips/hints on what time to be there, where to stand, etc....

As I am the early riser, my DW :cloud9: is NOT and takes longer than most to get ready. Any tips on ways to speed up the process of getting up and being there other than having her a cup of coffee ready when her feet hit the floor.
My plan is to just drive to the Poly and catch the monorail to MK. What time should we be at the Poly?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.:cool:

First off, if you are not staying at the Poly, you can only park there if you are visiting the resort, and then only for 3 hours. When I saw the ceremony, it began 10 mins before the scheduled park opening. They let us through the turnstiles, but not through the train station until 9:00. Any spot in that area between the tunstiles and train station is fine.

You could go to MK by yourself and meet up with DW later...

If you're staying on property, the buses / monorails start operating approximately an hour before the parks are scheduled to open.

There are a number of people that like to be at the parks for 'rope drop,' so if you like to be at the front of one of the lines, plan to be there earlier...

I have heard there is a new coffee/pastry kiosk that is pretty good, at the TTC. You can park there, grab a coffee, and hop on the monorail!