Correct, 9 is the earliest. They've never opened at 8am.
This was given to me by a current TPL CM. We weren't sure when we would be allowed to say anything, but she mentioned that one of the Managers was talking about these upcoming changes with other Guests so she asked me to share it with you all!
The packages are all being adjusted in the coming months. Some of the changes are currently unknown, but its believed that the First Mate option will be losing the fake teeth and will be gaining something else.
The empresses is going through a complete makeover, to make it more piratey and less princessy.
The mermaid is coming back, in a slightly different look and package.
And a new package, based on Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates, will be created for pirates under the age of 3. It will not feature pirate paint, but will include other activities based on the TV show.
All of these changes will come with a slight price increse... rumor is that all packages will be increased by $5, making them $34.95.
I know you'll have tons of questions, but to be honest that's about all I know. Hopefully some of the other Pirate Masters will jump in to provide more info as it becomes available. I think the target is in December, but that's not confirmed.