Visitors of on-site Walt Disney World resorts and different motels have entry to Early Entry. This technique information covers the whole lot it’s good to know: eligibility, journey rosters, how the perk works, and suggestions for finest utilizing the additional morning time in Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. (Up to date March 22, 2024.)
When it comes to fundamentals, Early Theme Park Entry replaces morning Further Magic Hours. With that mentioned, there are some key variations between the on-site visitor advantages, and professionals & cons of every. Whereas morning Further Magic Hours have been provided on choose days and at choose parks, Early Entry is obtainable in any respect 4 theme parks each single day. That may be a particular plus for Early Entry, because it means the crowds are diluted.
One other distinction is that Further Magic Hours lasted for an hour on every morning it was held. Against this, Early Entry is day by day 30-minute (or so) entry to Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. At Magic Kingdom and EPCOT, it is a particular adverse. It’s extra difficult at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, for causes regarding park hours that we’ll clarify within the technique part…
Talking of park hours, these can fluctuate relying upon the season and attendance projections. Walt Disney World continues to increase park hours, with opening instances moved ahead. Sometimes, Animal Kingdom opens at 8 am, with Hollywood Studios and Epcot following at 8:30 am or 9 am. That is vital, as these earlier official opening instances transfer ahead Early Entry, and make that even much less busy.
Magic Kingdom’s opening time varies because of get together season–or August via December when the park is internet hosting Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Occasion adopted by Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Occasion. On days when the park closes early for these occasions, Magic Kingdom opens at 8 am.
Even outdoors of Occasion Season, Magic Kingdom opens at 8 am on sure dates. Most incessantly, this happens through the peak season or on days of Magic Kingdom After Hours. As we’ll focus on, there’s a enormous distinction between Early Entry on 8 am v. 9 am opening days at Magic Kingdom.
Let’s beginning by having a look on the eligible motels for Early Theme Park Entry at Walt Disney World:
Early Entry Eligible Disney Owned Lodges
- Disney’s All-Star Films Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Sports activities Resort
- Disney’s Artwork of Animation Resort
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
- Disney’s Caribbean Seashore Resort
- Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort & Gran Destino Tower
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
- Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Disney’s Seashore Membership Resort
- Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
- Disney’s Modern Resort
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Yacht Membership Resort
- Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Modern Resort
- Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo Home
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
- Disney’s Seashore Membership Villas
- Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
- Disney’s Previous Key West Resort
- Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
- Disney’s Riviera Resort
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Early Entry Eligible Third Occasion Lodges
- Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort
- Walt Disney World Swan Resort
- Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
- 4 Seasons Resort Orlando
- Shades of Inexperienced at Walt Disney World Resort
- B Resort & Spa Lake Buena Vista
- DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando
- Drury Plaza Resort Orlando Lake Buena Vista
- Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace
- Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista
- Vacation Inn Orlando
- Wyndham Backyard Lake Buena Vista
- Wyndham Lake Buena Vista
- Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek
- Waldorf Astoria Orlando
To take part in Early Entry, on-site third get together motels should attain agreements with Walt Disney World that, presumably, entails the resort paying Disney a big sum of cash for entry to the perk. At one level final 12 months, a number of the above motels have been listed as ‘ending’ Early Entry at the beginning of 2024. Nonetheless, all of them renewed their offers with Disney and are eligible for everything of 2024.
Simply bear in mind that is how the Early Entry association works, so when you’re looking forward to 2025, a number of the motels on that record might not find yourself taking part. Accordingly, when you’re contemplating a non-Disney resort for 2025 and Early Entry is a make-or-break perk, you would possibly need to wait a bit earlier than reserving–or make a refundable reservation. (All Disney-owned motels will provide Early Entry in 2025.)
Subsequent, the sights lineup for Early Theme Park Entry at every of the 4 theme parks…
Early Theme Park Entry Rides – Magic Kingdom
- “it’s a small world”
- Astro Orbiter
- Buzz Lightyear’s Area Ranger Spin
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- Mad Tea Occasion
- Mickey’s PhilharMagic
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare
- Area Mountain
- The Barnstormer
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Tomorrowland Speedway
- Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
- Underneath the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
- Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress
Early Theme Park Entry Rides – Epcot
- Frozen Ever After
- Impressions de France
- Mission: SPACE
- Remy’s Ratatouille Journey
- Soarin’ Across the World
- Spaceship Earth
- Check Monitor
- The Seas with Nemo & Mates
Early Theme Park Entry Rides – Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith
- Slinky Canine Sprint
- Star Excursions — The Adventures Proceed
- Star Wars – Rise of the Resistance
- Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- Toy Story Mania!
Early Theme Park Entry Rides – Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- Avatar Flight of Passage
- DINOSAUR
- Expedition Everest — Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
- It’s Robust to be a Bug!
- Na’vi River Journey
- TriceraTop Spin
As you’ll be able to see, not all Walt Disney World sights can be found throughout Early Theme Park Entry. With minor exceptions, these lists are similar to morning Further Magic Hours with solely sure lands in every park being open to start out the morning.
Furthermore, the Early Theme Park Entry schedule and out there sights are topic to vary with out discover. Relevant theme park, days and instances of operation, attraction and repair availability might fluctuate and are topic to vary with out discover. Topic to capability and cancellation. [Insert other boring boilerplate caveats.]
Legitimate theme park admission and MagicBand, Key to the World Card, or Disney MagicMobile go is required. Visitors with out the Park Hopper Choice or Park Hopper Plus Choice should spend the day on the similar park the place they’d wish to benefit from the Early Theme Park Entry profit.
This too works the identical method as morning Further Magic Hours, with eligible friends having their MagicBands or park ticket media scanned to realize entry both on the turnstiles themselves, or at a sure ‘checkpoint’ throughout the park to deeper areas whereas off-site friends await conventional rope drop.
Early Theme Park Entry Technique
Our suggestion is arriving at the very least half-hour earlier than Early Theme Park Entry begins. In different phrases, an hour earlier than official park opening time. That is nothing new–we provide this similar recommendation for regular days and can proceed to advise off-site friends to get to the parks at the very least half-hour early. In actuality, you need to err on the facet of arriving earlier, particularly when you’re on the mercy of Walt Disney World’s highly-variable transportation.
Thirty minutes flies by, and also you’ll need to be as near the entrance of the pack as attainable when Early Theme Park Entry begins so as to (hopefully) expertise multiple attraction. It’s additionally fairly frequent for parks–particularly Disney’s Hollywood Studios–to quietly begin Early Entry earlier than its official time.
Notice that a few of our suggestions rely upon whether or not you’ll be buying Genie+ or Particular person Lightning Lanes for every park. See our Information to Genie+ and Lightning Lanes FAQ for the whole lot it’s good to know.
On the whole, we suggest Genie+ for Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios for most individuals, most days. Often, we don’t suggest shopping for Genie+ at Epcot or Animal Kingdom. Personally, we’re towards paying additional for Particular person Lightning Lanes, with the angle that savvy technique can beat lengthy wait instances at these sights.
Let’s begin with Magic Kingdom technique, the place Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare and TRON Lightcycle Run provide paid Particular person Lightning Lane entry. As you would possibly’ve observed from the journey roster above, TRON Lightcycle Run just isn’t but open for Early Entry–and doubtless received’t be till someday in 2024 or 2025. This isn’t an oversight–it’s as a result of that journey makes use of a digital queue. See our Digital Queue Technique Information for TRON Lightcycle Run for how one can expertise the attraction totally free.
With that mentioned, there are extra technique choices for Magic Kingdom than some other park taking part in Early Entry. Our largest recommendation is often to skip Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare–zig when others zag–as a result of it’s so widespread very first thing within the morning and in addition vulnerable to delayed openings. Knocking out shorter rides is the higher method to go.
To that finish, seek the advice of our Finest Early Entry Morning at Magic Kingdom Plan and Genie+ Lightning Lane Comparability for the optimum approaches to each Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. That takes a step-by-step take a look at the primary 2 hours of the day at Magic Kingdom, with Sarah beginning in Fantasyland whereas I began in Tomorrowland. It exhibits exactly what we achieved, various approaches, and a comparability to a median day utilizing Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.
Once more, the perfect method to Early Entry at Magic Kingdom does NOT embrace Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare (SDMT) on days when the park opens at 9 am. The explanations for which are mentioned deeper on this put up, and we’d strongly encourage you to learn that recommendation and heed our warnings. Should you’re useless set on doing the SDMT Shuffle, discuss with our Magic Kingdom Early Entry Technique Beginning at Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare as an alternative.
Nonetheless, when the park opens at 8 am, the technique adjustments and Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare as soon as once more turns into a wise first journey. Suffice to say, the 7:30 am Early Entry at Magic Kingdom is a recreation changer (see that hyperlink for technique), and we extremely suggest it on Halloween or Christmas Occasion dates. Only a few friends have the need and dedication to be out their resort room door by 6:30 am, which is just about what’s essential to arrive at Magic Kingdom in time for the beginning of Early Entry.
Subsequent up, Disney’s Hollywood Studios. At this park, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is the Particular person Lightning Lane attraction. Rise of the Resistance can be the preferred journey at Walt Disney World and now has standby entry. It’s the apparent alternative for Early Theme Park Entry at DHS.
If it’s the plain alternative, you’ll not be alone in heading that path. Reputation coupled with a protracted attraction length casts some doubt on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance as being the optimum decide. Moreover, it usually has downtime very first thing within the morning–or opens late–making it a little bit of a bet.
On a number of events doing Early Entry at DHS, we’ve managed to perform each Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Slinky Canine Sprint. Knocking out some or all of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and/or Toy Story Land is big, and a significantly better method to begin the day than Sundown Boulevard or Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
For complete DHS recommendation, see Early Entry at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Technique & Park Opening Plan. Actually, when you solely learn one standalone step-by-step technique information, make it that one. There are plenty of quirks for doing Early Entry and twine drop at DHS, and that can aid you immensely. You’ll be able to actually save 4+ hours by following the plan there!
Subsequent up, Epcot. This park is house to 2 of the three latest rides at Walt Disney World–Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Remy’s Ratatouille Journey. Nonetheless, solely the latter is at present out there throughout Early Theme Park Entry, and it’s situated at the back of World Showcase and will not be a sensible first alternative until you’re arriving through Worldwide Gateway.
Should you’re coming from the Crescent Lake or Skyliner Resorts and thus getting into via Worldwide Gateway, you need to completely begin with Remy’s Ratatouille Journey. (As with DHS, arrive greater than half-hour earlier than the beginning of Early Entry.) See our EPCOT Early Entry Itinerary: Worldwide Gateway with Remy’s Ratatouille Journey for a full run-through of a morning ranging from the again of the park.
These getting into through the entrance of Epcot ought to prioritize Frozen Ever After or Check Monitor. It actually relies upon upon your priorities, and whether or not you’re shopping for Genie+ or Particular person Lightning Lanes. Simply bear in mind that when you do Frozen Ever After, you most likely received’t have time for a second attraction.
Should you do Check Monitor, head to Mission: Area as soon as completed. Not precisely revolutionary technique, however Epcot is hard. As with Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare, it’s additionally essential to notice that Check Monitor incessantly has delayed openings. Our EPCOT Early Entry & Park Opening Technique shares a complete plan from the park’s entrance entrance.
At Animal Kingdom, there’s just one good method to Early Entry: beginning with Avatar Flight of Passage. It doesn’t matter what your plans are with Genie+ or Lightning Lanes, that’s the savviest technique.
All Animal Kingdom sights which are widespread are both lengthy in length or spaced far aside from each other (or each!), which means it’ll be nearly not possible to do 2 headliners throughout Early Theme Park Entry. Simply race to Avatar Flight of Passage and comply with up with Na’vi River Journey because the park opens to off-site friends if the posted wait time isn’t prohibitive.
With that mentioned, our Early Entry & Park Opening at Animal Kingdom: Pace Working Experience Technique covers how one can knock out each single journey in Animal Kingdom earlier than 10:30 am. That is nice for these with Park Hopper tickets or just need to take pleasure in a leisurely afternoon at Animal Kingdom.
Finally, that’s the whole lot it’s good to learn about Early Theme Park Entry at Walt Disney World. We’ll undoubtedly be updating this technique information a number of instances within the coming months.
Anticipate one other replace after TRON Lightcycle Run switches to standby, or as crowd dynamics and park hours proceed to vary, impacting Early Entry technique within the course of. Keep tuned–we’ll proceed to cowl the entire essential planning particulars and in addition share Early Entry photograph studies from our experiences with this new on-site resort profit!
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Find out about motels on our Walt Disney World Lodges Evaluations web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Evaluations. To save cash on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Suggestions for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets put up. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys put up takes a novel take a look at intelligent objects to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Experience Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the perfect place to start out is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for the whole lot it’s good to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Ideas on Early Theme Park Entry at Walt Disney World? Excited to benefit from the brand new on-site visitor perk or suppose it’s too brief to be helpful? Dissatisfied in regards to the eligibility guidelines or attraction lineups? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we can assist you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even if you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
