Disney World Early Entry Guide

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One of the many perks of staying at a Disney-owned resort in Walt Disney World is access to extra time in the theme parks.

In this post I’ll break down how “Early Theme Park Entry” works and share strategies for making the most of this valuable perk!

What is Disney Early Entry?

Staying at an “on property” Disney World resort offers so many benefits and perks that I have a entire post here that explains them all in detail.

One of my favorite perks is extra time in the parks. In 2021 Disney replaced “Extra Magic Hours” with a new perk officially called Early Theme Park Entry.

In a nutshell, it allows guests of official Disney World resorts and some other partner resorts (click here for the full list) 30 bonus minutes in each theme park every morning.

This differs significantly from Extra Magic Hours in that the extra time is only 30 minutes (previously was an hour) and that it is good at every park every day (as opposed to just one park on rotating days).

Is Early Entry Worth It?

The first question you might have is “how much difference does 30 minutes even make?”

I have personally been able to ride THREE headliner rides during this first 30 minutes (on many occassions) with a good touring strategy. These are rides that will get 45+ minute waits later in the day. So I essentially saved 2 hours and 15 minutes of wait time by arriving 30 minutes early!

Want a fast track to planning your entire vacation, including itineraries for each park? Click here for my one-and-done solution.

How Does Early Entry Work?

Disney makes taking advantage of Early Entry very easy.

When you arrive at the parks before or during the Early Entry time period, a cast member will scan the ticket or Magic Band of just one member of your party to confirm that you qualify for access.

Sometimes this is done before you enter the park, or sometimes it is done at a checkpoint inside the park.

How Early Does Disney Transportation Start Running?

If you want to take full advantage of Early Entry, you might be wondering how to actually get to the parks early enough using Disney transportation.

Disney tranportation typically starts running an hour before Early Entry begins – and sometimes before that.

If I want to take full advantage of Early Entry that “begins” at 8:30 am, my goal is to be at the bus stop by 7:30 am at the latest.

Not leaving my room at 7:30 – actually waiting at the bus stop by then. This means an early wake-up, but you will be rewarded by riding FAR more rides than most people by staying ahead of the crowds all day.

What Is Open During Early Entry?

When you are planning what to ride during Early Entry, it’s very important to know that not every ride will be open during this time!

At Magic Kingdom, only rides in Tomorrowland and Fantasyland are open, with several notable exceptions:

• TRON Lightcycle Run is NOT open during Early Entry (even though it is located in Tomorrowland which is open)
• No character meet and greets are open
• No attractions in the other lands are open during Early Entry

At the other parks, most major rides (but not shows and character meets) are open during Early Entry.

Click here for the full list from the Disney World website.

My Picks For Early Entry

What you choose to ride during Early Entry will depend on if you plan to use Lightning Lane Multi Pass and/or Single Pass later in the day.

Many people aim to ride a Single Pass attraction during Early Entry so they don’t have to fork over the additional money for that pass.

This makes these rides the most popular during Early Entry:

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios
• Avatar: Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom

I don’t prioritize Seven Dwarfs Minbe Train at Magic Kingdom (it’s just not my favorite), so I typically do several rides in Tomorrowland during Ealry Entry instead.

Since Astro Orbiter isn’t included with Multi Pass and gets very long standby waits later in the day, we take a spin on it first thing during Early Entry.

Then we ride Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger’s Spin (will reopn in spring 2026) while I am there, which also gets long waits later.

Then we either ride Space Mountain or Tomorrowland Speedway, which allows us to knowck out three rides before 9 am.

Early Entry Strategy & Tips

First, it’s important to keep tabs on the official operating hours before your trip. Disney often makes changes to accommodate for demand. Click here for the current park hours.

The most important thing to know about Early Entry is that the start time listed on the calendar is the time you can first get on a ride – NOT the time you can enter the park!

The parks open typically a half-hour BEFORE Early Entry begins. This is the time you should plan to arrive by in order to take full advantage of the additional time.

In the past, guests would be held behind a rope in the parks until the start time for Early Entry, at which point they would proceed to whatever attraction they wanted to ride first.

However that led to crowds such as the one you see above.

I am SO HAPPY to report that guests are now allowed to proceed directly to an attraction and line up there until Early Entry begins. So no more “rope drop” crowds – hooray!

The second most important thing to know is that guests are often allowed on attractions BEFORE the official Early Entry start time. Disney does this to get a jump on the wait times and guests who arrive early are rewarded.

As an example, I was allowed into Hollywood Studios at 8 am on a day that showed Early Entry beginning at 8:30 am. I went right to Toy Story Mania and was one of the first people in line. Cast members started allowing us on the ride at 8:21 am, so I was on and off before 8:30 am.

Because of this I was able to ride Toy Story Mania, Alien Swirling Saucers, and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway before the park opened to everyone at 9 am.

After I have take full advantage of Early Entry (typically by riding three rides) and tapped in for my “burner ride“, I make time for a breakfast and restroom break.

This plan makes for a great start to your day and allows you to do four attractions before most people are even in the parks.

To summarize, here are the most important things to keep in mind about Early Entry:

• Check the Disney calendar for opening times right before your trip
• Aim to take Disney transportation to the park an hour before Early Entry begins
• Have a plan for the best attractions to ride first and make sure they are actually open during Early Entry

I hope you found this guide helpful! Any questions? Leave a comment below.