Early Theme Park Entry is a perk for guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotels, plus the Swan and Dolphin hotels, Shades of Green, the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels, and the Bonnet Creek Resort hotels. (See the full list here.)
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Early Entry at Magic Kingdom is a good way for on-site guests of Walt Disney World hotels to get a head-start, accomplishing a few attractions with low waits.
Early entry to both Parks on any days its offered with a valid Disneyland ticket, is only offered to those staying at one of the Disney owned Hotels, and not at good neighbor Hotels.
Expect the first bus of the day to arrive between 1 hour to 75 minutes before Early Theme Park Entry starts. The goal is to be on the first bus of the day, and the lines for the buses will get very long, very fast.
Early Entry at the Disneyland ResortGuests who are checked in and staying at one of the Disneyland Resort hotels can enter Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park 30 minutes before regular park opening to enjoy select attractions, dining and shopping locations.
The parks open at between 7:30 AM and 7:45 AM, depending on the park. This makes it a better opportunity to ride attractions continuously. About those attractions, the park is not completely open. Only select rides are available during Early morning magic.
While Good Neighbor Hotels may not provide direct access to Magic Hours, guests staying at these accommodations can still visit the parks during these special times. The regular park admission tickets allow access to the theme parks, including during Magic Hours.
Is Genie+ available during Early Theme Park Entry, Extended Evening Hours or After Hours events? No, Genie+ and the individual Lightning Lane selections are only available during normal park hours.
Rope drop is Disney terminology for the time when a theme park, or part of a theme park, opens for the day. Historically, when a Walt Disney World theme park is closed, Disney often used ropes stretched across the entrance to prevent guests from coming in; thus, when the park is opened the rope is dropped.
Guests are allowed to bring outside food and nonalcoholic beverage items into the park for self-consumption, provided they are not in glass containers and do not require heating, reheating, processing, refrigeration or temperature control and do not have pungent odors.
Extended Evening Hours at Magic Kingdom are on hold from late September 2023 as the popular resort guest benefit shifts from Magic Kingdom to Disney's Hollywood Studios. During September, Magic Kingdom will host Extended Evening Hours on Sep.
The nighttime benefit is exclusively for guests staying at Walt Disney World Deluxe Resorts, Deluxe Villas (Disney Vacation Club units), and other select hotels (currently only the Swan & Dolphin and Shades of Green). Guests staying at Value or Moderate Resorts are not eligible for Extended Evening Hours.
Extended Evening Hours are available on select nights at select theme parks for guests staying at Deluxe Resorts, Deluxe Villa Resorts, and other select resorts.
Park hours are added to DisneyWorld.com's 5-day calendar on a rolling basis, typically 60 days in advance. Walt Disney World also has a monthly calendar that isn't as easy to find, and this currently has hours dumped in 'batches' much further in advance.
Is Disney parking free after 6 p.m. (or 7 p.m. or 5 p.m., etc.)? No, unfortunately. We will say that if you are heading into the lots near closing you will often find the booths closed up or Cast Members will just wave you in, but there is no specific time when parking is “free” so you should always plan to pay.
Genie Plus is definitely worth it for Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, and if you don't like early starts, you might consider it for Epcot and Animal Kingdom. If you are park hopping, Genie+ is even better value as it maximises the number of rides you have access to.
You won't need a Disney Park Pass theme park reservation or a regular theme park ticket to get in as long as you enter the park no earlier than 7:00 PM. If you want to drop in earlier, you'll need a standard theme park ticket — and a park reservation (if your ticket type requires one).