Will Magic Kingdom let you in early?

Unlike the old Extra Magic Hours perk (which was only at 1-2 parks per day), Early Entry happens every day, at every park, including at Magic Kingdom. Because of the sheer number of extremely popular attractions, we highly recommend you plan to use Early Entry at Magic Kingdom if you are eligible.



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What Is Early Entry at Disney World? Early Theme Park Entry is a perk of staying at a Disney hotel or select other hotel that allows these guests access to every park, every day, for 30 minutes before the park opens.

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The typical hours for Magic Kingdom's are 8AM or 9AM to 10PM or 11PM, but hours vary even beyond that. On nights where Magic Kingdom hosts an After Hours or holiday party event, the park may close earlier than other days. You can view the official Disney hours for Magic Kingdom by clicking this link.

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Check-in is officially at 3:00 PM at the Walt Disney World Resort hotels, but you can arrive at any time, even at 7:30 AM, to store your bags with Bell Services and get yourself set for a day in the parks.

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Even though Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party doesn't officially start until 7 pm, you can enter the park as early as 4 pm with your event ticket. You will not need a park reservation since it is a special event. Just a heads up–this event sells out pretty quickly and last year, we saw a huge demand.

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Guests will need to present some sort of resort ID, such as a MagicBand, Disney MagicMobile pass or Key to the World card linked to their stay to access the parks during Early Theme Park Entry. This benefit is included on both check-in and check-out days.

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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.

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Theme Park Hours Magic Kingdom: 9:00am to 9:00pm or 10:00pm. EPCOT: 9:00am to 9:00pm. Disney's Hollywood Studios: 9:00am to 9:00pm. Disney's Animal Kingdom: 8:00am or 9:00am to 7:00pm.

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All guests are allowed to tap into the Magic Kingdom when it opens. Guests planning to rope drop Early Entry will want to hustle down the right side of Main Street to be closer to EE tap in. Tap in begins 45 minutes before EE on 8:30am days and 30 before EE on 7:30am days. Main Street is open to all guests who enter.

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As you can guess if Monday is the busiest, Tuesday tends to be the best day of the week to go to Magic Kingdom. We also find Thursday to be one of the least busy days of the week at Magic Kingdom, with Sunday being a great weekend option.

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Disney After Hours is a specially ticketed event (meaning it's a ticket that is purchased separate from regular park tickets) that allows people to enter Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom at 7 p.m. and stay until midnight or 1 a.m. (ending time varies by date).

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If you have Early Entry, you'll probably want to start with Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan's Flight, or Space Mountain. We discuss the details of these rope drops in more detail in our dedicated Magic Kingdom Early Entry and Rope Drop post.

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Walt Disney World is still using Theme Park Reservations, which means you have to reserve the park you would like to visit in advance. If you see that the park you're wanting is not available, you can make a reservation for another park and, if available, park hop after 2:00 PM.

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Go Early If you want to avoid long lines there's no simpler way than to wake up early and get to the park before it opens. Whether you have access to early entry or not, being at the park entrance before it opens will save you lots of time. Usually, you can get in 2-3 rides during the first hour of park operation.

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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.

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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.

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What is this? 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.

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The answer is the MagicBand! Your resort reservations are linked to your MagicBands through your My Disney Experience account, and, during Extra Magic Hours, you must scan your MagicBand to enter the park early. Or, during evening Extra Magic Hours, you must scan your MagicBand at any rides or attractions.

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However, most people can also go and take a nap and then come back and enjoy the extra magic hours at night. So you're more likely to have more people during the nighttime extended hours than daytime. However, it is still less crowded at night, and the weather is better once the sun goes down.

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Between the rides, stage shows and other entertainment, there is a ton to see and do at Magic Kingdom and the pressure to experience everything can be anxiety-inducing, to say the least. Admittedly, to truly see and do it all at Magic Kingdom, you do need to spend at least two days.

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Magic Kingdom Fireworks are at 9pm on most nights. If there is a special event like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party the fireworks may be earlier, or may not be scheduled for regular guests visiting that day.

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