We previously told you about Extended Evening Theme Park Hours — now read about Early Theme Park Hours!
What is Early Theme Park Entry?
Walt Disney World began offering Early Theme Park Entry on October 1, 2021. This benefit grants participating hotel guests access to the theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom — 30 minutes before the scheduled park opening. The best part is this is offered every single day, and has been extended through 2023 at least!
My family used this perk twice during a recent trip; once at EPCOT and once at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
For our day at EPCOT, we hopped on the Disney Skyliner from our resort (Disney’s Art of Animation Resort) which was so convenient! It was even nice just walking around our resort early in the morning. We arrived at EPCOT via the International Gateway, and once a Cast Member scanned our MagicBands to verify we were eligible for Early Theme Park Entry, we were on our way! We went directly to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and were enjoying the ride within 10 minutes. Afterwards, we chose to walk the World Showcase and look around (very little is open this early, so this was just merely to window shop and take in the sights). We then made it over to Frozen Ever After just before the regular park opening. Once the park was open to the public, we still saw minimal crowds for a bit, enjoying character meet & greets as well as minimal wait for Soarin’ Around the World!
For our day at Animal Kingdom, Cast Members had signs at the park entrance and were directing eligible Guests where to go for entry into the park. We chose to snag a picture in front of the Tree of Life before heading over to Kilimanjaro Safaris.
Who is eligible for Early Theme Park Entry?
Guests of all on-property Disney World Resorts can take advantage of Early Theme Park Entry! This includes all Value, Moderate, Deluxe, and Deluxe Villa hotels. This perk is also extended to Guests staying at participating offsite hotels (for the complete list of eligible hotels, visit the Disney World website)
What else should you know about Early Theme Park Entry?
Remember the saying, “The early bird gets the worm”? Well, taking advantage of Early Theme Park Entry will have you up with the “early birds” for a jumpstart to your day! I personally suggest arriving at the park entrance 30 minutes earlier than the set early entry time. For instance, if the scheduled park opening is 8am that means Early Theme Park Entry for eligible Guests will be 7:30am, so arrive by 7am in order to get to the park, get through security, tapstiles, and the Cast Member checkpoint, before heading to your first attraction! You also definitely want to have a goal in mind of where you want to go and what you want to experience. PRO TIP: Choose one “land” or area and stick to it. Trying to fit in Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure AND Test Track is a lot of ground to cover in 30 minutes!
Another thing to note about Early Theme Park Entry is that not all areas of the parks are open this early! For example, at Magic Kingdom, only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are open. Click here for the current list of attractions which are planned* to be available during Early Theme Park Entry!
Are you eager to get your day going with Early Theme Park Entry on your next trip to Disney World? Be sure to let your A Time to Treasure Travel agent know if you’ve got any questions about this perk!