If you’re visiting Disneyland and staying at one of the three Disney hotels, you’ll have access to an exclusive perk—Early Entry. The Early Entry perk grants you extra time in the parks before other guests. While more time is theoretically always a good thing, in practice you might sometimes find that this perk is more trouble than you bargained for. In this post, we’ll outline the basics of Early Entry at Disneyland before moving onto specific park strategy, including explanations of why you might and might not want to take advantage of the perk. Read on to learn all about Early Entry at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure!
About This Post and Related Posts
This post specifically focuses on Early Entry at both Disneyland parks—Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. We have two related posts that talk more broadly about rope drop:
If you don’t have Early Entry, or you want to know some attendant details like what time security typically opens, you’ll find more in those posts. Some sections of this post will also direct you over to those posts because sometimes having Early Entry just means a 30-minute head start on the same rope drop everyone does on days without Early Entry. Finally—those rope drop posts will help you understand what to do after Early Entry.
You Early Entry strategy works in tandem with your Lightning Lane Strategy at Disneyland. It’s important that you understand your Lightning Lane options before settling on a specific Early Entry plan.
Finally, if you’re traveling with a smaller rider, make sure to check the height requirements and rider swap options at Disneyland.
Disneyland Early Entry Basics
We’ll start with some basics about Early Entry (who gets it, how to use it, etc.) before talking about strategy at each park.
What is Early Entry?
Each day, one of the two parks at Disneyland (Disneyland and Disney California Adventure) opens 30 minutes early exclusively for guests of Disney hotels. During this time, select rides in select lands are open.
Which Disneyland park has Early Entry which days?
Check the official Disneyland hours on the website or in the app—those list Early Entry times. Early Entry times are always subject to change, so don’t trust specifics you see anywhere other than official Disneyland sources.
Who Gets Early Entry at Disneyland?
Guests who are staying at and checked in at one of the three Disney hotels at Disneyland can use the Early Entry perk. These three hotels are:
These hotels cost significantly more than many of the hotels in the area, but we should be clear that Early Entry alone does not justify the high prices. These are good hotels. They are Disney hotels. Those links will take you to reviews to help you decide whether they’re right for you, but you shouldn’t base a decision to stay at them solely on Early Entry. You can save a lot on the cost of your Disneyland vacation by staying offsite, and your days won’t be much (or maybe even any) worse for it.
You can use Early Entry on your check-in day as long as you are checked into the hotel by the time you get to the park. Most recently, I went to the hotel desk to check in early in the morning, and they were able to give me a key without a room being assigned yet. I was able to use that key for Early Entry.
The Disneyland hotels have an online check-in option available in the app. My understanding is that if you checked in online you should be able to go to Early Entry. However, since Early Entry eligibility is usually verified by room key, I don’t know specifically how you’d go about using Early Entry before you had a room key (relatedly, for example, I was unable to ever use my phone as a room key despite that option existing in the Disneyland app).
You can also use Early Entry on your check-out day like any other day of your stay.
Finally, you need a park ticket and park reservation to use Early Entry. This is extra time on top of your already-scheduled park day. It’s not a separately ticketed event.
What rides are included in Early Entry?
You can see the full list of included attractions here. We’ll talk through which ones are the main ones to know / plan for in this post, though.
Where do I go for Early Entry at Disneyland?
In general, there will be signs pointing you the right direction. As of this update, the most recent procedures are that everyone is let into the park gates at the same time, but Early Entry guests have a separate holding area within the park. At Disneyland this is in the hub on the Tomorrowland side. At Disney California Adventure this is outside the Carthay Circle Restaurant. We’ll discuss more details of this below.
Planning Park Reservations For or Around Early Entry
If you want to use Early Entry at a park, you must have a park reservation for that park for the day you visit. Conversely, if you want to avoid Early Entry (either because you don’t have it or you want to sleep in), you’ll want a reservation at the park without Early Entry. This brings us to an important point…
Sometimes You Should Skip (Some Of) Early Entry
During a recent long trip to Disneyland, I had three mornings as a guest at a non-Disney hotel and four mornings as a guest at a Disney hotel—want to guess which were tougher?
With 8AM openings the standard during the spring, Early Entry was at 7:30AM. This meant that if we wanted to be near the front of the Early Entry pack, we’d need to be at the park gates by about 6:45AM, an absolutely ridiculously early time, especially since we were there for several days with Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
7:17AM crowds on an Early Entry day at Disneyland
Conversely, 7:15AM or even 7:30AM was fine for days without Early Entry. This wouldn’t put you at the front of the gates, but once guests are let in you’d have little trouble moving up the crowd, and then it’s not hard to gain some ground by walking (not running) speedily once rope drop actually starts.
You easily might decide to skip the start of Early Entry, but should you skip the entire thing? Not always. At Disney California Adventure, someone walking in at the middle of Early Entry should still have a short—but non-zero—wait for WEB SLINGERS or Mission: BREAKOUT! They’d also have the opportunity to queue for Radiator Springs Racers before it opens at regular hours.
At Disneyland, walking in at the middle of Early Entry will get you short waits on anything but Peter Pan’s Flight. Personally, as much as I like Peter Pan’s Flight, I ride it a lot at Walt Disney World, and on a Disneyland trip of anything over a day I’m happy to try to fit it in if I can, or just skip it. I’m not getting to the gates at 7AM just for a short wait on Peter Pan’s Flight.
You might also use Early Entry to queue for Rise of the Resistance in a spot slightly better than what other guests are getting (in Fantasyland rather than in the hub).
The Three Ways to Do Early Entry
The reasoning in support of Early Entry is sort of obvious—“more time in the park”. But the details are maybe a little more complicated, and I think it helps to understand exactly what you’re gaining with Early Entry. This is particularly true on days when, for example, Disneyland is open from 8AM to midnight. That’s 16 hours—an extra 30 minutes in the park really isn’t going to make a huge difference unless you understand how to leverage it. (Conversely, an extra 30 minutes of sleep can mean a lot.)
So, here are the three approaches you should be thinking about heading into Early Entry. These aren’t mutually exclusive—you might even be able to do all three on a single visit. This section is just an overview to give you some context—in the next sections we’ll talk specifically about each of the two parks (Disneyland and Disney California Adventure).
Riding one important ride during Early Entry. Early Entry gives you the chance to be among the first few guests in the park, so it makes sense to head straight to a popular ride that will have a long line later in the day. You take care of it first with minimal wait, and the rest of your day becomes a lot easier.
Queuing for a ride that isn’t a part of Early Entry. At both parks, the most popular rides in the park—Rise of the Resistance and Radiator Springs Racers, both of which have Single Pass Lightning Lanes that aren’t a part of Multi Pass—are not a part of Early Entry. This means you won’t plan to get on them during Early Entry. However, as we’ll discuss, you might use Early Entry as an opportunity to get in line for them ahead of other guests.
Taking advantage of other short waits. I think this is what most people think the main perk of Early Entry is—the park has lower crowds, so you can just get on a bunch of rides with low waits. This definitely can make sense, but it won’t always be the best option.
With those three goals in mind, let’s move onto discussing Early Entry at each park.
Early Entry at Disneyland
We’ll start with a quick overview of the actual procedures for Early Entry before talking about different strategies for the half hour. Details about arrival / security can be found in our Disneyland Rope Drop Guide. That post will also give you more of a sense of how to continue your morning after Early Entry.
Disneyland Early Entry Procedures
On days with Early Entry, all guests are typically let into Disneyland around 45 minutes before the park opens (15 minutes before Early Entry). At the end of Main Street USA, guests with Early Entry will go to the right. They’ll scan their room keys and join the holding area just outside Tomorrowland. Guests without Early Entry can wait in the the rest of the hub until the park opens.
At the start of Early Entry, the rope for the Early Entry holding area will be dropped, and the guests with Early Entry can enjoy select rides in Tomorrowland and Fantasyland.
If you have Early Entry, you’re still welcome to join one of the other groups who are waiting to enter the rest of the park, which isn’t open during Early Entry. You might even ride one or two rides during Early Entry and then come back to the hub in preparation for the rest of the park to open.
If you want to go to Adventureland or Frontierland (probably for Indiana Jones Adventure or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad), you can wait on the west side of the hub.
If you want to go to Galaxy’s Edge (probably for Rise of the Resistance), guests with Early Entry can actually gather in Fantasyland outside Red Rose Tavern. This is closer to Galaxy’s Edge than the hub, giving these guests a slight advantage in getting to that land (don’t be surprised to see a few runners / speed walkers from the hub get ahead of you, though).
Disneyland Early Entry Strategy
Early Entry at Disneyland has options for all three of the ways to do Early Entry that we mentioned above.
The “one important ride” to consider during Early Entry is usually Peter Pan’s Flight. No one quite knows why, but Peter Pan’s Flight remains one of the most popular rides at the Disney parks. It’s a good ride, but it definitely has an outsized popularity compared to quality, in my opinion.
Notably, Peter Pan’s Flight does not have a Lightning Lane at Disneyland. This means getting on it early is the only good way to get a short wait, but it also means that the ride doesn’t see as outsized waits as its counterparts in Magic Kingdom or Disneyland Paris. If you’re going to Peter Pan’s Flight, just go through the castle and it’s the first ride on the right.
Besides Rise of the Resistance, you’ll also see Space Mountain, Indiana Jones Adventure, and Matterhorn (three rides with Lightning Lanes slowing down the standby lines) easily with longer waits than Peter Pan’s Flight most of the day.
Space Mountain is also a part of Early Entry, which can make it a good candidate for your “one important ride” if you don’t have Multi Pass. Personally, I find that the walk to and from Space Mountain just takes too long. I’d rather get on Peter Pan’s Flight, which is right by a bunch of rides with short waits and close to the holding area for guests going to Galaxy’s Edge.
If you’re going to queue for a ride that isn’t in Early Entry, Rise of the Resistance makes the most sense. It’s consistently one of the most popular rides in the park, and it has a separately paid Lightning Lane Single Pass that isn’t a part of Multi Pass. So whether or not you have Multi Pass, you’re either paying more for Rise of the Resistance of waiting in its standby line. Moreover, as discussed earlier, guests with Early Entry can gather at Red Rose Tavern to get a slight advantage over guests coming from the hub when the park opens.
The other major ride that you might head to when the park opens is Indiana Jones Adventure. This ride is part of Multi Pass, so you won’t need to rush if you pay for that service. You also don’t get any advantage on going to Indiana Jones Adventure if you have Early Entry—you’ll join the same crowd in the hub heading toward Adventureland when the park opens. It might makes sense to come here after you’ve done a ride during Early Entry, but if you’re planning to just be in this group you might as well just arrive 15 to 30 minutes before the park opens.
Finally, Disneyland offers a lot of short waits during Early Entry. You can get through a big chunk of Fantasyland during Early Entry. If you opt to go this route, you’ll want to check out our Fantasyland strategy in our Disneyland rope drop post. There you’ll find which rides we go for and in which order when starting at Fantasyland.
Early Entry at Disney California Adventure
Again, we’ll quickly talk procedures before strategy. And remember, you’ll get more context about opening procedures and how to continue your morning in our Disney California Adventure Rope Drop post.
Disney california Adventure Early Entry Procedures
As with Disneyland, all guests are let into the park at the same time. Guests with Early Entry will go to the Carthay Circle Restaurant, adjacent to the hub, where they can tap their room keys to verify eligibility. When we were there we were actually queued in this area before being let into the rest of the park.
Disney California Adventure Early Entry Strategy
Early Entry at Disney California Adventure is a pretty straightforward time. Let’s start with the seven rides that are typically included, ranked by how I’d prioritize them:
Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission BREAKOUT!
WEB Slingers
(Tie) The Little Mermaid, Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, Monsters Inc., Soarin’, Incredicoaster
Notably missing from this list is Radiator Springs Racers. This is the most popular ride in the park and the only one with a Lightning Lane Single Pass for sale (i.e. not a part of Multi Pass).
For us, the calculus is pretty clear—get Multi Pass and use Early Entry as the time to queue for Radiator Springs Racers. The Lightning Lane for Radiator Springs Racers costs around $16 to $21, which is cheaper than the typical $30 Multi Pass price. But Multi Pass is also getting your Lightning Lane access to around 20 rides across both parks. (Radiator Springs Racers also has a Single Rider line that can sometimes save you a lot of time, but we still prefer rope drop.)
Since Cars Land is open during Early Entry, you’ll typically be allowed to queue just outside or actually in the Radiator Springs Racers queue. If you’re lucky, the ride might start operating early.
If you’re unlucky, they’ll tell you the ride has a delayed opening today. In that case, since you have Multi Pass, Early Entry isn’t going to be as valuable to you. Choose between Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree (not on Multi Pass, good if you have smaller kids) or a bonus ride on Mission: BREAKOUT or WEB Slingers.
If you’re set against getting Multi Pass because you don’t want you Disneyland trip to cost even more, then I’d recommend using Early Entry to ride Mission BREAKOUT! and then queuing for Radiator Springs Racers. WEB Slingers has a single rider line if you absolutely cannot wait it out sometime later in the day. (It’s also undoubtedly the least good of these three rides.)
Thanks for reading! Do you feel ready to get an extra early start to you day at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure?
All Your Other Disneyland Planning Questions Answered
Don’t be overwhelmed by Disneyland planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you’ll not only be an expert, but you’ll save big $$$ along the way.
Just starting out? Check out our Disneyland Planning Guide. When it comes to hotels, we’ve got reviews of all three Disney hotels: Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, and Disney’s Pixar Place Hotel. As for tickets, check out where to find discount Disneyland tickets.
Know what to ride with our: Disneyland Rides Guide and Disney California Adventure Rides Guide. And just as important, know how to get on the best rides without the wait with our Disneyland Lightning Lane Strategy! For the complete guides to a day at the park, we have a One Day Disneyland Itinerary and a One Day Disney California Adventure Itinerary.
We always recommend arriving at the parks early. If you can get access to Early Entry at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, you’ll have the most time in the parks. Even without those bonus hours, you’ll need to know Rope Drop Strategy at Disneyland and Rope Drop Strategy at Disney California Adventure.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you’re interested in saving, there’s no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.