Early Theme Park Entry at Walt Disney World | Hotel & Ride List

When you stay at a Disney Resort hotel (or other participating hotel) on your Walt Disney World vacation, you get access to Early Theme Park Entry at all 4 parks each morning.

Early Theme Park Entry allows hotel guests to enter and begin riding rides at the 4 theme parks 30 minutes before official park opening time each morning.

And while 30 minutes doesn’t seem like much time, it’s an INCREDIBLY VALUABLE half-hour at Walt Disney World.

This perk is most definitely something you’ll want to take advantage of on your vacation. You’ll experience the lowest crowds of the day and as a result, your wait times at attractions will be minimal.

Let’s take a look at all of the Early Theme Park Entry details including which hotels participate, which rides are available at each park, how early you should arrive, etc!

Early Theme Park Entry at Walt Disney World

Participating Hotels

Early theme park entry is a benefit for guests staying at Disney Resort hotels and select other hotels, which include:

• Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
• Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
• Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
• Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
• Disney’s Pop Century Resort
• The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
• Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
• Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter
• Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
• The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
• Disney’s Beach Club Resort
• Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
• Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
• Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
• Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
• Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
• Disney’s Beach Club Villas
• Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
• Disney’s Old Key West Resort
• Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
• Disney’s Riviera Resort
• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
• The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

• Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
• Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
• Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
• Shades of Green® on Walt Disney World® Resort
• B Resort & Spa Lake Buena Vista
• DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando
• Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace
• Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista
• Holiday Inn Orlando
• Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista
• Wyndham Lake Buena Vista
• Four Seasons Resort Orlando
• Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek
• Waldorf Astoria Orlando

Which Rides are Open?

Magic Kingdom

Only attractions in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are available at Magic Kingdom during Early Theme Park Entry.

Fantasyland Attractions

• “it’s a small world”
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant
• Mad Tea Party
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• The Barnstormer
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid

Tomorrowland Attractions

• Astro Orbiter
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• Space Mountain
• Tomorrowland Speedway
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
• Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress

Hollywood Studios

• Alien Swirling Saucers
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
• Slinky Dog Dash
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ™
• Toy Story Mania!

EPCOT

• Beauty and The Beast Sing-Along
• Frozen Ever After
• Mission: SPACE
• Soarin’ Around the World
• Spaceship Earth
• Test Track
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends
• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure

Animal Kingdom

• Avatar Flight of Passage
• DINOSAUR
• Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
• It’s Tough to be a Bug!
• Na’vi River Journey
• TriceraTop Spin

What time should I arrive in the morning for Early Theme Park Entry?

You should arrive at least one hour before official park opening time when using Early Theme Park Entry.

Magic Kingdom is pretty strict with resort guest rope-drop being exactly 30 minutes before park opening. However, Magic Kingdom will let ALL guests into the park 1 hour before park opening to enjoy the Main Street shops and atmosphere.

If you wanted to ride a popular attraction like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train during Early Theme Park Entry, you would want to be at the front of that line and that 100% requires arriving an hour early and heading straight to the ropes.

Hollywood Studios on the other hand typically opens EARLIER than the 30 minutes before park opening and will allow resort guests into the Rise of the Resistance queue at that time!

With Hollywood Studios, the earlier you can arrive the better.

EPCOT and Animal Kingdom I do still suggest you arrive an hour early, just to be on the safe side if they allow you into the park early. Getting even just a 10 minute head start on your day will make a huge difference in what you can tackle in those early hours — who doesn’t want to walk-on Flight of Passage?!

When you arrive at the parks, look for the Early Entry signage that cast members will be holding and follow the directional arrows to make sure you head to the right place. If you’re not sure, ask!

I hope this is helpful; remember, if you’re able to take advantage of Early Theme Park Entry, I highly recommend you do so!

Be sure to follow along on Instagram @brbgoingtodisney if you don’t already do so. I share stories LIVE from the parks each week as well as my top tips for visiting Walt Disney World.

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