I always stay on property and I always aim to arrive 60 minutes before the start of Early Entry so I can be at the front of the pack. I’m generally first one at the tapstiles/security. The benefit to doing it that way is that you’re not spending precious park time waiting in line, and the headstart you get from being at the front of the pack is much more significant than “1-2 rides” would suggest when you’re one of the first loads at an E-ticket that typically sees 60+ min waits during the day.
That said, at MK and AK, I don’t think missing EE is as big a deal. MK EE kinda sucks compared to the others because only 2 lands are open for it, Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, and there are far more guests showing up to it because of those 9am park openings. When MK does open at 8 (usually party season), it’s a lot better. Far fewer people want to get up earlier on vacation so 7:30 EE is fantastic. But either way, you’re fine without it. Just rope drop Adventureland because it’ll be empty since it’s not available for EE, and do Jungle Cruise (or, if you are going later this year, Tiana),
AK otoh, EE is fantastic but afternoon arrival strategies work nearly as well because nearly everyone rope drops that park and then dips in the afternoon, so crowds start dropping a lot after 2 or so. Just bear in mind a lot of attractions close before the park does, the animal trails are especially early closures.
HS and Epcot you will be seeing a very hard time without EE, I won’t sugarcoat it. HS especially because wait times skyrocket very quickly at that park and usually stay ugly all day. And saving Rise for the end of the night is much riskier than Flight of Passage because of its reliability issues. Without EE you will need to bite the bullet for G+ or just accept you are going to be in lines on lines all day. Epcot is similar due to there only being 3 heavy hitters (at least while Guardians is still on VQ). Remy and Frozen build fast and stay high most of the day.