17. Early Entry at DLR vs. Extra Magic Hours at WDW
DLR and WDW have a history of offering extended park hours to certain visitors. These perks change over time and the current form of these perks will most likely change in the future. Therefore the information in this section is the most likely of all sections in this guide to become outdated.
At DLR EE means Early Entry, not Expedition Everest (as at WDW). The DLR Early Entry and WDW Extra Magic Hours (EMH) are recent perks offered to guests. Similar to EMH, paying attention to how EE works will have a major impact on how you plan your days at DLR.
EE is offered at DL on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. During EE DL opens 1 hour early for certain guests. The rides open during EE are fairly regular but subject to change on any day. During EE most of the FantasyLand rides are open, as are Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters in TomorrowLand.
Officially the only way to get EE is to buy a 3+ day parkhopper bonus ticket. Note that most DLR tickets are bonus tickets, but some (such as those offered by the military) are not (or so I have heard). If a guest buys one of these 3+ day bonus tickets, they are entitled to one EE morning during their trip. It does not matter if the guest stays at a DLR hotel, a good neighbor hotel, or any hotel for that matter.
In July 2005 DLR started offering EE to its DLR hotel guests. When this second EE access method began it was described as a test, which meant it could be stopped at any time. This test has now gone on for a year and some DLR hotel guests have come to regard it as a perk and not a test. In any case, if you are a DLR hotel guest you can use EE on every day it is offered while you stay at the hotel, not just on one day as the official bonus ticket visitors are allowed. At least you can as long as the test continues.
DCA does not have an EE program. However, GCH guests are regularly allowed into the park early (there is a special DCA entrance from the GCH). On most mornings DCA opens its gates 30 minutes early and opens one ride, Soarin Over California. So even if you get to the DCA gates right at official park opening you may face a pre-existing line on this ride. Fortunately it has FastPass.
Another early entry perk of sorts is Mickeys ToonTown Morning Madness (TTMM). ToonTown at DL typically opens one hour after official park opening, and TTMM allows certain guests to get into ToonTown one hour early. Since TTMM is one hour before ToonTowns typical one hour delayed opening, it begins right when DL regular park hours begin. And TTMM is not necessarily on the same days as EE. Right now it is offered on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
I have never done TTMM so this is second-hand. During TTMM a mock ceremony is held and access to characters is provided. Apparently the TT rides (of which there are only a few) are also open.
TTMM is obtained by simply booking your trip through the DLR website, and does require you to stay at a DLR or Good Neighbor hotel. Unlike EE, TTMM does not have such a major effect on DL traffic patterns. But TTMM will affect Toontown traffic patterns as there will already be lines when ToonTown officially opens to everyone. If you want to visit ToonTown and do not have TTMM privileges, it is best to visit it on a non-TTMM day. And go early.
So how should you use or plan around EE? First, if you have EE you should definitely use it. This is contrary to certain advice for WDW to avoid EMH parks. Second, EE should be focused on the FantasyLand rides. These rides are very close together physically and are often 2-3 minutes in length. So you can do a lot of the FantasyLand rides in that one hour I have heard of people doing 9 different rides we have done 7. None of the DL FantasyLand rides have FastPass, and thus rides like Peter Pan, Dumbo and Matterhorn must be done first thing in the morning to avoid lengthy lines later in the day. EE is a perfect time to do them.
Some people are tempted to go to the headliner rides during EE, namely Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear. Both of these rides have FastPass (FP), and as such can be ridden any time of day with a short line using FP, unlike the FantasyLand rides which do not have FP. It is therefore wise to focus on FantasyLand during EE.
If you visit DLR during high season, that means an 8AM park opening and 7AM EE. All else being equal, if you only have one EE day I think it is best to use EE on the first possible day you can preferably the very first day of your trip - because you will have the most energy that day (no park day on the previous day) and, if you can manage it, and earlier bedtime than other nights where you may stay late at the parks.
What if it is an EE day (Mon/Tue/Thu/Sat) but you yourself do not have EE? On such days even if you arrive at the parks before they open and are first in line for regular opening you will face long lines in FantasyLand right away. Such days are thus good days to avoid FantasyLand altogether. They are also good days to go to DCA.
In summary there is no other way to slice it. If you want to do FantasyLand during high season without extremely long lines, either do it during EE or do it first thing on a non-EE day.
