Disneyland Eliminates Early Entry for Resort Hotel Guests Beginning January 5, 2026

[bakofarmgirl]

we love using the side entrance

 

[meanwoodwhite]

I've not done early entry for DLR as this will be my first visit next week. But I honestly wouldn't miss EE at WDW as its no real gain imo. last time I did it I stood in Peter Pan for 25 minutes with the line not moving then decided to ditch and just went on small ride. Then looked on Peter Pan as i got off and it was 65 minutes. Honestly what's the point of it.

 

[BrianL]

Is it possible that you can defend something simply because you’re a level‑headed person who understands why they did what they did — and it has nothing to do with being a Disney fanatic. People seem to think that as soon as you defend something your a fanatic.

This one it's hard to defend, the closing of PPH entrance I can understand.

Certainly there is room for a critical evaluation of any policy change and people may come to different conclusions. Some people may not care about this at all because they like to sleep in, but the option is being taken away from everybody and replaced by something of clearly lower value. That's my critical take on it anyway.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Today is bordering on comical for DL news. PPH loses its DCA entrance 1/5.

My morning journey.. Disney pushed me down by eliminating EE but then offered me a hand to get up by giving me one LL.
I said “hey thanks for that LL I know you didnt have to”
Then Disney pushed me down to the ground again even harder since DVC wouldn’t be included in LL.
Then proceeded to kick me while I was down by closing the PP entrance.
They have offered me a hand to help me getting up once again since now the new rumor is DVC will be included.
Now Im left to decide am I hurt by all of it or now grateful since DVC will at least get the LL

 

[BrianL]

I've not done early entry for DLR as this will be my first visit next week. But I honestly wouldn't miss EE at WDW as its no real gain imo. last time I did it I stood in Peter Pan for 25 minutes with the line not moving then decided to ditch and just went on small ride. Then looked on Peter Pan as i got off and it was 65 minutes. Honestly what's the point of it.

There may have been issues with Peter Pan that morning, but if it was running, you should easily be able to ride it within the EE timeframe. PPF is a popular ride, so it does build up a line quickly. The last time I did an EE at Magic Kingdom, I was able to ride 7DMT within about 15 minutes, then make it over to TRON, where there was a line, but the offsite guests hadn't been let into yet, so it wasn't so bad. I could have done even better if I had hit Space Mountain - with the lower wait I might have even gotten to a third ride.

 

[RickNJane]

Wow Just Wow. This is a real low blow. So the are replacing EE that you could use EVERY DAY with 1 LL you can just use once? Not to mention that Radiator Springs Racers is not covered under the LL. We used EE to get on RSR and was planning on it again for our Feb. visit. I did not read all the posts, but where can you go to complain? I know it won't do any good, but there is a slight chance that if enough complaints are filed, someone would take notice. I know the only real change will come when the cost/benefit analysis shows that it was a bad idea. Unfortunately they do not take guest good will into that equation.

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

My DW and I utilized EE 4 out of 5 park days. It was a nice benefit for resort guests and I'm sad to see it go. I am uncertain how to properly gauge EE by volume of resort guests but I will say there were a lot of resort guests that hopped on a ride and, of course, at DL, would queue for ROTR near the Fantasyland gate into Frontierland. That was a shortcut and an advantage over non-resort guests held in the hub.

I'm old enough to remember when folks on these boards blamed Bob Chapek as the problem.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I've not done early entry for DLR as this will be my first visit next week. But I honestly wouldn't miss EE at WDW as its no real gain imo. last time I did it I stood in Peter Pan for 25 minutes with the line not moving then decided to ditch and just went on small ride. Then looked on Peter Pan as i got off and it was 65 minutes. Honestly what's the point of it.

Yeah I did EE at WDW once and I felt like a lost child. I was standing there not knowing what to do and wasted the whole hour, literally only got coffee without a line. Every ride we had planned on was closed until the park opened. At DLR we have always had success with EE.

 

[RickNJane]

One LLMP is a joke(at least it’s something), but we managed to ride multiple attractions over multiple days in just those 30 minutes.

Agreed! We always were able to do at least 2 and maybe 3 of the top rides during EE. This is a real joke. 1LL for the entire stay? OUCH

 

[BrianL]

My morning journey.. Disney pushed me down by eliminating EE but then offered me a hand to get up by giving me one LL.
I said “hey thanks for that LL I know you didnt have to”
Then Disney pushed me down to the ground again even harder since DVC wouldn’t be included in LL.
Then proceeded to kick me while I was down by closing the PP entrance.
They have offered me a hand to help me getting up once again since now the new rumor is DVC will be included.
Now Im left to decide am I hurt by all of it or now grateful since DVC will at least get the LL

At least the closing of the PP entrance is for the Coco ride. I mean, getting a new ride out of it is at least a decent trade (EDIT: possibly that wasn't the reason).

Of course, it will be impossible to ride that new ride without a huge wait without the advantage of EE. That's how they getcha!

 

[BrianL]

Agreed! We always were able to do at least 2 and maybe 3 of the top rides during EE. This is a real joke. 1LL for the entire stay? OUCH

Honestly, for the prices they charge they should be giving onsite guests LLMP for their entire stay in addition to EE!

 

[VGCgroupie]

At least the closing of the PP entrance is for the Coco ride. I mean, getting a new ride out of it is at least a decent trade.

Of course, it will be impossible to ride that new ride without a huge wait without the advantage of EE. That's how they getcha!

I missed this information. Once again Disney offering me a hand to get up from the beating. Ugh I love that entrance but if it has to be sacrificed for the ride I understand.

 

[joseph821]

This is an ouch cut because Disneyland thinks they can do anything...well people will be making more reservations at the Hilton, Marriott and other places...the offsite hotels will offer free breakfast and a $25/$50 Disney Gift card per guest and that will be that!

 

[Smugpugmug]

Is it possible that you can defend something simply because you’re a level‑headed person who understands why they did what they did — and it has nothing to do with being a Disney fanatic. People seem to think that as soon as you defend something your a fanatic.

This one it's hard to defend, the closing of PPH entrance I can understand.

Not referring to level headed people. More so referring to people that defend EVERYTHING Disney does even if it negatively impacts the guest experience. Those are the ones that make me laugh more than anything.

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

At least the closing of the PP entrance is for the Coco ride. I mean, getting a new ride out of it is at least a decent trade.

This statement doesn't make sense to me. The PP entrance is adjacent to Seaside Souvenirs and across from the Golden Zephyr. My understanding is the Coco attraction is supposed to be situated behind the TSM attraction where some buildings exist that are used for parades or storage (?) and that the entrance to the Coco attraction would adjacent to Boardwalk Pizza.

If they are removing the PP entrance for the Coco attraction then TWDC would need to be removing some combination of Corn Dog Castle, Grand Californian Resort, Goofy Sky School and/or Paradise Gardens because those are the adjacent areas to the PP entrance. I have not heard that TWDC is tearing out any of those attractions, restaurants, or hotels for the new Coco attraction.

I am quite confident that the closing of the PP entrance is not for the Coco attraction but to cut costs. I suspect that DLR is now at a point that the best options for cutting costs is to eliminate on-site resort guest benefits. Increase prices and decrease costs.

Although this is speculation on my part, I am assuming that DLR will start booking 2026 vacations soon and there will be a price increase for all on-site hotels.

I recall reading that LA has passed a new ordinance to annually increase minimum wage for hotel staff to $30 / hour over the next few years (ending in 2028 for the Olympics?). Perhaps DLR (although not in LA) needs to increase hotel staff wages to make sure that they continue to staff their hotels? That's why TWDC would justify eliminating "extras" for onsite resort guests and thereby eliminating the CMs needed to staff the EE resort guests. After all, it isn't just parks that need to staff EE resort guests. The hotels need to staff security, front desk, concierge, food/beverage, maintenance, etc. for the EE guests too.

 

[blabbermouth]

This is lame. I would be OK if it was one LLMP PER DAY of your stay. And didn't they just open the PPH DCA entrance? It even got the upgrade to the new entrance gates? I guess capital expenditure versus operating expense, but still, what a waste. They had already cut it back to closing at noon which is silly because it's most beneficial to coming back after an afternoon break, in my opinion.

We are staying at PPH soon. And we like/can afford Disney hotels, but next time (yes, I am obviously drinking the Disneyland koolaid still), NEXT TIME we'll stay at the Westin.

 

[NothingClever]

I would not worry about this change coming to WDW anytime soon - they have a sufficient inventory of resort rooms to justify the cost of staffing the parks for 30 minutes each morning. I'm not sure you can say the same thing for Disneyland - the cost of operating DCA or DL for 30 minutes probably far outweighs the additional revenue generated by the early entry perk for just three resorts. Of course, I've not stayed at a DL resort for the last three trips and certainly see no reason to start doing so now.

 

[crystal1313]

We just stayed at Pixar place for 4 nights (first time in years that we stayed longer than one night). We did EE all 3 of our park days. We loved it. However, the process to get in through security seemed like a joke. They had 2 lines open one day (at the entrance closest to PPH). The entrance closest to the DLH had an insane line. In line I was thinking that a majority of the people in these lines at Disney hotel guests, paying lots of money. But they only have two lanes open and everyone is trying to get to EE. It was crazy to me. Was Disney doing that on purpose as an excuse to say, people aren’t using EE so we will eliminate it? Who knows.

I’m also upset about the PPH entrance being removed. We used that on our EE day and it was so much better and moved faster. I can’t imagine all the Pixar place and the GCH guests trying to use the tiny GCH entrance. Sounds like a nightmare.

I’m sad that the few perks for the Disney hotels are being removed. It was getting harder and harder to justify an onsite stay and this just furthers that point.

 

[Tinkaboo]

OMG...THIS IS HORRIBLE! What incentive would you possibly have to pay those ridiculous prices??????

Look out...that means Harbor hotels will be flooded....good thing I have all my CCI rezzies for next year already made!

 

[gottalovepluto]

My morning journey.. Disney pushed me down by eliminating EE but then offered me a hand to get up by giving me one LL.
I said “hey thanks for that LL I know you didnt have to”
Then Disney pushed me down to the ground again even harder since DVC wouldn’t be included in LL.
Then proceeded to kick me while I was down by closing the PP entrance.
They have offered me a hand to help me getting up once again since now the new rumor is DVC will be included.
Now Im left to decide am I hurt by all of it or now grateful since DVC will at least get the LL

FYI- It’s 5 o’clock somewhere