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

[Jackiii]

I totally agree with this. We have stayed onsite multiple times, and ALWAYS used EE. I doubt we will ever stay onsite again after EE is removed. 100% a foolish decision.

I am TOTALLY with you!

My adult DD enjoy an annual mother/daughter trip to DLR/DCA every year. We always stay at a Disney hotel every trip since they brought back EE a few years back. First we will thrilled getting in an hour in the parks, then when they changed it to 1/2 hour, we debated but still thought it was worth it, then Disney again changed it to alternate days and still we thought it was an adjustment but do-able. Now with no incentive of EE, I cannot justify the high cost of a Disney hotel.

I was just there this past July where we brought my elderly mom with us as a trip she dreamed of. Our 5 day, 4 park days were glorious staying at GCH using EE each morning, along with my mom qualifying for the DAS program, it was something she will never forget! She absolutely loved the trip! So glad we went this year instead of postponing it.

Taking away this major perk is a very bad decision.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

I am so, so furious about this. EE makes a huge difference for us (I’m an early bird and don’t get much joy out of being in the parks late at night, plus I don’t do well with heat and crowds, so the EE rope drop is my happy time). We typically get up extra early, so we can be in the front of the security line. It makes a huge difference to me to spend an hour there, before the sun is out, versus the same time in a standby line during the day, crammed in between a huge number of people, stinky and sweaty and utterly exhausted.

We stayed 4 days this last trip (in late July). Not only do we get to ride the hardest to get on rides first, pretty much without waiting at all, we also get a bunch of other rides with a minimum wait during the next half hour, when the non-hotel rope droppers fight over getting onto the rides that we, at this point, have already done. By the time it’s 11 and the real crowds roll in, we have done most of our “must do”s and can take it easy and enjoy simply being there.

Multiply that joyful experience (and the number of stress free rides) by the four days we stayed this time, and it should be obvious why getting one measly LL pass per person for our entire stay feels like such an insult.

I’m usually not a petty person, but I really hope that this will hurt their resort hotel bookings with a vengeance. Apparently the mighty dollar is the only language that the people, who are currently running the company, understand. So I very much hope that as many people as possible, who are as outraged as I am about this, choose good neighbor hotels over resort stays, to hit these scrooges where it hurts: in their pocket books.

We (a family of four) have been coming to the parks yearly for almost two decades. It has been sad to see the gradual shift from (their getting paid handsomely but making an effort to) offering a Disney “Experience” to making me feel that I’m merely a cash cow for them. We keep paying more and more for less and less. Why on earth would they do this to their most loyal customers?

Shame on them.

 

[tvguy]

I wonder if WDW will follow suit - they said early entry will continue (at WDW) through 2026 but who knows what could happen afterward.

WDW already is open fewer hours a day than DL. Only been at WDW but I was shocked at the limited hours,. But as a kid, we used to get early admission throught the Magic Kingdom Club, get in the park at 630am, and years ago the park stayed open until 1 am. We did all day, all meals in the park without going back to the hotel.

 

[RoseColored97]

My coworker was just telling me that they stayed in one of the Universal Studios Orlando hotels that gives you an included Universal Express unlimited pass for every single day of your stay, including check-in and check-out days.

Even when Disney wasn't nickel and diming, they weren't offering similar. EE was a good benefit that did see good utilization (the crowds lined up at security before the sunrise was a decent indication). Comparing to USO really highlights how ridiculous scaling this back to nothing is.

 

[Tomorrowland 67]

I am so, so furious about this. EE makes a huge difference for us (I’m an early bird and don’t get much joy out of being in the parks late at night, plus I don’t do well with heat and crowds, so the EE rope drop is my happy time). We typically get up extra early, so we can be in the front of the security line. It makes a huge difference to me to spend an hour there, before the sun is out, versus the same time in a standby line during the day, crammed in between a huge number of people, stinky and sweaty and utterly exhausted.

We stayed 4 days this last trip (in late July). Not only do we get to ride the hardest to get on rides first, pretty much without waiting at all, we also get a bunch of other rides with a minimum wait during the next half hour, when the non-hotel rope droppers fight over getting onto the rides that we, at this point, have already done. By the time it’s 11 and the real crowds roll in, we have done most of our “must do”s and can take it easy and enjoy simply being there.

Multiply that joyful experience (and the number of stress free rides) by the four days we stayed this time, and it should be obvious why getting one measly LL pass per person for our entire stay feels like such an insult.

I’m usually not a petty person, but I really hope that this will hurt their resort hotel bookings with a vengeance. Apparently the mighty dollar is the only language that the people, who are currently running the company, understand. So I very much hope that as many people as possible, who are as outraged as I am about this, choose good neighbor hotels over resort stays, to hit these scrooges where it hurts: in their pocket books.

We (a family of four) have been coming to the parks yearly for almost two decades. It has been sad to see the gradual shift from (their getting paid handsomely but making an effort to) offering a Disney “Experience” to making me feel that I’m merely a cash cow for them. We keep paying more and more for less and less. Why on earth would they do this to their most loyal customers?

Shame on them.

I've been trying to put my feelings into words about this terrible Disney management decision. But you said it for me. I've been using Early Entry and Magic Morning since it was first offered. I remember when hotel guests could get into the park early by riding the Monorail into Tomorrowland. We even had a voucher for a free breakfast at the Tomorrowland Terrace. Those were fun times. Getting an early start each morning has been such a staple of my park experience that I'm not sure how I'll cope with the change. Right now, I'm pretty bitter.

 

[disneychrista]

My coworker was just telling me that they stayed in one of the Universal Studios Orlando hotels that gives you an included Universal Express unlimited pass for every single day of your stay, including check-in and check-out days.

Even when Disney wasn't nickel and diming, they weren't offering similar. EE was a good benefit that did see good utilization (the crowds lined up at security before the sunrise was a decent indication). Comparing to USO really highlights how ridiculous scaling this back to nothing is.

The problem is that likely a good portion of those crowds were just rope dropping, not guests of any of the hotels there for early entry. Many people will be at Harbor security well before 7am just so they can be at the front of the crowds for rope drop.

 

[joseph821]

I've been trying to put my feelings into words about this terrible Disney management decision. But you said it for me. I've been using Early Entry and Magic Morning since it was first offered. I remember when hotel guests could get into the park early by riding the Monorail into Tomorrowland. We even had a voucher for a free breakfast at the Tomorrowland Terrace. Those were fun times. Getting an early start each morning has been such a staple of my park experience that I'm not sure how I'll cope with the change. Right now, I'm pretty bitter.

I remember those EE days. The breakfast voucher for the free breakfast at Tomorrowland Terrace. Brings back so many memories of my trips with my parents. It was a magical and great start to the day!

 

[joseph821]

The problem is that likely a good portion of those crowds were just rope dropping, not guests of any of the hotels there for early entry. Many people will be at Harbor security well before 7am just so they can be at the front of the crowds for rope drop.

The hotel people will get through security first...that opens at 6:45AM. I doubt they will change that.

 

[RoseColored97]

The problem is that likely a good portion of those crowds were just rope dropping, not guests of any of the hotels there for early entry. Many people will be at Harbor security well before 7am just so they can be at the front of the crowds for rope drop.

I was meaning the crowds inside the GCH for entering into DtD and DLH/PPH security lines. There may have been some guests who walked up from hotels along the west end of Disneyland in that line, but I would say the majority inside the GCH and DLH/PPH security areas were guests going to EE. We would hurry and grab breakfast from CL inside DLH right when it opened at 6:30am then run down to get in line at security and still be at least 150+ people back. By 6:45-6:50am when I believe they let people go through, that line was stretched back almost to PPH.

 

[joseph821]

I was meaning the crowds inside the GCH for entering into DtD and DLH/PPH security lines. There may have been some guests who walked up from hotels along the west end of Disneyland in that line, but I would say the majority inside the GCH and DLH/PPH security areas were guests going to EE. We would hurry and grab breakfast from CL inside DLH right when it opened at 6:30am then run down to get in line at security and still be at least 150+ people back. By 6:45-6:50am when I believe they let people go through, that line was stretched back almost to PPH.

Yes there were plenty of people at GCH for Disneyland EE. I would get down to security by 615/620AM and I would be in the first 10 people lined up. By 645 there was at least 100+ and the line would move and you would get a steady stream of people. When I did EE for DCA I got down there by 740AM and it was a breeze.

 

[RoseColored97]

Yes there were plenty of people at GCH for Disneyland EE. I would get down to security by 615/620AM and I would be in the first 10 people lined up. By 645 there was at least 100+ and the line would move and you would get a steady stream of people. When I did EE for DCA I got down there by 740AM and it was a breeze.

We stayed at the GCH once back in 2022 for Halloween and were first in line at the DCA entrance. I just checked a timestamp and we got there at 6:34am. I'm actually shocked we were first that late, must have been a slow morning lol


I don’t think I got any pictures of the GCH EE line, but these are from the DLH DtD security line.

Easily 100-150+ people ahead of us up to the white tent. Faces of people marked out lol


And this one was taken with still 10 minutes to go before they let us in. It’s hard to see, but the line goes back and around the curve of that construction fencing.

 

[gottalovepluto]

When I was there on May, a GCH hotel cast member told me. For GCH guests over 70% used early entry for Disneyland and between 40 and 50% used it for DCA. So it not being used is wrong.

If that’s accurate I concur with a PP and see this perk potentially coming back as a “limited time” seasonal promo. 70% of your customer base is a mind boggling amount to thumb your nose at when charging $800-$1200.

 

[joseph821]

If that’s accurate I concur with a PP and see this perk potentially coming back as a “limited time” seasonal promo. 70% of your customer base is a mind boggling amount to thumb your nose at when charging $800-$1200.

There were always lots and lots of people at GCH for Disneyland EE. The security line was always popping and moving. It is insane that anyone who say it was "not used widely or much" BS!

 

[katmigordon]

My coworker was just telling me that they stayed in one of the Universal Studios Orlando hotels that gives you an included Universal Express unlimited pass for every single day of your stay, including check-in and check-out days.

Even when Disney wasn't nickel and diming, they weren't offering similar. EE was a good benefit that did see good utilization (the crowds lined up at security before the sunrise was a decent indication). Comparing to USO really highlights how ridiculous scaling this back to nothing is.

Esp as USO keeps upping their game in all areas.

 

[MonocularVision]

When I was there on May, a GCH hotel cast member told me. For GCH guests over 70% used early entry for Disneyland and between 40 and 50% used it for DCA. So it not being used is wrong.

CMs are notoriously known for giving all sorts of bad information. I seriously doubt most of the CMs at GCH would know this stay.

I seriously doubt is is that high but am very open to being wrong. But random CM can’t be a source of data, lol

 

[joseph821]

CMs are notoriously known for giving all sorts of bad information. I seriously doubt most of the CMs at GCH would know this stay.

I seriously doubt is is that high but am very open to being wrong. But random CM can’t be a source of data, lol

GCH security Cast member knows he is a cast member. NOt a random source. He is sometimes in charge of the GCH gates. He has worked for Disney for a long time. Not a random cast member!!!

 

[LKing]

They have cut back on so many on-site perks these days, that it's just not worth it. Even at WDW they have cut back some

WDW cut back hours by much more than 30 min. At least DL is open 15-16 hrs/day and DCA 12-13 hrs/day.

Now that the technology is in place, it would be very easy to pivot to a pay to ride format. If this were to happen, wonder if there would still be some nominal fee to enter?

I doubt that would happen at Disneyland where locals aren't as ride focused as guests at WDW.

Yes, I am picturing the GCH entrance trying to process EVERYONE from BOTH hotels at park opening! Instead of the friendly crowd eagerly waiting for EE at the GCH we have experienced in the past, even though we know the line will be inexcusably slow due to their being only 2 lines for the GCH guests going in early, there will now be an impatient crowd of crabby people from 2 hotels all waiting to get in at park opening, still going through those 2 slow lines.

I don't think they intend for PPH guests to go through the GCH/DCA entrance. They built a new security entrance near the DLH. I believe they are intending for PPH guests to enter DTD via that entrance and either walk through DTD or take the monorail.

 

[irlandaise]

Now that the technology is in place, it would be very easy to pivot to a pay to ride format. If this were to happen, wonder if there would still be some nominal fee to enter?

I doubt that would happen at Disneyland where locals aren't as ride focused as guests at WDW.

That's a good point. They could end up with a lot more people just wandering around eating Dole Whips and watching the Dapper Dans.

 

[bakofarmgirl]

can anyone report on the ee usage since the announcement? just curious if it seems busier or still “not utilized by many”

we go early sept and for sure will use it every day

 

[LKing]

can anyone report on the ee usage since the announcement? just curious if it seems busier or still “not utilized by many”

we go early sept and for sure will use it every day

Are you asking if more people entered via EE today than yesterday?

There are a couple of factors impacting park attendance today. First, we are experiencing a heat wave and the temperature in the parks is in the mid 90s. Second, OBB is tonight.