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

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Sounds like not enough people used the perk and bought food/merch during that hour to make it worth the operating costs.

 

[LAS2AMS]

Sounds like not enough people used the perk and bought food/merch during that hour to make it worth the operating costs.

It’s a cost cutting move. There’s less than 3,000 rooms onsite in DLR. In contrast, WDW has nearly 37,000, and over 42,000 rooms (including good neighbor) are eligible for early entry.

 

[wabbott]

You have to be careful when comparing Netflix to Disney. Netflix truly owns only about 25% of its originals (like Stranger Things); the rest are produced by other companies (such as Squid Game) and simply licensed as Netflix Originals. Netflix’s model is to push as much content at viewers as possible, regardless of quality. They pay pennies on the dollar for other companies to produce shows so, if one flops after a season, they couldn’t care less. Disney, at least for now, is focusing on quality over quantity.

DIsney+ owns and produces a majority of their own content 99%, I believe only some of the documentaries are owned by the producing company. Hulu original are almost exclusively owned by the producing company some are owned by Hulu but very little. Disney decided there were going to invest in the shows by themself rather than outsource production, that going to take time and capital which is just not starting to pay off.

Apple+ owns nothing nor do they care to at the moment. I like probably 95% of there "originals".

Of course they're different. They make money - a whole lot of it - on movies and streaming. NFLX currently has a market capitalization (net worth) of $1/2 trillion, compared to DIS' $214 billion. And they both compete in the exact same marketplace and both are publicly traded and investor-owned.

There are many, many other publicly traded companies that are healthy, growing, and consistently provide a good product to customers - and return value to the owners/shareholders.

So the theory that "capitalistic greed" is the root cause of DIS' relatively flat financial performance doesn't hold water.

 

[Tinkaboo]

Mostly because the Christmas parade and fireworks are only available during the party

Oh, yes...I had forgotten that. We went to WDW 2 years ago (after a 15 year lapse) and went to the Christmas party...I forgot that that was the only way to see the parade/fireworks there...sorry, old age creeps on ya when ya least expect it... LOL

OUR WAY IS MUCH BETTER! Even if we do think Christmas starts in October and Halloween in August.

 

[reddog21]

And they both compete in the exact same marketplace and both are publicly traded and investor-owned

They don’t play in the same sandbox. Just because they both stream content doesn’t make them the same. Disney knows they can’t compete with Netflix(who really can at this point)so they chose a completely different business model for there content. They went with turning there IP into content. That’s going to take time when you start from scratch. As indicated above it’s just now starting to make money

ESPN is turning into the Netflix of sports streaming and no one is going to be able to compete.

 

[LAS2AMS]

Disneyland did a separately ticketed Christmas event in 2021. It was offered on six nights and sold out quickly. I did not go, but it seemed to be well received, even with SWGE closed. Disney couldn’t keep up with the demand for merch and it was largely sold out by the final events. Most people agree the highlight was the Muppets Christmas Carol shows.

It’s unclear why Disney cancelled the event. I’ve heard that the event was created as Google held its Holiday parties at DL, renting out SWGE entirely. Maybe attendance was lackluster the day of the events, thus costing more revenue than it created? Especially since it’s labor intensive.

Thread on it:

Thread '** Disneyland Merriest Nights - Official Thread **'

Sep 14, 2021

This thread will be for everyone to post the dates they will be going, and letting each other know if they would like to meet up for a group picture (that would be fun), share general information, and post pictures of the event itself.

Click on the picture below for the link to the Disney site:

Disney Merriest Nites
Join the fun at 6 holiday parties as Mickey Mouse and friends host all-new holiday after-hours events at Disneyland Park on select nights in November and December 2021!
​

Discover 6 Holiday Parties in One!...

• WebmasterMaryJo
• Replies: 140
• Forum: Disneyland (California)

• 
• 

 

[wabbott]

They don’t play in the same sandbox. Just because they both stream content doesn’t make them the same. Disney knows they can’t compete with Netflix(who really can at this point)so they chose a completely different business model for there content. They went with turning there IP into content. That’s going to take time when you start from scratch. As indicated above it’s just now starting to make money

ESPN is turning into the Netflix of sports streaming and no one is going to be able to compete.

I respectfully disagree. DIS and NFLX compete for the exact same customers - as do Warner Brothers, Universal/Comcast, Paramount, Sony, etc. Namely, human viewers of moving pictures, whether it be on a movie screen or on a TV set. The different companies obviously have different strategies to attract those viewers, but they ALL share the single goal of attracting the greatest number of eyeballs for their product.

 

[neverlandsky]

Darn it. This ruins our strategy of starting at the opposite park without EE for the day to have lesser crowds to begin with.

With the mandatory 11 am before you can park hop and now no EE, wondering if this is a push to get more people to purchase LLSP,
LLMP, & LLPP.

 

[DodgerGirl]

The reason I think Disneyland is eliminating Early Entry to the hotel guests that stay at Disneyland Resort hotels in 2026 is so Disneyland can experiment with a new system to get the hotel guests into the parks much easier. But I think the actual reason Disneyland is doing this is so they can come up with an even better system. Because in the 90's all the Anaheim motels and hotels used to participate in Disneyland's Magic Morning program and also in the 90's Disneyland offered breakfast packages called Early Bird Breakfast which was a variation of the Early Entry with a character breakfast or any restaurant added as a choice. I think the Disneyland Resort Hotels will indeed start to see a drop in guests and I can predict that the Anaheim motels and hotels will begin having lots of business and Disneyland Hotel as well as Grand Californian Resort and Pixar Place Hotel will start lowering prices on rooms once 2026 begins and we will see these hotels offer deals. But what Disneyland could've offered instead of a Lightning Lane for on-site hotel guest is a free Photopass character meet and greet coupon to use anytime during the trip and the coupon would expire on the last day of the trip because giving guests one Lightning Lane pass is not going to work especially when certain rides you want to ride are not even listed for the one Lightning Lane pass given. Disneyland needs to realize that this is the biggest letdown they have given to hotel guests and I think people will no longer go to Disneyland due to this reason and people will also not stay at any of the Disneyland Resort hotels also because of this. Basically I think it will hurt Disneyland a lot and as many posters have mentioned Walt Disney World will most likely follow suit too with this same thing

 

[OneThree]

With the mandatory 11 am before you can park hop and now no EE, wondering if this is a push to get more people to purchase LLSP,
LLMP, & LLPP.

I certainly hope that is not their strategy. If everyone is using LL than no one is using LL

 

[NorthernCalMom]

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 wish I had taken of the morning EE line for on of the two Disneyland Hotel security during our last trip (in late July of this year). The first people started lining up before 6am. By the time security opened, it was huge. Security staff did check people’s hotel keys! So, no, none of those people were eager non-resort rope droppers. The official statement by Disney that this perk wasn’t used enough to justify continuing it is a lie.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

Yet those companies line up and beg Costco for the opportunity to sell their products in Costco for low margins. They are taking the long view, not the quick buck mentality that Disney has now.

Exactly. Of course both Costco and Disney ought to make a profit. However, there’s a big difference between…

…Costco’s treating both its employees (as far as benefits and work conditions go) and customers well and then making their money of being tough negotiators with their suppliers and…

…the Disney corporation’s insatiable greed treating loyal guests as cash cows and shamelessly raising prices and decreasing services to figure out where people’s pain threshold is and how badly they can treat people and still have them come and use their product.

The difference is that Costco cares about its customers’ experience and the value of what they sell and (the current incarnation of) Disney does not).

 

[joseph821]

The reason I think Disneyland is eliminating Early Entry to the hotel guests that stay at Disneyland Resort hotels in 2026 is so Disneyland can experiment with a new system to get the hotel guests into the parks much easier. But I think the actual reason Disneyland is doing this is so they can come up with an even better system. Because in the 90's all the Anaheim motels and hotels used to participate in Disneyland's Magic Morning program and also in the 90's Disneyland offered breakfast packages called Early Bird Breakfast which was a variation of the Early Entry with a character breakfast or any restaurant added as a choice. I think the Disneyland Resort Hotels will indeed start to see a drop in guests and I can predict that the Anaheim motels and hotels will begin having lots of business and Disneyland Hotel as well as Grand Californian Resort and Pixar Place Hotel will start lowering prices on rooms once 2026 begins and we will see these hotels offer deals. But what Disneyland could've offered instead of a Lightning Lane for on-site hotel guest is a free Photopass character meet and greet coupon to use anytime during the trip and the coupon would expire on the last day of the trip because giving guests one Lightning Lane pass is not going to work especially when certain rides you want to ride are not even listed for the one Lightning Lane pass given. Disneyland needs to realize that this is the biggest letdown they have given to hotel guests and I think people will no longer go to Disneyland due to this reason and people will also not stay at any of the Disneyland Resort hotels also because of this. Basically I think it will hurt Disneyland a lot and as many posters have mentioned Walt Disney World will most likely follow suit too with this same thing

I think there will be a drop in bookings at the Resort Hotels but I am not sure if the EE program will go back to the 1980s/1990s programs or will Disney sell 3 Day PH with one day of EE. But this was a foolish decision to save a a little money but will prove to hit Disneyland's bottom line.

 

[LAS2AMS]

the Disney corporation’s insatiable greed treating loyal guests as cash cows and shamelessly raising prices and decreasing services to figure out where people’s pain threshold is and how badly they can treat people and still have them come and use their product.

It’s a poor analogy. Costco isn’t selling product at low margins to keep shoppers happy as part of a long games. Grocers for decades have sold product at a loss to get you into the store. The idea is that you come in for eggs, milk and soda - all sold at a loss - and purchase the rest of your items. In the early 2000s, A&P infamously declared it would no longer sell items at a loss - a decision that it never recovered from.

Disney’s simply a case of supply and demand. There’s more demand for Disney than supply. If Disney didn’t raise its prices (including reducing perks), it wouldn’t be able to handle the demand. You can blame the Disney Adults who make 6+ trips to Disney, and would be making 9+ trips if prices were lower, for the parks becoming unaffordable to most families.

Disney started the EE program decades ago to incentive people to stay on property. But it’s no longer necessary, so they cut the perks. Yes, it sucks, but vote with your wallet if you don’t like it.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I think there will be a drop in bookings at the Resort Hotels but I am not sure if the EE program will go back to the 1980s/1990s programs or will Disney sell 3 Day PH with one day of EE. But this was a foolish decision to save a a little money but will prove to hit Disneyland's bottom line.

I'm happy you agree with me Joseph, Because the way I see it I think the Disneyland Good Neighbor Hotels in Anaheim will begin taking some of the Disneyland Resort guests because the guests who stayed at either Disneyland Hotel Grand Californian Hotel or Pixar Place Hotel will find the hotels not worthy of staying at anymore due to this elimination in 2026. Because this was the worst thing Disneyland has done in history. I mean people pay expensive money to stay at a Disneyland Resort Hotel to get this perk and now that Disneyland has done this people as I mentioned will simply no longer feel the need to go there. Because when you're a city like Anaheim you not only attract people that visit Disneyland people use the off-site Anaheim hotels to see other attractions like Anaheim Angels games or Anaheim Ducks hockey games or visit Knott's Berry Farm and when most people find Anaheim hotels too pricey people go to other cities like Buena Park or Whittier. But like I mentioned we will see Disneyland Resort hotels lower the prices of rooms and offer deals on packages once 2026 comes
Thank you Joseph for your impressive input on this subject
Dodger

 

[joseph821]

I'm happy you agree with me Joseph, Because the way I see it I think the Disneyland Good Neighbor Hotels in Anaheim will begin taking some of the Disneyland Resort guests because the guests who stayed at either Disneyland Hotel Grand Californian Hotel or Pixar Place Hotel will find the hotels not worthy of staying at anymore due to this elimination in 2026. Because this was the worst thing Disneyland has done in history. I mean people pay expensive money to stay at a Disneyland Resort Hotel to get this perk and now that Disneyland has done this people as I mentioned will simply no longer feel the need to go there. Because when you're a city like Anaheim you not only attract people that visit Disneyland people use the off-site Anaheim hotels to see other attractions like Anaheim Angels games or Anaheim Ducks hockey games or visit Knott's Berry Farm and when most people find Anaheim hotels too pricey people go to other cities like Buena Park or Whittier. But like I mentioned we will see Disneyland Resort hotels lower the prices of rooms and offer deals on packages once 2026 comes
Thank you Joseph for your impressive input on this subject
Dodger

The cutting of EE is a very arrogant corporate decision. They probably feel they do not need/want to do anything...well that may work partially..locals and Key will still go but the out-of-town guests and vacationers may still come but stay at the Hilton, the Marriott, etc and Not GCH or DLH. We shall see in 2026. Unfortunately, hotels have minimum staffing requirements regardless of occupancy so Disney really cannot save that much but they will try.

 

[joseph821]

Look at what is happening to Las Vegas...attendance at all the casinos, hotels and shows is down. Hotel Prices are up. Food/meals are up. All the perk and free "comps" and perks have been slowly been taken away. Now Disneyland is not Las Vegas. But DL will have its Las Vegas moment soon. Las Vegas is losing money (literally begging for tourists) and Disney also seems to take away from Disneyland very rare from WDW or DLP. DL blindly thinks the locals and the out-of-towners will always show up and open their wallets. There comes a point where a $30 popcorn bucket does not cut it anymore. $8 cookie does not cut it. $700 a night for a Holiday Inn like room does not cut it. You get my point.

 

[tlovesdis]

I've had to delete some comments on here. Let's all try to stay on the actual topic and not use language that can be taken in the wrong way. Please and thank you!!!

 

[OneTrackMind]

Look at what is happening to Las Vegas...attendance at all the casinos, hotels and shows is down. Hotel Prices are up. Food/meals are up. All the perk and free "comps" and perks have been slowly been taken away. Now Disneyland is not Las Vegas. But DL will have its Las Vegas moment soon. Las Vegas is losing money (literally begging for tourists) and Disney also seems to take away from Disneyland very rare from WDW or DLP. DL blindly thinks the locals and the out-of-towners will always show up and open their wallets. There comes a point where a $30 popcorn bucket does not cut it anymore. $8 cookie does not cut it. $700 a night for a Holiday Inn like room does not cut it. You get my point.

It’s an interesting comparison to Vegas and will be fascinating to see what happens next as fall out from what I think is a terrible decision.

I definitely agree about things like cookies and other food, and especially about the hotels - we won’t stay onsite again at those prices without EE. They have reached my cut-off point on that.

But some of those $30 popcorn buckets are awfully cute!!!