Education me about how early entry works please!

[AndrewC]

So I’ve actually never used early entry (more of a closing the park guy and maybe Trader Sam’s after… getting in the park by 8:30 is a miracle normally, lol).

I’m at the DLH for three days, currently two guests are on the reservations.

I’ve got a group of four friends I’m meeting in the park that are staying off site. They *seriously* want to get at the park first thing and book it to Star Wars.

How many people can I get in with for early entry?
Does each person have to physically scan a room key card to get in?
Do names have to be associated with it or tickets linked?

On the off chance I’m not able to drag myself out of bed at 6:30 to make the gate at 7:30… can I give them my key card so they can get in and I’ll meet them like 8:30am in the park?

 

[sophy1996]

Only as many people as are registered.

They looked at our reservations on the app. Key cards prove nothing because they are plain, no identifying info (at least the ones we got at GCH a couple of weeks ago were).

They can put themselves in good position by being early to the gates and up front at the ropes by Frontierland. But they should keep in mind that Rise isn’t always working at park open.

 

[AndrewC]

Only as many people as are registered.

They looked at our reservations on the app. Key cards prove nothing because they are plain, no identifying info (at least the ones we got at GCH a couple of weeks ago were).

They can put themselves in good position by being early to the gates and up front at the ropes by Frontierland. But they should keep in mind that Rise isn’t always working at park open.

So it’s sounding like I should just tell them to be at the front gates at general park opening…

 

[maleficent55]

So it’s sounding like I should just tell them to be at the front gates at general park opening…

They should definitely rope drop. So not a general park opening. If the park opens at 8 AM, all of you should be there at 6:45 AM. You as a Disney hotel guest will stay to the right on main street and lineup for the hotel guest early entry area. You will be let in at 7:30 AM to enter the lands and ride attractions.

They will choose which area they want to rope drop fantasyland, tomorrow, land, or Adventureland
I will be able to rope drop right at 8am
By being in the front, as much as possible, ideally AT the rope will enable them to enter either land first or close to first. You guys can have a meeting point at 8 AM.

 

[AndrewC]

Ouch, not sure I can drag myself out of bed that early after closing out the park the night before with the Halloween party and Trader Sam’s… they might just have to be on their own and I’ll meet up with them a couple hours later.

As non-hotel guests, how early should they get there to rope drop?

How far into the park do they allow you… is rope drop at the turnstiles, or are you in the park already and lined up somewhere else?

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

1. Everyone, off site and onsite guests start to line up at the big main gates on the Esplanade at about 7am
2. At about 7.15am they open the gates and start scanning all guests
3. There is a photopass photographer just inside the main gates in front of the Train Station
4. Everyone is allowed onto Main Street and up to The Hub.
5. There are CM's on Main Street with signs directing Early Entry people to keep to the right.


6.There are ropes across the entrance to Frontierland, Adventureland, across The Hub at The Partners statue and across the right side of the hub in front of Plaza Gardens. This holds all the off site guests.


7. Early Entry people keep right and there is a roped entry way in front of Plaza Gardens. There are CM's checking tickets at this entry way. Early Entry people can go into Tomorrowland or Fantasyland. They can also go to the Rope Drop areas at Toon Town, Frontierland, Galaxys Edge etc, which are accessed from Fantasyland.


8. At 8am there is an announcement and all the ropes are removed.

I’ve got a group of four friends I’m meeting in the park that are staying off site. They *seriously* want to get at the park first thing and book it to Star Wars.

Which Star Wars ride to they want to do? There are 3
Rise of The Resistance
Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run
Star Tours

Rise of The Resistance gets the big rope drop crowds. There are two areas the crowds wait for this, Adventureland Entrance in front of Jolly Holiday Restaurant and Frontierland Entrance. Unless you are right at the rope for either entrance and really walk with purpose, the wait time will be about 40 minutes by the time you get there.

Adventureland Entrance has the longest walk. Galaxys Edge is located at the back of the property and from Adventureland Entrance you have to walk through Adventureland, past Indiana Jones and Jungle Cruise, then through New Orleans Square, past Haunted Mansion, down the side of Hungry Bear Restaurant and then into Galaxys Edge. The entrance to Rise of The Resistance is then a bit further on and you have to pass the standby switch backs.

At Frontierland Entrance you walk down to Big Thunder Mountain, and then continue on and into Galaxys Edge and then left to Rise of The Resistance.

There will also be a group of people coming from the Fantasyland entrance to Galaxys Edge. These are the early entry people and they will have a head start on the crowds from Adventureland Entrance and Frontierland Entrance. They will already be in Galaxys Edge while everyone else is halfway through Adventureland and Frontierland.

I stay off site at Desert Inn and Suites. I am at the bag check security on Harbor Boulevard at approx 7.15am. At that time I am usually in the middle to the end of the rope drop crowds. By the time I get to The Hub holding area there is a big crowd at the ropes. To be at the top of the rope drop crowds you would really need to be at Harbor Boulevard bag check security at approx 6.45am.

 

[AndrewC]

1. Everyone, off site and onsite guests start to line up at the big main gates on the Esplanade at about 7am
2. At about 7.15am they open the gates and start scanning all guests
3. There is a photopass photographer just inside the main gates in front of the Train Station
4. Everyone is allowed onto Main Street and up to The Hub.
5. There are CM's on Main Street with signs directing Early Entry people to keep to the right.
View attachment 800070

6.There are ropes across the entrance to Frontierland, Adventureland, across The Hub at The Partners statue and across the right side of the hub in front of Plaza Gardens. This holds all the off site guests.
View attachment 800069

7. Early Entry people keep right and there is a roped entry way in front of Plaza Gardens. There are CM's checking tickets at this entry way. Early Entry people can go into Tomorrowland or Fantasyland. They can also go to the Rope Drop areas at Toon Town, Frontierland, Galaxys Edge etc, which are accessed from Fantasyland.
View attachment 800071

8. At 8am there is an announcement and all the ropes are removed.


Which Star Wars ride to they want to do? There are 3
Rise of The Resistance
Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run
Star Tours

Rise of The Resistance gets the big rope drop crowds. There are two areas the crowds wait for this, Adventureland Entrance in front of Jolly Holiday Restaurant and Frontierland Entrance. Unless you are right at the rope for either entrance and really walk with purpose, the wait time will be about 40 minutes by the time you get there.

Adventureland Entrance has the longest walk. Galaxys Edge is located at the back of the property and from Adventureland Entrance you have to walk through Adventureland, past Indiana Jones and Jungle Cruise, then through New Orleans Square, past Haunted Mansion, down the side of Hungry Bear Restaurant and then into Galaxys Edge. The entrance to Rise of The Resistance is then a bit further on and you have to pass the standby switch backs.

At Frontierland Entrance you walk down to Big Thunder Mountain, and then continue on and into Galaxys Edge and then left to Rise of The Resistance.

There will also be a group of people coming from the Fantasyland entrance to Galaxys Edge. These are the early entry people and they will have a head start on the crowds from Adventureland Entrance and Frontierland Entrance. They will already be in Galaxys Edge while everyone else is halfway through Adventureland and Frontierland.

I stay off site at Desert Inn and Suites. I am at the bag check security on Harbor Boulevard at approx 7.15am. At that time I am usually in the middle to the end of the rope drop crowds. By the time I get to The Hub holding area there is a big crowd at the ropes. To be at the top of the rope drop crowds you would really need to be at Harbor Boulevard bag check security at approx 6.45am.

Very very detailed! I’m bailing on early entry, we’ve got all day to do Rise, they can open their wallet for an ILL on it if things aren’t looking good, lol

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Very very detailed! I’m bailing on early entry, we’ve got all day to do Rise, they can open their wallet for an ILL on it if things aren’t looking good, lol

I usually do Rise of The Resistance in the afternoon and get an ILL. The morning time from opening until about 11.30am its much better to do other rides, as the crowds head to Rise. Check out my trip report from June https://www.disboards.com/threads/solo-from-ireland-to-so-cal-trip-number-13-june-2023.3927506/ and you can see how much I did in the morning time.

 

[irlandaise]

Rise of The Resistance gets the big rope drop crowds. There are two areas the crowds wait for this, Adventureland Entrance in front of Jolly Holiday Restaurant and Frontierland Entrance. Unless you are right at the rope for either entrance and really walk with purpose, the wait time will be about 40 minutes by the time you get there.

Adventureland Entrance has the longest walk. Galaxys Edge is located at the back of the property and from Adventureland Entrance you have to walk through Adventureland, past Indiana Jones and Jungle Cruise, then through New Orleans Square, past Haunted Mansion, down the side of Hungry Bear Restaurant and then into Galaxys Edge. The entrance to Rise of The Resistance is then a bit further on and you have to pass the standby switch backs.

At Frontierland Entrance you walk down to Big Thunder Mountain, and then continue on and into Galaxys Edge and then left to Rise of The Resistance.

There will also be a group of people coming from the Fantasyland entrance to Galaxys Edge. These are the early entry people and they will have a head start on the crowds from Adventureland Entrance and Frontierland Entrance. They will already be in Galaxys Edge while everyone else is halfway through Adventureland and Frontierland.

Do EE visitors get allowed into Galaxy's Edge from Fantasyland before regular visitors at the other entrances? Even by a couple of minutes? I ask because RotR is at the opposite end of GE from Fantasyland, so I wonder whether non-EE guests queuing up in Frontierland might actually have an advantage over EE guests coming from Fantasyland when it comes to getting to RotR first, since Frontierland is the closest GE entrance to RotR.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Do EE visitors get allowed into Galaxy's Edge from Fantasyland before regular visitors at the other entrances? Even by a couple of minutes? I ask because RotR is at the opposite end of GE from Fantasyland, so I wonder whether non-EE guests queuing up in Frontierland might actually have an advantage over EE guests coming from Fantasyland when it comes to getting to RotR first, since Frontierland is the closest GE entrance to RotR.

As far as I'm aware no, they are held by ropes, just like everyone at the Hub. All the ropes are removed at the same time. I did similar in Disneyland Paris in 2016. I had early access and there was a rope at Fantasyland to Adventureland. The rope was removed at the same time as the general public were allowed in. I was walking into Pirates queueing area when the general public were only halfway down Main Street.

 

[Genie+]

Not sure if youre staying cash or DVC. Room occupancy is probably 4. You could add 2 guests to your reservation and then they could access EE for the length of your stay. DVC points stay would not charge but I know at WDW cash rooms charge for extra adult heads beyond 2. Something like $25 each per night.

 

[twodogs]

Yesterday, we had to all scan our room keys (not just have the CM look at them , but put them on a scanner like the thing that unlocks the hotel room door) at the DL EE rope near Astro Orbiter. I also showed them on the app that we had a reservation for 4 people, and they counted us as we entered. They seemed to be strict with this, which is good to me as an onsite guest since there are not that many other benefits these days.