Everything Early Theme Park Entry (ETPE) - Please Read Post 1

[zumbergc]

Does Tron open with EE for resort guests? Are people just flocking to Tron once let in? How fast are wait times escalating? Is it like seven dwarf, where the pack heads right to it? I'm trying to decide if we need to head there first?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Does Tron open with EE for resort guests? Are people just flocking to Tron once let in? How fast are wait times escalating? Is it like seven dwarf, where the pack heads right to it? I'm trying to decide if we need to head there first?

No, Tron does not open until park opening but guests start to line up as soon as ETPE begins. It seems like the line grows quickly. If you are at the front of the line and if you wish to line up for 30 mins, you will likely ride soon after park open. Guests are also finding an influx of guests at the start of the day and then lines decrease.

 

[Sheila E.]

It differs from park to park but just follow the crowd.

MK, AK and EP (I believe) currently allow all guests to enter the park. Non ETPE guests are directed one way and ETPE guests are directed a different way. The is an actual rope and CMs stopping guests from progressing past where they should. When ETPE begins guests will have their band scanned (one person for the group) and be allowed to proceed into the open area of the park.

The division happens before the rope drop area so there should be no need to pass anyone once ETPE begins.

DHS holds non-ETPE eligible guests at a set of tapstiles, before entering the park.

If we dont have bands do they just scan our resort cards?

 

[scrappinginontario]

If we dont have bands do they just scan our resort cards?

Yes

 

[nlenguyen]

I am not sure if this is a good strategy but we are doing ETPE and LLMP. With 2 young children, we are focusing on Fantasyland. In the ETPE, we thought to do Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, Barnstormer, Carousel then do Peter Pan with the LLMP as our Tier 1 sometime in the early morning. Around the park open we would then do some character meet and greets. Does this plan sound too ambitious?

 

[Kerr84]

I am not sure if this is a good strategy but we are doing ETPE and LLMP. With 2 young children, we are focusing on Fantasyland. In the ETPE, we thought to do Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, Barnstormer, Carousel then do Peter Pan with the LLMP as our Tier 1 sometime in the early morning. Around the park open we would then do some character meet and greets. Does this plan sound too ambitious?

It should work! It will probably take longer than 30 minutes, but wait times will still be short. I would throw Little Mermaid in there too as you are walking around. Pooh, Dumbo, Barnstormer, Mermaid, Carousel... We like to do this route and have cinnamon rolls at Gaston's for breakfast.

 

[Krischaser]

Disney's Hollywood Studios Adjusts Morning Entry Procedure: What You Need to Know​

Guests visiting Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World are in for a change in the morning entry procedure. The park has just updated its process for guests arriving ahead of its official opening time, making early entry more accessible for all parkgoers. Here's a breakdown of what has changed and what it means for your day at the park.

For a scheduled 9:00 am opening, all guests—including non-resort guests—are now allowed through the tap styles starting at 8:00 am. Previously, this early entry privilege was only offered to Disney Resort hotel guests, while non-resort guests were held at the main entrance before the tap points until park opening time. With the new procedure, everyone can get past the initial checkpoint earlier, providing more time to enjoy the Hollywood Studios atmosphere before the attractions open.

Once inside the park, there are three designated checkpoints for resort guests participating in the Early Entry benefit: one on Sunset Boulevard, one on Grand Avenue for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, and one at the entrance to Toy Story Land. Resort guests can pass through these checkpoints and join attraction lines ready for the 8:30 am start of Early Entry, while non-resort guests are held at these points until the official park opening time at 9:00 am.

Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway is located before any of the checkpoints, and guests are able to enter the line if staying at a Disney resort hotel.

This update marks a return to the pre-pandemic experience, where all guests could enter the park before opening.

so is this still true for 2025

 

[scrappinginontario]

so is this still true for 2025

No changes have been announced or reported so I would believe, yes.

 

[Psymonds]

No changes have been announced or reported so I would believe, yes.

this is how it was in January.

 

[Miffy]

this is how it was in January.

And how it was yesterday.

 

[nlenguyen]

I decided to change some of out LL's around. I went with Tianas, because the little one in our travel party is 40 inch, so hoping he can ride. Would rope dropping Peter Pan be a better plan or should we use Early entry for dumbo, barnstormer, etc.? We got SDMT for LLSP.

 

[Disturbia]

I decided to change some of out LL's around. I went with Tianas, because the little one in our travel party is 40 inch, so hoping he can ride. Would rope dropping Peter Pan be a better plan or should we use Early entry for dumbo, barnstormer, etc.? We got SDMT for LLSP.

I would think rope dropping Peter Pan would be better and then heading towards Adventureland. We usually grab spring rolls (Adventureland entrance) on the way over.

Do take ponchos for Tiana’s. Eventhough CMs can reduce the splash it was still going full speed in cooler weather and the first 2 rows get really (soaking) wet. We did have to bribe our 5 year old with Tiana’s Beignet’s (we called them donuts) to ride it. We usually go to Peco’s for lunch (or Captain cooks/Oasis grill if staying at the Poly) before heading back to the resort for mid day breaks. If you sit outside Pecos you can see the Festival of the Fantasy parade at noon.

 

[nlenguyen]

I would think rope dropping Peter Pan would be better and then heading towards Adventureland. We usually grab spring rolls (Adventureland entrance) on the way over.

Do take ponchos for Tiana’s. Eventhough CMs can reduce the splash it was still going full speed in cooler weather and the first 2 rows get really (soaking) wet. We did have to bribe our 5 year old with Tiana’s Beignet’s (we called them donuts) to ride it. We usually go to Peco’s for lunch (or Captain cooks/Oasis grill if staying at the Poly) before heading back to the resort for mid day breaks. If you sit outside Pecos you can see the Festival of the Fantasy parade at noon.

that is what we were planning on doing. Tianas at 1230, so we wanted to do the parade right before

 

[traveler9]

I’m going down next month and have a reservation at Garden Grill for 8:50 on my Epcot day. I’ll be offsite and I believe they check your breakfast reservation and let you through along with early entry guests.

Will I be able to get through the check shortly before 8:30? I’m thinking I may be able to ride Soarin once since it’s so close to Garden Grill and probably won’t have many people going to it with Guardians now being standby. Also there are Remy and Frozen that are more popular rope drop targets than Soarin.

Has anyone done this?

 

[scrappinginontario]

I’m going down next month and have a reservation at Garden Grill for 8:50 on my Epcot day. I’ll be offsite and I believe they check your breakfast reservation and let you through along with early entry guests.

Will I be able to get through the check shortly before 8:30? I’m thinking I may be able to ride Soarin once since it’s so close to Garden Grill and probably won’t have many people going to it with Guardians now being standby. Also there are Remy and Frozen that are more popular rope drop targets than Soarin.

Has anyone done this?

No. ADRs no longer grant anyone early entry to a park. You will enter at 8:30 with the entire ETPE crowd. I doubt you would be able to ride Soarin and still get to your ADR on time.

 

[madamszam]

Does the below for EPCOT still hold true? We are staying at BC and want to know if there is a disadvantage on going to Guardians for EE from the IG entry

Epcot: Eligible resort guests will be allowed access to the park approx. 60 mins before posted park opening time. Guests will be held to the right and left of Spaceship Earth, near the construction walls or, near Canada when entering via International Gateway. Approx. 40 mins prior to posted park opening time guest will be permitted to access the open attractions. (Attractions listed below). Guests not staying at a Disney resort will be held at park gate until posted park opening. Note: Guests arriving via International Gateway (IG) will have an advantage for Remy due to gate proximity. Guests from non-Skyliner/Epcot resorts wishing to enter via IG may wish to take a resort bus to DHS then walk, take Skyliner or Friendship Boat to the IG entrance for ETPE.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Does the below for EPCOT still hold true? We are staying at BC and want to know if there is a disadvantage on going to Guardians for EE from the IG entry

Epcot: Eligible resort guests will be allowed access to the park approx. 60 mins before posted park opening time. Guests will be held to the right and left of Spaceship Earth, near the construction walls or, near Canada when entering via International Gateway. Approx. 40 mins prior to posted park opening time guest will be permitted to access the open attractions. (Attractions listed below). Guests not staying at a Disney resort will be held at park gate until posted park opening. Note: Guests arriving via International Gateway (IG) will have an advantage for Remy due to gate proximity. Guests from non-Skyliner/Epcot resorts wishing to enter via IG may wish to take a resort bus to DHS then walk, take Skyliner or Friendship Boat to the IG entrance for ETPE.

Yes, there is a disadvantage for IG guests wishing to ride GotG at rope drop due to the natural distance there is to walk from the holding point to the attraction. Red line is IG guest distance. Purple line is guests entering the front of the park.



At the same time, there is a definite advantage for IG guests who wish to ride Remy first.

 

[ssgtravel]

Would it possibly work with EE to head immediately to 7DMT, then PP, then over to get in line at Tron before park opening time? Or even just 7DMT, then Tron. I do realize many folks line up for Tron during EE, but thought maybe the line would be manageable prior to 9AM.

 

[scrappinginontario]

You could try SDMT to Tron and if towards front of line will join the ETPE crowd before park opening. PP is too busy to fit into the mix.

 

[Ariel620]

I have seen this on two FB sites now, but none of the usual Disney news pages. Does anyone know if it's true? If so, I love the idea as it cuts down the chaos of RD and also gets you on the ride at 8:30, instead of walking to it at 8:30.

"There is a new Rope Drop procedure at Magic Kingdom with what has been described to us as a “tweak”
On-site resort guests can now go to Fantasyland or Tomorrowland as early as 7:45 A.M. and get in line for their favorite attraction. That’s right, no more waiting behind a rope on the bridges
When Early Entry officially begins - typically 8:30 A.M. - they’ll be able to directly board the attraction.
Off-site/daily guests will still be held behind ropes and allowed into the lands when the park officially opens - typically 9:00 A.M.
Hollywood Studios has already implemented this but no word on other parks yet. This change is already in place and active."