Is early entry worth it?

[ibergs]

I apologize if this has come up before (I'm sure it has).

My wife and 2 kids (ages 9 and 12) are going to WDW for the first time in mid-August. We'll have early entry privileges.

My question is: Should we take advantage of early entry? Or, is it better to avoid the park that has early entry and instead arrive as early as possible at the park that (according to The Unofficial Guide) is least-crowded on that day?

Thanks.

 

[unclescroogefan]

I dont know about August, but when we went last October it was worth it for us at the MK. We went to Fantasyland and did all the rides in less than 2 hrs. The only time that we had to wait was at Dumbo. We went on that first. We had to wait in line to see Ariel, but the line wasnt as long as when we went later in the day.The park was more relaxing, too. Less people=less hectic. We did notice the big difference in the park after 11.

 

[JMD]

Its been my experience that the parks are more crowded on the days they open early. We avoid those parks on that day and go somewhere else.

But keep in mind that since you going in August, you will probably have to battle crowds everywhere you go.

 

[bunny66]

I HAVE READ MANY DIFFERENT PLACES THAT UNTIL AFTER AUG 15 IT IS BEST NOT TO USE EARLY ENTRY. I WOULD SUGGEST PURCHASING A TOURGUIDEMIKE PROGRAM AT TOURGUIDEMIKE.COM IT HAS SO MUCH VALUABLE INFO. HOPE THIS HELPS, IT IS WELL WORTH THE MONEY!!!

 

[zcomic]

We've had 3 onsite visits and one offsite and we LOVE early entry. The key is planning:

1. Be there before the park opens so you get in ASAP
2. Know which attractions are open (not all of them are) and decide which ones you want to do
3. Towards the end of early entry grab a Fastpass if the return time is at least an hour away.
4. Be ready to hit your favorite attractions as soon as the whole park opens.
5. Grab Fastpasses whenever you can.

Last year using early entry and Fast Passes we hit over a dozen attractions at Magic Kingdom before noon, seeing everything we wanted (including 2 rides on Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain). We grabbed lunch, watched the parade and were back in the hotel pool by early afternoon.

The worst mistake people make is to get there for early entry, walk in, open up a park map and spend 10 minutes trying to figure out what to do. You can get a lot of things done during early entry especially at MK and MGM. To us it's worth getting up early for. It's also cooler in the morning.

 

[disneyvacationmom]

We often do early entry and then when the park starts getting busy with the regular crowds we hop over to another park-the best of both worlds.

 

[swilphil]

We did Early Entry two weeks ago Sunday at MK, and it was definitely worth it. If nothing else, it was one more hour in the parks where it wasn't unbearably hot! We also were able to go on Pooh and Dumbo with no line. We did switch over to MGM on that day because MK was starting to get really crowded.

We did not do Early Entry in the other parks, mainly because we weren't up quite that early. My family also would not have done many of the EE attractions in those parks. We went to the other parks the day after they had EE. That worked really well, but I would definitely recommend going right at opening. It's much cooler and the crowds seem to start coming in at about 11 a.m.

 

[bubba's mom]

we are going in 3 weeks my plan is MK early entry. (like be at the park by 7:30am) first thing: dumbo and fantasyland. i plan to be at mickeys house (TTF) at 10am when it opens. my question is this: should i grab a fastpass for indy speedway in tomorrowland ON MY WAY to fantasyland (or meet dh in fantasyland after one of us goes to get it while other parent takes ds to fantasyland) or do fantasyland and then go to indy? i think indy might be crowded and i really want to be at TTF when it opens....
thanks for advice.....

 

[aimee11621]

JUST GOT BACK FROM MK DID A WEEKEND ESCAPE.!!!

STAYED AT THE CR AND GOT IN AN HOUR EARLY AS DID MOST OF THE ON SITE RESORT GUESTS.

VERY WELL WORTH THE EFFORT. SAW MOST OF THE RIDES WE DID ON THAT DAY BEFORE 11:30 A THANKS TO FS AND EARLY ENTRY . WENT BACK TO CR AT 1PM BECAUSE OF RAIN .

BUT THANKS TO EARLY ENTRY WENT STRAIGHT TO MICKEY'S PHILHARMONIC AND THEN DID THE BEEE LINE TO HAUNTED MANSIONS IN A OUT/ GOT FP TO SPLASH MOUNTAIN /SAW PRIATES OF C. WHILE FAST PAST WAS ACTIVATED TO SPLASH.


GO FOR IT YOU ONLY DO DISNEY FOR A SHORT TIME AND YOU SHOULD MAKE THE BEST OF EVERY MOMENT!!

ENJOY

 

[swilphil]

Originally posted by bubba's mom
my question is this: should i grab a fastpass for indy speedway in tomorrowland ON MY WAY to fantasyland (or meet dh in fantasyland after one of us goes to get it while other parent takes ds to fantasyland) or do fantasyland and then go to indy?

I'd do at least a few things in Fantasyland before you go to Indy. Or send dh after the Fastpasses. For Dumbo, you really do have to be there right away if you don't want to wait.

 

[bubba's mom]

hi Sherri....you seem to answer a lot of my questions..... my plan is ride Dumbo first....already told ds this is his first ride. i have read indy line can get very long quickly, that's why i was contemplating picking up a FP on our way to Fantasyland....but, the very first ride being ridden at MK IS Dumbo...w/o a doubt!!

 

[Lollipop Mom]

Has something changed recently with the Indy Speedway? When we were there in April/May it was not a fast pass attraction. have they added fast pass to this?

From allearsnet.com, the fast pass attractions at MK are:

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Frontierland
Buzz Lightyear - Tomorrowland
Jungle Cruise - Adventureland
Haunted Mansion - Liberty Square
Mickey's PhilharMagic - Fantasyland
Peter Pan's Magic Flight - Fantasyland
Space Mountain - Tomorrowland
Splash Mountain - Frontierland
Winnie the Pooh - Fantasyland

 

[sters]

I think it's definitely worth it for the Magic Kingdom and possibly worth it for Epcot and ANimal Kingdom. Not worth it for MGM. Do the park that had the EE the prior day.

 

[bubba's mom]

Lollipop--no, indy isn't fastpass...i thought it was. but it IS open on early entry days....guess indy is the first stop after fantasyland...that is, if TTF isn't open yet