Walt Disney World Gives Details on Early Park Entry and Extended Evening Hours

Facebook X Reddit Pinterest

An announcement from Disney World this past week shows guests how to get the most out of their Disney trip with early entry into the parks or by taking advantage of their extended evening hours.

Here’s the 4-1-1.

As of October 1,in celebration of their 50^th anniversary, Disney World Resort guests will be granted Early Park Entry. This is in lieu of the Extra Magic Hours which will not be returning so as the parks are able to continue to manage attendance with health and safety in mind.

Early Park Entry gives resort guests the first chance to enjoy select attractions at each of the parks for every day they stay at one of Disney Resort’s hotels.

Guests will need a valid park ticket for that day, or an Annual Pass, along with a reservation for the park they wish to visit that day. This will be the park they are allowed early access to, meaning if you and your family are planning to spend the day in Animal Kingdom, this is where you will be grated your early access. Starting an early morning in EPCOT then heading to Animal Kingdom for the day will not be allowed while reservations are still being utilized (i.e., until the parks are back at full capacity at least)

At the Magic Kingdom, early access guests can head to Tomorrowland to ride Astro Orbiter, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Tomorrowland Speedway, Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover and the biggie-Space Mountain.

Fantasyland also has many early access attractions available- The Barnstormer, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, “it’s a small world”, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, Peter Pan’s Flight, Prince Charming Regal Carrousel, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid and for those who fancy throwing up first thing in the morning- Mad Tea Party!

Attractions opened early at Disney’s Hollywood Studios are more spread out through the park with availability at Toy Story Land-Alien Swirling Saucers, Slinky Dog Dash and Toy Story Mania!, on Sunset Boulevard with Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Echo Lake with Star Tours: The Adventures Continues and what will prove to be a huge coup for Star Wars fans, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Animal Kingdom has a host of early attractions in their arsenal with Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey at Pandora – The World of Avatar, DINOSAUR and TriceraTop Spin at DinoLand U.S.A., It’s Tough to be a Bug! on Discovery Island, Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain in Asia and Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail and Kilimanjaro Safaris – both subject to availability in Africa

EPCOT rounds out the early access with Future World attractions, The Seas with Nemo & Friends, Living with the Land, Project Tomorrow: Inventing the World of Tomorrow, Spaceship Earth and the uber popular Soarin’ Around the World and Test Track Presented by Chevrolet

Only Norway in the World Showcase will get an early start with Frozen Ever After welcoming the early access guests

Early entry is only 30 minutes before regular opening hours- so choose your ride wisely to beat line-ups later in the day!

In addition to early mornings, guests staying at Disney Deluxe or Deluxe Villa Resort hotels can also stay late and enjoy extended evening hours on select nights in select theme parks. These extended evening hours will begin in early October, with specific dates and parks that will be announced at a later time.

As with the early morning access, guests will need a valid ticket or annual pass plus a theme park reservation for the same park on the same day to take advantage of the extended evening hours. The Park Hopper option can also be utilized, so as long as the guest entered their reserved park earlier in the day.

While hours and dates haven’t been specified yet, attractions have.

Magic Kingdom boasts the most late stay attractions available with Tommorrowland’s Astro Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Tomorrowland Speedway, Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor and Space Mountain

Fantasyland’s The Barnstormer, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, “it’s a small world”, Mad Tea Party (for those who want to throw up late into the night), Peter Pan’s Flight, Prince Charming Regal Carrousel, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Frontierland’s, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Country Bear Jamboree along with Adventureland’s, The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Pirates of the Caribbean and Swiss Family Treehouse and finally Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square.

EPCOT’s Future World will stay open late with Living with the Land, The Seas with Nemo & Friends, Project Tomorrow: Inventing the World of Tomorrow, Soarin’ Around the World, Spaceship Earth, Test Track Presented by Chevrolet, Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival, Journey Into Imagination With Figment, Advanced Training Lab, Turtle Talk With Crush, Mission: SPACE

The World Showcase will be a little livelier in the evenings than mornings with The American Adventure, American Heritage Gallery, Frozen Ever After, Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros and O Canada! staying open.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will keep the same attractions open late as they opened early while Animal Kingdom will not accommodate the extended hours.

Select character spots, merchandise, and food and beverage locations will also be available early and late.

These additional hours will be made available to guests of the following resorts only:

Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
Shades of Green® Resort
Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels
Four Seasons Resort Orlando
Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek
Waldorf Astoria Orlando

Guests taking advantage of the earlier and later entrance times will need to bring their MagicBand, Disney MagicMobile pass or Key to the World card linked to their Resort stay, or another form of Resort ID.