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ETPE at WDW

Early Theme Park Entry at Walt Disney World Resort

What is Early Theme Park Entry at Walt Disney World?

Early Theme Park Entry is a perk for guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotels, plus the Swan and Dolphin hotels, Shades of Green, the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels, and the Bonnet Creek Resort hotels. (See the full list here.) These resort guests may head to select attractions at all Disney World theme parks 30 minutes earlier than the official park opening time.

A similar program (but at night, after the park closes to other guests) called Extended Evening Theme Park Hours is available to guests staying at certain Disney hotels on select evenings.

What's Required for Early Theme Park Entry?

Valid admission is required to enter the park, and your admission must be associated with an eligible hotel stay in My Disney Experience to get access to Early Theme Park Entry. (If you are staying in a hotel not operated by Disney, we recommend also bringing your room key or some other proof of your hotel stay as a backup.) Some guests, such as Annual Passholders and those using special tickets, will also may also need park reservations.

Those not eligible to participate in Early Theme Park Entry are held back from the attractions until the official park opening time.

How Useful/Good is Early Theme Park Entry?

Early Theme Park Entry (ETPE) is a HUGE advantage for Disney resort guests. In our testing, we've found that using ETPE can save you 1-2 hours of waiting in line each day. We think Magic Kingdom benefits most from ETPE, since it has the most eligible attractions.

ETPE is also useful at Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. It's less useful at EPCOT because of how much time it takes to walk between EPCOT attractions.

ETPE is also helpful if you're trying to get on a park's hottest ride, such as Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance or Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. If you're trying to get on a ride that's not eligible for ETPE, you can still use ETPE to get in line for it earlier than the general public.

How to Get the Most Out of Early Theme Park Entry?
  • Make sure you check the Crowd Calendar to see what parks are the best to visit. With Early Theme Park Entry being offered every day at every park, the Crowd Calendar is the easiest way to see which parks will be least crowded.
  • Even with the ability to enter minutes before park opening, we still recommend that you arrive at least 30 minutes before Early Theme Park Entry starts. That way you will be near the front of the crowd and ready to go in case the gates open a little earlier than expected.
  • Immediately after entering the park, head to one of the busiest rides. If you are near the front of the crowd you will have virtually no wait when your first attraction begins operation. After experiencing that attraction, you will have time to get in line for another busy ride. The wait will be a little longer, but still better than if you were to wait until after official park opening.
What Attractions are Included in Early Theme Park Entry?

The following charts list the usual roster of attractions for Early Theme Park Entry. Note that unexpected downtime and scheduled closures can impact availability on any given day.

At Magic Kingdom the Early Theme Park Entry attractions are located in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. Expect attractions in other Magic Kingdom lands to remain off-limits until official park opening.

Additional Information

How to Get Early Entry With Disney World’s Third-Party Hotels

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