Getting to a Disney World park early can remove a lot of unwanted stress in your day. You may regret the longer stay at a park and your legs may not be thrilled but consider that a 30-minute head start is often enough to get you through at least one major attraction and put you in a position to nail down a second before anyone else gets into the parks.
At Animal Kingdom I recently opted to rope-drop with my 12-year-old son. We were not on the "early entry" guest list because we were not staying at one of the benefiting resorts. When the rope dropped we high-tailed it over to Pandora and jumped in line for Avatar: Flight of Passage. We still had to wait just over an hour.
While we waited, the reality of what 30 minutes can mean was hard to shake. As we entered the wait queue, guests were already getting off the attraction. Clearly, they either run a lot faster than I do...very possible, or were part of the early entry crowd...likely.
One question we get asked a lot at the parks is what hotel/resorts are included in the early entry bonus hours? Well, here you go.
Early entry can be achieved by staying at any of these resorts. These are resorts that are either Disney Resorts or on Disney property. For example, the Swan and Dolphin are not Disney Resorts but qualify given their locations.
Disney's All-Star Resorts
- Movies
- Art of Animation
- Music
- Sports
Disney's Pop Century
The Campsites at Fort Wilderness
The Cabins at Fort Wilderness
The Wilderness Lodge
Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Pop Century Resort
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House and Kidani Village
Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
Coronado Springs
Port Orleans and French Quarter and Riverside Resort
Beach Club Resort and Villas
Contemporary Resort and Bay Lake Towers
Grand Floridian and Grand Floridian Villas
Polynesian Village Resort and Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
The Yacht Club
Disney's Boardwalk Inn and Villas
Old Key West Resort
Saratoga Springs Resort
Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel and Swan Hotels
DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando
Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando Lake Buena Vista
Four Seasons Resort Orlando
Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace
Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista
Holiday Inn Orlando
Shades of Green on Walt Disney World® Resort
Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek
Waldorf Astoria (located on Disney property at Bonnet Creek)
Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista and Wyndham Lakes
B Resort Lake Buena Vista
If your resort is listed above, enjoy the early hours and sometimes after-hours perks of being on property. If your resort is not listed, you can check with guest services or call Disney directly to verify your hotel. Or simply ask your hotels guest services desk.
Busses are available early in the morning for property guests and many non-Disney resorts will also have provided early transportation. For those guests staying on the monorail loop, the monorail will be running early enough as will the Skyliner for those resorts, barring of course mechanical or weather issues.