We visited Disneyland and stayed at Disneyland Hotel. One of the best benefits of staying onsite is getting early park entry into Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure.  Guests staying at one of the Disneyland Resort hotels can take advantage of admission to Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park 30 minutes early to enjoy select attractions, dining, and shopping locations. While you may think it’s only 30 minutes and not enough time to do much, it was fantastic and I highly recommend taking advantage of this benefit when staying at a Disneyland Hotel. Disneyland Resort hotels consist of Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, and Pixar Pier Hotel.

 If you are staying at Disneyland Hotel or Pixar Pier, you will want to get in line for security at your hotel around 6:45 AM. They will let you through at 7 AM when Downtown Disney opens. When staying at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, you will have your own special entrance to Downtown Disney from your hotel as well as Disney California Adventure, so you will line up at your hotel before being let into Downtown Disney/California Adventure.

Once security opens at 7 AM, you can line up at the park entrance ticket turnstiles. Cast members will let you enter the actual park starting at 7:15 AM (This is when the parks open at 8 AM). Once you’re in the park, you’ll see a sign and hear cast members directing you to the location for onsite guests. You’ll scan your hotel key to get through and then at 7:30 AM, you can be on your way to your first ride or getting photos without many people in front of the castle.

All offsite guests are corraled into one spot so you have time to get through some great rides. And trust me, you don’t want to be in that section. It was crazy packed! Not all rides are offered during early entry. You’ll want to try and ride some rides that don’t offer Genie + at this time. For example: Peter Pan, Snow White, Alice, and Wonderland, etc. at Disneyland Park.

When we used Early Park Entry at Disneyland, we rode Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Astro Orbiter, and took pictures in front of the castle- all before 8 AM! It was amazing! Then, right after doing all of that, we got in line for our breakfast reservation at Plaza Inn. On our second day at Disneyland, we rode Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Astro Orbiter AND Peter Pan all before 8 AM. Then we had breakfast reservations at Carnation Cafe. I felt so productive and felt like we had done so much so early. It’s a great way to start the day. The next day at California Adventure, we did the same thing. We rode Guardians of the Galaxy and Spiderman Webslingers before the park opened. We then moved right to Radiator Springs Racers and booked a Lightning Lanefor this so we did not have to wait in the standby line (Note: The line for Radiator Springs Racers at California Adventure, Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland, AND Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disneyland get SUPER long right at park opening. Some guests will use their early entry time to wait at the front of this ride until the park opens at 8 AM to get in line to get onto the ride without waiting long or having to pay for a Lightning Lane. This is another way to use your early entry time if you’re looking to avoid long lines for these popular rides or avoid paying for entry into the ride)

While it can be more expensive to stay at a Disneyland hotel, it can be worth it for the early park entry alone as well as being in such close proximity to the parks!

During early entry admission, Guests may enjoy the following offerings:

Disneyland Park Attractions

Alice in Wonderland
Astro Orbitor
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Disneyland Monorail
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
King Arthur Carrousel
Mad Tea Party
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
Peter Pan’s Flight
Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
Snow White’s Enchanted Wish
Space Mountain
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue

Disneyland Park Dining and Shopping

Fantasyland Fruit Cart
Galactic Grill
Guide II
Esplanade Stroller Shop
Little Green Men Store Command
The Mad Hatter in Fantasyland
Main Street Fruit Cart
Market House
The Star Trader

Disney California Adventure Park Attractions

Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission BREAKOUT!
Incredicoaster
The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure
Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree
Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!
Soarin’ Around the World
WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure

Disney California Adventure Park Dining and Shopping

Cappuccino Cart
The Collector’s Warehouse
Esplanade Stroller Shop
Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe
Fillmore’s Taste-In
Mortimers Market
Seaside Souvenirs
Oswald’s
WEB Suppliers
All offerings may vary and are subject to restrictions, change, or cancellation without notice, and are not guaranteed.

Know Before You Go
The early entry benefit is only for Guests who are checked in and currently staying at one of the Disneyland Resort hotels at the time of their early entry admission to a theme park. To enjoy early entry admission, a guest must be staying at one of the Disneyland Resort hotels and have valid theme park admission and a park reservation for the same park on the same date. Guests with one-park-per-day tickets must spend the day at the same park where they would like to enjoy the early entry period.

Ready to book your Disneyland vacation? I would love to help you! Contact me for a free no-obligation quote for your next vacation!

Love and Travel Dust,

Molly