Disneyland revamps its early entry program for hotel guests

Changes are coming to Disneyland's early entry program.

The program is exclusively offered to guests at Disneyland Resort hotels — and is an attractive incentive for visitors who may spend anywhere from $200 to $1,000 a night to stay close to the Anaheim park.

It allows visitors to enter at 7:30 a.m., half an hour before gates open to the public at Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park.

Currently, the benefit is available at both parks every day, with guests having their choice of which one they want to enter early; however, Disneyland announced limits to the early entry program beginning Jan. 20, 2024.

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"Each day, either Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park will be open early," the website states. "Please check the theme park calendar for the schedule."

Some Disneyland fans decried the change online as yet another way the theme park is offering fewer perks for higher prices.

"The guest experience appears to be taking a turn for the worse," wrote Emmanuel Detres, a blogger for Inside the Magic, a Disney theme park fan site.

Others noted the program was just reverting to its previous form. Disney Food Blog, another fan site, said the current early entry schedule began in August 2022. X user @Jeff_In_3D posted that he could "distinctly remember seeing signs" in the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa "stating which park had a magic morning."

Those with Disneyland Resort bookings up to Jan. 20 will have early-entry access under the old schedule. Early entry will then be available at either Disneyland or Disney California Adventure, depending on the park's schedule that day.

Read more: The Great Big Highly Specific Guide to Disneyland

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.