Hey Howdy Hey Robert and welcome to planDisney!
I am so excited for you that you will be staying at an
Official Disney Partner Hotel. There are so many benefits to staying at one of these great locations and the location has to be one of the biggest! Being so close to the Magic you can walk to
Disney Springs and knowing you are at a partnered hotel also ensures the Disney Difference is present in these locations as well! So let's talk about Early Theme Park Entry for your upcoming visit as you will have special access to the parks before the general public!
Since you are staying at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, you will have access to the benefit of
Early Theme Park Entry. This allows you to get into the parks 30 minutes before the general public to experience some of the more popular attractions in each without nearly the wait as during regular park hours.
With your reservation, you should be able to link this to your
My Disney Experience account. If you have not already linked your reservation, go to your My Disney Experience account and hover over the hotel icon. You should then see buttons pop up and the one that says "Link Reservation" you will click on. Follow the prompt to put in your confirmation number for your reservation and you should see it linked to your account.
On the morning of your
Theme Park Reservation, you will be able to enter the park early through a marked entrance at the front of the park. There you will find Cast Members that will scan either your MagicBand, cards or
MagicMobile Pass. As long as you have your reservation linked to your My Disney Experience account, you should be all set!
One great strategy that I have used in the past when taking advantage of the Early Theme Park Entry has to do with the timing of breakfast. Grab a quick bite either in your hotel room or from your hotel's quick-service option for just enough fuel to hit the parks with some energy. Mid to late morning, either stop and have a more filling breakfast or schedule your sit-down breakfast and take a break while the parks tend to see the biggest influx of park-goers at that time. Take some time to refuel and recharge for an afternoon of Magical experiences!
Best of luck with the continued planning of your upcoming trip and if you have any further questions, please feel free to stop and let us know, we would be happy to help!
Happy Planning,
Nick