Hey, howdy, hey, Kirsty, and welcome to planDisney! Early Theme Park Entry,
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, and the Disney Skyliner are a few of my favorite things, so I'm super excited to chat with you today about how to make sure you're in time for all of the magic that awaits you on your upcoming visit! Let's get started!
First, let's talk
Early Theme Park Entry logistics. Typically, at Disney's Hollywood Studios, guests will be held at the turnstiles until about 30 minutes before the early entry time; the same is true for EPCOT. Once allowed entry, there will be Cast Members validating Disney Resort hotel reservations (guests will be asked to tap their MagicBands, Disney MagicMobile pass, or Key to the World Card for this process) and directing guests to the attractions they are rope-dropping.
At Magic Kingdom Park, all guests are allowed to scan into the theme park 30-45 minutes before early entry time and can enjoy the atmosphere of Main Street U.S.A., but are held for "rope drop" either at the bridge to Tomorrowland or the bridge to Fantasyland. To gain access to these points, guests will have to validate their Disney Resort hotel reservation with a Cast Member and then be held there until early entry time begins. In my experience, arriving to the parks 45-60 minutes before early entry works best for getting ahead of the crowds and assuring you will be among the first in line for your selected attractions.
Now let's get you there!
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort offers direct access to Disney's Hollywood Studios and to EPCOT on the
Disney Skyliner, and it typically begins running one hour before Early Theme Park entry. The flight to Hollywood Studios takes about 5-6 minutes and the journey to EPCOT takes about 9-10 minutes. The great thing about the Skyliner line is that it generally moves pretty efficiently, so if your strategy is to arrive in time for early entry rope drop, I'd recommend being at the Skyliner station as close to opening as possible, but at a minimum, 30 minutes before early entry. If you're like me and want to be ahead of the crowds, I'd opt for closer to 45-60 minutes to allow for plenty of time.
Traveling by bus to Magic Kingdom Park from Caribbean Beach will take about 20 minutes, and the buses start running 45-60 minutes before early entry. My best advice for this is to utilize the
Bus Wait Times feature under your
Hotel Reservation in the
My Disney Experience mobile app. Once you are awake and moving, tap into the app to see when the first bus will arrive; it will also indicate what time the bus will get to Magic Kingdom. Once you have an idea of the bus times, you can streamline your plans to get to the park! We think of it as a challenge to catch the first or second bus, and it motivates us to get moving! The Disney Resort hotels are usually good about running buses close together in the early morning hours to help guests get to the parks to take advantage of this resort benefit, so if you do happen to miss a bus, don't stress!
Kirsty, I hope this is helpful, and I hope you have an amazing time on your vacation! Please feel free to come back as you finalize your plans if you have any other questions or are interested in any other recommendations! You've got a friend in me and I'd be happy to help you again!
Magic Awaits,
Alison