Hi Kristin!
The parks will all generally open early to allow guests into their main areas to alleviate the bunching up at the queues. This is likely what you are hearing about as far as opening up early. Guests will be allowed to wander the shops on the main streets or gather in front of the Tree of Life in the Animal Kingdom park but they will not be able to access attractions or wander throughout the entire park. By arriving early you will get in and get closer to some of those popular attractions that will have long standby lines later in the day so many guests take advantage of this.
This early opening is for all guests with a valid entry ticket unlike the
Extra Magic Hours which are for resort guests only.
If a park opens at 9am then it might allow guests in anywhere from 15-30 minutes early to reach an inside location only. This entry is not written in stone so don’t depend on timing of this for any of the parks. It is more or less decided on a day to day basis according to crowds.
The Magic Kingdom also has a paid event called
Early Morning Magic. This will allow those guests who have purchased this event ticket to enter before other guests. Tours that begin before park opening will also have early entry but they will not have park access to freely roam.
Enjoy your days of early morning happiness in the Disney Parks.