Early Entry, Extended Evening Hours, After Hours, Rope Drop… huh?!
Welcome to the ups and downs of planning a trip to Walt Disney World, where all the terms and acronyms turn your trip planning into PhD-level research.
Most people heading to Disney World don’t truly research, however, so they aren’t aware of how to plan for and take advantage of the numerous benefits Disney grants visitors – like Early Entry, for example – to make their trip a little more magical.
But if your search has led you here, you’re way ahead of the pack.
Home to a wide range of shows, exhibits, shopping, dining, and popular rides and attractions within the second-largest park footprint, EPCOT provides a park-going experience that truly has something for everyone.
But how do you manage to fit in everything you want to do and make your trip (and all those steps) count?
Let’s start by looking at one of the most underappreciated visitor perks: Early Entry.
What is Early Entry?
Early Entry is a benefit reserved for guests staying on property at Disney Resort and other select hotels, granting them access to the Disney parks 30 minutes before the official park opening.
Because EPCOT is huge and has so much more than just rides, technically, just a handful of attractions are available during Early Entry. But don’t worry—it’s knocking out some of these rides that’ll give you a huge jump start on your day.
Early Entry Pro Tips
Knowing the ins and outs of benefits like Early Entry will not just set you up for a successful park day, but you’ll also begin to learn to maximize your time at the parks. And we all know that, especially at Disney, time = money.
Here are our favorite tips when it comes to mastering Early Entry at EPCOT:
- Early Entry = Start Early. Early Entry often starts before it says it will. For example, if the park opens at 9 am and EE is at 8:30 am, some attractions will start operating 5-15 minutes earlier. It’s never much earlier than that, but it’s definitely a nice way to get the line rolling earlier, so factor it into your overall arrival time – especially if you’re like us and consider EE to be a competitive sport!
- Know your entrance: Yes, EPCOT has two entrances, and this can throw a lot of visitors for a loop (literally). First, you’ve got the main entrance at the front of the park, where the “big ball” aka Spaceship Earth is. Then, you’ve got the International Gateway entrance, which is the entrance in the World Showcase.
Guests staying at specific resorts (see below) will enter through the International Gateway, while other resorts and off-property guests will enter through the main entrance.
Crescent Lake & Skyliner Resorts: If you’re staying at Art of Animation, Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, Riviera Resort, Yacht & Beach Club, The BoardWalk, or the Swan & Dolphin—you’re going to be taken to the International Gateway Entrance if you’re using Disney transportation (Skyliner, ferryboat, or on foot depending on what is available to you).
For all other resorts coming via bus or if you’re driving your own vehicle or taking rideshare/taxi, you’ll be entering through the front main entrance. - Be first for Rope Drop. Strategically speaking, if you don’t have EE, arriving early can also put you ahead of the (regular) crowd when the park officially opens at “rope drop.” You’ll be corralled into an area of non-EE guests, but you’ll be first for all other attractions at regular park opening. Every little bit counts!
Early Entry Attractions
Since you already know only select rides at EPCOT will be available during Early Entry, there is also a specific list of open attractions.
- Frozen Ever After
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
- Mission: SPACE
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
- Soarin’ Around the World
- Spaceship Earth
- Test Track
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends
For your planning purposes, it’s important to remember that many character greetings, and various exhibits and World Showcase attractions will not be available until the park officially opens.
Fueling Up
If you’re up and at ‘em for Early Entry, you should really be using that time to focus on conquering the beautifully short lines for rides.
But we get it. Sometimes you need coffee and a pastry, or a box of cereal and some milk for the kiddo. Although major quick service options at EPCOT won’t typically open until closer to lunchtime, some food vendors will be accessible during Early Entry and are worth mentioning.
- Connections Cafe is the official Starbucks at the park, and despite intimidating lines, it moves pretty quickly. It also is home to the Cronut, maybe our favorite sweet treat ever at WDW (it’s a cinnamon sugar croissant–DONUT. We usually get two per person…no judgy).
- Another super insider/local option? Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie in France back in the World Showcase. This option makes sense if you’re entering through the World Showcase and planning on hitting Remy’s during Early Entry.
After you ride Remy’s, you can sit down with some classic French pastries if you don’t feel like rushing to another ride. While it’s not for people who want to get as much as possible done during Early Entry, it’s a unique and special experience.
Our hot take? Fuel yourself to get through at least the first 90 minutes of your time in the park to make the most of the “extra” time you have, then head to one of these options before knocking out the rest of your itinerary.
Early Entry Strategies
Now, we can get to the fun part: planning your ride strategy on arrival. Your Early Entry strategy, however, will depend on multiple factors:
- How early you want to be there to line up for a ride (we’ll get more into this, but your timing matters for certain attractions).
- Which entrance you’re coming from (this also matters at EPCOT!).
- Whether you’re planning on purchasing and using Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
- How much of a crowd you want to deal with that early.
Note: Early Entry is a nice benefit, but it’s important to highlight that 30 minutes goes by quickly. You’ll typically only have time for 1-2 attractions MAX before moving to a regular itinerary (and starting to use your Lightning Lanes if you’ve paid for the Multi Pass), so being intentional with your time is crucial.
Let’s go through the different Early Entry strategies based on the entrance you’re using so you can pick which works best for you:
If you’re coming from the International Gateway Entrance
If you’re coming from one of these resorts, you’re lucky. We like this entrance a lot better for Early Entry because you’ve got two solid headlining options: Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Frozen Ever After.
Deciding which attraction to hit first is important, but the real question is: are you using the Lightning Lane Multi Pass at EPCOT?
If so, making your choice depends on which Tier 1 Lightning Lane you prebooked (or plan to). We typically recommend Test Track or Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, although Frozen is also up there if that ride is important to your group! We personally prioritize Frozen over Remy’s, so it all depends on your group.
- If you are using the LLMP, the answer is easy: go straight to the attraction you didn’t book as your Tier 1. Then, bam, you’ve knocked out two of the most in-demand (and highest wait) attractions in the park!
- If you’re not using the LLMP at EPCOT, no worries. Getting up for Early Entry and being strategic is a great way to save money on LLMP for your EPCOT day. In this case, line up early for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. Ride this first, and then immediately try and book it (the best you can!) over to Frozen Ever After.
Unless it’s a crazy crowded time of year (holidays or major school breaks), you will still likely be on and off Frozen in less than 30 minutes. And that’s a lot better than the average 60-minute wait during the rest of the day without having Lightning Lane access.
If you’re coming from the Front Main Entrance
If you’re coming from the front entrance for Early Entry, you’ve got a few options as far as approach goes, but then there’s one major con.
Hitting Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure first isn’t a great choice. Hear us out. The ride is a long walk to the back of the park, and because of this, the line is going to be longer by the time you can get back there. While it’s certainly doable if you want to commit to the literal hustle of getting back there, you’re still potentially going to see a 30+ minute wait (or longer!) that may not be worth it.
If you’re using the Lightning Lane Multi Pass AND using Early Entry, your best bet is to pre-book Remy’s or Frozen Ever After as your Tier 1 attraction and not deal with this weaker approach during EE.
However, the BESTS and most efficient options if you’re entering from the front is hitting Test Track or Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Alternatively, you can purchase a Lightning Lane Single Pass for Guardians if you don’t want to deal with it in the morning. But if you’re looking to save money and get a short wait on the best ride in all of Disney, this is a solid option.
And Test Track can hold a wait of at least an hour or more most days, and is a tough Lightning Lane to get, so it also makes for a solid EE option. If the people in your group are ages 7+, know that you can also use the Single Rider Line for Test Track, and it’s often a super short wait. You will be split up though, although with rows of 3, sometimes you’ll actually end up in the same car as your party member.
Other options? Even though it’s also in the World Showcase and can be a bit of a hike from the front of the park, you can head to Frozen Ever After first if it’s a priority to you. The line will usually still be manageable by the time you get there.
If you want a more chill morning, or you plan to crush all of the Tier 1 rides with your Lightning Lane Multi Pass, feel free to head to Soarin’ first. This is another popular headliner, and although it doesn’t hold crazy long waits most of the day like other headliner attractions, it still can see long waits. Plus, it’s an amazing ride so go for it!
You can then do other non-headliner rides (like Mission Space and Spaceship Earth) in the morning hours before the lines grow for those. Plus, you’re not putting in as many miles on your feet with this option!
In Conclusion
Early Entry is a solid option at EPCOT if you don’t want to shell out for the Lightning Lane Multi Pass that day. You can typically knock out most headliners using a strategic plan and maybe only have to deal with one longer wait at some point in the day.
The “best” option for Early Entry really depends on a) which entrance you’re coming in and b) whether you’re using the Lightning Lane Multi Pass (and what you’ve pre-booked).
Don’t sweat it; a little planning goes a long way. Now, don’t forget that Cronut (or two) at Connections Cafe once you’ve crushed the morning! 😉