"It's a nice day...if you wake up in Disneyland"
 3/29/2006

By: Kelly Pope
There are so many things to do when preparing for a trip to Disneyland. There's reserving a flight, finding a place to stay, keeping a watchful eye on the weather forecast, reading all the new tour guides, finding out the latest on all the Disneyland fansites, listening to Disney music to get you "in the mood" (as if you need help with that!) and, my favorite thing of all to prepare for a trip to Disneyland...buying the tickets.

In my mind there is no greater feeling than taking that hard earned (and sometimes not so hard earned) money out of the bank and going to my local AAA office to buy a three day park hopper. And if you're wondering why I get my tickets from my car insurance company instead of Disneyland.com, or some other venue with a good deal, my main reason can be found in these two simple words…Early Entry (well that, and free parking is nice also).

Early Entry is that magical "plus" that lets you get into the park an hour earlier than the official park opening. Although when I used Early Entry the first time it was a perk allotted specially to AAA, these days you can get it by buying park-hoppers of three days or more pretty much anywhere (including Disneyland.com). Currently Early Entry is being offered every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and while the whole park isn't open, all of Fantasyland is, as well as the Matterhorn, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, and the new (and improved, I think) Space Mountain. While my boyfriend and I always have a blast just riding Buzz and Space Mountain, I've heard many people say that Fantasyland is great at that time of the day too, before all the huge crowds take over.

The first time we used Early Entry was on July 12th, 2005, during the peak of the summer busy season. The park opened at eight a.m. that day, meaning that Early Entry started at seven, but we didn't end up getting there until about 20 minutes after seven. Because we missed 20 minutes of Early Entry, most people with the perk were already inside. The second time we used Early Entry was January 12th of this year. That time we got there 15 minutes before people with Early Entry were let in, so we had to wait in line.

Both times were equally wonderful because the park was practically deserted. There's nothing better than feeling like you're all alone in the "Happiest Place on Earth," and that's exactly how you feel as you run from the tram let-off station through the security checkpoint (stopping to let them check you of course), past the empty ticket booth lines, and then, as you slow down to catch your breath as you go through the turnstile you hear "Good Morning! Enjoy your day at Disneyland!" and of course, that magical chirping noise of the turnstiles. Then, if you're as excited as I was during my first Early Entry day, you can just keep on running, taking in the sight of Main Street, and the Castle at the end of it, with nothing to obstruct your view.

And if the rest of your party is slowing you down, and asks you if you're anxious to get going, all you have to do is follow in my footsteps and say, "Yes, I want to PLAY!" in your best little kid voice.

Then you can head off to Never Never Land with Peter Pan, or ride a rocket ship through outer space on Space Mountain. The possibilities of Early Entry are endless, and it is the perfect way to get your day off to a happy start. And even though it's not "waking up" in Disneyland, it's the next best thing.


The "Early Admission" lines are clearly marked, and are usually on the left side of the entrance plaza.


Hardly any line! Quite a difference from a regular day, which looks more like this:


As you can see, there are many benefits of Early Entry, the least of which is not having to wait in a line like this one.


There was hardly anyone at the ticket booth, something you won't see later in the day.


A great view down Main Street to the Castle!


There was no one in front of us or behind us in line for Space Mountain, so we got two whole cars to ourselves, what a great picture opportunity anyone who likes to ham it up like we do!


Looks like a perfect time to get your picture taken in front of the castle. Plus it's pretty cool to see all the Cast Members setting up for the day.


After riding all the Fantasyland and Tommorowland rides you want, it's a good idea to line up for the rope drop at Adventureland or Frontierland. This way you can also be the first on Splash Mountain (my recommendation, since most people go to the closer rides like Indiana Jones or Thunder Mountain), or any other ride of your choice. It can be a trick though, figuring out which one to stand in front of since they are so close to each other. Sometimes one Cast Member will drop the rope a minute or so before the other, so you really have to weigh your choices carefully.


And, as a final way of encouraging everyone to participate in Early Entry, here's what the rope drop looks like from the other side of Main Street, waiting for the park to "officially" open. A lot more people than you encounter if you're on the other side of the rope, all smiles and giddiness from having just spent the last hour "waking up" in "The Happiest Place on Earth."