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KrystalR83
07-09-2007, 11:00 AM
We leave Friday for Disneyland. I was wondering about the early entry into Fantasyland. On Saturday Disneyland opens at 8am, so does that mean that the early entry for Fantasland is at 7am? And is Nemo's Submarine Voyage going to be open for the early entry? Thanks for the help, I am so confused.:confused:

ChipDale
07-09-2007, 12:17 PM
Yes. The Early Entry days for Disneyland Park are: Saturday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Early Entry guests are allowed into the park one hour before posted park opening. Most of the rides in Fantasyland are open, as well as Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain and Nemo in Tomorrowland.

Plan to be at the gate at least by 6:30am. It does make a difference being closer to the front of the line - you don't want to waste a good part of your hour just waiting to get in! They will have the Early Entry lines marked for you.

Have fun! :mickey:

MMouse6937
07-09-2007, 12:23 PM
Can I just say that this was by far the most disappointing, ridiculous thing we experienced on our trip to DL last year. We lined up about a half hour before the early entry in the appropriate line. We were about third in line. I thought they would start letting people in to mull around main street before the EE was in effect. Wrong. We stood there till five seconds before 7:00am to turn around and see the line almost to the entrance to CA. Then the CMs did this stupid countdown to 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...let the magic begin and then opened the turnstiles. There was a mad dash of crazed women with baby strollers running down main street. It was the craziest thing I had ever seen in my life. It was just another example, good or bad of how much DL differs from WDW. I hope you have a great time though!

ChipDale
07-09-2007, 12:35 PM
Can I just say that this was by far the most disappointing, ridiculous thing we experienced on our trip to DL last year. We lined up about a half hour before the early entry in the appropriate line. We were about third in line. I thought they would start letting people in to mull around main street before the EE was in effect. Wrong. We stood there till five seconds before 7:00am to turn around and see the line almost to the entrance to CA. Then the CMs did this stupid countdown to 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...let the magic begin and then opened the turnstiles. There was a mad dash of crazed women with baby strollers running down main street. It was the craziest thing I had ever seen in my life. It was just another example, good or bad of how much DL differs from WDW. I hope you have a great time though!

Why is that ridiculous? Fantasyland and some of Tomorrowland are open for Early Entry - not Main Street USA. Early Entry is defined by getting into the park one hour prior to posted opening and that's exactly what they do.

They do a countdown every day to open the park. I think it's cute - gets everyone excited for their day at Disneyland.

MMouse6937
07-09-2007, 12:56 PM
My only point of reference before this was WDW which when crowds indicate will allow EE onto Main Street prior to the "lands" opening. This is to avoid the mad rush of people running down the road to make it there first. It was absolute chaos and quite frankly a little scary. As far as the countdown, cute, I guess, but seeing all the people waiting behind me who couldn't even hear their countdown and just wanted to get into the park, probably pretty unnecessary. And these people did not need anymore excitment to start their day.

Like I said, good or bad, it's just the difference from WDW that I wasn't exactly prepared for, my fault I'm sure.

IrishMickey
07-09-2007, 01:09 PM
OK, I grew up in San Diego, always made day trips to Disneyland,Now that I live so far away and DL is a once a year treat I look at the park in a whole new way. We are staying at the DL Hotel, Is it worth, waking my kids (6,4,2) up to get inside early. Does the Monorail do the EE? I made breakfast reservations with Minnie and friends for 9:30, will we be able to ride Peter Pan and Dumbo, and other Fantysland rides before my reservation? Lots of questions I know for someone who can walk the park with my eyes closed. Thanks for any help.:mickey:

BrerGnat
07-09-2007, 11:05 PM
OK, I grew up in San Diego, always made day trips to Disneyland,Now that I live so far away and DL is a once a year treat I look at the park in a whole new way. We are staying at the DL Hotel, Is it worth, waking my kids (6,4,2) up to get inside early. Does the Monorail do the EE? I made breakfast reservations with Minnie and friends for 9:30, will we be able to ride Peter Pan and Dumbo, and other Fantysland rides before my reservation? Lots of questions I know for someone who can walk the park with my eyes closed. Thanks for any help.:mickey:

Personally, I would NOT wake up kids that young to get them in on Early Entry day if it means sacrificing their usual schedule. The truth is, on a NON early entry day, you can be in the park anywhere in that first hour of opening and STILL have pretty short lines for the Fantasyland rides! I do this all the time with my 15 month old on Fridays. We get there around 8:45 and take the monorail in. We are usually in the park at 9:15 and I can tell you from my experience, the ONLY rides that have prohibitive waits by that point are Peter Pan and the Storybookland Canal boats. Those ALWAYS have a long line! But, the rest of Fantasyland is generally "walk on" lines, at least during the week. All bets are off on weekends! A couple weeks ago, between 9:15 and 10:45, my toddler and I rode It's a Small World, Casey Jr. Train, Carousel, Dumbo, Mad Tea Party, and Alice in Wonderland. A GOOD chunk of that time was my toddler pushing his stroller all around Small World plaza. A lot can be accomplished early without having to be at the gate at 6:30 am. That is a hard thing to accomplish with three kids who are so young!

I have read over and over again that the best thing to do on a vacation is to keep young kids on their REGULAR schedule, or you will pay later in the day/week, etc. If you can easily make it to the gate for early entry, great, but I wouldn't sacrifice sleep for it. It's not worth it.

But, if you get in at 8am and your b'fast ressie is at 9:30, YES, you will be able to ride a good bit of FL rides in that time. However, I'd be more worried about how your kids are going to make it until 9:30 without breakfast! :)

terri.m
07-10-2007, 01:08 AM
So if you have the EE do you get to go every day that there is EE or is it just a one time thing?

NotaGeek
07-10-2007, 01:45 AM
So if you have the EE do you get to go every day that there is EE or is it just a one time thing?

Some multi-day park hoppers come with 1 day of early entry. II am fairly certain f you are a guest at a DL Resort Hotel you get early entry any day it's offered by showing your hotel charge slip and/or room key.

SebastiansDisneyMama
07-10-2007, 07:02 AM
Personally, I would NOT wake up kids that young to get them in on Early Entry day if it means sacrificing their usual schedule. The truth is, on a NON early entry day, you can be in the park anywhere in that first hour of opening and STILL have pretty short lines for the Fantasyland rides! I do this all the time with my 15 month old on Fridays. We get there around 8:45 and take the monorail in. We are usually in the park at 9:15 and I can tell you from my experience, the ONLY rides that have prohibitive waits by that point are Peter Pan and the Storybookland Canal boats. Those ALWAYS have a long line! But, the rest of Fantasyland is generally "walk on" lines, at least during the week. All bets are off on weekends! A couple weeks ago, between 9:15 and 10:45, my toddler and I rode It's a Small World, Casey Jr. Train, Carousel, Dumbo, Mad Tea Party, and Alice in Wonderland. A GOOD chunk of that time was my toddler pushing his stroller all around Small World plaza. A lot can be accomplished early without having to be at the gate at 6:30 am. That is a hard thing to accomplish with three kids who are so young!

I have read over and over again that the best thing to do on a vacation is to keep young kids on their REGULAR schedule, or you will pay later in the day/week, etc. If you can easily make it to the gate for early entry, great, but I wouldn't sacrifice sleep for it. It's not worth it.

But, if you get in at 8am and your b'fast ressie is at 9:30, YES, you will be able to ride a good bit of FL rides in that time. However, I'd be more worried about how your kids are going to make it until 9:30 without breakfast! :)

O'kay, I found this a bit harsh, I haven't been on here in a while but here is my 2 cents.

I just went to DL with my 2.5 year old (his 3rd time). No matter what time they wake up or you wake them up they are in total Disney overlode. My son looses his mind (in a good way:mickey:) The second we pull up to the DL Hotel!!!
I woke him up early for EE and did Minnie's Brk as a walk up at 9 am . No problem. He won't eat before 9 any way. Also got him up early to get him to Morning Madness. Allways worth it even ehen he was 10 months old!!!

Oh and the Monorail does not run for EE. I usually try to get to the gates mid week 10 - 15 minutes early, weekend about 30 it is a big pain with kids in tow to wait in the line. That is the hardest part of the whole EE experince, I usually have some milk or juice, plenty of snacks just for in line and some sort of toys to keep them occupied.

Good luck have fun and all ways remember your way is the best way.:thumbsup::mickey:

ChipDale
07-10-2007, 10:44 AM
I am fairly certain f you are a guest at a DL Resort Hotel you get early entry any day it's offered by showing your hotel charge slip and/or room key.


That is correct. :thumbsup: Disneyland Resort Hotel guests get Early Entry every day that it is offered. :)

Carol
07-10-2007, 11:47 AM
My only point of reference before this was WDW which when crowds indicate will allow EE onto Main Street prior to the "lands" opening. Ummmm. They still run/sprint at WDW regardless of being inside the gates a few extra feet. That's always been my experience. I guess I don't get your point. :shrug:

BrerGnat
07-10-2007, 03:05 PM
SebastiansDisneyMama

Obviously, every child/family is different! I know my boys wake up around 7-7:30 EVERY day. They are 3 and 1. Since I live so close to DL, it is not necessary to wake them early to get there. However, we will be staying on property in October for a few days, and I will certainly NOT plan to wake them up at 6am to be at the gate for a 7am early entry. My kids do NOT do well if they are woken early, not allowed to nap on schedule, kept up too late at night, etc. I've had to do that a few times and it was NOT pretty!!! This is just my kids. They get overloaded at DL as well, but not so bad since it is such a regular destination for them. We stay a couple hours then head home when they've had enough. I can't speak from experience as a "vacationer", per se, but I just know how my kids are and I would never push them on vacation. I know other people do things differently, but the OP is flying from Virginia! That is a LONG plane trip for such young kids and the time change will really make things difficult enough for them to adjust without throwing in major changes to their sleep routine. That was why I was so adamant about not sacrificing sleep, at least for the first couple mornings, until the kids have adjusted.

Of course, this may work out in her favor, as her kids will probably be up at the crack of dawn for the first morning in CA, due to the time change. :)

MMouse6937
07-10-2007, 03:48 PM
Ummmm. They still run/sprint at WDW regardless of being inside the gates a few extra feet. That's always been my experience. I guess I don't get your point. :shrug:

We have only been to WDW once during a busy time of year so, no, I have never seen someone run down Main Street pushing a stroller in the fashion that I saw in DL. It's dangerous anywhere and in my opinion is poor crowd control. We are lucky to be able to go to WDW every year in Sept and tour in a more calm fashion. Like I said before, my mistake, I didn't realize this was the situation at DL, I was just preparing the original poster for a somewhat chaotic EE experience. Maybe she goes to WDW during busier times and is used to it. DH and I were not and were taken aback by it.

terri.m
07-10-2007, 05:50 PM
That is correct. :thumbsup: Disneyland Resort Hotel guests get Early Entry every day that it is offered. :)

Thanks! We are staying at Howard Johnsons so i guess we can just get in the one day.

tdhiatt
07-11-2007, 06:21 PM
I have 3 children 10,5,1. Early entry is so worth it. You own the park for an hour. Its wonderful. Mornings are the best time to be at the park. Take the kids home for a mid day nap. Works for us every time.

cora
09-04-2007, 10:04 PM
That is correct. :thumbsup: Disneyland Resort Hotel guests get Early Entry every day that it is offered. :)

Hello--
I'm new to the discussion boards. How do you get EE everyday that it is offered? We have gone to Disneyland in 2004 & 2005, booked thru the Walt Disney Travel Co & stayed at the Paradise Pier, but no one told us we had this "perk". We will be going again in 2008 & would like to know how to get in more than the one time that we have the coupon for. Thank you for any help.
--cora

NotaGeek
09-04-2007, 10:28 PM
Hello--
I'm new to the discussion boards. How do you get EE everyday that it is offered? We have gone to Disneyland in 2004 & 2005, booked thru the Walt Disney Travel Co & stayed at the Paradise Pier, but no one told us we had this "perk". We will be going again in 2008 & would like to know how to get in more than the one time that we have the coupon for. Thank you for any help.
--cora
:welcome: to INTERCOT! As a guest of one of the Disneyland Resort Hotels you can use your room key/charge slip along with your DLR tickets or Annual Pass for Early Entry any day it's offered.

cora
09-04-2007, 10:33 PM
:thanks:
Thank you!!
--cora

cora
09-19-2007, 06:02 AM
Ok, I just thought of another question about EE. Do the monorails start running early to accomodate Early Entry? Or do we have to walk down to the main gate? Thanks. --cora