Disneyland in California is ending its early entry programme for on-site hotel guests beginning at the start of 2026.
Currently, guests staying at one of Disneyland’s hotels – the Disneyland Hotel, Pixar Place Hotel, and Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa – can enter one of Disneyland’s two theme parks 30 minutes before they open.
Early access is offered to guests on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at Disneyland. At Disney California Adventure Park, guests can enter early on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
However, from 5 January, Disneyland will no longer provide early entry to its hotel guests, the resort’s website says.
Instead, guests will receive one free Lightning Lane entry to a Lightning Lane Multi Pass attraction during their stay.
At Disneyland, Lightning Lane Multi Pass attractions include Autopia, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Haunted Mansion, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Space Mountain, and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
Hotel guests to get one Lightning Lane entry
At Disney California Adventure, Lightning Lane Multi Pass rides include Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout!, Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure, Incredicoaster, and Soarin’ Around the World.
Disneyland officials said the early entry programme was “not widely used”, prompting the change to the Lightning Lane system.
As for Walt Disney World in Florida, guests staying at the resort’s hotels and select other hotels can also take advantage of 30-minute early entry into the parks – Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
The Disney World website says the benefit “will continue through 2026”.
Back at Disneyland, the resort’s 70th anniversary celebrations are taking place now until summer 2026.
Both parks are providing new entertainment and shows, colourful decorations, themed F&B, collectible merchandise, and more.
As part of the event, Walt Disney has returned to Disneyland as an audio-animatronic figure for a new attraction called Walt Disney – A Magical Life.
Images courtesy of Disney, lead image credit: Paul Hiffmeyer
