Early entry soft opening

[Roxas_XIII]

Do the stores open up at early entry time? I haven't paid attention, but would like to do some shopping tomorrow, and it'd be nice to beat the crowds.

 

[ksueboo]

Were they checking eligibility at the TTC or letting everyone over to the MK at 7:50?

Everyone with a ticket was allowed through the TTC and the turnstiles at the MK gates, when we were directed to the right at the hub for early entry they were scanning magic bands and checking for eligibility at that point.

 

[emilymad]

Everyone with a ticket was allowed through the TTC and the turnstiles at the MK gates, when we were directed to the right at the hub for early entry they were scanning magic bands and checking for eligibility at that point.

Thanks! This annoys me but good to know how they are doing it. Didn't they used to check at the TTC for EMH and only allow those eligible across?

I really don't want to have to take the bus but it sounds like driving can put you at a disadvantage.

 

[wisblue]

I am here now with a 2 year old and a 7 years old as well as my wife. Got to MK yesterday at 830 yesterday and pretty much had the half the park done by 11. Today we did Hollywood at 830 and skipped the star wars side and by 10am had slinky coaster, toy story mania (twice) and the mickey and Minnie runaway railroad done. Still isn't the same as the old extra magic hours which upsets me but the half hour is better then nothing.

The half hour early entry might not be as good as an hour, but it remains to be seen if they will stretch that half hour a little (unofficially) when expected crowds are larger.

Even if they don’t make it a little longer, the loss of that half hour might be more than offset by having the early entry at every park every day. That should inevitably reduce the number of guests at a particular park for the early entry because they are spread out among the four parks instead of descending on one.

Adding Genie + and IAS into the mix will add more layers to the touring strategies. I don’t know what exactly it will be yet, but the combination of these features could make it fairly easy for an informed guest to experience most or all of a park’s major attractions with little waiting (and some additional cost).

It will be interesting to see how this all works out. I can’t wait to try it.

 

[zdad59]

We did early entry one time during our stay this week. Into Animal Kingdom. As others have noted, everyone gets thru the gate. Once in, regular ticket holders are queued up while those with early entry are scanned in and allowed to pass.

 

[CalebsDisneyMomma]

What time did the Skyliner open for the early entry? And what about the parking lots for other parks besides the MK?

 

[Dis Dragon]

We did early entry one time during our stay this week. Into Animal Kingdom. As others have noted, everyone gets thru the gate. Once in, regular ticket holders are queued up while those with early entry are scanned in and allowed to pass.

How did they split the non-eligible guests? Was there a separate line with CM's scanning by Island Mercantile? Is there another holding area for Early Entry after that point? It seems like it would take a long time to manually scan everyone's band/ticket.

 

[georgina]

So staying at the Swan, scanning your magic band worked to get you in for early entry?

Yes. It worked fine. Sorry for the late response, I haven’t been diligently checking the boards!

How are they handling those who are both on-site and choose to drive to MK for early entry?

I read that recently they were delaying the ferry and monorail to MK from the TTC to give on-site guests a head-start and to spread out the crowds. I hope now if they still do that, they check to see if you are on-site.

We didn’t feel delayed but didn’t get to the TTC security until a little past 8. Ended up rope dropping Peter Pan because we were at the back of the crowd.

Do the stores open up at early entry time? I haven't paid attention, but would like to do some shopping tomorrow, and it'd be nice to beat the crowds.

Yes. At least Emporium at MK was open before 8:30

 

[georgina]

How did they split the non-eligible guests? Was there a separate line with CM's scanning by Island Mercantile? Is there another holding area for Early Entry after that point? It seems like it would take a long time to manually scan everyone's band/ticket.

I just did it yesterday. They were scanning bands very close after the tapstyles. They only scan one person per family. There were maybe 4 people scanning. It didn’t take long. Then I headed with everyone else to Pandora

 

[zdad59]

How did they split the non-eligible guests? Was there a separate line with CM's scanning by Island Mercantile? Is there another holding area for Early Entry after that point? It seems like it would take a long time to manually scan everyone's band/ticket.

After you walked thru the main entrance, you were guided to the left. There where the path begins there were several CMs with scanners. If you felt you were eligible for early entry you went to them and they scanned your magic band. If it showed you were eligible you went straight into the park. All others were asked to queue up to the right, near the rock half wall.

 

[Familyof14]

zdad59 and georgina - Is the park (AK) still opened with the flight of the birds at the entrance? We were last at Disney 5 years ago, and that's one memory that I have at AK. I will be taking my daughter and my grandchildren in less than two weeks. We are staying at AKL. I have dreamed of them seeing that opening sight for quite a while. Hope that it has not been discontinued.

 

[georgina]

zdad59 and georgina - Is the park (AK) still opened with the flight of the birds at the entrance? We were last at Disney 5 years ago, and that's one memory that I have at AK. I will be taking my daughter and my grandchildren in less than two weeks. We are staying at AKL. I have dreamed of them seeing that opening sight for quite a while. Hope that it has not been discontinued.

I didn’t see it, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. By 7:20 I was lined up to head into Pandora. With early entry for resort guests I’m not sure what time that would take place. I did see the large group of macaws flying later in the morning.

 

[Familyof14]

Thank you. I would think it would happened at the main entrance for those not entering early. It's going to be a toss up... flight of the birds, or go in early. I'll ask before we head in early.