Starting in January, those extra morning minutes in Disneyland’s theme park will disappear—here’s what you’ll get instead.

On August 20, 2025, Disneyland Resort revealed a significant change is coming to both theme park operating hours and hotel guest perks. Disneyland revealed that it will end one of its longest-running advantages of staying at an official Disneyland hotel: Early Entry.

Below, we’re breaking down everything we know about the end of Early Entry at Disneyland (and the replacement that may surprise you).

What Is Early Entry at Disneyland?

For decades, one of the biggest perks of staying at a Disneyland Resort hotel has been the ability to enter a theme park before everyone else. Early Entry, or early theme park entry, is a perk that’s available exclusively for guests who stay at one of the three Disneyland Resort Hotels: Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, the Disneyland Hotel, or Pixar Place Hotel.

Early Entry allows guests to enter one of Disneyland’s two theme parks (either Disneyland or California Adventure) on select days 30 minutes before the official opening time, with access to select attractions. That early theme park entry, though brief, has let hotel guests slip past the crowds, enjoy headliner attractions with shorter waits, and start their day with a huge advantage.

When Will Early Entry End at Disneyland?

According to the Disneyland website, Early Entry will officially end on January 4, 2026.

Starting January 5, 2026 a new perk will be offered in its place for guests staying at an official Disneyland Resort hotel.

If you’re visiting Disneyland and already have a stay booked at one of the resort’s three hotels prior to January 5, 2026, good news: You’ll still have a chance to enjoy Early Entry. You will get to enter Disneyland or California Adventure (depending on the day of the wee) 30 minutes in advance of park opening.

What’s Replacing Early Entry at Disneyland

Once early theme park entry is no longer offered for guests of the hotels at Disneyland Resort, a new perk will take its place. Guests who are checked in and staying at one of the three hotels will be able to take advantage of one Lightning Lane entry during their stay.

So, once you’ve checked in, you can utilize a single Lightning Lane entry for any qualifying Lightning Lane Multi Pass attraction during the duration of your visit.

Whether this move from Early Entry to a single Lightning Lane will make Disneyland hotel stays feel more or less valuable remains to be seen. But one thing’s for sure: The Disneyland experience in 2026 will look very different from what fans are used to today.