One MASSIVE Problem With Disney's Hotel Perk Change for 2026

Staying at a Disneyland hotel is a lot different than staying at a Disney World hotel. For starters, you can walk to both of Disneyland’s parks from its hotels. However, Disneyland does not offer hotel rooms at the value resort price point you can get in Disney World (and Disneyland hotels can be quite pricey).

Disneyland Hotel

However, Disney tried to make staying at Disneyland hotels a little better by offering an Early Entry Theme Park perk where guests staying at Disney-owned hotels could get into the parks early. However, Disney decided to end that perk in 2026, which is going to create a problem for, well, everyone who visits Disneyland.

So here’s the deal. With hotel guests getting into the parks 30 minutes before everyone else, many of those visitors are already in the park by the time the park opens. So, rope drop might have felt a little less crowded for non-Disney hotel guests while this perk was active. But that’s changing.

Crowds Waiting to Enter Disneyland

Now that the perk is ending, rope drop might feel a little more crowded because now those hotel guests also have to stand in line with everyone else. Disneyland rope drop lines can already get pretty long, so they might be about to get even longer.

California Adventure entrance

So how can you combat the long lines? Well, get to Disneyland early. You will have to go through security anyway, and those lines can also back up in the mornings. Disneyland doesn’t have the fancy security scanners that you’ll find in Disney World, so everyone has to go through a manual bag check. Then go straight to the entrance of whichever park you’re visiting for the day.

Disneyland security

Your option is not to rope drop and wait to visit the parks a little later in the day. You’ll find shorter lines at both security and the gates, BUT you’ll most certainly find longer wait times at rides than you would if you rope dropped. However, that’s when Lightning Lane Multi Pass might come in handy (and in Disneyland, you even get free digital downloads of all your PhotoPass photos if you buy the service).

Lightning Lane entrance for Matterhorn

Now, granted, you might not notice a huge difference at rope drop, at least at Disney California Adventure. Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel has a dedicated entrance to the park, and a lot of hotel guests, including those staying at the Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place Hotel, may be using that entrance for its shorter lines. Also, Disneyland Hotel guests will often take the Monorail directly into Disneyland as it’s closer than walking all the way through Downtown Disney to get to the park’s main entrance.

Disneyland Monorail

However, it is something to keep in mind if you plan on visiting Disneyland this year. We’ll continue to monitor any changes happening at Disneyland, so stay tuned to DFB for updates.

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