Did you know that there is a way to avoid impossibly long lines, impatient kids, and have the entire park (mostly) to yourself before others are even allowed in? Even better- this magical event INCLUDES breakfast (and all the coffee you can drink?). Welcome to the little-known Disney secret – Early Morning Magic. And magic my friends, it is. We recently maximized our vacation by purchasing this limited entry, first-access experience, and we are forever grateful we did. Here we go behind the scenes to give you a glimpse into the early morning magic that comes with this incredible Disney experience.
What is THE Early Morning Magic Experience?
Early morning magic means that you can play big before the park opens!
With the purchase of the special Disney Early Morning Magic Experience at Toy Story Land (which still requires regular theme park admission), guests of all ages can be among the FIRST to enter Disney’s Hollywood Studios for the day and ride popular Toy Story Land attractions with little to no wait time: Let’s repeat that – NO WAIT TIME. Yes, the Slinky Dog Dash, Alien Swirling Saucers and Toy Story Mania! will be yours with virtually no wait. The Early Morning Magic Experience also includes breakfast and meet and greet character opportunities. At time of writing – the Early Morning Magic access to Toy Story Land takes place on select Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7:30 AM to 8:45 AM. There are two options at booking – 7:00am or 7:30am. The 7:00am guests will have breakfast before the experience, 7:30am tickets will have breakfast after the experience (breakfast is served until 10am).
For 2019 – Early Morning Magic is offered at Magic Kingdom (Fantasyland) and Hollywood Studios (Toy Story Land).
Extra Magic Hour vs. Early Morning Magic
There is another early Disney morning offering called Extra Magic Hour – here we explore the differences.
Each day, guests staying at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels have the opportunity to enjoy select attractions in at least one of our 4 theme parks, before or after regular operating hours. This is called “Extra Magic Hour.” The resorts included are: Disney Resort Hotels (which there are 18 of, not including Villas), Walt Disney World Swan Hotel, Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel, Shades of Green Resort, Disney Springs Resort Hotels, and Four Seasons Resort Orlando. While a nice advantage for resort guests, with almost 25 hotels included – the Extra Magic Hour is usually quite busy with a wait for rides, and far from an empty park experience. The Extra Magic Hour does not include breakfast, nor the character meet and greets, and in my opinion – no comparison to the Early Morning Magic experience.
Arrival
When I said early, I meant EARLY. We chose the 7:00am breakfast as our little guy is always hungry. We showered/prepped the night before and woke up 5:30 am and arrived to the park around 6:30am. We picked up our tickets from guest relations, checked in with one of the many cast members who were waiting at the entrance, and received our Early Morning Magic wristband. Around 6:50 we were allowed to enter the park. Walking in was a surreal experience – the sun wasn’t even up when we visited! The park was completely dark and empty upon entering.
Breakfast Time
Can’t ride with a hunger inside! Disney Early Morning Magic includes a delicious quick-service breakfast for its guests. Our breakfast was in the ABC Commissary building (near to the Toy Story Entrance) which had ample seating for everyone. The breakfast included an unlimited continental buffet of many pastries, cereals, a large yogurt bar, juice and – because you need it – coffee! There were 4 of these stations for guests, making them easy to access. The breakfast also included your choice of hot entrees that were made to order, that you pick-up from the main counter. During our visit we had the choice of Fired Chicken and Cinnamon-Sugar French Donut Bowl, a Breakfast Charcuterie Platter, and a delicious Smashed Avocado Toast and Egg Plate. Children’s options included Scrambled Eggs and Sweet Potato Bowls, and Fired Chicken and Cinnamon-Sugar French Donut.
A Hollywood Entrance
Possibly my favorite part of this experience isn’t the rides – but the invaluable time you have in the (virtually empty) theme park. You have Hollywood Studios to yourself! There is a magic to walking through a deserted park so early in the morning. The sun was just rising and gently kissing the buildings, and there was still dew droplets on the palm leaves. It is quiet, and serene. You can see, without throngs of tourists, the exquisite details of the buildings and the magical landscape that Disney is famous for. Truthfully – it feels like you are walking into a Hollywood movie. In my opinion –this alone is worth the extra price of admission. However, my family would tell you otherwise – let’s look at the rides!
Ride Time
The Toy Story Land Early Morning Magic includes exclusive access to the following popular attractions with little wait time: Slinky Dog Dash, Alien Swirling Saucers and Toy Story Mania! Because height requirements are always an important factor for parents – lets take a look at the ride requirements:
- Toy Story Mania! (No height requirement)
- Slinky Dog Dash (must be 38” to ride)
- Alien Swirling Saucers (must be 32” to ride)
Yes, that’s only 3 rides, and yes I understand that this is not many – but IT’S UNLIMITED. You can ride the (insanely popular) Slinky Dog Dash as many times as you wish, take a twirl with the swirling aliens as much as your stomach can handle, and see how high you can score at Toy Story Mania!. During our visit we went on the Slinky Dog Dash once, three times on Toy Story Mania, and twice on the Swirling Saucers before the park opened (Disclaimer: Slinky Dog Dash was awesome and hardly any wait- we’re just not huge rollercoaster fans so we chose others).
Character Meet and Greets
Love photo ops? (raising hand…!) You’ll also have the chance to meet Buzz Light Year, Woody and Jessie while you explore Toy Story Land. The character meet and greets take place inside Toy Story Land itself, in the main boulevard area. We had no wait to meet Buzz Light Year, and waited for about 20 minutes for Woody and Jessie, but it was well worth it. The meet and greet event was not rushed, and the characters took their time with each and every guest, making the experience really special. We loved this part and it will definitely be a memory we will never forget.
The Fine Line
As mentioned, – there is little to no wait, let us explain exactly what that means. We walked right on (ZERO wait) for Saucers and Toy Story Mania – breezing right through the typical waiting area, and right into the car. Slinky Dog Dash – one of the most popular rides in all of Disney – had a 10-minute wait. The line moved super fast, and it was an awesome experience. Honestly – No complaints!
Disney Magic
As gushed about in the entrance paragraph – being in an empty park is MAGIC. This especially holds true in Toy Story Land. The décor and attention to detail is incredible. Each and every chair, seat, and fence, is in fact, a TOY. It is all themed perfectly and brilliantly executed, and to walk thorough without crowds is a magical experience. I will always cherish the time walking through the park with or little guy, hearing him point out everything he sees – Oh mom – there’s Uno cards! There’s a barrel of monkeys! Look it’s a lunchbox! And hearing him exclaim “the most amazing park ever, I love that it’s based on ALL my favorite toys.” Silly stuff like that is where I find my magic – and I know this would not have happened if it was mobbed with tourists.
Know Before You Go
- As mentioned above, the Early morning Magic is quite different to the Extra Magic Hour (which is available to all Walt Disney World Resort Guests on certain days/times). The Extra Hour is usually quite busier with a wait for rides, and not limited to a guest count. Disney does not book Early Morning Magic and Extra Magic Hour Mornings on the same day – so no worry about having to share your time in the park. This is an exclusive experience and is quite limited.
- Early Morning Magic is quite popular and sells out quickly. Expect to book way in advance.
- Disney is not strict on opening times – they usually reward early guests by opening early. If breakfast is to start at 7:00 – you can probably get in at 6:50. If the rides are to start at 7:30 – they may open as early as 7:15. (Note: Early bird rewards are never more than 15 minutes – this would be the earliest access).
- Regular Theme Park admission guests will come running (yes – literally RUNNING) down to get in line for the Slinky Dog Dash right at opening. As mentioned above- this means that they could be headed in as early as 8:45/8:50.
- Be sure your little ones meet the height requirements for the adventure – no need to pay all the extra $$ if they cannot enjoy the experience fully.
- Lines for character meet and greets during early morning magic get long as the event comes to the end – try to go right when they appear for less wait. Some of the guests in our Magic Morning Experience waited over 30 minutes to meet Woody.
- Once the early morning magic experience commences – I suggest heading over to Woody’s Lunchbox to try the famous Raspberry Lunch Box Tart. Its only $3.29 and as it’s so early – NO LINE!
Disney Early Morning Magic
Price: The limited-entry, first-access experience admission is available for $79 per adult (ages 10 and older) and $69 per child (ages 3 to 9); tax not included. Please note: regular theme park admission is also required. Tickets HERE.
Thank you to Disney for sponsoring our theme park experience. As with all of our articles, all opinions and views are of our own.
