Disneyland Makes a Big Change

Your next Disney Vacation Club visit at Disneyland Resort will look quite different. Disney just modified a longstanding policy, ending one amenity while introducing another. Let’s discuss the big change Disneyland just made.

Early Theme Park Entry Ends 

The writing has been on the wall for a long time now, but Disneyland officials finally made it official. Early Theme Park Entry will end on January 5th, 2026. It’s one of several changes Disney just announced for next year.

The company just released its 2026 Disneyland vacation packages. So, in the interest of being fair to potential vacationers, management posted all of its major policy changes for next year. 

The end of Early Theme Park Entry isn’t even the only one that could impact DVC members. If you had planned to use the park path from Pixar Place Hotel to the parks, I’ve got some bad news. Disney will close that option in January as well. 

Thankfully, that one shouldn’t apply to many of you, as you’re exponentially more likely to stay at one of the DVC resorts at Disneyland. Still, should you visit Pixar Place Hotel, you should be aware of this closure as well. 

So, what’s going on? Simply stated, Disney has scrutinized every part of its operations and accepted several truths. The first involves that path from Pixar Place Hotel to Disney California Adventure. People weren’t using it much, which frustrated management. The company added some shiny new gates to spruce up the entrance, yet guests just didn’t care. 

Similarly, while DVC members prove the exception, Disneyland Resort primarily caters to the locals. Approximately 25 million people live in Southern California, and they comprise a shockingly large percentage of park traffic. 

Disney Adds a New Amenity

Since the Early Theme Park Entry amenity only applies to guests staying at official Disney resorts, it wasn’t being used much, either. In fact, Disney had already modified it twice during the 2020s, first cutting it from an hour to 30 minutes. Later, Disney changed the amenity to one park only rather than both.

When that happened, the eventual end of Early Theme Park Entry was in sight. Disney was wasting resources by opening a park to a modest number of tourists each day, and everybody knew it. 

Thankfully, Disney came up with a viable replacement, though. In lieu of Early Theme Park Entry, hotel guests receive a free Lightning Lane for a an attraction in that Lightning Lane Multi Pass group. You’ll get one per hotel stay, not one per day. So, it could have been better, but it’s also better than nothing. 

In fact, I see a positive here. With Early Theme Park Entry, guests had to get up at the crack of dawn in hopes of experiencing a single attraction before Rope Drop. Now, you’ll get the equivalent of that, a Lightning Lane, while still getting to sleep in some during your vacation. 

As an aside, Disneyland also announced that Inspire and Enchant Magic Keys will go back on sale on August 26th. Since these always sell out, you’ll want to join the virtual queue at 8:45 a.m. in anticipation of tickets going on sale at 9 a.m. Annual passes often sell out within a day, and with Disneyland’s frequent tech problems, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

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