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Personally, I have never been a big fan of getting up early, especially when I’m on vacation. There are times however, and this is one of them, when it becomes a necessary evil. Don’t panic just yet, though to prevent your mood from rivaling that of Disney’s more infamous villains you may want to know where the nearest coffee shop (or at least a coffee maker) is.
The crowds at the parks, most especially during the busier seasons and around the holidays, increase exponentially around 11am and pretty much remain steady throughout the afternoon without relief -- often until later in the evening (though during the busier seasons and holidays this may not necessarily hold true as the crowd levels generally remain high until park closing). If however, you’re willing to concede to setting the alarm (or arranging for a wake-up call) a bit earlier than you may like you will find the payoff far outweighs the slight inconvenience in the overall scheme of things.
Exactly What Time is Early?
Most of Disney’s major theme parks open their gates to guests at around 9am. Keep in mind however that the Disney transportation system begins running (and therefore transporting guests) and the theme park parking lots open to vehicles roughly around an hour and a half to two hours prior to that. This means that the lines to purchase tickets and to enter the parks are forming anywhere from 7am onward.
When crowds are at their largest, Disney tends to allow guests into the parks about a half hour prior to the actual posted opening time. Keep in mind however that the park may or may not be completely operational at that time - that’s a completely hit or miss proposition. There are times that guests may only be allowed to enter as far as the very front of the parks (Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom, near the fountains and Spaceship Earth at Epcot, the Oasis at Animal Kingdom, and up to Hollywood Boulevard at Disney-MGM Studios) and others when the park is up and running, all the rides operational and ready to go.
So, what does all this mean to you? Well, when you get down to it there are really two “early” options to choose from. The first is to hurry up and wait in line at the crack of dawn to be among the very first to enter the parks, which for some may a fine way to start the day, the second, and my personal preference, is to simply arrive at the entrance of the parks right at 9am (give or take about a half hour). This will help you to avoid the worst of the early morning lines but will still allow you a reasonable amount of time in the parks before the largest surge of guest begin to arrive (which again begins at around 11am).
 Remember however that during the few weeks surrounding Easter (spring break) and during the Christmas holidays the crowds are astronomical and the lines at their longest making the early morning hours far more crowded than usual -- they are however, still more tolerable than the hours that follow (also, guests not staying at one of the Disney resorts may find themselves unable to enter the parks if they wait come too late in the day as there have been times that the guest limit has been reached).
The crowds are large during the summers as well however I’ve found that because the parks remain open much later into the evening, most guests don’t bother getting up to hit the parks early which makes the early hours often the most tolerable.
Something else to keep in mind is Disney’s Extra Magic Hours. When one of the parks opens early for the Extra Magic Hours (you can pick up a schedule of what parks are open when at your resort if you are staying at Disney otherwise they are available at the park entrances) the early morning crowds are often a bit larger than usual due to the number of Walt Disney World resort guests who take advantage of the extra time that they have at the parks all to themselves. When a park is scheduled to remain open for the evening Extra Magic Hours this also affects how early you may want to arrive. If you’re a Disney resort guest and can take advantage of the evening hours then arriving early is simply a question of preference not a requirement to be able to ride all the rides. If however you are not at guest able to take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours that evening, it would be an advantage for you to arrive as early as you can as the park will be far less crowded and the lines much shorter with so many others planning their visit for later in the day.
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