I live about hour and half from Walt Disney World and am annual pass holder so typically drive there and back same day. Once a year, we get our grandson for a multi week visit and take him to Disney. This was tough this June because lines were awful and we got more pushback from him and longer days made it worse. To be honest it was tough on me and my wife as well.
I want to plan next year’s visit with a few nights at a Good Neighbor hotel because I used to travel for work and have points so want to use some of them for the stay.
In oder to get the early park entry, can I just book on hotel brand site then go back to Disney app or plans and add a confirmation number and get the early park hour benefit?
On Disney siteb seems I can book but it ties reservation to park tickets only our grandson would need tickets but it packages for the three of us.
Yes you should be able to add your reservation to your MDE account to get the perks. Just make sure your reservation is for the correct number of people.
I’m not sure if this is still a benefit at all hotels… they had been talking about changing it to only certain hotels (deluxe, for example).
From my experience, you DO NOT WANT TO VISIT the early opening park anyway. That tends to be the busier of the four parks, because other people follow the same logic, so you’re not saving as much time entering an hour earlier.
Some other time-saving tips:
Open later parks are good, but avoid Epcot on Friday and Saturday nights, as that’s a park people will “jump” to in order to enjoy food and wine, or whatever festival is happening (pretty much all year long). Locals too, which means a lot of people drinking and walking around in large groups.
Start your park day going AWAY from the crowds - this typically means head LEFT. The only exception is AK, because people head left to go to Pandora.
In MK, they rush to the RIGHT for Mine train ride and the kiddie area, and tomorrow land. Head left and enjoy Adventure Land (pirates, etc.) or BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN
In EP, they head to spaceship earth, then to the test track, and tend to tour the “world showcase” by starting in Mexico. Start in Canada, you’ll have less foot traffic for your tour.
In AK, everyone rushes to PANDORA for FoP especially. Try the DINO ride/land, there are kiddie rides there too, or head to Asia to EVEREST for those thrill seekers to ride again and again.
In HS, people rush to TOY STORY land or BATUU (Star Wars land). You could hit up ToT and RR on the right, and THEN get your Starbucks Coffee (the lines, yikes!), -or- check out STAR TOURS, RAILROAD, etc.
If it’s going to be a particularly rainy day, prioritize the rides that could close in a thunderstorm (like SLINKY DOG, EVEREST, TEST TRACK, MINE TRAIN, DUMBO, basically outdoor rides that could be hit by lightning.
If it’s going to be a HOT day, save some indoor A/C for some experiences with line/cues inside, or shows (like LION KING, TS-MANIA, HALL OF PRESIDENTS, IT’S A BUGS LIFE, etc).
I realize this has little to do with your hotel question, so I’m going to post this in the main chat. Have a good trip, and PLEASE let me know about these good neighbor hotels, as I’m particularly interested in the ones near Disney Springs.