Early Park Entry Pass at Shanghai Disneyland Guide

Early Park Entry Pass at Shanghai Disneyland cover

On my most recent trip to Shanghai Disneyland, I bought the Early Park Entry Pass for every single day of my trip to the park. I know, that may sound like overkill, but after thinking about it while designing my park strategy for my most recent visit, the benefits of purchasing it vastly outweighed the cons of not purchasing it. I realized that the money I invested in buying the pass would pay for itself in making my day more efficient and maximizing my time. The Early Park Entry Pass at Shanghai Disneyland is a gamechanger in that regard.

But how does the Early Park Entry Pass maximize your time? Is it really worth purchasing, especially if you’re part of a larger group? How many times should you purchase it, and how do you make sure that you’re using your Early Entry time as efficiently as possible. I hope to answer all those questions and more with this article. I’ll be diving deep into everything early entry, from what rides are available to how early you need to arrive and what your plan of attack should be.

Without further ado, let’s begin!

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Table of Contents

What are Early Park Entry Passes?

An Early Park Entry Pass is a paid ticket add-on that gives you access to Shanghai Disneyland one hour before the general public. The Early Entry period takes place in the one hour prior to the official park opening time. For example, if the park officially opens at 8:30am, then Early Entry will take place from 7:30am-8:30am.

During your hour at the park, you’ll be able to get on rides with wait times that are at a fraction of what they normally are later in the day. Do note that the Early Park Entry Pass is different from the Premier Access pass, which is a paid service that allows you to buy passes to access a shortened queue for a specific attraction, enabling you to skip a portion of the standby line.

What Rides are Included?

Most rides are included in Early Park Entry at Shanghai Disneyland. The rides included in Early Park Entry according to the Shanghai Disneyland website are as follows: Soaring Over the Horizon, TRON Lightcycle Power Run, Jet Packs, Peter Pan’s Flight, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Hunny Pot Spin, Pirates of the Caribbean – Battle for the Sunken Treasure, Roaring Rapids, Woody’s Roundup. Other attractions, such as The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Rex’s Racer, can also be open during Early Entry from time to time.

When I last visited the park, Rex’s Racer was open for Early Entry every single day of my trip, but The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was not. The lineup of rides can change day to day, but usually the biggest, most popular rides such as Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Soaring Over the Horizon, and Tron Lightcycle Power Run are open for Early Entry. Do note though that sometimes rides encounter technical difficulties that may prevent them from opening for Early Entry. Check the Shanghai Disneyland app on the day of your visit to see if a ride is operating during Early Entry.

Also, when you buy Early Park Entry Passes at Shanghai Disneyland, they make it a point to tell you that Zootopia is not included in Early Entry. However, it’s been reported by many that Zootopia is always open for Early Entry, which was also the case during my last visit. I think they may say this to limit the amount of people who rush to Zootopia every morning, but in any case it should be open for Early Entry on the day of your visit unless it encounters technical difficulties in the morning.

How much is the Early Park Entry Pass?

Currently the Early Park Entry Pass costs RMB 199 or about $30. The Shanghai Disneyland website says that it can vary in price depending on the date and demand but I personally have never seen it cost more or less than RMB199, even on peak days. As of now it seems to be like they are selling the Early Park Entry Pass at a fixed price. This is subject to change of course and is accurate as of August 2026.

Can I Get the Early Park Entry Pass for Free?

There is one way that you can get Early Park Entry Passes for free, and that’s by staying at a Shanghai Disney Resort hotel. If you stay at any of the official on-site hotels, you will get free Early Park Entry Passes for each day of your stay. It’s the biggest and most valuable perk you get as a hotel guest at Shanghai Disney Resort. You also get a special entrance so that you don’t have to line up with the rest of the crowds heading into the park.

Who Can Use It?

Anyone can buy an Early Park Entry Pass. You can purchase it if you have regular tickets or if you have an annual pass. You also have no restriction when it comes to how many Early Park Entry Passes you can purchase in a single year. Theoretically, if you wanted to, you could buy an Early Park Entry Pass for every single day of the year.

Where and When Can I Buy the Early Park Entry Pass?

You can buy Early Park Entry Passes on the Shanghai Disneyland app. You cannot buy them at the Shanghai Disneyland website as of now. Sales for Early Park Entry Passes will cease 30 minutes before the official park opening time for a given day. This means that, for example, if you were to visit on May 26 and the park opens at 8:30am, the latest you can buy an Early Park Entry Pass would be 8am on May 26.

Early Park Entry Passes can only be bought 9 days in advance of your visit day. I would recommend buying them as soon as they drop, especially if you’re visiting during a peak time of the year. They can sell out so best practice is to buy them as soon as you can. Also, it’s important to note that buying an Early Park Entry Pass is NOT the same as buying a ticket. You must have a valid ticket, park reservation, AND an Early Park Entry Pass to be able to use the Early Park Entry Pass.

Also, be sure to write your name exactly as it is seen in your passport. You may encounter issues at the gate if your name does not match the name in your passport.

How Do I Use the Early Park Entry Pass?

To buy Early Park Entry Passes, make sure that everyone in your party has their tickets linked to one account. That way, one person can buy Early Park Entry Passes for your entire party and ensure that every Early Park Entry Pass is linked to their respective ticket, making entry into Shanghai Disneyland on the morning of your visit a lot smoother.

Once you’ve bought your Early Park Entry Passes, you can find them on the app by clicking “Me” on the menu then going to “My Coupons”. You may need to log into your account to access them so be sure you have data on your phone. Once you do have them, you’ll need to show them to the cast member at the back of the Early Entry line outside the park. Once you get in that line, you’ll make your way to the front of the line where several cast members will be scanning Early Park Entry Passes. Once your pass is scanned, head for security and make your way into the park!

Is the Early Entry Park Pass Worth It?

I would say it’s definitely worth it, although I don’t think you need to purchase it for every day of your stay like I did. Most of the popular rides will be open for Early Entry, allowing you to ride them with minimal to no wait. This will allow you to get a headstart on your day and will mean that you would’ve done at least 2-3 of the most popular rides before the park even opens.

This will cause a domino effect that will have you standing in short lines for the next 2-3 hours after the park opens. Let me explain why that is. If you get to, let’s say, Zootopia: Hot Pursuit and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train during Early Entry and are in line for Tron right as Early Entry ends, that means you can go on the secondary rides such as Peter Pan’s Flight or Rex’s Racers before everyone else. Since most people will be heading to the popular rides you already rode first thing in the morning, you also get a headstart on the smaller rides, which really frees up the rest of your day.

Getting Early Park Entry Passes also reduces the amount of times you will need to use Premier Access if the lines are long. If you visit during a busy period, getting on more rides early means having to buy less Premier Access passes because you’ve already ridden the popular rides by the time the crowds start to swell for the day. This can result in huge savings, especially if you’re traveling with a big group.

Another big perk is that, if you’re into picture taking, you’ll get the park all to yourself during Early Park Entry. This means no awkward people in the background of your photos and videos. This is extremely advantageous particularly in Zootopia, as that land is usually overrun by people taking pictures of every detail in the land. It’s perfectly valid to use Early Entry time just for this, and you wouldn’t be the only ones.

Another thing a lot of people don’t know about Early Entry is that they start letting people into the park 10-15 minutes before Early Entry even begins. So you actually get a 75 minute headstart to your day if you arrive early enough to be one of the first guests in the park. They don’t actually operate the rides until the Early Entry start time, but it takes forever to walk around this park because of its size. If you can be in line when Early Entry starts, that means more time in your 1-hour to do other things.

Now as many perks as it has, I don’t necessarily recommend getting it every day of your trip. Because it’s expensive, especially for a bigger group or family, if you’re visiting for more than 2 days, you should be able to get everything you want done and then some during your days at the park even without the pass. This is more for people who are visiting for 1-2 days and need to maximize their time and do everything. But if you can afford it, then by all means buy as many passes as you think you might need.

How do I Maximize my Time During My Early Entry Time?

I would recommend arriving 30-45 minutes before Early Entry begins. This ensures you’re at the front of the line to get in the park for Early Entry. I would also have my Shanghai Disneyland app open before you go so that you can easily have it scanned when you get to the front of the line.

Remember that they let people in before Early Entry even begins, so if you get there early enough you can be in the park heading to your first ride before the beginning of Early Entry. You’re technically not allowed to run so I would advise against it. If they let you in early then you won’t need to run anyway.

There are two routes I would take with Early Entry: The Seven Dwarfs route or the Tomorrowland route. In the Seven Dwarfs route, you’re going to start off with Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Once that’s done, go into Zootopia and ride Zootopia Hot Pursuit. Then head to Peter Pan’s Flight and, once you’re done with that, trek all the way to Adventure Isle and ride Soaring Over the Horizon.

If you timed it perfectly, you should be getting off of Soaring right as Early Entry ends. If you can, ride Roaring Rapids next and then get on Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure. At this point, you would’ve ridden 6 major rides and the park hasn’t even been open for an hour.

The Tomorrowland route has you starting at Tron Lightcycle Power Run. Once that’s done, head to Rex’s Racer and do that, followed by Peter Pan’s Flight as it’s close by. You can then line up for Zootopia: Hot Pursuit and then, once Early Entry starts, be one of the first guests in the Single Rider line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

This itinerary really is only advisable if you really like and want to prioritize riding Tron Lightcycle Power Run. I recommend doing the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train route as you get to ride more popular rides during your Early Entry time. If you’re wondering why you can’t do Tron as well with the first itinerary, that’s because Shanghai Disneyland is huge and you would lose valuable Early Entry time walking from one side of the park to the other. That’s why these plans keep criss-crossing the park to a minimum.

Early Park Entry Pass at Shanghai Disneyland

And that’s everything you need to know about the Early Park Entry Pass at Shanghai Disneyland! I hope I was able to clarify how to use the pass and how to effectively use your Early Entry time. However, remember that you shouldn’t feel pressured to buy these passes if they’re not in your budget. You will still have an amazing day at the park even without these passes. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me on my socials.