We are fresh off of our wonderful Christmas trip to Walt Disney World and wanted to share one of the highlights of our stay—a pre-park opening experience at Toy Story Land in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The event is called Early Morning Magic and gives a limited number of guests exclusive access to Toy Story Land for 90 minutes of rides and character meets before the park opens to guests with regular admission. Did I mention breakfast is also included? Early Morning Magic is available on select Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at a cost of $79 per adult and $69 per child plus tax and can currently be reserved through March. Regular theme park admission is also required.
Check into Early Morning Magic and receive a flyer detailing where to eat and play!
About Early Morning Magic
The three attractions open during Early Morning Magic are Slinky Dog Dash, Alien Swirling Saucers and Toy Story Midway Mania. There are also meet and greets available with Woody and Jessie together, and with Buzz Lightyear by himself. Breakfast is served at the ABC Commissary - about a five-minute walk from the Toy Story Land entrance - from 7:30am until 10am. The event has two start times designed to moderate the breakfast waits. People who book a 7am start time are supposed to eat breakfast prior to entering Toy Story Land, while the 7:30am starters are supposed to eat breakfast after enjoying Toy Story Land.
Our Experience
I chose the 7am experience as that was the only one available at the time of booking - not because I love waking up early! As Disney Cast Members were not checking guest Early Morning Magic reservation times, my recommendation would be to arrive at the Hollywood Studios gate at about 6:45am whether you have a 7am or 7:30am start time. Head over to the ABC Commissary to at least get a snack before heading to Toy Story Land. There is a cold buffet with pastries and fruit available as well as hot entrees available to order at the counter. I ordered the Mexican Corn Chilaquiles and Eggs Bowl which was fine for a pre-ride pick me up. I started to head over to Toy Story Land at 7:15am. To my dismay, there looked to be a very long line to enter, but the Disney Cast Members had not walked everyone back yet.
A decent way to kick-start your day for Early Morning Magic
I was in line for Slinky Dog Dash five minutes later and walking off the attraction at 7:25am. The longest posted wait at Slinky for the duration of the event was 15 minutes, but I never experienced a wait that long. I was able to ride the most popular attraction in all of Walt Disney World five times total and probably could have ridden at least once more had I not been maxed out on roller coaster riding! I also rode Alien Swirling Saucers and Toy Story Midway Mania once which were walk-ons for the duration of Early Morning Magic.
Slinky Dog Dash queue during Early Morning Magic - where is everybody?
I walked by Woody and Jessie twice; both times there were between 15 and 25 groups in line. Waiting to meet the characters will significantly affect your ability to ride the attractions featured in Toy Story Land multiple times during the event. If a photo op with Woody and Jessie is a priority, I would suggest getting in line to meet them first thing to take advantage of lower wait times.
Woody welcoming guests to Toy Story Land
When I left Toy Story Land at about 8:45am, Buzz only had about five groups waiting to meet him. Unlike Woody and Jessie, he meets at the entrance to Toy Story Land, so most people have moved past him and are in the land toward the end of Early Morning Magic. You will want to make your way to Buzz later in the morning but before regular admission park-goers gain access to Toy Story Land which would be around 8:50am.
After taking in all of Toy Story Land, I returned to ABC Commissary to test whether I would be allowed to order a second dish. Success! I tried the Fried Chicken and Cinnamon Sugar French Donut Bowl; unfortunately the dish was a complete miss. Luckily, I wasn’t too hungry!
After my second breakfast, I was out and about in Hollywood Studios by 9:15am - 15 minutes after the park had happened to regular admission guests. Every attraction outside of Toy Story Land was a walk-on as most of the entering crowd was headed toward where I had just left. Overall, the morning was very successful, and I really enjoyed Early Morning Magic!
Final Thoughts
Was Early Morning Magic worth the price of admission? Yes! Getting in and out of Toy Story Land before the crowds was invaluable as I could also tour the rest of Hollywood Studios with minimal to no waits. Because I didn’t have to use FastPass+ for any Toy Story Land attractions and other Hollywood Studios headliners, I could save my FastPass+ selections to ride Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom later in the day. Toy Story Land and Flight of Passage before noon in one day? I call that a win!
Enjoying a nearly empty Toy Story Land during Early Morning magic - check; enjoying the rest of Hollywood Studios while regular admission guests stampede to Toy Story land - check!