Do you know about this “secret” Disney walkway?

Do you know about this “secret” Disney walkway? This path will take you straight to the back entrance of a Disney park which may greatly help your rope drop strategy!

Walking around Disney

Disney offers many forms of transportation to get to and from the parks, resorts, and shopping districts. This includes bus, monorail, boat, and Skyliner. However, the best (in my opinion) form of transportation is your own two feet!

Why? There are so many reasons why I (Monica) love walking around Disney! For one, I am not constrained to a bus schedule or operating hours. I am free to to get to the park as early as I’d like and leave as late as I’d like. This is especially beneficial for rope drop when I want to be at the front of the pack.

Second, I love taking in the views! There is something incredibly peaceful about walking around Crescent Lake in the early morning hours. On the other side of that, walking back to your hotel after a fun day in the park is a great time to reminisce on the day.

Where to Walk at Disney World

It’s actually a lot easier than you think to get to and from Disney Parks. If you are staying in the Magic Kingdom area, you can walk to Magic Kingdom from the Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Contemporary. Over at Crescent Lake, Epcot and Hollywood Studios are both accessible by foot from Beach Club, Yacht Club, Boardwalk, and the Swan/Dolphin hotels.

All of these hotels are also walkable to and from each other! This makes dining reservations and entertainment incredibly easy to get to. In addition, French Quarter and Riverside also share a walkway between each other.

I do not want to let you know that one incredibly popular walkway is permanently closed. You can read about that story in this post.

Where to Walk at Disneyland

Over at Disneyland, you can get EVERYWHERE by foot! While Disneyland does not have the same blessing of size like Disney World does, this means it is much easier to get where you want to go. In fact, the only other form of transportation Disneyland uses is the monorail. The monorail will take you to and from Tomorrowland and Downtown Disney.

All three Disneyland hotels have walkways to the front entrance of both parks. In addition, the Grand Californian has its own private entrance to California Adventure. That was one of my favorite parts about staying at that hotel! You can read about the Disneyland Hotel HERE.

You may not know about the other walkway that takes you to another area of California Adventure that may help you greatly in your rope drop strategy.

“Secret” Walkway

This “secret” walkway is called the Paradise Pier walkway, and it will take you from the intersection of the Paradise Pier and Grand Californian hotels to Pixar Pier at California Adventure. Because the Disneyland Hotel is a short walk from the Paradise Pier hotel, guests staying there can also use the walkway.

It is important to note that you must have your room key/Disneyland app in order to access the gates! They do remain locked and can only be opened by someone using their Disneyland room key or the app.

So, how does it help your rope drop strategy? If you wish to use early entry or rope drop at California Adventure, you will be very close to Incredicoaster. This entrance is also less busy so that means less crowds to compete with.

You can read how I used this entrance to my advantage in my early entry strategy post.

How to Use it

If you are staying at the Disneyland Hotel you will want to head toward the security entrance at Downtown Disney. However, instead of going through security you will want to use the sidewalk to the right and follow it all the way down. Once you get to the end of the sidewalk, you will see Paradise Pier up ahead but to the left a bit.

You will make a left and follow the sidewalk to the stop light intersection. This intersection has Paradise Pier on one side and the Grand Californian on the other. Cross over the intersection like you are heading to the Grand Californian. You will notice a gate right after you pass the Grand Californian entrance sign.

Use your room key or open your resort key on the Disneyland app to unlock the gate. Then, follow the sidewalk. You will see some lush vegetation and hotel rooms during your walk.

It is not a very far walk at all! After you enter the gate, it’s just a few short minutes before you enter the security scanners and have your bags checked. There was no line here on the day I visited. Continue following the walkway and then you will scan your ticket to enter the park. Again, there was not a long line at all! This is much less crowded than the front entrance of the park.

Finally, you are in the park! You will be held at this little area next to the souvenir shop “Seaside Souvenirs” until early entry begins. If you wish to leave the park using this method, you can! I simply backtracked when I was ready to leave at the end of the night after watching World of Color – One.

Did you know about this “secret” walkway? It’s really not well known and can make your mornings a bit less stressful! Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and pass this article along to someone who needs this information.