Credit: DisneyAn iconic part of the Disneyland Resort will close early next year.
Related: Disney Confirms Theme Park Hiatus, Not Returning Until 2026
On Wednesday, August 20, 2025, Disneyland announced it would be ending its Early Theme Park Entry program. Starting on January 5, 2026, guests staying at select Disneyland Resort hotels will no longer receive early entry to Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure.
This news came as quite a surprise for the Disney theme park community, as early entry had been a valuable benefit of staying at Disneyland hotels for quite some time.
Instead of early entry, guests will receive one free Lightning Lane entry for a Multi Pass attraction of their choice. However, the end of this program doesn’t just end with early entry, as the specific entrance to Disney California Adventure from Pixar Place Hotel will also close.
This entrance has been used by guests utilizing their early entry benefit, but it will close on January 5, when the free new Lightning Lane program debuts.
Guests staying at Pixar Place Hotel can still enter Disney California Adventure through the Grand Californian Hotel entrance instead.
Disneyland officials have said there are no plans to reopen the Pixar Place entrance, meaning it will soon be a piece of Disneyland history.
Other Changes at Disneyland Resort
Related: Pirates of the Caribbean Expansion Will Require Guests to Clear Extra Entry Measure
This is hardly the only big news Disneyland Resort has dropped recently. Earlier this week, Disneyland announced that Oga’s Cantina, its Star Wars-themed bar part of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, would no longer take reservations. Instead, guests will simply join a walk-up queue.
Earlier this year, Disneyland announced it would close Monsters Inc. Mike & Sully to the Rescue to make way for the resort’s ambitious new Avatar-themed expansion. Disney has teased a West Coast Pandora for quite some time, with the company officially confirming the project during its D23 event in August 2024.
The new land will take notes from Pandora—The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom—but will likely feature its own twists and unique experiences.
Disney World’s Pandora has been a massive hit since its debut in 2017, making it an obvious inclusion for Disneyland. However, the project has received mixed reactions from hardcore Disneyland fans, many of whom argue that the Na’vi and the rest of James Cameron’s sci-fi franchise don’t really fit into Disney’s classic Southern California theme park.
Mike and Sully to the Rescue will close permanently in 2026, with work on Disneyland’s Pandora to start shortly after.
Have you been to Disneyland recently? What is your favorite part of a Disney vacation?