Alright folks, Disney has finally done it. They have gone too far, and made even their most loyal fans upset. I am willing to look past a lot when it comes to Disney, but I, just like many other Disney adults, think that Disney has taken it too far with this obvious money grab.
Disney has just announced a new Lightening Lane system, which will go into effect on October 30, 2024. You may be thinking to yourself- wasn't a brand new Lightening Lane system just released with Multipass and Single Pass? The answer is yes, and those are still in place and will continue to be at play. However, the Lightening Lane Premier Pass is meant to be a top tier Lightening Lane, which in all honesty seems very elitist and targeted towards the rich.
1) What is Lightening Lane Premier Pass?
In theory, the Lightening Lane Premier Pass seems pretty cool and is very similar to the Express Pass used at Universal Studios. For each day you purchase the Premier Pass, you get to skip the line once for every attraction (including Lightening Lane Single Pass attractions) in one park. You read that right- it's not unlimited and it's not available for park hopping. With the Premier Pass, you do not need to reserve time slots for the rides, but can just show up to each attraction when convenient and skip the line. This offers more flexibility to a guest's day. Lightening Lane Premier Pass can be purchased any day of your trip, 7 days prior to the arrival day of your trip.
2) What does Lightening Lane Premier Pass cost?
This is where loyal Disney fans start to get pretty upset with the Disney company. Bring up the Premier Pass on one of the Disney facebook groups and you're sure to see something along the lines of "Walt is rolling over in his grave." I usually roll my eyes when I see comments like that, but in this case I wholeheartedly agree.
As we've seen with the pricing of Genie Plus and now with Lightening Lane Multipass, there is no set price for lightening lanes, and a given day's price will be dependent on crowd level and day of the week/time of the year. For a 1-day Premier Pass for Magic Kingdom, you will be expected to pay $330-$450 per person. For Hollywood Studios, $230-$350; for EPCOT $170-$250; and for Animal Kingdom $130-$200. I will give you a moment to pick your jaw up off the ground...
These prices are absolutely shocking. They are double the amount of a 1-day ticket, and only afford you the ability to skip the line for each attraction in a SINGLE park one time in a given day. Imagine paying that much for every single day of a 7-day vacation, for 2 or 3 people. WOW.
3) Who is Eligible to Purchase Lightening Lane Premier Pass?
This is where the elitist argument has run rampant. Disney is limiting Premier Pass to only guests staying in a Disney DELUXE resort. From a financial standpoint I suppose this makes sense in that only the guests who can afford to stay in a Deluxe resort could afford to shell out $450 to skip the lines for a day in Magic Kingdom.
But in all seriousness, this is going to result in a class-based system in the parks. The rich skipping the lines and returning to their fancy resort via the monorail while the poor swelter away in long lines and end the night limping to the furthest bus stations from the park entrance. Everything in Disney has a cost and Disney is very much making it so that only their wealthy guests can have a good time.
It makes me nervous to see what could come next in the coming years. I am normally pretty unbothered when Disney does its annual price increase in tickets. It's not like I'm going to stop going to the parks because the park ticket went up $10. But the introduction of things like the Premier Pass really paints Disney in a negative light. It is an obvious money grab and will decrease the experience of Disney's average guest. They are slowly making their parks something that only the wealthy and elite will be able to partake in.
Now as far as commentary goes, I'm sure you can get a sense of how I feel about the Lightening Lane Premier Pass. The cost is ridiculous and completely prices out probably 90% of Disney guests. Maybe (and that's a huge maybe) it would be worth the price if you could park hop with it and ride any attraction you wanted as many times that you wanted. But sadly that is not the case.
With the right strategy, you can easily accomplish the same results that Premier Pass offers by utilizing extra magic hours, rope drop, and Multi Pass. I have successfully combined rope drop with Genie Plus to ride every attraction in a given park, almost every time I visit Disney World. Most experienced Disney visitors can probably say the same. Lightening Lane Premier Pass does not offer a superior product that is even close to being worth that price.
As far as parks go, Magic Kingdom is clearly the best park to purchase Premier Pass for, if you had FOMO and felt like you just had to try this new lightening lane product. That is why Magic Kingdom's pricing for the Premier Pass is so high. I believe Hollywood Studios would follow as the second-best park for Premier Pass. I do not think in any world that it would be worth purchasing Premier Pass for either EPCOT or Animal Kingdom.
All in all, if you are looking to avoid waiting in line at the parks, I recommend sticking to the proven and true strategy of utilizing extra magic hours, rope drop, and Multi Pass. I predict that not many guests will purchase and use Premier Pass. Even if you can afford it, it is clearly not worth the price. I have a feeling it will last about as long as the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser...
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