Disney World Launches New Lightning Lane Premier Pass: Pricing Trends and Best Days to Buy

Oct 30, 2024 in "Disney Genie"

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Lightning Lane Premier Pass logo

Posted: Wednesday October 30, 2024 8:09am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Starting today, October 30, 2024, Walt Disney World is introducing a new service called the Lightning Lane Premier Pass, designed exclusively for guests staying at Disney Deluxe Resorts, Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts, and select partner hotels.

This premium offering provides access to Lightning Lanes at popular attractions across Disney parks, allowing guests to bypass standby lines without scheduling specific times.

With the Premier Pass launching today, here's a look at pricing trends over the next three weeks across the four Disney parks, highlighting the minimum, maximum, and average prices you can expect.

Lightning Lane Premier Pass Pricing Trend for First 3 Weeks

Disney's Animal Kingdom

Current Price: $129
Range: $129 - $159
Number of Lightning Lane Attractions Included: 10

Trend Observations: Animal Kingdom's Lightning Lane Premier Pass pricing stays relatively stable, fluctuating between $129 and $159. The peaks occur primarily over weekends, with Fridays through Sundays typically priced higher than mid-week days.

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Current Price: $269
Range: $269 - $329
Number of Lightning Lane Attractions Included: 14

Trend Observations: Hollywood Studios shows significant price variation of up to $60, with weekends and Mondays reaching $309 to $329. Prices drop on select midweek days to $269, reflecting a pricing approach that aligns with demand, especially for popular attractions like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

EPCOT

Current Price: $169
Range: $169 - $209
Number of Lightning Lane Attractions Included: 11

Trend Observations: EPCOT's pricing tends to rise to $209 on weekends, while weekdays are more moderately priced at $169 to $189. The trend reflects an expectation of increased demand on weekends when EPCOT hosts popular seasonal festivals, such as the International Food & Wine Festival.

Magic Kingdom

Current Price: $329
Range: $329 - $399
Number of Lightning Lane Attractions Included: 20

Trend Observations: Magic Kingdom is the highest-priced pass across all parks, peaking at $399 on a Saturday and also shows the highest variation between low and high pricing. Prices stabilize at $369 or $379 midweek, suggesting Disney anticipates high demand for Magic Kingdom's premier attractions like TRON Lightcycle / Run and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, particularly on weekends.

Key Takeaways

Weekend Premiums: Most parks and weeks show higher prices on weekends, indicating Disney expects increased guest flow on Saturdays and Sundays.

Demand-Based Adjustments: Parks with more major attractions, such as Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom, exhibit higher maximum prices, likely driven by demand for limited-capacity experiences.

Consistent Midweek Rates: Midweek days, particularly Tuesdays, usually offers slightly lower prices across most parks, which could present a value opportunity for guests with flexible schedules.

As this new system launches, it will be interesting to monitor if these prices remain consistent or adjust further based on demand patterns. For those planning trips, checking the Lightning Lane pricing calendar ahead of time may help in budgeting for these premium access options.

Everything You Need to Know About Disney's New Lightning Lane Premier Pass at Walt Disney World

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HauntedPirate1 hour ago

1. That will never be included in a rack rate unless the rack rate rises a commensurate amount. Disney is addicted/dependent on LL revenue. 2.

Disstevefan13 hours ago

I think that would be GREAT! And in my opinion, if they included free LLPP for (even rack rate) stays in say only two deluxe resorts; GF and Poly, there would be a multi year wait list for these resorts.

MickeyLuv'r3 hours ago

I just stayed at Endless Summer Surfside. It was REALLY nice. Now I had one of the bigger suite style rooms, but it was a really nice room, and the extra microwave/fridge/table was great. I think it was only $150/night. The food court could be a little bigger, but one thing I really liked was the ability to get fresh berries every morning. Fresh berries have become extremely hard to find at WDW at any price point. The Skyliner is a bit more fun than buses.

CAV4 hours ago

That doesn't negate my point.

HauntedPirate5 hours ago

I said the same thing earlier today about LLPP never being bundled for free. I'm beginning to think that statement may not age well. 🤔

Disstevefan16 hours ago

Don’t worry, Disney will never include free LLPP like Universal includes free Express pass. There are folks who don’t like Universal and won’t go to their park at any price and that’s fine, but we loved the free express pass included when staying at the Universal resorts. Not sure it’s the same now but we got free express passes on check in day and check out day too when staying at Universal resorts.

LSLS6 hours ago

The problem is hotel prices don't matter if people don't want to pay ticket prices. I can tell you right now that is 100% the reason we haven't been to Universal. If Disney with it's nostalgia is priced to the point we don't consider it worth it, then a new park we have no allegiance to certainly is too much at the same price point. I get their hotels may be nicer and cheaper, but if I can't justify the ticket price, the hotel cost is moot. We may make our first trip this summer with Epic opening, but that's far from a foregone conclusion. Spending $2K just to get in the door for 3 days is tough to justify. Adding fastpass to the hotel cost will help, but I'm still hit with the sticker shock of getting in the door.

Andrew257 hours ago

Universal has been playing the #2 game since the opening of Cabana Bay. They've priced that hotel (and the other values) at lower rates than Disney's options. Endless Summer, while lacks the character of a Disney Value Resort, is by far a better room/value than Disney. While not as dramatic as Disney, Universal has already started to raise prices at their resorts (though they've slowed down with the downturn in tourism/attendance).

Trauma7 hours ago

I like to look at things in a simple way and the way I see it I think Universal has 2 options. #1 Start charging Disney level prices while removing perks ( straight out of the Disney playbook ) #2 Offer great value coupled with Epic that start grabbing a munch larger chunk of market share ( I think this would happen since Disney is at a tipping point. ) Only after taking a large chunk of market share do they start to raise prices. Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Dranth8 hours ago

Interesting. Hopefully it happens but it really would be a big policy change internally as they were adamantly opposed to doing this in the past. If any hotel got it, Helios makes the most sense to me as it is co-owned by Universal but Sapphire Falls is solely owned by Lowes if I remember correctly. If this does happen, I wonder if Lowes had to give up something or agree to changes to the existing contracts on the older resorts to get Universal on board.

RSoxNo19 hours ago

Awesome, I'm staying off property and my first day is January 7th. This is downright dumb.

celluloid9 hours ago

Saphire changed to Signature due to location was the first phase. Once the rest of the newness tapers off some more the plan is to charge a bit more and add Express. Helios maybe too one day but that is farther away due to factors of being new, proximity walk in to EPIC and much smaller in rooms.

Sirwalterraleigh10 hours ago

Nothing confirmed… But most rumors seem to think they will add express pass to certain hotels after the initial booking period for epic passes. Rumors of sapphire falls too…which would be great. Let us remember: bookings in Orlando are soft (well at least for the two out of control)…they are NOT going to improve…and those corps have to have a plan. This is a good option for Comcast… …or they can just start turning every old warehouse, outhouse, doghouse, etc they already have into timeshares? …but I doubt even they would go trailer park

Dranth10 hours ago

Has there been a change or announcement on this or is this what you think is going to happen? The latest official word I can find is no additional express pass in the new hotels.