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

5 hours ago in "Disney Genie"

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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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JIMMYEDDIE3 minutes ago

Would anyone buy this today in my example in Hollywood studios? I would honestly appreciate any feedback with the logic because I cannot figure out who the target audience is here.......I am the target audience financially (DVC, dine at signature restaurants, stay in 3br villas, pay for add-on's like dessert parties, etc.) and I do not see any value in this whatsoever

Bocabear6 minutes ago

But the daily cost makes it almost unattainable... Seriously... I can't seem to find the place where this doesn't come off as a greedy money-grab...

JIMMYEDDIE6 minutes ago

I agree with that......But not vs the alternative for 3 parks (exception obv being MK).........the price difference is just too much of a hurdle to the vast majority of guests This is a niche product when presented with the alternative when factoring in price

wdwmagic9 minutes ago

I think the current premier pass as it stands is designed for people who just don't even want to think about the various options. Single price, gets the job done in one go, and I think that has an appeal for a lot of vacationers.

BrianLo10 minutes ago

Oh yes, I love DAK. But it’s never been presented so in your face from a pricing structure. Disney worked hard to normalize all their parks, or WDW as a whole with a broad based pricing structure. The weakness of certain parks were buried in a multi-park ticket. But this product truly is the first glimpse at more of an al la carte model. It calls out more directly the actual value of the parks. Which makes it surprising how much they are leaning into Magic Kingdom (for the next investment cycle). Or perhaps Disney not appreciating the unintended consequences of moving more and more back to the al la carte parks model. Predating Eisner. All I’m saying is this clearly isn’t yet incentivizing investment like I thought it would. Making Epcot and DAK be seen as more valuable to sell their add on lightening lanes I figured would be more of a priority than it is… yet at least.

JIMMYEDDIE19 minutes ago

Here's why I think LLPP cannot co exist with LLMP/LLSP Nobody that I know, or should I say anyone with half a brain would do this Using today at HS for my family of 5 as an example (remind you it's only 1pm EST): LLMP is $27pp and Rise is $25pp for a total of $52 PP or $260 total cost VS LLPP $269pp for a total cost of $1,345 I book SDD, TOT and TSMM for my 3 pre selections plus my Rise LLSP as of right now, every other ride is still available so i book/have already booked RnR and then MMRR for my other tier 1’s and any other Tier 2’s and thats with me arriving at 11am Thats getting on EVERY ride except MFSR for $260 (and will 100% be able to get on MFSR) vs: buying LLPP and paying $269pp or $1,345, a difference of an additional $1,085 just to not pick times and having to be on my phone a few times is utterly insane I dont see ANYONE in their right mind that would do that…EVER Pay $260 for every ride and have to pick times and be on your phone OR Pay $1,345 for every ride and not have to A $1,085 premium? I just dont see it.......

Dranth32 minutes ago

Yes, with enough time in a park on a given day and planning people could get every ride in most parks with a combination of standby, LLMP and LLSP. My argument is that the reality for most guests don't allow for staying in the parks as long as that would take. So, with that in mind, something like LLPP would allow those guests to do the same. As for LLPP itself, I agree it isn't worth the price but it just needs a small percentage to find it appealing enough for Disney to drop LLMP and LLSP completely and why on earth would they not want to at this point? Going back to almost all standby (which many claim they want) with a capped premier pass (which many more claim they want) would be a smart long term move. They lose no revenue if priced correctly (which they will need to experiment to find), clear up most of the issues with standby not moving and take a big bite out of the complication narrative.

Drdcm41 minutes ago

I don’t go to universal because the rides tend to make me motion sick… although I’ll try the new park. Do their standby lines move faster? Genuinely curious

nickys42 minutes ago

There’s a third group. DVC owners or more specifically their guests / renters. Many owners are well past the break-even point of their contracts. Accommodation is therefore costing them nothing. So when they have guests who are not frequent visitors, buying this product might be feasible. Ditto with renters who are paying the rate of a moderate. However a fourth group are IMO the most likely to buy it. Those who decide to cut their trip by a day or two and use PP to get through MK (or DHS) with no effort. It would be possible to go to AK in the morning and hop to MK mid afternoon and ride everything.

JIMMYEDDIE48 minutes ago

For those that want to do no waiting (like me)

JIMMYEDDIE51 minutes ago

I hope you're right because i think thats a better program

DisneyCane57 minutes ago

Epcot and AK you can do every ride without any LL without much problem if you rope drop and are willing to do a couple of long waits (well, assuming you get a BG for the current VQ ride). Probably you can do DHS also but just have to be there longer because there are more long waits. MK is the only one where, if you wanted to do every ride, it would be hard to do without LL except on very slow days.

LSLS1 hour ago

But my point is, I'm not sure you find that equilibrium. It needs to be people that can afford that who are not currently paying for it. Basically, you need 10% (or 12%, whatever the number ends up) that are not currently willing to pay that because they can get MP, that have the means to do that otherwise. Are there enough people who pay stay at a non-deluxe that have the money to pay an extra $1,500 a day for their family to skip every line once, but won't do it right now because they would rather do MP? And especially if you go the route you suggest, I have a tough time believing many do it for anything outside of MK and MAYBE DHS. So people may be willing to spend say $300 for it at MK (and maybe they park hop to another park to use as well). But, are you cutting into the money people may spend for it at DAK or Epcot if it was less expensive? I'm just not convinced they can hit a sweet spot where it will financially make more money to offer only PP, especially as a park hopper (unless that is a separate cost, like, each park has it's own price, then a higher tier is for all parks, but even with that, are you finding this sweet spot). At any rate, interesting discussion. It will be interesting to see where they go with it/how they decide to run it with all the other forms. If I was asked what I think makes them the most money, I'd keep single use, drop this down into the $100's, and add a $300-$400 tier where it's unlimited rides on anything. I'd bet most the people who would pay $175 to ride everything at Epcot once would pay more than double that to ride Guardians and Test Track like 5 times.