Disney has announced the release of a new Lightning Lane product at both Disneyland and Disney World. The new product—Lightning Lane Premier Pass—is a higher-priced, more powerful Lightning Lane option at both resorts. It launches later this month. This was just announced this morning, so let’s get a quick look at the details we know so far…
About This Post and Related Posts
This new service is in addition to, NOT replacing Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass. I’m not going to go into the basics of Lightning Lanes in this post. If you need to learn more, we have a Complete Guide to Lightning Lanes and Strategy at Disney World, which will be updated with this information sometime soon. We also have a Complete Guide to Lightning Lanes and Strategy at Disneyland.
This post covers Lightning Lane Premier Pass at both Disney World and Disneyland, with differences specifically noted.
Lightning Lane Premier Pass Basics
Let’s start with some basics before my commentary…
What is Lightning Lane Premier Pass?
Lightning Lane Premier Pass allows guests access to each Lightning Lane in a single park at Disney World or both parks at Disneyland, including the Single Pass Lightning Lanes once per day at a time of their choosing. Guests who purchase Lightning Lane Premier Pass will purchase it for one day at a time.
At Disney World, you purchase Premier Pass for one park at a time. A multi-park option is not currently advertised, and it’s unclear if you can purchase multiple Premier Passes for multiple parks in a single day. Disneyland has only one option, a Premier Pass that includes both parks (but you’ll need park hopping privileges to use it at both).
When Will Lightning Lane Premier Pass be available?
Lightning Lane Premier Pass at Disneyland will debut October 23, 2024. Lightning Lane Premier Pass at Disney World will debut October 30, 2024.
In both cases, Disney is referring to this date as the start of the “pilot” rollout, and quantities will be “very limited.” At Disney World, Lightning Lane Premier Pass will initially be available only to certain guests…
Who can get Lightning Lane Premier Pass?
At Disney World, as of its “pilot program” debut on October 30, 2024, only guests of deluxe Disney resorts, DVC villas, and select other resorts (Swan, Dolphin, Swan Reserve, Shades of Green) will be able to purchase Lightning Lane Premier Pass.
At Disneyland, anyone can purchase Lightning Lane Premier Pass.
When can eligible guests purchase Lightning Lane Premier Pass?
At Disney World, per Disney, “Eligible Guests can purchase Lightning Lane Premier Passes up to 7 days before the first day of their Resort stay—for their entire length of stay (up to 14 days)—starting at 7:00 AM Eastern Time.”
At Disneyland, per Disney, “Lightning Lane Premier Passes can be purchased via the Disneyland app up to 2 days in advance of your park visit, starting at 7:00 AM Pacific Time (subject to very limited availability).”
How Much Will Lightning Lane Premier Pass Cost?
At Disney World, Disney has confirmed that when the service debuts, it will cost from $129 to $449 (per person, plus tax), depending on the date and park.
At Disneyland, “Lightning Lane Premier Pass will be priced at $400 per person, per day for park visits through December 31, 2024. Beginning in 2025, pricing will vary by date and demand within a $300 to $400 range.”
How do I use Lightning Lane Premier Pass?
Once you’ve purchased Lightning Lane Premier Pass for the day, there’s nothing more to do other than tap into the rides, up to one time each. You don’t have to reserve time slots—you’ll just approach the Lightning Lane and tap in.
When will the “pilot” program end, and what will that mean?
We have no idea. Presumably, the “pilot” period at Disney World will be the period during which Premier Pass is restricted to deluxe resort guests (et cetera), and after a few weeks or months, Disney will drop this restriction. But for now we’re just considering the service as it is.
My Initial Thoughts on Lightning Lane Premier Pass
Quick Note on Disneyland: The Disneyland Lightning Lane Premier Pass being priced at $400, I don’t see any reason to recommend it initially. If you have only a single day at both parks, then yes, it might make sense for you. But anyone with multiple days should easily forego this option, instead focusing on Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass.
The rest of this commentary focuses on the Disney World version of the product…
I’ve been wanting Disney to offer this product for a long time. This “all rides included” option exists in other resorts, including Disneyland Paris, and it’s just incredibly straightforward compared to all the other FastPass/Genie/Lightning Lane options that are out there. In fact, Disney’s chief competitor, Universal Orlando Resort, offers the nearly identical Universal Express Pass as their only skip-the-line option.
But that last part is important—that’s Universal’s only skip-the-line option. Guests who buy Lightning Lane Premier Pass at Disney World will still be sharing the Lightning Lanes with guests who buy Multi Pass and Single Pass.
This isn’t a tragedy for anyone paying for such a product, but Lightning Lane waits usually aren’t zero minutes. And if you think grumbles from “I paid $30 per person for this line!” are bad…well…
The other reason I like Universal’s system is because the limited number of people purchasing Express Pass don’t have a huge impact on standby lines. Again, this won’t be the case at Disney World because they’ll still have Multi Pass and Single Pass.
So while this is a product design I’ve been keen on for a while, it definitely won’t play the same role it plays over at Universal Orlando.
Overall, this product doesn’t move the needle for me much. I doubt I’ll recommend it, and I’ll probably stick to purchasing it maybe once a year at Magic Kingdom. While Multi Pass and Single Pass are imperfect systems, they work well enough to get you through most rides at the parks when you have even a basic touring strategy. The cost of a Disney World vacation is already tough to bear, I don’t see recommending people upgrade all the way to this over $130-per-person-per-day option.
Will you be using Lightning Lane Premier Pass?
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Don't forget to master your Disney World Lightning Lane Guide and Strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, Epcot Lightning Lane Strategy, Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, and Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Strategy.
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