Disney parks are adding a top-tier, line-skipping upgrade with a whole new world of pricing: as much as $449 per person on top of park admission, Walt Disney Co. said Wednesday.
The Lightning Lane Premier Pass pilot program will begin next Wednesday at Disneyland Resort theme parks in Anaheim, California, and on Oct. 30 at Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, according to the company’s website.
The new pass, the highest tier of three Lightning Lane passes, will be the only one that allows its holders to show up without specifying arrival times, get in shorter Lightning Lanes and ride.
Pricing will be variable, ranging from $129 to $449 at Disney World parks, with the highest prices falling on peak visitor days, the company said.
At Disneyland Resort parks, the Premier Pass will cost $400 through the end of the year and an estimated $300 to $400 in early 2025, depending on demand and special dates, according to the Disneyland website.
The passes will be available in “very limited” quantities, according to the park websites, with the option to buy them for the Florida parks offered only to those staying at selected hotels.
The two existing Lightning Lane passes require holders to commit to estimated time windows for specific attractions. The first, the Lightning Lane Multi Pass, limits holders to three listed experiences chosen in advance, and it allows an additional listed experience once the initial three have been redeemed, according to Disney. The other, the Lightning Lane Single Pass, applies to one experience, determined from a short list upon purchase.
The new pilot Premier Pass is limited to a list of Lightning Lane experiences and attractions, each of which the pass-holder can attend only once a day, according to Disney Parks.
The pass will be available only at Disney’s domestic parks for now, although Disneyland Paris’ Premier Access passes are similar. Tokyo Disney Resort’s Premier Access passes work like the Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
Disney World tickets start at $119 for single-day admission and are $104 for one of the Disneyland Resort parks, according to the park websites.
The Premier Pass pilot program is among Disney Parks’ priciest upgrades or ticket packages.
Disney VIP Private Tours cost $450 to $900 per hour on top of park admission, with a minimum of seven hours and a maximum of 10 guests who may divide that cost among themselves. Disneyland’s Magic Key passes, which allow users to make reservations for included admission on most dates, cost as much as $1,749 a year, but that highest-level Inspire Key pass is sold out and available only for renewal, the resort said.
Disney’s pilot upgrade has some similarities to the Universal Express tickets offered at Universal Destinations & Experiences theme parks. But they’re roughly half the price of the Disney upgrade and include park admission. On Wednesday, the line-skipping tickets at Universal Studios Hollywood were listed at $199.
(NBC News and Universal Destinations & Experiences are divisions of Comcast NBCUniversal.)
Disney Parks have had to balance long wait times — two hours and longer for popular rides at Disneyworld parks earlier this year, according to the fan site WDWMagic.
Disney’s new tier may have the effect of opening a new avenue to rides and attractions for those who can afford it while taking those pass holders out of long “standby” lines.
The resorts’ parent company, the Walt Disney Company, reported third-quarter 2024 revenue of more than $23 billion, beating analysts’ expectations, according to CNBC.