Disney has debuted Lightning Lane Premier Pass, a higher-priced, more powerful Lightning Lane option at Walt Disney World. This high-end option will (no “if”s or “but”s about it) make your day at Disney World less stressful…at a cost. Let’s break down what this new option includes and who it’s available for…
About This Post and Related Posts
Lightning Lane Premier Pass is an alternative to Lightning Lane Single Pass and Lightning Lane Multi Pass. Those services are still around and will be significantly more popular than Premier Pass, which is going to be a high-end, niche offering. 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.
This post does not focus on Lightning Lane Premier Pass at Disneyland. While the services are basically the same, we briefly cover Disneyland’s Premier Pass in our Complete Guide to Lightning Lanes and Strategy at Disneyland.
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, 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 I don’t yet know if you can purchase multiple Premier Passes for multiple parks in a single day.
When Will Lightning Lane Premier Pass be available?
Lightning Lane Premier Pass at Disney World debuted October 30, 2024. 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, the “pilot program” has expanded to include guests of all Disney resorts, along with guests of the Swan, Dolphin, Swan Reserve, and Shades of Green. Formerly, Premier Pass was available only to guests of deluxe Disney resorts, DVC villas, and the select other resorts.
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.”
How Much Does Lightning Lane Premier Pass Cost?
At Disney World, Lightning Lane Premier Pass pricing varies by date and park. Here are the ranges for the first three weeks (high and low bolded):
Magic Kingdom - between $329 and $399
Hollywood Studios - between $269 and $329
EPCOT - between $169 and $229
Animal Kingdom - between $129 and $159
Can Lightning Lane Premier Pass Sell Out?
Surprisingly—YES. Lightning Lane Premier Pass can sell out. The first time this happened was during the week of Thanksgiving.
Two notes—first, it’s possible availability may come and go. It’s feasible that Premier Pass availability will depend in part on Multi Pass popularity. Second, this was still during the “pilot” phase of Premier Pass. Disney limited who could purchase Premier Pass during this time, so it stands to reason they’re really trying to keep this thing from getting too big too fast.
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. Disney has expanded the service beyond its initial rollout, which only included guests of Disney’s deluxe resorts. Now, guests of all Disney resorts are eligible to purchase Premier Pass. Presumably, the end of the “pilot” program will be when Disney expands it to all guests, though it’s possible they’ll decide to keep it restricted to their hotel guests. We have no clue what the timeline for this will look like, though we’d generally expect Disney to get through the holiday season without significant changes.
My Initial Thoughts on Lightning Lane Premier Pass
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!” people 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. With Zoe in school much of the year, we’re forced into shorter trips. Premier Pass theoretically allows us to fit in a smaller trip, and it might even save us a night at a hotel, which would be anywhere from $150 to $1000+ of savings.
Now, you might be thinking “Magic Kingdom? The most expensive option?!”. Make no mistake—Premier Pass is not worth it at Epcot or Animal Kingdom. The only two parks where the case is arguable is at Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom. And I’d probably only consider Hollywood Studios if I had good reason to squeeze that park into half a day.
Bottom Line: 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?
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
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Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.
When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
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.
Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.