Lightning Lane Premier Pass - What You Need to Know
There is a new kid on the block in the Lightning Lane community and BOY does it have some controversy! Lightning Lane Premier Pass debuts on October 30th in Walt Disney World and I’m here to give you the facts, a few of my thoughts on this new offering, and some tips to look out for when it comes to how this may effect your next trip.
What is it?
Lightning Lane Premier Pass is a paid offering that allows you to ‘skip’ the lines of your favorite attractions by using what’s called the ‘Lightning Lane’. Unlike it’s sister offering Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you don’t have have to book any return times. You simply show up to the ride and hop in line!
Image Courtesy of Disney
First things first, let’s clear up some Lightning Lane Lingo:
Standby Queue - The regular line that anyone can join. This will typically be the longest line option.
Lightning Lane - The ‘fast’ line that is offered by purchasing Multi Pass, Single Pass, or Premier Pass. This will give you a reduced wait time for an attraction.
Return Time - The one hour window you book using Multi Pass or Single Pass in which you can enter the Lightning Lane for an attraction. These are limited availability.
Multi Pass - The Paid option that allows you to book a return time to skip the line of select attractions. You can learn more about that system HERE.
Single Pass - For select attractions that are NOT included with Multi Pass, you can purchase these rides individually to use it’s Lightning Lane. These are usually the top tier attraction in each park.
Virtual Queue - For select attractions, (typically newer rides) a Standby Queue is not offered and instead a Virtual Queue is implemented. These are free to book and you’ll be given a ‘boarding group’ and you’ll be able to ride the attraction when your group is called. This is NOT a skip the line pass.
Premier Pass - The New Top Tier paid offering that works similar to Multi Pass, but you do NOT have to book a return time AND Single Pass attractions are also included.
Ok, now that we’ve cleared some of that up, let’s dive a little deeper into this new Premier Pass offering.
How It Works
If you’ve ever been to Universal and used their Express Pass, it works pretty similarly. Basically once you purchase it, you can walk up to any attraction that offers Lightning Lane and hop in line. This means that you can ride attractions whenever you want and in whatever order you want.
Image Courtesy of Disney
However, there is a few rules and catches when it comes to Premier Pass. You can only use the Lightning Lane ONCE for each attraction and at least to start out you are NOT able to park hop with your Premier Pass. That means whatever park you purchase it for is the ONLY park you will be able to use it. This is VERY important to remember when we talk about pricing as there are some parks that might be more ‘worth it’ than others. (although I don’t really see it worth it anyway, but we’ll get into that in a bit)
It is also good to note that you do get your Ride Photo downloads included in your Premier Pass purchase! This is ONLY your ride photos. If you wish to download your other Photopass photos like in front of the castle or with a character, you will need to purchase Memory Maker.
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
Who is Eligible
The other ‘catch’ with this offering is that when it rolls out it will only be available to guests staying at select resorts. Primarily this will be Disney Deluxe Resorts Disney Villas, and a few others, but this is also subject to change as things get rolling.
Here is the full list of Eligible Resorts:
Disney Deluxe Resort Hotels
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney's Beach Club Resort
Disney's BoardWalk Inn
Disney's Contemporary Resort
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Disney's Polynesian Village Resort
Disney's Wilderness Lodge
Disney's Yacht Club Resort
Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts
Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort
Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge
The Cabins at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort – A Disney Vacation Club Resort (eligibility applies to Disney Vacation Club Cabins only)
Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney's Wilderness Lodge
Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House
Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
Disney's Beach Club Villas
Disney's BoardWalk Villas
Disney's Old Key West Resort
Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Disney’s Riviera Resort
The Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Other Eligible Hotels
Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
Shades of Green Resort
Disney Dolphin Resort
How to Book
First things first, you’ll want to make sure that everyone is linked to your Friends and Family in your My Disney Experience App. You’ll also want to make sure that you have your resort reservation linked to your account. If you don’t have your resort linked, you won’t be able to purchase, so this is an important step!
You can purchase Lightning Lane Premier Pass up to 7 days in advance of your check-in date for and days you wish to use it during the length of your stay. This will open up starting at 7am EST. You’ll choose which park you wish to use it for and then be prompted to complete payment.
MAKE SURE that you get your email confirmation AND I recommend screenshotting the confirmation number just in case.
Pricing
Alright… this is definitely the part that is a bit controversial. This new offering comes with quite the HEFTY price tag! Prices will vary from park to park and day to day with Animal Kingdom and Epcot being on the lower end while Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom will be on the higher end. You can expect high crowd days like holidays to be the most expensive, but we’ll have a better idea of average pricing once the system officially launches.
Animal Kingdom: $129-$199 per person per day
Epcot: $169-$249 per person per day
Hollywood Studios $269-$349 per person per day
Magic Kingdom: $329-$449 per person per day
Now when you compare this to Multi Pass which ranges from $18-30+ per person per day and Single Passes from $7-$25 per person per attraction there is quite a big price jump.
It is also important to remember that all pricing above is pre-tax and does NOT include your regular park admission. You must have a park ticket in order to purchase either Premier Pass or Multi Pass.
What’s the Difference?
The BIGGEST difference between Multi Pass and Premier Pass is simply the fact that with Multi Pass you have to book your rides and with Premier Pass you don’t. You’ll both be using the exact same Lightning Lane line, so it isn’t like you’ll be getting on the ride faster with Premier than with Multi Pass.
The other difference is that with Multi Pass, you purchase it for your first park of the day and then you can use it at any park after if you have a park hopper ticket. With Premier Pass, you can ONLY use it for the park that you purchased it for.
And remember, ONLY Deluxe Resort Guests can purchase Premier Pass while anybody can purchase Multi Pass.
How Will This Effect Your Trip?
Truly, not a whole ton. Lightning Lane Multi Pass is still going to be around, so if you already had a plan set with Multi Pass, stick with it! If you are reading about all this and thinking to yourself “Man! This sounds really convenient, but there’s no way I’m paying those prices” I’m with you! But I do have a suggestion.
Standby Skipper is my FAVORITE third party app that books Lightning Lanes for you. Their goal is to help you spend less time on your phone while still letting you take advantage of what Multi Pass has to offer. You can learn more about how this works in my blog post HERE or by watching the video below!
If you are someone who has the money to throw away, then by all means, get yourself that Premier Pass! I’ll be honest that I don’t personally thing it’s worth the money as Multi Pass really isn’t as complicated as people make it out to be, but it is definitely a convenience to be able to walk up to a ride and just get on.
If you have a larger group and Premier Pass is sounding really appealing to you, I recommend checking out a VIP Tour. It does basically the same thing, but you get a guide, snacks, AND you can park hop! You may find that you get a little better value for your money doing an experience like this. I’ve heard people mention that Premier Pass is meant to be a like a step between a VIP Tour and Multi Pass, and I can see where they are coming from, but I do wish that there weren’t so many restrictions.
I am curious to see what Lightning Lane availability will be like once this new system rolls out. Since they do have to allot a certain amount for Premier Pass guests, there could be some attractions with an even more limited availability. BUT this is also where Standby Skipper comes in handy because they can be searching for those ‘sold out’ Lightning Lanes while you are off enjoying other things in the parks.
Disney is definitely getting more expensive, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t do Disney in a budget friendly way! It takes a little bit more planning, but it is absolutely still possible to have a great time and still save money!
