Walt Disney World Resort is living up to its reputation as one of the busiest holiday destinations, with the week between Christmas and New Year proving to be a logistical challenge for parkgoers. While this period is always hectic, 2024 has seen unprecedented crowd levels, with reports of extreme wait times and frenzied activity across the parks.
Guests hoping to enjoy the thrills of Magic Kingdom Park’s TRON Lightcycle / Run found themselves facing waits of up to three hours. Over at Disneyland Resort, the stress of navigating the holiday chaos reportedly led to alarming behavior, with one guest sharing that a young girl who fell amid the crowds was ignored as parkgoers rushed by.
Lightning Lane Premier Pass Sells Out Across All Parks
For those looking to bypass the chaos, Disney’s line-skipping service, Lightning Lane Premier Pass, is often the go-to solution—if you can afford it. However, as of December 29, even this premium service is no longer an option. The pass has officially sold out at all four Disney World parks: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
The Lightning Lane Premier Pass allows holders to skip queues once per ride without advance reservations. It comes at a hefty price, ranging from $119 to $449 per person, depending on the day and park. While Magic Kingdom consistently has the highest pricing, Disney’s Animal Kingdom typically offers the lowest rates.
Controversial but Popular
Since its introduction, the Lightning Lane Premier Pass has sparked heated debate. Fans of Disney’s old FastPass system, which was free, have criticized the pass as an example of the “Disney upcharge,” particularly given its steep price tag.
Adding to the controversy was the pass’s initial availability, which was limited to guests staying at Disney Deluxe Resorts like Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. This exclusivity drew criticism for favoring high-spending guests. Disney addressed the complaints in November by expanding availability to all Disney hotel guests.
Despite the backlash, the pass remains in high demand. This holiday season marks the second time it has sold out at all four parks, with the first instance occurring over Thanksgiving.
Limited Availability
Disney has not disclosed how many Lightning Lane Premier Passes are sold daily, only confirming that they are available in “very limited quantities.” Guests staying at Disney hotels are encouraged to check the My Disney Experience app up to 21 days in advance for availability.
With record-breaking crowd levels showing no signs of slowing, Lightning Lane Premier Pass’s sell-out status highlights the lengths some guests are willing to go to for a smoother park experience.
Have you tried the Lightning Lane Premier Pass, or do you think Disney’s pricing is out of line? Share your thoughts!
Disney is only going to charge people the amount they are willing to pay. If those who complained about having to pay for services that used to be free had stuck to their guns and refused to pay, this highway robbery would have, if not ended,, at least not have grown into the nightmare it has become. It would have sent a very strong, loud message that things had gone way too far, and it wasn’tacceptable. . .
Paying for a Lightning Lane Premium Pass is not fair. Only the patrons that have more money than the average family can afford passes for the family for a day. All families should have the opportunity to skip lines as well. The original Fast Pass was fair. You got to pick the ride you wanted to ride without a long wait and had a guaranteed time to skip that one ride’s line and it worked for any family. My family had even gotten Fast Passes for the four of us and then “Pixie dusted” an overwhelmed family that had smaller children with the passes so they could skip the line. Now, most families that have scraped money together to have a Disney vacation, like my family, have to stand in the extremely long line for rides and watch the “rich” folks walk past them at every ride while they wait.
The Disney family has more money than they know what to do with. Why does the Disney family have to keep creating ways to charge more money? Mr. Walt Disney must be rolling in his grave watching what is happening to his creation. Why can’t the Disney family allow the average family a chance to skip one ride’s line like they did in the past. Disney isn’t just for the “rich”, but it is becoming that way. So sad!