Walt Disney World Resort’s holiday season is off to a record-breaking start, driven by a new offering that’s sparking plenty of debate. After a historic, resort-wide sell-out over Thanksgiving, Disney’s controversial Lightning Lane Premier Pass has completely disappeared from availability across the flagship park.
This high-priced option emerged shortly after Disney retired its nearly three-year-old Disney Genie+ system. Under a major rebranding effort, Genie+ was replaced by two distinct choices: the Lightning Lane Multi Pass and the Lightning Lane Single Pass. Both options allow guests to bypass traditional standby lines for an additional fee, with both adding a game-changing feature: the ability to pre-book attractions from a tiered list up to seven days before a visit—if guests meet certain eligibility requirements.
The booking window is shortened to three days for offsite guests, while international visitors face an extra hurdle: reservations must be made from within the United States.
At the center of all the buzz is the Lightning Lane Premier Pass. Designed for guests who want it all, this premium pass grants unrestricted access to every Lightning Lane attraction in a single park. But convenience doesn’t come cheap.
Pricing starts just above $100 and can climb as high as $450, depending on park choice and demand. Initially reserved for Deluxe Resort Guests, the Premier Pass was rolled out to all Disney Resort hotel guests after a successful trial phase.
Unsurprisingly, reactions have been mixed. While some Disney fans praise the convenience, others criticize the escalating costs of these add-ons. Regardless, the Premier Pass has proven to be a massive hit.
During Thanksgiving week, the Premier Pass sold out at all four Walt Disney World theme parks—Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom—for the first time ever. The demand has only intensified heading into the Christmas season.
Magic Kingdom’s first holiday sell-out occurred on Sunday, December 22, 2024, with the pass priced at $429. Within days, additional dates—December 27 through 31—also reached full capacity, with prices peaking at $449. At EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the Premier Pass has seen similarly high demand, with prices climbing to $349 per guest.
This Christmas season has already set new records, with Magic Kingdom selling out the Premier Pass for an unprecedented ten consecutive days. The sold-out streak began on December 25 (Christmas Day) and continues through January 3, 2025, solidifying the pass’s popularity.
While the Premier Pass’s success highlights the growing willingness of Disney Guests to pay for a seamless park experience, it also raises concerns about the rising costs of a Disney vacation. As the New Year approaches, additional sell-outs are expected across other parks, especially at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which has become a top choice for holiday crowds.
Orlando International Airport has confirmed that nearly three million travelers will pass through its terminals this holiday season, emphasizing just how busy the resort—and Central Florida as a whole—will remain.
What do you think of the Lightning Lane Premier Pass? Is it worth the splurge, or has Disney gone too far? Share your thoughts in the comments!
So it’s basically meant for the wealthy who return whenever they want to. They have a perfect vacation so that they can ride any attraction they wish, while those who have to save for years just to take a small family on a once in a lifetime vacation have to wait in long, hot lines with no guarantee they get to ride the rides they want. Yeah, it sold out, but not many people can afford a Christmas Vacation at Disney World.
100% agree with you. It’s like they’re eliminating the middle class and people who save their lifetime to go. Majority of this world cannot afford to pay an extra $2000 for a family of four just to be able to get into a fast lane. They really need to start thinking about all the people instead of all the rich people this new CEO is basing making it impossible for anybody who is not a CEO top executive president of a company or a person who makes $350,000 a year to go to Disney he should start thinking about making these options more available to people who can’t afford an extra $2000 for a family just to have a good place in line
With people buying these skip the line passes. It is going to make going to the parks to stand on regular line not worth it. Dang. I guess I will not be spending my money at Disney anymore.
It’s insane that a Disney vacation will end up costing so much. We are going in January and if we end up standing in line forever due to the amount of people in the lightning lanes ( which we DEFINITELY cannot afford) this will be our last trip. Go back to the fast pass.
Me and my family have been going to Disney one time every single year for 17 years straight except for one year during Covid and one other year, which didn’t coincide with my children’s exams. Every time we go, we find the amenities at the resorts, getting worse and worse. The rooms are OK food terrible cost of every single thing you want to get so expensive it’s ridiculous. When you go to book your tickets, the prices of the tickets just basic prices are astronomical and almost unattainable for a majority of the people of the world. Now with this lightning lane, you’re adding on hundreds and hundreds of dollars per ticket so if you have a family of four you’re looking at another $1800 added to your ticket price just to be able to get on a ride. At least the genie plus system allowed you to go in and book your passes and then change your passes throughout the day if need be and you had a time to show up I’d rather wait 10 minutes in a genie line Then pay $1800 for a lightning pass. Maybe celebrities and top executives of companies or people that have saved $15,000 to go to Disney over the last 10 years can pay that price but the normal average citizen cannot afford this. As for all these attractions also shutting down in 2025 it’s sickening that they’re shutting down so many at the same time. Now you have these astronomical prices costs of food which has been ridiculous and also Changing it to these certain types of rides that don’t really excite many of the guests coming in except for toddlers. When it comes to eating at a buffet and a glass building at Magic Kingdom starts turning into a five or $700 bill for family of four that’s getting ridiculous. I have to say going to Universal Studios was the calmest, peaceful, nicest, and cost worthy thing we had ever done for a four day vacation and now with these three lands opening up, it’s just gonna make it even better. Plus, Universal Studios hotel was way better than the Disney people Meaning the cost the staff the room and convenience amazingly better. I’m sad to say I have been a Disney lover for ever but with it costing now seven to $8000 just for a four day trip. It’s really not worth it anymore. And I’m sad to say that, but our next couple trips will be to other parks and other parts of the country.
Go back to the old fast pass that came with your resort stay. You’re already paying a huge amount for the stay. I don’t think Walt Disney would approve of the greed that exists now. Only the wealthy can afford to go…..