Walt Disney World Resort is gearing up to make the most of the large crowds expected this holiday season, as its highly debated—and expensive—Lightning Lane Premier Pass has sold out for the first time this Christmas season.
The Lightning Lane Premier Pass was introduced shortly after Disney revamped its Disney Genie+ service, which had been in place for nearly three years. With this rebranding, Disney consolidated its paid “FastPass” system under the new Lightning Lane banner, offering the Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass.
These new options give guests the ability to bypass standby lines at a cost, similar to Genie+, which previously allowed users to pay for expedited access to certain attractions.
The major distinction comes with the Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass. Guests can now book attractions up to seven days in advance, but there are caveats. Offsite visitors can only reserve up to three days ahead of time, while international guests are excluded entirely, as the bookings must be made while in the United States.
Yet, the real attention grabber is the Lightning Lane Premier Pass. For a much steeper price, it offers access to every Lightning Lane at a specific park. Prices vary from just over $100 to nearly $450 depending on the park, and initially, it was available only to those staying at Deluxe Disney Resorts. After a successful trial, Disney expanded the offering to all Disney World hotel guests.
Despite its hefty price tag, the Premier Pass has proven popular. During Thanksgiving week, the offering sold out at all four parks—Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom—marking the first time it had been fully booked across the resort.
The trend shows no sign of slowing down as Christmas week nears. WDW Magic reports that the Lightning Lane Premier Pass at Magic Kingdom is already sold out for Sunday, December 22, 2024. Priced at $429, Disney has already raked in a significant amount from the service. The consistent demand for this expensive add-on highlights that even with the high costs, guests are still willing to pay for a “smoother” Disney experience.
As Disney World continues to raise prices, it begs the question: are guests willing to spend even more on top of an already expensive vacation for the privilege of skipping the lines? With Christmas week rapidly approaching, it’s likely that availability for dates like December 23 and through New Year’s Day will also soon be unavailable.
Have you tried the Lightning Lane Premier Pass? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
See, even though people love to complain about Disney, this shows us that no matter what they do, people will still buy.
I just used it this past Monday 12/16 at Magic Kingdom. It was great! You could get on every single ride with no problem. No running back and forth through the park either. We started at Tomorrowland and worked our way around to Adventureland. I traveled with my son so paid for the two of us. I’d do it again. Will be using it today at Animal Kingdom. I managed to book it at every park this week. Am staying at Boardwalk so booked as soon as I could. People will obviously pay for this smooth experience.