NEW Lightning Lane Premier Pass Rumored!

There’s a rumor circulating that a new Lightning Lane line-skipping service is coming to Walt Disney World and/or Disneyland. Yes, another one. This post shares details of the app appearance, along with our extensive commentary about possibilities for what the next paid FastPass could offer, and why we think Disney’s twist on Express Pass is the most likely candidate (along with predicted pricing and eligibility).

Let’s start with being very clear: this is purely a rumor based on functionality in the Disneyland app. It’s often the case that features are tested–and come to light in exactly this manner–before being fully rolled out for the general public. It’s also often the case that things are toyed with that never see the light of day.

Meaning the approximate timeline for a Lightning Lane Premier Pass announcement is as early as tomorrow or as late as never. We could know all of the specifics by August 23, or this could be a distant memory that’s long forgotten by 2025. Accordingly, if you only want “official” news and not wild speculation, you might want to skip this post and wait a few days or weeks.

We also are pretty confident that this is not a replacement for Lightning Lane Multi Pass (LLMP) or Single Pass (SP). Although there has been some backlash towards these new systems, that’s always the case with major changes at Walt Disney World and Disneyland that create new categories of winners and losers.

It’s our understanding that Disney is pleased with the new system and it seems to be going well despite some hiccups. Even if that weren’t the case, another major overhaul would not be possible so soon. It wouldn’t happen until 2026 or later. Regardless, there’s absolutely no reason to believe that’s what this is.

As for the substance of the rumor, ThemeParkIQ is reporting on social media that they spotted functionality that Disney recently pushed in an update to the Disneyland app to include a new “Lightning Lane Premier Pass.” Disney has removed this already.

ThemeParkIQ also shared this: “It looks like you will be able to pre-purchase Lightning Lane in advance and book ahead of time similar to Walt Disney World. This may come at an added cost.”

I don’t know what their basis is for drawing this conclusion, but it’s worth noting that this account is a great resource and often spots changes in the Disneyland app before they’re rolled out. I use their website for perusing menu changes at Disneyland before they’re officially announced–but I know they have a bunch of other features.

Here’s the graphic that ThemeParkIQ shared from the app:

Another thing that’s worth noting before we dig into the commentary is that ‘Premier’ is already used in branding for all of the international parks. Curiously, what it means or offers differs at all of them.

Shanghai Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris all have skip-the-line services that that are effectively bundles. Guests can buy a set of attractions–or all of them–for a set price. These are more expensive, on average, than what the domestic parks charge for Lightning Lane Multi Pass. Accordingly, Premier Pass could be a package similar to one of those.

Meanwhile, Tokyo Disney Resort uses the name Premier Access to refer to what is known as Lightning Lane Single Pass in the domestic parks. The Japan parks also still offer free FastPass, albeit by a different name–Priority Pass. Finally, TDR now offers vacation packages and ticket types that offer what’s essentially akin to Universal’s Unlimited Express Pass. (As a reminder, TDR is not owned by Disney, so it kinda does its own thing.)

To further confuse things, the Premier Pass is a coast-to-coast Annual Pass for Walt Disney World and Disneyland. It was once sold to the general public, but has only been available to Club 33 members and Golden Oak residents (and perhaps other VIPs?) since 2020. So who knows…maybe this is a Lightning Lane for the turnstiles at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland?!

Turning to commentary, there are a couple of realistic possibilities for what Lightning Lane Premier Pass could offer. The simplest and most straightforward explanation is that this is pre-arrival ride reservations coming to Disneyland. For those who aren’t aware, when Genie+ was retired and replaced by Lightning Lane Multi Pass, it occurred in name only at Disneyland Resort.

This is to say that the system was totally overhauled at Walt Disney World, with the introduction of a new system that looks strikingly similar to FastPass+, but paid. (I’d argue that LLMP has more in common with FP+ than it does Genie+, minus the whole money thing. Minor detail.) By contrast, it was a change in name only at Disneyland. It was done for the sake of continuity between the coasts and because the Genie brand had become so toxic.

In any case, this has created a larger product gap between Walt Disney World and Disneyland. You thus might be inclined to draw the reasonable conclusion that Disney is going to fill that by offering pre-arrival Lightning Lanes at Disneyland. This makes some degree of sense. Due to different demographics, it makes sense for Disneyland to stick (mostly) to same-day bookings. But many planners prefer advance selections, and this could be a product offering targeted at those (on average) bigger spenders. It makes sense!

However, I’m skeptical of this possibility. For one thing, I think offering two substantively-identical products but with different names would create consumer confusion. You could argue that this has already happened by virtue of Lightning Lane Multi Pass being different on the two coasts. But introducing yet another product that does the same thing would only further muddy the waters and complicate matters.

Then there’s the fact that this is in the Disneyland app. If this were in My Disney Experience (and only MDX) my take on it might be different. But everything I’ve heard over the years suggests that Disneyland was a “reluctant” participant in the whole Genie debacle, and it was an initiative pushed from on high for both coasts. That Disneyland wanted to stick with MaxPass, but it wasn’t their call.

Even in the absence of such rumors, you’re probably aware that Disneyland is the more laid back resort. Disneyland is not nearly as keen on pushing upcharges or making things complicated for guests. The California parks have gotten worse about this since 2021, but still nothing like Walt Disney World. So it’s difficult for me to imagine a Disneyland-exclusive initiative that makes ride reservations even more complex than at Walt Disney World. It’s just not happening.

There’s also the matter of incentives. What benefit is there to Disney in creating a new pre-arrival system for Disneyland and then, presumably, selling it for the exact same price as Lightning Lane Multi Pass? That’s presumably what would happen if this were Walt Disney World’s version of LLMP by a different name.

So now suddenly Disneyland has two systems to juggle, priced at or about the same amount that cause greater consumer confusion. And for what? Does anyone realistically believe that this would increase sales to enough of a degree for it to offset the added costs? It wouldn’t.

There is not a huge untapped market of guests who are on the sidelines, skipping Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Disneyland because it doesn’t have a pre-arrival component. (Beyond all of the above, the same day system works much better at Disneyland.) The market for this product simply does not exist at scale sufficient to justify its costs. I’m pretty confident it isn’t happening.

Which brings us to the second possibility for Lightning Lane Premier Pass: that it’s more like Disney’s version of Universal’s Express Pass.

For those unfamiliar with it, Universal’s Express Pass is available as a ticket add-on or with select hotel stays. You can purchase two varieties of Express Pass, regular or unlimited. The regular version allows you to skip the line once per eligible attraction in either park. Universal Express Unlimited offers line-skipping privileges, as the name suggests, an unlimited number of times per attraction.

Unlike Lightning Lanes, guests using Express Pass at Universal are not required to make ride reservations–meaning there are no set return times. You simply go up to the attraction, scan your pass, and use your Express Pass entitlement. There’s nothing to reserve or hassle with in an app. It’s a totally “dumb” system–and I mean that in the best way possible. Express Pass involves zero technology and screen time. It’s completely hassle-free.

Universal’s Express Pass is also much more expensive when not included with a hotel stay. The out-of-pocket cost of regular Express Pass starts at $89.99 per person plus tax and can top out at $290, with the average being well north of $100. Unlimited Universal Express Pass ranges from $120 to $320, with the average near $200.

My guess is that if Disney is introducing yet another line-skipping product, it’s essentially this–a “competitor” to Universal’s Express Pass. There would be sufficient product differentiation between Lightning Lane Multi Pass and this, and it would actually be viable. It probably also wouldn’t just be at Disneyland.

Before anyone even thinks about going there, Lightning Lane Premier Pass would not be included in select resort stays as its counterpart is at Universal Orlando. C’mon! They don’t even give away Lightning Lane Multi Pass to on-site guests…why on earth would they give away the higher end product?!

With that said, it would not surprise me in the least if there is a hotel component to this. By that, I mean that it’s only available for select guests to purchase in the first place. This would actually make a lot of sense, as it would significantly limit the guest pool for a product that might otherwise be very popular–even at an extremely high price. It would also function as a “perk” of sorts, incentivizing higher-end hotel stays among “whales” who might otherwise stay in off-site luxury accommodations.

This isn’t a hugely bold prediction. Walt Disney World already did this under the old FastPass+ system, allowing Club Level guests to purchase a ‘theme park extra’ package that primarily consisted of 3 extra FastPass+ selections for $50 per person, per day. That started in 2018 and ran through the closure of the parks in 2020. I thought that was crazy at the time–an insane cost for a system that could easily be ‘gamed’ with just a little effort.

I was wrong. (Well, not entirely–it was crazy to buy something you could get for free with a modicum of effort.) Club Level guests loved it–the bonus FastPass+ were insanely popular. Just ask a travel agent. Many had clients who otherwise would not have booked Club Level in the first place do so just to have access to the bonus FastPass+ selections. Meaning that their actual cost wasn’t $50 per person, per day–it was that plus the nightly upgrade to Club Level over cheaper accommodations they would’ve booked in the alternative!

If we’ve learned anything since ~2018-2020, it’s that there’s an insatiable market for exclusive Disney offerings. If such a “perk” on top of a freebie was $50 then, it could easily be triple or more that price now. Whatever you think is the “worth it” price for such a line-skipping product, the actual cost will almost certainly be higher. Such a service would easily have a 8x multiplier on the cost of Lightning Lane Multi Pass. Maybe even 10x or more.

The bottom line is that there’s a bigger market for a ‘hassle free’ Express Pass-esque alternative to Lightning Lane Multi Pass and the guests willing to purchase this will probably pay more than you think it’s worth. If you already scoff at paying for FastPasses that used to be free, you aren’t the target audience. And that’s not a value judgment–I’m not, either!

However, there’s also an internal desire to strike more of a balance between standby guests and Lightning Lane users. Policies and systems that feel fairer to the majority of guests and don’t advantage or disadvantage anyone too much. From what we’ve heard, Disney has been trying to thread the needle with all of the queueing and capacity changes over the last few months. It’s an unenviable task and no-win proposition that’s resulted in a good amount of backlash, but that’s the intent.

If my guesses about Lightning Lane Premier Pass are correct, this possible system may seem at odds with that. After all, this is pay to play taken to the extreme, aimed at the most affluent of guests. But this is precisely why I suspect this product offering will be limited to Club Level guests (or maybe Deluxe/Villa guests if forward occupancy projections really are as rough as I’ve heard). I’d be absolutely shocked if someone staying at the All Stars or off-site is able to purchase this.

That might also explain why it’s appearing in the Disneyland app first. Given that there are only three hotels there and they’re all fairly expensive, it might be easier to test Lightning Lane Premier Pass at Disneyland first before rolling it out at Walt Disney World.

Or, it’s possible that it’ll be rolled out simultaneously and it just wasn’t spotted in MDX. I can’t imagine Disneyland wants to be the test ground for this–and it also might be better to rip the band aid off all at once instead of letting a new system that will revive “Disney only cares about the rich!” headlines have two news cycles.

Ultimately, that’s a rundown of what has been rumored so far, possibilities as to what it could be, and what I think Lightning Lane Premier Pass actually is. A couple of additional shot-in-the-dark guesses I’d offer are that it’ll have starting prices over double those of Express Pass at Universal (I’d be surprised to see this cost less than $200 per person) and that there will not be an ‘unlimited’ option (meaning it’ll be one line-skipping entitlement per attraction). Again, complete guesses on all of this–I have zero inside information.

I also suspect Disney won’t want to disturb that ‘delicate balance’ in queue capacity allocation by offering Lightning Lane Premier Pass at an unlimited level (even if they could easily sell it for $1,000 per person, per day). Perhaps more importantly, they won’t want to cannibalize VIP tour sales. The goal will to be slot this in between existing product offerings, not compete with them.

Finally, I could also see this not coming to fruition at all. That Disney is toying with the idea but will get cold feet, fearing a negative PR cycle and backlash. There have been rumors of such a system for years, and they’ve never quite happened for this reason or that. I could see this falling through yet again, especially given all of the recent negative headlines and attention Disney has garnered. It might make sense to kick the can down the road yet again, wanting for a more opportune time. Or maybe they think that time is now, and the vibe is positive post-D23? I don’t really know…but I’d never bet against Disney’s appetite for more revenue!

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YOUR THOUGHTS

What do you think about the rumored Lightning Lane Premier Pass? Will this actually come to fruition, or is it another test that’ll lead to nothing? Predictions as to what LLPP will entail? Will it simply be Disneyland’s version of pre-booking or will it be Disney’s version of Express Pass? Guesses as to what it’ll cost or who will be eligible to purchase? Under what, if any, scenarios would you buy Lightning Lane Premier Pass? Agree or disagree with our assessment? Other thoughts or concerns? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!