MaxPass Paid FastPass Price Increase & New Rides
We’ve already seen a flurry of price increases and changes today at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. More can be added to that list, as we have a few changes to MaxPass. In this post, we’ll detail the changes and whether the paid FastPass service is still worth the money.
For those unfamiliar with it, MaxPass is the paid digital FastPass service available exclusively at Disneyland Resort in both Disney California Adventure and Disneyland. Essentially, MaxPass is the West Coast equivalent of FastPass+, but for same-day ride reservations only, with an added fee, and PhotoPass image downloads also included.
Free paper FastPass kiosks remain available as an alternative at Disneyland Resort, meaning guests are not confronted with the Sophie’s Choice of spending money for MaxPass or waiting in nothing but long standby lines. However, as we’ve stressed in our Guide to FastPass & MaxPass at Disneyland, the two services are not equal–MaxPass has a definite advantage…
Let’s start with the good news, which is that Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will soon be added to the MaxPass and FastPass lineup at Disneyland. This was to be expected, and comes shortly after the same occurred at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
It also follows the addition of Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sully to the Rescue in Disney California Adventure and Autopia in Disneyland to FastPass and MaxPass. Both attractions are aimed at families with kids, which is a type of attraction underrepresented by the the ride reservation services. We expect more additions like this as Disneyland tries to make MaxPass more appealing to guests with small children.
With the latest additions, FastPass and MaxPass are now available at over 20 popular attractions in Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, including Space Mountain, Radiator Springs Racers, Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: BREAKOUT, Toy Story Midway Mania, Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters, and Indiana Jones Adventure.
The most conspicuous omissions from the MaxPass and FastPass lineup are now all in Disneyland. First, there’s Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, which is using a different type of virtual queue that results in a daily boarding pass dash right at park opening. Once this attraction is more reliable and operating at full capacity, we anticipate it being added.
Then there’s all of the Fantasyland dark rides, and it’s fairly unlikely that these will ever be added to FastPass or MaxPass. These quaint attractions were all built half a century ago, when Disneyland operated very differently.
There’s barely enough physical space to accommodate the current lines, and it seems highly unlikely that these could be retrofit in such a way to add another line for FastPass returns. (Fortunately, you can knock out all of them pretty quickly with a solid Disneyland Rope Drop Strategy.)
The bigger news with regard to MaxPass is that the price is increasing from $15 to $20 per person per day, representing a 33% jump. In the span of a little over a year, the cost of MaxPass has now doubled from $10 to $20.
The MaxPass add-on cost for Annual Passholders has also increased from $100 to $125.
We’ve slowly become fans of MaxPass and, ironically enough, more vocal advocates for its purchase just in the last few weeks since returning from our most recent visit to Disneyland.
When MaxPass first became available, we opted against adding it on to our Annual Passes (much to the consternation of our friends, all of whom had it). While we knew we could get more done with MaxPass, the upcharge rubbed us the wrong way and we felt fine with how much we were accomplishing via paper FastPasses.
Since upgrading to Premier Annual Passes, we’ve used MaxPass a ton more, and it has been a revelation. The ability to minimize walking, book MaxPasses during midday hotel breaks or while eating lunch, or simply using the refresh method to score MaxPasses that are unavailable via the kiosks were all huge advantages.
We also far prefer early mornings and late nights at Disneyland. Using MaxPass allowed us to do rope drop and then head to Laguna Beach or Los Angeles to relax for the day–booking MaxPasses while there–before returning at night with our stockpile of MaxPasses ready to go.
Of course, this changes the equation. Twenty dollars per day is a lot of money, especially for a family doing multiple days in Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.
For a party of four spending three days in the parks, that amounts to a total cost of $240 for choosing paid MaxPass over free FastPass. Whether it’s worth the PhotoPass downloads and additional 3-5 attractions per day over legacy FastPass is a tough question to answer that will vary depending upon budgets and priorities.
Walt Disney World fans will be quick to point out that Florida’s digital FastPass+ service is free (…for now…) for all to use. We’d counter that this is an unfair and unapt comparison. You can get reservations for all of the best attractions via MaxPass.
In order to score the “best” FastPass+ ride reservations without refreshing or checking obsessively for cancellations, you need to stay on-site at Walt Disney World, and there’s a significant price premium for that. Much like Disney’s Magical Express or park transportation, the ostensibly free service has a cost that’s built into hotel reservations.
In California, you can easily book an off-site hotel that’s a 10 minute walk from the parks (closer than Paradise Pier Hotel or Disneyland Hotel!) and put the money you saved over staying on-site towards MaxPass. In fact, in terms of strategic advantage, you come out significantly ahead by staying off-site and paying for MaxPass over doing an on-site hotel and using FastPass.
This isn’t to say MaxPass is or is not worth the new $20 per day per person price point. It’s more to illustrate that there are multiple ways to approach a visit to Disneyland, and no direct comparison can be made between the systems in Florida and California. There’s also no one size fits all answer to the question of whether MaxPass is worth it. For those willing to splurge with only a couple of days at Disneyland, probably. If we had to pay the per-day cost (rather than having it included with our Annual Passes), we would not do it. However, we’ve also done all of these attractions countless times, and are more interested in the atmosphere and being there.
If you’re preparing for a Disneyland trip, check out our other planning posts, including how to save money on Disneyland tickets, our Disney packing tips, tips for booking a hotel (off-site or on-site), where to dine, and a number of other things, check out our comprehensive Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide!
Your Thoughts
Will you use MaxPass now that it’s $20 per day? Even with the added cost, do you prefer this to FastPass+ or would you rather have Walt Disney World’s “free” service? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? 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!
We were at DL last year during Labor Day week and planning a trip this year in June. There were really no crowds at all and so we didn’t need Max Pass or any pass for rides. Since we were staying on property, and bought 3 day tickets, we took advantage of the early morning hours. We got inside both parks a hour earlier and both were ghost towns. The most we waited in line was 30 minutes for Haunted Mansion, 45 for Toy Story Midway Mania, and maybe 45 minutes for Millennium Falcon. We would go back to the hotel during the afternoon and return in the evening and never had a wait time. It did get real busy our last night at DL because of the first night of the Halloween. Hopefully in June this year, the crowds will be light as well. We are planning only 4 days there and the other 3 days at Universal Studios with hotel there. Hopefully the crowds at either parks will be super light!
Need I point out that TDR offers the EXACT same service free of charge? And that TDR is the only remaining Disney resort without any form of direct FP upcharging (we can quibble over what “direct” means, but I’d say early entry is sufficiently abstract, whereas “$20 for Photopass you don’t want with Maxpass thrown in free” isn’t…)
As a frequent visitor to most Disney resorts globally, DLR is the one I visit least – despite being in LA quite often. I consider it to have the worst pricing problem of all the parks for one-or-two day visitors (even more so than WDW, which is a more substantial resort where value can be had with non-park-days) – the new Premier AP pricing is laughable by the way! – and when I already have a WDW annual pass I think TDR is a sufficiently good analogue for the type of experience DLR offers at a fraction of the price
Well, yes, you’re correct. Tokyo is indeed the best one. But as much as I love it, I can’t just drop everything and go to Tokyo that often, and I find DL to be a far superior experience to WDW. That means they get the bulk of my business.
If TDR was closer, I would go more. If I had the means, I would go more. Alas, neither of those things are the case.
If TDR was owned by Disney, you better believe it would have higher prices and paid FP options by now.
I still think you can get a lot more accomplished in 1-2 days at either DL park than any WDW park, but YMMV. WDW definitely has more non-park options that are worthwhile, but I generally go for what’s INSIDE the gates.
TDR has digital Fastpass service now? When I went, you could only use that if you had a Japanese app and it was all in Japanese … we didn’t bother with it. Still absolutely LOVED TDR but agree a comparison between it at DLR is a bit tough to make for most people.
I think a comparison between identical services, one offered for free as part of the experience, and one charged at $240 for a 3-day visit from a family of 4, is a legitimate comparison. The fact that a lot of people can’t up sticks and vote with their wallets kind of underscores my point 😉
It’s true it’s in Japanese, but if you’re familiar with the DLR MaxPass service you’d have no trouble using it. More importantly, it’s the only practical way to experience various attractions – not using it puts you at a huge disadvantage.
I will keep paying and keep going, as long as the product continues to be high quality.
Just returned from Disneyland with MaxPass. We were able to do everything we wanted to do and still minimize our walking and standby lines. I 100% would stay off site, and spend the money on MaxPass. We were there Monday, tuesday and Thursday during what was supposed to be a slow season and saw a lot of 50-60 minute waits we were not down for. We would max pass, and single rider our way around the parks and sit end enjoy the ambiance versus waiting in cues. That being said, there is probably a break point of cost-wise for me. And also, after this trip, I don’t think WDW is appealing any time in the future. I loved DL and am already anticipating returning there over WDW.
Hey Tom,
Great article as always! Any word on when Millennium Falcon Smuggler’s Run will be added to MaxPass? We’ll be going to Disneyland for the first time from Feb. 28 – Mar. 4. Thanks!
Disney announced yesterday (Tuesday 2/11) that it is “coming soon.” No specifics were offered beyond that.
Thanks – “soon” was all I could find online too. I was hoping that all-knowing Tom would have heard a credible rumor about a possible starting date. I’m still hopeful for 2/28 or shortly after since that’s when Magic Happens, DCA F&W, and the return of Soarin’ over CA all start.
I have seven children. When we did DL in May of 2018 we did the $10 add on only for me, my wife, and four older children. The younger ones didn’t quite hit the height requirements for all rides. So if we do parent swaps we could gain an extra fast pass through that process.
I would probably do a similar thing on our next visit this summer and do it for the older five.
But I would love for Disney to offer a bulk buy for us LARGE parties, or as a special add-on for staying on property. Just think, $5.00 or $10.00 per day MaxPass when you stay on property?
But you have to charge the $20.00 price tag for a while to help people see the value.
Wow. I was already staggered by the $600 MaxPass would cost my family of six on top of our 5-day parkhoppers ($20 x 6 people x 5 days). I can’t imagine for you. For $600, I could upgrade my ticket to a Flex Pass annual pass, getting us merch and food discounts, add MaxPass or the weeklong PhotoPass to my AP AND still have more than $200 left in savings if we skip MaxPass. Or we could pay for two of our SoCal friends to join us with that $600. It’s insane.
Disneyland Paris offers AP discounts for families of five or more, if that helps. 😉 (It’s a general thing in Paris for families of 5+, at museums, public transit, etc., which is probably why Disney felt like they had to do a similar offering.)
Glad to hear that, unlike things like the Dining Plan at WDW, we can get MaxPass for only a subset of our family. I have a child and a husband who won’t ride any Mountain or the Incredicoaster, so after maybe a day of MaxPass where we do Soarin’, RSR, and Smuggler’s, they wouldn’t need it again.
Disney continues to gouge their customers who are mesmerized by the Disney of old. Yes Disney offers incredible attractions but they have become money hungry.We are DVC owners at the BEACH CLUB and AULIANI.
Because of increased sales it becomes more difficult to make reservations. All that matters to Disney is $$$
Bestwestern across the street. Is #1
hands down. i will not look at other hotels unless that one is unavailable.
Have you done both the Bestwestern Park Place and Bestwestern Anaheim? I know the 2nd is a little farther of a walk, but it includes parking and has a 12pm checkout time (vs 11am, which is very helpful on our last day). Just wondering if there’s a big difference in quality.
We have done both and would do both again. They are very comparable in quality. I personally liked the room and breakfast at the one that is slightly farther away from the entrance, but we usually stay in the closest because at the end of the night, those extra steps always feel unbearable…
Tom. do you know when or if Disney world is going to release the free food for November December 2020?
We love MaxPass, but this really is steep especially for families. We have annual passes (and I’m glad we added the $100 before it went to $125). If I didn’t have an AP with MaxPass I’d probably still get it for sure on shorter trips; for multi-day trips I’d probably get for 1-2 days and focus on Fastpass-enabled rides and then go without on other days and focus on rides without Fastpass + shows.
great tip! i was wondering if it could be used in that way. if so, it still seems like a no-brainer even with the increase. 3 day park hopper with 2 days of maxpass seems the way to go.
Yes, I think that would work well. According to the website you can do this.
My wife and I did four nights at Disneyland using the “staying at a hotel 10 minutes away” method last summer, and I would very much recommend that strategy. We were able to use MaxPass for all four days, grabbing at least 8 FastPasses each day including afternoon rests at the hotel. Well worth the money in my opinion, even at the new $20 (and better than FastPass+ at WDW). I would recommend trying to get it for one or two days if budget is important but you still want to maximise a couple of your days in the parks.
Thanks for all your valuable tips, advice and commentary Tom!
I’m not surprised by this move at all. When they added the FastPasses to Autopia and Monsters Inc, and knowing Smugglers Run was likely soon to join, I figured they would use the “added value” to raise the price. I still think for a short trip with a ride focus it’s a big advantage.
are you able to add this to only some members of your party? for example, grandma would probably not be riding most of the attractions maxpass offers, so could her ticket be omitted, or is it an all-or-nothing?
You can pick and choose who you buy it for. Disneyland ticket linking is much more casual (for lack of a better term) than Walt Disney World’s.
thanks tom! i should have asked this earlier- is it a per day offering, or are you required to purchase for length of ticket?
You can either pre-purchase for the length of your ticket, or buy it in-app on a day-by-day basis.
perfect, thank you!
I’m so glad that I took my Disneyland trip last month! I traveled with 2 adult friends, and we used Maxpass for 2 out of our 4 park days. I thought it was fantastic, and well worth the $30 I spent. My group did discuss how we would not feel the same way about using Maxpass if traveling with our families. $15 a day was one thing, but $60 for a family of four, which would now be $80…that’s a different proposition. I think Maxpass has a better value proposition in California than it would in Florida For one, being able to book FP’s for a second gate, and then walk 5 minutes across the esplanade to get there, is totally different from having to traverse the bus/monorail/boat system and go through another security checkpoint. Secondly, we were able to use Maxpass to hit every priority attraction in under two park days. Even with low crowd levels and agressive touring, you’d need at least 4-days to accomplish the same in WDW. At $80 a day, that becomes $320 for a family of four. People do pay similar premiums just to watch the fireworks, so maybe I’m naive to think that Maxpass pricing would not be willingly absorbed by many WDW guests. The current fastpass system also endows Disney resort guests with one of the few remaining on-site advantages. Given the angst over parking fees, I can only imagine the ire a paid Maxpass system would draw. (Not that ire ever seems to equate to an actual boycott!)
If Walt Disney World adopted a paper FastPass & paid MaxPass system instead of My Disney Experience/FastPass+ several years ago, I think it would’ve worked fine–and literally everyone would’ve been better off. (Especially Walt Disney World, which developed a convoluted system it planned on selling to other Disney resorts.)
However, at this point, I don’t see a switch to MaxPass being made. I do see a discrete add-on option for paid FastPasses as an inevitability. When Genie launches, at the absolute latest.
i agree that genie app is going to have some sort of paid element, likely the more you pay for higher “tiers” the more guaranteed fastpasses to popular rides you’ll get. just my hunch.
We were in DLR in December and our family of 4 added the MaxPass every day we were there. We truly felt it was worth the expense. We were able to do so many more attractions with it! I would highly recommend getting it for at least a few days of your trip!
We are going in two weeks. When purchasing tickets and facing the decision to buy max pass or not (there’s 7 of us), I was told that one member of your party could add it to their ticket and you would still get the photo benefit of the pass. Is that the case?
That is true, in my experience, but its’ important to note that DL Photopass is a shadow of the WDW program. In 4-days in the parks, we only saw photopass photographers in 3 locations, and almost none of the attractions have ride photos. (Space Mountain, one of the few rides with photo equipment, was not taking photos any of the 3 days we visited DL.)
That was the case when I was there almost 2 years ago, I haven’t heard it changed. I am assuming that would still work. Even if that person isn’t with you when the pictures are being taken, I think I recall being able to get a photopass card and have the person with the MaxPass for the day scan the code to be able to download the pictures. Hope that helps!
I hope they improve wifi in the parks while we enjoyed the convenience of maxpass we had issues with accessing the app in the park. Being Canadian we had limited expensive data charges.
Tom,
Yes. We watch our expenses, but it sounds like MaxPass would result in a much less stressful experience in the parks. Our only truly negative experiences in Disney parks over the last 30 years have been triggered by stress and fatigue, and this seems like reasonable insurance against that happening. Since we would never stay at Dinsey hotels in California (unlike in Florida), MaxPass would be a great use of those savings.