Paid Premier Access Replacing Free FastPass at Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris has officially announced Disney Premier Access, which replaces free FastPass in those two parks. In this post, we’ll share details & pricing, how the upcharge line skipping service will work, and discuss the potential implications for Walt Disney World, where a paid replacement for FastPass+ feels like all but an inevitability at this point.
In a number of app-related updates, Disneyland Paris shared that the free Standby Pass is returning. This is essentially a hybrid system that combines a virtual queue with a physical standby line. It allows guests to spend the first part of their wait time for select attractions outside of the queue, and then joining the line for the home stretch.
Standby Pass is available at Disneyland Paris certain times of the day, subject to availability and dependent upon operational needs of the parks. Essentially, it’s offered when Disneyland Paris is running out of physical queue space–so during peak times of busier days. When available, guests can use the Disneyland Paris app to book the next available time slot to enter the physical queue line of an attraction, return within the allocated 30-minute time slot, present the Standby Pass QR code, and stand in the queue for the remainder of that time.
You might recall that late last year, there were rumors that Walt Disney World would implement virtual queues for Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run and Jungle Cruise. Other attractions, like Peter Pan’s Flight and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, actually cut their queues at some points when demand was high. At Disneyland, Indiana Jones Adventure actually did use a virtual queue for several weeks post-reopening.
This was for precisely the same reason as the Standby Pass is offered–those physical queues were running out of space at certain times. While it has ceased being an issue since physical distancing was dropped, it’s also worth pointing out that Walt Disney World is still capping park capacity. So physical space in standby queues could once again be an issue, albeit for different reasons, come October 2021.
Back to Disneyland Paris, those parks will also give guests the option to purchase Disney Premier Access on the Disneyland Paris App. This digital service allows guests to pay to skip the regular queue line for popular attractions, including Autopia, Big Thunder Mountain, Peter Pan’s Flight, Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast, Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain, Star Tours: the Adventures Continue, and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
From anywhere inside the parks, guests can use the Disneyland Paris App to purchase an assigned time slot for the aforementioned attractions. Pricing for Disney Premier Access will be per ride, ranging from €8 to €15 (~$10 to $18) depending on the attraction and day of visit. Think of it like Express Lanes on toll roads–dynamic pricing that increases with demand.
This is not Disneyland Paris’ first foray into paid FastPasses. Three years ago, those parks rolled out “Disney Access One,” which allowed guests to purchase what was essentially an instant FastPass, bypassing the standard multi-hour wait associated with drawing a traditional FastPass and redeeming it. These Access One passes cost €15 per person per attraction, with discounts for Annual Passholders.
A few months after that, Disneyland Paris debuted two new paid FastPass options: the Super FastPass and the Ultimate FastPass. The Super FastPass bundled together thrill rides or family-friendly attractions for one-time line skipping with no set return times. The Ultimate FastPass granted both immediate and unlimited access to all FastPass attractions. The pricing on these options ranged from around $30 for the Super FastPass during off-season to $175 for the Ultimate FastPass during peak season.
It’s also worth noting that the new Standby Pass and Disney Premier Access combo that Disneyland Paris has unveiled is nothing new. Shanghai Disneyland has been using this exact same system for a little over one year.
However, free FastPass still exists at Shanghai Disneyland, which is obviously a critical distinction.
I’m going to guess that there are a fair number of Walt Disney World fans–who have absolutely zero intention of ever visiting Paris or Shanghai–reading this post with bated breath. There’s understandable, as the writing is on the wall. Some form of monetized FastPass is almost certainly coming to Walt Disney World in the not-too-distant future.
Over the course of the last three-plus years, we have heard a number of rumors about paid FastPass coming to Walt Disney World, ranging from preposterous to highly credible. In the last couple of months, the rumblings have become more frequent and detailed, with some major commonalities as well as minor inconsistencies among them.
At one point, the most credible rumor for Walt Disney World was the per-ride Access One system at Disneyland Paris plus various packs (e.g. “Magic Kingdom Mountain Range”) but no unlimited option. Keep in mind that this was years ago–it even predates the announcement of the Disney Genie app.
Given its use at two other resorts, the combo of Standby Pass plus Disney Premier Access is a plausible route for Walt Disney World. Or at least, that same general infrastructure. If current rumors are accurate, branding would likely be different at Walt Disney World but the mechanics would be more or less the same.
Trying to distill all of the FastPass replacement rumors for Walt Disney World and square those with the above announcement for Disneyland Paris is not difficult. In addition to a lot of similarities, it’s likely such a system will be announced in the near future (July or August) and be implemented shortly thereafter (September or October).
What’s unclear is whether Walt Disney World’s replacement for FastPass will debut with or ahead of the Disney Genie app. Nothing I’ve heard directly indicates the two are tied together, but that has been rumored elsewhere–and appears possible. (Disney has brought up the Genie app on a handful of occasions over the last 6 months, suggesting that app is not dead.)
Don’t be surprised if whatever Walt Disney World launches is more convoluted, has its own branding, and more options. As a general matter, all of those things are safe guesses since that’s just how Walt Disney World does things. It’s more of an extended vacation destination than any of the other worldwide resorts where the average guest only visits for a day or two at a time.
At a minimum, it’s likely that Walt Disney World will offer paid line skipping on a per-attraction basis, with a limit on how many ride reservations can be purchased and return time windows that guests can select. That system would undoubtedly use the former FastPass+ line, and likely have a lower adoption rate than free FastPass.
Paid FastPass with lower utilization would in turn necessitate Standby Pass or some form of virtual queue at select attractions. This is because there simply is not enough physical standby queue at many attractions under normal full capacity scenarios.
In the past, FastPass+ caused standby wait times to balloon, which resulted in more guests balking and not queueing up. This was due to the ballpark 80:20 FastPass-to-standby ratio, which meant far fewer guests were in line for a 30 minute posted wait than would be without FastPass. (Without FastPass, standby lines constantly move and are much more pleasant–but they also take up much more physical space.)
Assuming Premier Access is used by fewer guests (a very safe bet if it’s only directly monetized), the ratio will be more balanced or favor standby lines. That would also mean standby queues would see higher utilization levels and regular wait times wouldn’t be as long. Thus, more guests would queue up and additional standby space would be needed.
That still leaves many unanswered questions, perhaps most significantly whether on-site guests at Walt Disney World would receive any kind of access included as part of their resort stay. There has been a lot of chatter about this–not just recently, but over the course of many years. I have not heard anything credible about whether on-site guests might receive anything, but it strikes me as plausible that they would–perhaps based upon the resort tier. However, that’s entirely speculative on my part.
Whether on-site guests receive some level of line-skipping access likely depends upon the degree to which Walt Disney World feels the “need” to incentivize on-site resort bookings. Given how strong those are right now and with early entry and extended evening hours perks debuting this fall, Walt Disney World might go solely for direct monetization on the FastPass replacement.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Walt Disney World hold off on additional on-site benefits until resort occupancy rates drop. In which case, we might see Disney Premier Access (or whatever Walt Disney World calls it) debut this fall and something more beneficial to guests (Disney Genie?) debut towards the end of the 50th Anniversary. Again, entirely speculative.
With that said, it’s still possible that Walt Disney World and Disneyland will borrow features from the MaxPass system that was in use at Disneyland pre-closure. We really liked MaxPass and would love to see that expanded to Walt Disney World, albeit with a free component.
It remains a possibility that the systems rolling out at Walt Disney World and Disneyland will differ from Paris and Shanghai, as well as from one another. All of these parks have their own unique wrinkles, and Walt Disney World in particular is a more complex operation than the other parks, so it might merge multiple systems.
I don’t want to over-emphasize it, but Walt Disney World switching to this system would also have potential upside for guests who were not FastPass+ power users. Far fewer guests will use the ride reservation system if it costs money, which in turn means standby lines will move faster and those wait times will generally be shorter. There’s no way the ratio will be 80:20, because there’s no way that many people will pay to skip the line.
It’s hard to say what the ratio will be, but I’d be surprised if it’s over 20:80 most days. (Unless some access is included for on-site guests, which would totally change things.) By how much will almost certainly depend upon the day and season. If crowds and wait times are lower, fewer people will likely purchase the paid option to avoid long waits. That in turn will mean even shorter standby lines. Conversely, more people will buy on busier days, exacerbating the problem.
With all of that said, we’re opposed to Walt Disney World charging for something that was previously included free of charge as a matter of principle. Regardless of how we feel about individual changes, Walt Disney World’s overall direction is more than a little concerning, and there has been a proliferation of nickel & diming, cutbacks, and price increases over the last several years. It would be one thing if additions and subtractions netted one another out, but Walt Disney World has been burning the candle of fan goodwill at both ends, so to speak.
FastPass+ was not without its faults, but the system also was not broken. The new system probably won’t be as bad as many fans are envisioning, but it’s also an unnecessary “solution” to a nonexistent problem–and one that, like so many other things, will be monetized. There might be minor upsides to this, but the only real winners here will be Disney and those for whom money is no object.
Ultimately, what Disneyland Paris has announced with the Standby Pass and paid Disney Premier Access replacing free FastPass is likely a window into what’s on the horizon for Walt Disney World. Nothing is official at this point, but we would strongly recommend bracing yourself for the (strong) possibility that Walt Disney World will likewise retire free FastPass and roll out something similar–but probably not identical.
Given the proliferation of rumors on the topic in the last couple of months (where there’s smoke…), plus Walt Disney World gradually scaling up park capacity, plus the World’s Most Magical Celebration starting October 1, it’s likely Walt Disney World will make an official announcement within the next month or two, and have the system ready to roll by sometime in September or October 2021. Who knows–maybe the rumors are all wrong and free FastPass+ will return! That’s not what we expect to happen, but we’ve been wrong plenty of times before.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Do you think Standby Pass and Disney Premier Access will be rolled out at Walt Disney World? Think it’ll be a similar system, but debut with the Disney Genie app and offer its own branding and unique wrinkles? Or, do you think this is all wrong–that FastPass+ will return unchanged later this summer or fall? Do you prefer fast-moving standby lines only, or the FastPass and standby combo? Interested in how Walt Disney World will implement the new system? 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!
I hate the idea that rich people get advantages over normal people. Awesome if you have limitless resources but I LOVE Disney and I am poor. I LOVE my memories going with my family when I was a kid. I LOVE my memories taking my kids a few years ago. Disney isn’t a right I’m entitled to, but how sad to turn it into a status symbol. We save and save and save to go and I hate the idea of having a lesser experience just because we don’t have limitless resources.
Cathy, I agree that there will be price increases and that’s ok, but to take things like fast passes and extended hours that were once a perk and now start charging for them is a little greedy. Also, if you read about Walt Disney’s vision for Disney World/Disney Land he said he wanted a place that all families could enjoy and afford he never said it would be free.
I’m using the DAS pass to get on rides, the same as fast pass , to check in for a ride and return time, with the expensive tickets and hotel and airfare will cost more to go to the parks if pay to play on getting on a ride, remember in the 1970s the ticket books..
We would welcome a paid system of faster entry to attractions. We have purchased Unlimited Express Pass at Universal and Fast Lane tickets at Cedar Point. In each case that required months of saving and cutting back on other luxuries. We were then able to enjoy a wonderful experience that our hard-earned dollars bought. The old “free” FP+ were cumbersome and absolutely required spending extra money on a Disney Resort to have a hope of reserving a FP for the most popular attractions. You pay either way: for the FP or for the expensive Resort Room.
@Jo I definitely do not agree with you. First of all no one on this page knows what Walt wanted or would have wanted. So tired of hearing this. Walt did not make Disney to give free to everyone. Everything in the parks costs money from the minute you step on those grounds. Disney also is not a right to people. It is just like any place else you will go. Some can afford and some can not. That is not Disney’s problem. Everyone has to decide for themselves how to spend their money and if they think Disney has lost the magic and Universal is better than that is where they should be going. In my opinion Disney is as magical as ever and I understand that they need to increase prices and change things up as they go along. It is business plain and simple. Disney resorts are filled to capacity most days so I am sure they are not worried if people stay offsite. That is their choice but the bottom line is there will always be enough people who spend their vacation dollars here no matter what the changes.
We always stay on Disney property, we love coming to Disney. Over the years we have come over 40 times and not just with our kids but with ourselves and friends. To us it was a magical place to enjoy and leave the real world and all it’s crazyness behind. With all this Premier access and pass stuff going around , Disney has gotten so far from what Walt Disney wanted for families and it’s not just the passes, etc. but they keep adding money to everything that people may not be able to afford to go. I think that some people that stay on Disney property may decide to stay outside in order to afford the parks. Disney seems to be losing their magic. Universal is looking better and better.
Seems like Disney could save a whole lot of IT money and just go back to the really old ticket book system I remember as kid people giving away their unused tickets as they left the park and being so super excited if you were lucky enough to get one with an E-ticket still in it.
We stay on site primarily for earlier fast pass access. It’s a 15 hour drive to get to Orlando but we love it, so we go once every few years. We have 4 kids under the age of 10, so working the lines is a priority for us. We have to get 2 rooms at a budget tier hotel. I would probably save money by paying to skip a line and staying off resort. Time will tell, but I don’t see this as necessarily a bad thing.
@Pat.. That is a horrible assumption to make about your fellow human beings. I find it very insulting that you would assume because someone purchases a certain service that implies they are smug. People save their money to go just like you do and all make different choices about which items they want included on their trip. To assume that makes them smug is nasty and wrong and reflects on you not them.
£300 entry, £20 parking, £170 disney hotel, 3 x premier pass × 5 = £300. This is for a day in 1 park for 2 adults 3 kids and only 3 upgradeds each. Nearly £800 for a day out not including food and staying at the cheapest Disney hotel and in fact with 5 of us we would need 2 rooms. Add to that the flights to get there and times all the above by a 7 day stay and we are talking a minimum £7000 for a week travelling from the UK. Yikes. People in the UK are saying a 2 week holiday will cost over £10,000. Disney is now for the very well off and inaccessible to people like me and I have been 6 times before and 3 times to Paris. It’s what we work hard for and look forward to. But no more. I must say though that for those who can afford it this is a great perk. They get to walk past the less well off people in the line and feel smug.
I have a disabled son, but I’ve always made do with the fastpass and never needed the DAS, and have been very proud of that fact. If Disney is going to charge for fastpass, then maybe I will ask for the DAS.
@Bec You said ” I DO NOT want to be stuck behind a phone screen making reservations, ordering food, getting passes, getting boarding groups, etc all day on my vacation.” It makes me laugh because that’s exactly what we didn’t last month during our trip. In fact, once I was trying to buy food at Pop Century on the phone, and the Disney app crashed 5 times in a row, so I ended up not being able to buy food, why? Because they didn’t allow buying food any other way at the time. Hopefully that will change soon if it hasn’t already.
My wife and I took our 4 & 7 year old girls to Disney World this December and I can tell you there were easily three lines we would have paid extra to skip. That said, I can’t imagine Disney would implement a “pay to skip” system in the way most of these comments contemplate. I’m sure that you’ll buy as certain amount of “wishes” included with your ticket and the cost to skip a line will be given to you in wishes, not dollars. When your kids are crying and the standby line is 60 minutes, it would be much easier, mentally, to justify spending 10 wishes as opposed to $40. Also, someone posted about the idea of “banking” a fast pass if they went to Hall of Presidents. That’s actually not a bad idea and could see them use something like that to spread out crowds. You could scan your magic band or phone at certain low demand rides to get a free wish. Obviously the amount of wishes earned and the amount of wishes it takes to skip a line would be priced dynamically through the day to control demand.
I don’t understand everyone getting bent out of shape about the possibility of a per ride upcharge. This actually seems like the most fair way to make sure that the people that most value certain rides are assured of getting on those rides. The old FP+ system prioritized on-site patrons and the cost of staying onsite is much more prohibitive than paying an extra $20-$40 to make sure your family gets on their favorite ride.
Word. Kim you have said it in a nutshell.
And not only will they lose a lot of return visits, but bad word of mouth may lead first timers to reconsider going.
Cmon, Disney. Do the right thing here. Keep free FP+.