Don’t Fall for FOMO with Lightning Lane Premier Pass at Disney World
Lightning Lane Premier Pass has started selling out at Walt Disney World, likely due to the removal of resort restrictions on its purchase. This covers why you shouldn’t fall for FOMO with the expensive upcharge line-skipping service at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, or (especially) Animal Kingdom.
For starters, we want to reiterate once again that Lightning Lane Premier Pass is not Walt Disney World’s core line-skipping product offering. Rather, Lightning Lane Premier Pass (LLPP) is a third tier of line-skipping in addition to Lightning Lane Multi-Pass (LLMP) and Lightning Lane Single Pass (LLSP). Even if LLPP sells out more frequently, that won’t change.
There’s a lot more to the Lightning Lane Multi-Pass and Single Pass, all of which is beyond the scope of this post. But if you don’t already know about those line-skipping services, we’d encourage you to read our Guide to Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World instead of this post. There’s about a 95% or higher chance that’s more relevant for your planning purposes than this one.
Before we get to why you should skip Lightning Lane Premier Pass, let’s briefly discuss its selling points and who should buy it.
The whole point of Lightning Lane Premier Pass is to streamline things. Unlike LLMP or LLSP, Premier Pass is not convoluted or confusing–it’s all about removing the friction introduced by other line-skipping options. It’s a brilliantly devious decision on Disney’s part, and a classic tale of an arsonist turned firefighter. You’ve almost gotta hand it to Disney–they created this problem and are now selling the solution at an even higher price point.
The precise point of Lightning Lane Premier Pass is simplifying the line-skipping experience. The allure of LLPP is not needing to read or learn anything. There are no hacks or ways to squeeze value out of it. You buy it to remove stress, reduce complications of planning, etc. The line-skipping system works exactly as expected. The primary product offering is peace of mind.
There are a lot of people in the market for such a line-skipping service, and one of the top complaints about Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World is that it involves too much screen time. The theoretical audience for Lightning Lane Premier Pass is massive as a result.
However, the actual audience is massively limited by prohibitive pricing. Lightning Lane Premier Pass costs vary by date and park, ranging from $119 to $449 per person. Unsurprisingly, the lowest prices are during the off-season and highest are peak holiday weeks.
Here are the ranges for each park as of late 2025:
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom: $119 to $199 per person, plus tax
- EPCOT: $169 to $249 per person, plus tax
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios: $269 to $349 per person, plus tax
- Magic Kingdom: $329 to $449 per person, plus tax
These prices are many orders of magnitude higher than Multi-Pass, and consequently, the actual audience for Lightning Lane Premier Pass is exceedingly limited. It’s my understanding that fewer than 1% of guests have been purchasing LLPP on the vast majority of days (at least, before it was opened up to all guests).
That number is higher when crowds are higher, especially at Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but it’s still only around 2% of all guests (maybe under). Sales are lowest at EPCOT and Animal Kingdom, demonstrating that maybe guests have some sense after all.
Against that backdrop, who should purchase Lightning Lane Premier Pass?
As Walt Disney World gears up for the busiest 3-week stretch of the entire year from Christmas until early January 2026, prices for Lightning Lane Premier Pass are returning to their record highs.
Rates are already well above-average right now, but peak pricing kicks in from December 23 through January 2, 2026. On these dates, you’ll pay $199 at Animal Kingdom, $249 at EPCOT, $349 at Hollywood Studios, and $449 at Magic Kingdom.
These are the most expensive dates of the year for Lightning Lane Premier Pass, but for good reason! This stretch is far and away the time of year when LLPP is most “worth it.”
This is especially true from December 29-31, which will likely see the highest wait times by a wide margin of 2025. During these 3 days, Lightning Lane Premier Pass has tremendous value everywhere (except for Animal Kingdom on NYE).
We would be more inclined to buy Lightning Lane Premier Pass for $449 on the Monday before New Year’s Eve than we would for half that price during Spring Break (and the cost difference wouldn’t actually be that much–it’d more likely be $399 to $429 then).
The point is that, even at its peak pricing, LLPP offers outsized bang for buck during this incredibly busy stretch of the year. If you’re ever going to splurge on it, that’s the time. Lightning Lane Multi-Pass subsequent selections won’t be a sufficient alternative, and there are no hard ticket events to do instead. It’s Lightning Lane Premier Pass or bust!
As for the rest of the year, the guests who should purchase Lightning Lane Premier Pass are primarily those for whom money is no object. Guests for whom time is their #1 resource, and are willing to spend whatever it takes to buy themselves efficiency.
Guests who are tremendously technology averse, want zero backtracking, to remove all friction, and have the resources to not care about cost. Parties that want a VIP experience, but either can’t make the math work on a VIP tour or don’t want to be accompanied by a stranger.
The best example is probably people staying at the Four Seasons Orlando or another off-site luxury hotel not as a splurge, but because Disney-owned Deluxes aren’t good enough. Ditto parties who didn’t plan ahead and are willing to buy their way out of lines at any cost. Guests who wouldn’t be reading a blog like this for money-saving tips & tricks.
Honestly, you should already know whether this is a product for you or not based simply and solely on the description and price points. Failing all else, a good rule of thumb is that Lightning Lane Premier Pass is for parties in the top 3% of household income or net worth. If LLPP is a good fit, more power to you! It’s not for us, but I don’t begrudge others for buying it–different people understandably have different priorities, budgets, etc.
Who is Lightning Lane Premier Pass not right for and who should skip it? Pretty much everyone else.
The vast majority of the year, Lightning Lane Premier Pass is not a good splurge. If purchasing it is going to come at the expense of something–anything–else during your trip, you should absolutely spend the money on that other thing. I don’t even need to know what that other thing is unless it’s, like, dozens and dozens of rice krispie treats or bottled water. If the word “value” is in your vocabulary, LLPP shouldn’t be.
Part of the problem, and reason Lightning Lane Premier Pass has now sold out on moderately crowded days, is because it’s perceived as a better value. The top tier line skipping service has been available at its lowest price points for many dates in 2025, which makes it more approachable. But it’s worth pointing out that the same is true for Lightning Lane Multi-Pass, so LLPP is still 8 to 10 times more expensive than that.
Unsurprisingly, the dates when Lightning Lane Premier Pass is cheapest are the dates when it’s least useful. Basically the opposite of the Christmas to New Year’s peak pricing recommendation above. Whereas LLPP is arguably “worth it” at $449 the Monday before NYE, it’s not worth it for the lowest price during the off-season.
On days that are less busy, there’s also abundant availability for Lightning Lane Multi-Pass and Single Pass. Meaning that whenever crowds are sufficiently low to justify Walt Disney World selling LLPP at its lowest rates, you can scoop up most Lightning Lanes without too much trouble.
If you’re making ride reservations via LLMP and LLSP at least 5 days in advance outside of peak season, you should be able to secure the Best & Most Difficult Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World. Even inside 3 days, you can usually do fairly well if you spend a bit of time refreshing and adjusting your reservations.
Upon arrival, if you’re following our Tips & Tricks for Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World, you should be able to use your subsequent selections for most other worthwhile Lightning Lanes. Again, this is during the low-to-moderate crowd days when LLPP is at its least-expensive prices. If we’re talking about 9/10 or 10/10 crowd days when LLPP costs the most, it’s a different story.
Nevertheless, we’ve found that some planners are still on the fence about Lightning Lane Premier Pass. This is likely due to FOMO and FUD–two of my favorite “facronyms.” We’ve ranted at length about the WDW FOMO Machine.
In a nutshell, it’s easy to fall into the FOMO/FUD traps, and drop an extra $5,000 or more on extras and upcharges to “guarantee” a great trip to Walt Disney World. You don’t want to miss out on something that’s “essential” to a great vacation, so you err on the side of caution and buy a bunch of upcharges that don’t actually guarantee that at all.
With that in mind, here are the worthwhile ride reservations that you’re guaranteeing with the upgrade from LLMP/LLSP to LLPP:
- Magic Kingdom: Peter Pan’s Flight, Jungle Cruise, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- EPCOT: Test Track or Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Frozen Ever After
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Alien Swirling Saucers, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Animal Kingdom: Nothing.
Everything else should’ve been bookable pre-trip or via subsequent selections.
This is assuming a modicum of refreshing with Lightning Lane Multi-Pass, and not having your face buried in your phone all day. If you spend more time playing the refresh game during your visit, you can fairly easily secure all or most of the above–with Frozen Ever After being the biggest exception.
Either way, you’re paying significantly more for each of these ride reservations than even the most expensive Lightning Lane Single Pass. The pricing premium for Lightning Lane Premier Pass over LLMP+LLSP when pared down to just the worthwhile attractions amounts to over $50…per attraction!
Lightning Lane Premier Pass at Animal Kingdom is only for those who hate money. That Multi-Pass barely makes sense there for most of the year, but at least is worth it around peak season dates.
Honestly, if given the option to choose Lightning Lane Premier Pass or Multi-Pass plus Single Pass at Animal Kingdom without having to pay for either, I’d pick Lightning Lane Multi-Pass/Single Pass most of the time. (Outside of Christmas, New Year’s, and Easter.)
The reason for that is simple: Multi-Pass includes Park Hopping at no additional charge, whereas Premier Pass doesn’t include Park Hopping, period. In my view, LLMP is most advantageous at Animal Kingdom when paired with hopping to another park in the afternoon. So I would rather roll the dice (it’s not really much of a gamble) on subsequent selections at DAK than be “guaranteed” DINOSAUR plus a handful of pointless Lightning Lanes that offer only illusory value.
Lightning Lane Premier Pass locks you into a full day of line-skipping at Animal Kingdom, which isn’t necessary ever–but especially not with LLPP. So either you ride attractions repeatedly (without Lightning Lanes, thanks to the no re-ride rule) or head to another park (also without Lightning Lanes, thanks to Premier Pass not offering Park Hopping). Either way, it’s not a quasi-VIP experience and hard for me to see the value of LLPP over LLMP/SP in almost all scenarios at DAK.
Starting the day at DAK with Multi-Pass, I’m pretty sure I could grab a couple of worthwhile Lightning Lanes at EPCOT in the afternoon and evening–perhaps all of them. At minimum, that would relieve the burden (and backtracking) of trying to score subsequent selections via Multi-Pass on my dedicated EPCOT day. (For what it’s worth, I generally wouldn’t buy LLMP at EPCOT, period, and am only doing so here for this thought exercise.)
As someone who visits multiple parks most days at Walt Disney World and thinks complaints about screen time with Lightning Lane Multi-Pass are overblown, I’d probably take LLMP most of the time over Premier Pass, even if both were priced identically. But I realize most guests are not me and LLPP does have circumstantial value over LLMP+SP. I just don’t think it offers anywhere near commensurate value to its cost.
Again, Lightning Lane Premier Pass does offer value to some guests–those for whom money is no object, grandparents not wanting to use phones or backtrack at all and having lots of disposable income, etc. I’m not arguing that. If you’re one of those demos, more power to you. But you should already know that one way or the other.
There are a lot of other people who are on the fence, debating which splurges are worth the money at Walt Disney World or having FOMO/FUD about line-skipping. If you’re in one of those camps and are contemplating whether it’s worth it to purchase Lightning Lane Premier Pass at its lowest price points, I can almost assure you that it is not.
It’s not like we’re simply cheapskates always looking to do WDW on a dime. We are perfectly willing to pay premium prices for premium products and experiences (hence being Disney fans in the first place). For a lengthy list of recommended upcharges, see Best Bang-for-Buck Splurges at Walt Disney World. It’s just that Lightning Lane Premier Pass isn’t on that list, or anywhere even close to it.
If you’re looking for a line-skipping adjacent offering that is on that list, check out After Hours at Magic Kingdom and After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In our view, both of those are subjectively superior to Lightning Lane Premier Pass despite being significantly less expensive. If someone gave me the choice between tickets to After Hours or LLPP, I’m taking those tickets without hesitation. That’s true even if I’m in one of the demographics for whom Premier Pass does have some merits.
Of course, there are ways to accomplish a ton without After Hours or Lightning Lanes, period. There is so much you can accomplish with savvy strategy, Early Entry, Extended Evening Hours (if eligible), rope drop, staying late, and so forth. See our Best Time-Saving Strategies for Walt Disney World, which covers the ideal approaches for beating long lines in each park.
We’re reiterating all of this because we’ve learned that Lightning Lanes have the biggest ‘FOMO/FUD factor’ at Walt Disney World, with planners on the fence being more inclined to buy them as a safety net. It makes sense given that rides are the whole reason most families visit Walt Disney World in the first place, and worries about prohibitively long lines are not irrational! But that doesn’t make buying Lightning Lane Premier Pass the rational response. Even with the aforementioned exceptions, Lightning Lane Premier Pass doesn’t make sense ~98% of the time.
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
What do you think about Lightning Lane Premier Pass? Is the top-tier of paid FastPass “worth it” to your party? Does the FOMO/FUD factor in the unknown of Multi-Pass subsequent selections make a difference to you? Do you value the intangibles of LLPP–no screen time, backtracking, etc? 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!
Would spring break (3/16-20) be a good candidate for a premier pass at Magic Kingdom?
Do you have a 2026 spring break guide?
Woke up at 7 this morning to book Lightning Lanes for the last part of the New Year’s week, 7 days out from our stay. We were willing to buy LLPP for MK and HS but both were sold out. LLMP and LLSP bookings had reasonable availability (there was no advance booking where a ride was completely unavailable). I was really looking forward to visiting MK and HS without having to be in my phone but I guess it wasn’t meant to be.
I think there’s lot more to be said for the intermediate step of purchasing LLSP in addition to LLMP. It removes a lot more app time from while you are in the parks than you would think. Even in the first few days of a packed Easter week, I would only pull my phone out after we checked ourselves into an attraction and grab the next LL. (The only times it took longer than a minute or two was when the four of us disagreed on which choice to make.) The second half of the week was even worse, of course; LLPP could have saved people a lot of compromises we had to make because of the sheer crowd sizes.
As a seasoned WDW traveler who normally goes with a big group on a long trip I agree that for the most part LLMP is good enough….however….
I do have the following new to me scenario that might be a good reason to buy LLPP – I will be traveling with my husband in early September (no big group!) for a relatively short trip and would like to experience Disney in a slightly more relaxed way. I definitely see the appeal of buying the LLPP only at Epcot for one day even though it isn’t strictly necessary in order to allow the 2 of us to do the following….
NOT rope drop (honestly have never skipped a rope drop opportunity before but with just the 2 of us a leisurely morning sounds kind of nice),
NOT worry about backtracking around big old Epcot in September humidity in my old-ish feet, enjoy Food and Wine offerings and shops as they come to me in a natural way around the World Showcase without worrying about having to run back to say…Test Track or Soarin for a LLSP, and
not have to be on my app at ALL.
It kind of sounds like bliss to me compared to how I usually enjoy Disney and if the price is closer to $170 per person plus tax I feel like it might be worth it. Added bonus my husband can use my MB+ and ride Guardians twice since I have taken my last ride on that one (makes me nauseous even though I kind of love it).
If we bought just those 2 Epcot passes instead of any other multi-pass or single-pass at all, it would actually be around the same amount of money spent.
We won’t need any LL at MK because we will go on a party day and we won’t need it at HS because we don’t really ride everything there anyway and could hop over there in the evenings when it might be slower or maybe even take advantage of extended evening hours if they are there in Sept, and of course we really won’t need it at AK.
Any thoughts on this scenario? Do you think the lines at Epcot are short enough anyway in September that walking around in a natural order without LLSP actually works fine/maybe I should spend the money on something else (an excellent Figment or Muppets souvenir, for example?)
I think your analysis is spot on, and it sounds to me like this is a good use case for LLPP. As someone who spends way too much time in EPCOT during September due to Food & Wine, I can confirm that it’s miserable. And also that feels like crowds are typically higher than wait times suggest.
The best alternative (you mentioned in passing) is doing Extended Evening Hours–but what about splurging on After Hours tickets? The problem with both is that they’re less of a ‘sure thing’ (I’ve encountered downtime during both that necessitated backtracking). YMMV, but I’d do one of those two over LLPP at EPCOT and just hope for the best. A bit more downside risk, but also way more upside IMO.
To my mind you would need a distinct rider profile to benefit from this, as it’s one use per every ride in the park. For those traveling with small children, or teenagers, or elderly relatives, having everything from Tron to Pooh is probably too wide a range to be useful. And the no re-rides element is enough to make me not consider it.
I’m a semi-seasoned WDW visitors. Started in the last 1990s, boy have things changed. I totally agree that LLPP is a crazy amount of money to spend. But, I’m gonna try it for our trip next week. My sister and I are doing a short girls trip. She doesn’t do or know WDW. Due to our schedule, we are gonna have to arrive at EPCOT at noon on a Monday so we will miss rope drop advantage and lose a few hours in the park on the front end. I’m thinking the park is gonna be pretty busy. We are staying in a deluxe (AKL) for 3 nights so we get the extra evening hours that night in EPCOT. But, I’ve done extra hours at EPCOT before and honestly the standby lines for the good stuff seemed long to me. We really just want to have a relaxing, go with the flow trip. We want to casually drink around the world, and stroll onto rides whenever we feel like it. And I don’t want to be on my phone refreshing all day and running/criss crossing all over giant EPCOT all day. We feel paying an extra $239 each for this is worth it for us this once time. We wont be doing any sit down restaurants (so we’ll save about $100 there). We rented DVC points for AKL (saved $200 there) and I got dining dollars from Undercover Tourist when I bought our tickets from them for this trip and bought eight $100 disney gift cards for $85 each (so saved $120 there). Plus I used airline points to fly there and back (at least $500 savings). So I feel like we can afford to splurge. Our whole trip to Disney, including the PPLL is under $1400 each and that includes a rental car, AKL and a day at Animal Kingdom on Wednesday (another extra evening hours night- so no need for PPLL here), but doesn’t include food or souvenirs etc. Not sure I’d get it for our next trip cause that includes kids that I’m paying for, HAHA.
Disneyland Paris has the best one I have seen in the last few years. They have what is called Disney Premier Access Ultimate. It gives you a one ride per eligible ride ( which is all the bigger attraction rides like phantom manor, indiana jones, pirates and ect). It was $149 for the day and it included both parks. My friends and family completed all the listed rides and more. We started at rope drop and finished with an hour to spare to shop for anything we wanted. This also included taking time out to eat lunch and dinner at a sit down restaurant. Why doesn’t both of our parks implement the same system. Its less of a head ache. You just walk up to the fast lane and scan your ticket. The light turns green and you walk all the way to almost the front of the line. We spent more time enjoying the parks and food this way instead being stuck waiting in line.
We just did this as well, it was awesome! And all of the rides at Disneyland Paris that we have at Magic Kingdom, were better in Paris, which was kind of crazy honestly, I love being able to sleep in and get to the park whenever I want not stress about all that and then just walk onto every ride. It’s honestly magical (same as universal express pass, I just got home from there today). Still haven’t splurged for it in WDW but would maybe do it in DL
On the last day of my last trip, I went to all 4 parks and went on my 2-3 favorite rides at each. It was awesome. If LLPP had been a thing, and if it included park hopping, I probably could have done 4-5. THAT might be worth it for me. But LLPP as it exists now? Meh.
I will be interested to see if they ever add a park hopper option to this. Like you can pay the Magic Kingdom price for two parks with the caveat that one of those parks is not the Magic Kingdom. In other words, pay the Magic Kingdom price and you can do EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. That is something I would probably entertain. I read an article by somebody who did this at Disneyland where you can park hop and the author said that knocked off every E-Ticket ride in both parks very easily except Radiator Springs Racers because it was broken.
Right now I’m not particularly interested in doing this, allow me to use at two parks I will give it a second look.
FWIW – It’s a totally different story at Disneyland. Higher ride density, park hopping (between two gates a football field apart), and more reasonable (IMO) pricing.
If someone wanted to know out both parks in one day without being aggressive, I’d absolutely recommend LLPP there.
The value of money is a weird thing psychologically, especially when combined with the value of time. Everything is relative. The comments here are all valid from each person’s perspective. But it’s interesting to think that for the price of LLPP you could buy a couple more days in the parks. Or for Epcot, the total all-in price of LLPP + park tickets could go pretty far towards a plane ticket to many of the ACTUAL countries represented in World Showcase.
On the other hand, if you only have one day in the parks (for whatever reason) or you or your family have special needs, and you want the day to be the greatest and most enjoyable it could possibly be, experiencing everything possible, then LLPP is still a lot cheaper than staying a few extra days (hotel plus parks). As someone who’s very thrifty by nature I don’t think I could pull the trigger even if I won the lottery, but I see how it could appeal more than any other splurges for a certain segment of guests.
And that’s because of one factor: stress vs. relaxation. If I take anything away from this post and reader comments it’s a bit of wistfulness. Historically — at least since “attraction tickets” were phased out — I’m not sure there was ever an era of Disney parks when ALL of the rides had short lines (DL and WDW have always been busy places). But I know things were less maddeningly busy “back in the day” because I experienced both WDW and DL in the early 90s, navigating all of the parks with just a paper map in hand and no real advance research (or arriving anywhere near rope drop). Yes, there were lines and crowds, but I never felt the sense of anxiety that so many experience today.
FOMO and FUD are certainly factors that are “baked in” for many travelers at this point, but I think part of that is the (very true) realization that if you just drove up to the park at mid-morning without a plan of attack, and didn’t want to spend your day strategizing and fiddling on your phone, you’d be SEVERELY restricted in the amount of experiences, restaurants. attractions, etc., you could enjoy. Not being “on the ball” is just so punitive at WDW these days. That means that, for those who aren’t both locals and annual passholders, stress is a very real part of the experience. The work it takes to research, strategize, then execute your plan while adjusting on-the-fly on a park day can be VERY satisfying/rewarding for some (especially those who frequent blogs like these). But that’s the thing — it’s still WORK. In other words, sites like DTB are amazingly helpful but in a more perfect world they’d be far less NECESSARY.
I don’t think the idea of casually strolling through the front gate of a theme park without a strategy and advance preparation is as quaint/naive as some Disneyphiles would make it out to be. I plan my Disney trips with a focused intensity but within the past year I’ve showed up to a Six Flags park and to Dollywood park (for example) without really knowing anything about strategy. “That way looks interesting, let’s walk over there”. Our group maybe missed out on one or two things (though not really that much) but it wasn’t a big deal.
I’m seeing in the comments that people REALLY want to feel that way (or miss feeling that way) at the Magic Kingdom and other WDW parks. To not have to set your alarm in the wee hours of the morning, but experience the parks just living in the moment, walking and eating more slowly, noticing little things you’re not rushing past, and barely having to look at your phone — but still getting to experience the best attractions — is not really “a thing” anymore (with the possible exception of some low crowd level days, though there’s a reason those aren’t popular days and for most it’s challenging to travel at those times.)
In summary, the splurge of LLPP doesn’t seem to be as much about sound strategy as it is about eliminating the NEED for strategy. I know not all of us can or want to pony up hundreds of dollars for that privilege, but it’s truly something that money couldn’t buy before LLPP came along. And that just might be “worth it” even for those on tighter budgets.
Local amusement parks are much smaller and less popular than WDW parks, and thus strategy doesn’t need to be as complicated. Just working your way to the back of the park and starting there usually does the trick, as well as throwing more time at fewer attractions.
Even back in the 1980s, it was never possible to randomly show up without a plan and a map – yet still getting to experience the best attractions in a single day with regular sized crowds. We spent multiple days in each park, or we didn’t get to experience everything without a VIP tour or equivalent. Before the Disney internet, Steve Birnbaum was my family’s guru, publishing specific guides since 1981 or 1982 that included general strategies as well as specific plans and tactics.
I personally think there *should* be options between a private VIP tour and LLMP, but it’s just not possible that everyone could have an easier experience with more attractions and guests than we did back when dinosaurs walked the Universe of Energy. That’s why I’m thrilled that, given the existence of the LL system, that LLPP is capped and can sell out rather than having it be “limited” by price.
I agree with all of this, Pete! I’m definitely not going to buy it every time, but I’m the planner for our group and sometimes I just want to enjoy myself instead of playing the optimization game all day long with my head in my phone a large part of the time.
I totally agree. I think a lot of it isn’t really FOMO as much as it is not wanting to be stressed out and fight your family to wake up and get out the door by 7 AM on vacation. It’s much more relaxing to be able to let the kids sleep in and have a cuppa coffee. Enjoy your breakfast and get to the park whenever you want and still ride everything and not fight about what you are going to do bc you can’t do everything. You know we’re all trying to get up early and get out the door on a normal school and workday. It’s stressful and everyone’s busy. On vacation if you can buy the chance to sleep in and still have a great day and do whatever you want whenever you want to I think that’s valuable to a lot of people. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper than a VIP tour. I know a lot of people are staying at pop instead of deluxe resorts and buying the premier passes.
Yes this third tier pass is very expensive but since Disney took away DAS for 95% of disabled guests it was the only way we could do visit the parks is a safe way for our son. Maybe that is why Disney took away DAS for most disabled guests, to generate more money? Who knows, but for us it was a luxury we could not afford to skip. If your child can only tolerate a few hours in the park this pass enables you to do so many more rides in a shorter time.
That is a very fair point, and a group that would potentially benefit from LLPP that isn’t mentioned in the blog post.
But DAS never allowed rides to be “rushed through” – that was more the (long-forgotten) GAC.
The pricing of LLPP is out of step with Paris and Hong Kong, where the “all inclusive” bundle is around $100. This may represent value, assuming you would have bought the service on every ride and there was a line worth skipping at every ride (of course neither of these things are safe assumptions).
Shanghai – where I am now – appears to be the exception for the international parks, where the all inclusive bundle is over $300. it also has an interesting disclaimer that by using the service on Zootopia, you “may not experience all of the scenes in the queue”. I’ve never seen this stated of any other ride, even though it’s true of many rides (and would make an interesting and useful blog post, in my opinion).
I just did the math on our upcoming trip, just looking at our Magic Kingdom days. To keep it lower stress, not be worried that we won’t get the LLs we want, fit in multiple experiences (BBB, CRT breakfast and fireworks dessert party), and fit in some resorts/pool time, I planned for two Magic Kingdom days. Between the extra night at our deluxe resort, extra day in the park, and the LLs (not counting entry for first day since this applies in both scenarios), it comes to around $1,300. LLPP would cost $1600 for our family of 4 for one day. I prefer our plan for this trip and having an extra day of fun for less than one day of PP, but having done the math, it might not be as obvious as it was before. The sticker shock is serious on LLPP. When you adjust for Disney pricing and the cost of a trip, I could see trips where it could be worth it- with older kids you know can last a full day, aren’t into character experiences anymore, want to ride all the headliners, can hold their own in exiting the park after fireworks, etc. If staying somewhere cheaper to offset the PP cost, it might not even make the trip overall more expensive. Of course, you could always do things cheaper. Now I’m thinking this could be a plan for when Villains Land opens and my kids are teens (if all this is still available).
Ok..no offense but what the heck does FOMO and FUD stand for? I looked throughout the article and your website and it would be nice if you actually said what they mean. You said they were your favorite facronyms but that means nothing to people like me who is looking at info to go to WDW and the info on lighting lane pass is great but..if you are going to use facronyms..can you please explain what they are?
FOMO = Fear of Missing Out
FUD = fear, uncertainty, & doubt
You looked all over the article and website and didn’t think to just do a 5-second Google search?
We used premier pass for MK and HS over thanksgiving break and absolutely loved it. It took all the stress points out of Disney for our family of 6. No worries about rushing to the park for rope drop – we enjoyed a nice character breakfast instead. No checking our phones for wait times or zig zagging around the parks to make lightening lane reservations. We walked on to every ride.
In the past we’ve done a VIP tour and much prefer premier pass. Instead of having to cram multiple parks into 1 full day with a VIP tour, for roughly the same price, we were able to go to 2 parks on separate days and leisurely ride the rides.
It’s definitely expensive; but if cost is not a barrier, I’d say it’s worth it.
Having my 86 yr old father with us made the Premier pass invaluable. And I agree with you, if you know the parks and don’t need the tour guide to navigate for you the Premier pass is a great way to do everything in your time frame without hurrying to get the next Lightening lane pass, or rushing to the next ride.
Have to disagree here. I concede that LLPP is expensive. For MK and DHS it’s very expensive. But those of us who find enormous value in this product are not necessarily “money is no object” people. My family saves up all year long for our trip to WDW in January. Extra shifts at work, side jobs, etc. The minute you said the word “rope drop” you lost me. We don’t consider it a “win” if we manage to squeeze in 5 rides in the first hour and another 5 rides in the last hour. Backtracking, worrying about times, planning every moment days ahead of time, & needing to skip whatever we feel like doing on vacation to make a LL window are neither relaxing nor fun. We don’t want to get up at the crack of dawn, rush or skip breakfast, and run to a park just to make opening to reduce wait times. In fact, on Half Marathon day we can’t even get to the park before about noon once you include breakfast, shower, maybe a quick nap. Not everybody goes to WDW to take part in the rat race of bagging rides. I’ve gone to Epcot sometimes just to stroll around with my family and sip on some Japanese beer and enjoy the moment. The biggest benefit of LLPP is FREEDOM! We can relax. Go to the park when we’re ready. Interact with each other instead of our phones. Stop for lunch if we want. Sip on a coffee and enjoy the sights. AND … we can start wherever we want to in the park and go on whatever rides we want to with no stress. Every single LL ride in the park is ours to enjoy on OUR schedule. Not going to waste 2 hours of our day standing in any line. Just walk on. Want to ride it twice? Get a LLSP or LLMP too! Like you said – those are short money! There is tremendous value in relaxation, connecting with your family, and removing pressure of all types from your life if only for those 6 days at WDW. If those things aren’t important, or if you enjoy the rat race, or if the price is unacceptable, no problem! You do you! But to characterize LLPP as only for the super-wealthy or persons lacking in common sense is not accurate.
@Larry This is it for me too. I’m all for saving a buck, but the idea of just getting on whatever ride is in front of us, whenever we happen to be there, and NEVER having to look at my phone, is *extremely* appealing. Took my DD to Universal Hollywood last year for the first time, used Universal Express and I am utterly in love with that system.
granted the option of llpp is nice and does add a lot of freedom. I don’t think tom is saying anything but that if he had a choice of either going deluxe resort or llpp he’s choosing deluxe resort. if he had to eat at quick service the whole time to afford llpp he’d rather not do that. If he’s having to give anything else that he feels important to his trip he’s not choosing llpp. To me I don’t have to give anything up in order to get it, I’m a annual pass holder, I go to disney 4 weeks a year and I totally enjoy it. I have been going to wdw since 1971 at the age of 2 and it really is my home away from home.
We were at WDW for 2 weeks in early December. We used LLPP once at each of the 4 parks. On all other days, we used LLMP & LLSP. We typically arrive just after early entry rope drop and typically leave the parks mid-afternoon and don’t return at night. Relative to LLMP & LLSP, LLPP provided no extra benefit at AK and EPCT. At HS, we were able to ride one tier 1 ride twice rather than once. At MK, we were able to ride one extra tier 1 ride without using a crowded standby line. In sum, LLPP provided essentially no value to us. We don’t go to WDW during peak holiday periods, so we will not be buying LLPP again at any park.
My husband and I are going to try LLPP at HS over a long weekend trip. We are staying at the Swan fairly cheaply with some Marriott points. Sure, we could spend the money for a PP on a nicer hotel, but I’d rather spend time leisurely getting to the park (not rope dropping) and having a day not spent strategizing.
I don’t know what we’ll do for our next family trip to WDW. We can only go during the busiest park times of the year. We are a family of 5 that prefers the space of a 3 bed, 3 bath condo over being in the Disney bubble. We are very much penalized by not staying onsite when it comes LLMP and single pass. I think I’d rather buy the LLPP for a couple days than spend $1300+ a night to stay in a 2 bedroom WDW villa just to be able to book rides 7 days out and STILL rope drop and be on my phone all day.
We’ll see how our couple trip goes using both products. Even though it’s hard to compare since I can book LLMP and buy singles passes 7 days out by staying at the Swan.
I recently had a one-day visit to WDW (I was going on a cruise on the Disney Treasure and came in a day early so as not to rely on airline promptness on embarkation day) and since it was a single-day visit, I decided to try out the Premier Pass for Magic Kingdom, partly to pack as much into the one day as I could, but also just as an experiment.
I was surprised at how much it improved my day— even when it was a ride I could have easily gotten a regular lightning lane for, not having to care about the time made more of a difference to the experience than I expected. Just being able to stroll around at my own whim and ride whatever I happened to be passing at whatever time I happened to pass it… well, I’d never have expected it to be that much better than having times reserved.
All that said, Premiere Pass is not something I’m likely to do with regularity. But I enjoyed the benefit well enough to add it to my list of occasional splurges, like eating at Takumi-tei or getting a club level room: things that turn out to be worth it for special occasions when I feel like treating myself, but not for regular visits.
We just did the Premier Pass at both MK and Animal Kingdom last week with a private VIP tour at Hollywood and EPCOT with 15 people.
I actually loved the Premier pass. We were able to do every ride at MK on our time frame. There is no way we would have been able to do all we did without the Premier pass. It made the day at MK and the crowds so much easier to handle. We basically walked onto every single ride. At Animal Kingdom Flight of Passage was at 140-160 the entire day. We walked right on.
I understand it’s not for everyone but I wouldn’t hesitate to use it again.