Disney Announces New Limited-Quantity Lightning Lane Premier Pass at Steep Cost

Space Mountain in Disney World Resort

If you are planning a Disney World or Disneyland vacation in the near future, you probably have a bit of whiplash with all of the changes surrounding Disney’s skip-the-line service. 

To briefly sum it up, Lightning Lane Multi Pass replaced Disney’s Genie+ in July of 2024. Multi Pass allows guests to pre-book up to three Lightning Lane experiences with time slots in advance of their trip. Disney also offers Lightening Lane Single Passes to book in-demand rides at the parks that are not available through the Multi Pass option. All of this costs extra money in addition to a regular theme park ticket. 

But earlier today, Disney announced a whole new Lightning Lane ticket option called Lightning Lane Premier Pass that will go on sale starting at the end of October. This pass allows theme park guests a one-time entry to each Lightning Lane ride in a park at any time during the day. 

Sounds convenient, right? No more stressing about booking windows or modifying Lightning Lanes because they conflict with your dining reservations. Just walk up to the attraction when you want, tap in, and skip the stand-by queue.

But is it really as amazing as it seems? Let’s dive into the details that we know so far.

Lightning Lane Premier Pass Cost

If you don’t already have sticker shock surrounding your Disney vacation, the cost of Lightning Lane Premier may just knock you over. 

In Disney World, Lightning Lane Premier passes will range in price from $129 to $400 per person per day. They will only cover Lightning Lane experiences for one park only. So, if you have a park hopper ticket, you won’t be able to use the skip-the-line service in your second park during the day. 

Disneyland Lightning Lane Premier is expected to range from $300 to $400 per person per day for the rest of 2024. But this pass covers visits to both Disneyland and California Adventure during the same day. 

These costs are on top of or in addition to the purchase of a regular Disney theme park ticket. 

The exact prices for these passes will vary by day and travel period, with higher prices occurring during peak times.   

Disney Ride Access With Lightning Lane Premier

There are some rules and regulations around ride access with these new passes. Here’s what you need to know:

You can only ride each ride one time. It’s important to note that Lightning Lane Premier only lets you ride each eligible ride one time in the same day. So, it’s not like you can exit Space Mountain and get right back on, over and over. When you scan into a Lightning Lane, it will be tracked in your My Disney Experience App and you will be able to see which ones you’ve used and which ones are still available.

It does include the heavy hitters. Unlike Lightning Lane Multi Pass, this Premier option does include the top-tier rides like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Star Wars Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, Tron, and Flight of Passage in the price of the pass. 

It doesn’t work with Park Hoppers. In Disney World, you can only use your Lightning Lane Premier Pass in one park per day. So if you have plans to start at the Magic Kingdom and head over to Epcot later in the day, you have to choose the park where you want to use the Premier Pass. In Disneyland, the pass does cover rides in both Disneyland and California Adventure in the same day.

Some shows and experiences are included. Certain shows and experiences in the parks are included such as Festival of the Lion King in Animal Kingdom and Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage in Hollywood Studios. However, there is no information (yet) about whether the pass can be used for character meet and greets. 

Lightning Lane Premier Pass Availability

The Lightning Lane Premier Pass will become available at the end of October. 

  • Disneyland sales will start on October 23. 
  • Disney World Lightning Lane Premier Pass will go on sale October 30. 

You can book the Disneyland passes up to 2 days before your trip. In Disney World you will be able to book it up to 7 days before the first day of your resort stay. At that time it can be booked for the length of your stay (up to 14 days). Sales will open at 7:00 a.m. EST on your eligible booking day. 

This top-tier Lightning Lane option will only be available to purchase for guests staying at a Disney World Deluxe Resort or a Disney Deluxe Resort Villa Resort. Quantities will be limited. Once they sell out for a specific day, no more will be available.

Other hotels where guests will have the option to buy these passes include 

  • Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
  • Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
  • Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
  • Shades of Green Resort

Before you can purchase a Disney Lightning Lane Premier Pass you need to have a valid theme park ticket. 

Disney Lightning Lane Premier Vs. Universal Express Pass

There will ultimately be some comparisons between Disney’s new Lightning Lane Premier Pass and the Universal Express Pass. And while they are similar in some ways, the costs do differ quite a bit. 

Universal has two tiers of their Express Pass: 

  • Universal Express
  • Universal Express Unlimited

The standard Universal Express allows you to skip the line one time per attraction, just like Premier Pass. You can buy it for one park or two parks for prices ranging from $89.99 and $289.99. 

The Universal Express Unlimited lets you skip the line as many times as you want for whatever ride you want. This is not an option in Disney. It is available for one park or two parks and prices range between $119.99 to $319.99. 

The biggest difference between the LIghtning Lane Premier Pass and the Universal Express Pass though is that Universal gives the pass (the Unlimited option) to Universal Resort Hotel guests for FREE as part of their stay. That’s a big incentive to stay at an on-property resort in Universal. 

More to Come

So, that sums up what we know so far about Disney’s newest Lightning Lane option, but we’ll keep you updated as more information comes out about the Premier Pass. 

The costs for Lightning Lane Premier seem a little out of hand, especially on top of a typical theme park ticket. But what do you think? Are you interested in shelling out the money for Premier Pass to get on more rides? Or are you going to be sticking to the Single Pass and Multi Pass Options for now?

About Deidre Grieves 30 Articles
Deidre Grieves is a Philadelphia-based writer, editor, and the founder of DisneyTourist.com. She spent her childhood taking family trips to Disney World and is now sharing those experiences and creating new memories with her two young sons.