CNN –
Got a few hundred extra dollars? This will buy one person access to Disney’s new service at its U.S. parks, which allows you to jump onto a faster line at any time of the operating day — once per ride — without having to reserve it on the app.
Keep in mind that this is in addition to the cost of your park ticket.
The soft launch of the “Lightning Lane Premier Pass,” which Disney officially announced on Wednesday, is being offered in very limited quantities. It is designed to be purchased and used by a small number of guests.
The pass will be priced per person per day, based on date and request. This can range from $137.39 to $478.19 (after tax) at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, and is available starting October 30.
At the Disneyland Resort in California, the ticket will cost $400 (non-taxable) per person, per day, and is available from October 23 through the end of 2024. Variable prices will begin in 2025 based on date and demand, and range from $300 to $400 .
At Disney World, tickets will also be priced based on the specific park you visit, Disney told CNN before the announcement.
For example, it will cost $137.39 (after tax) to add a Premier Pass to your Animal Kingdom park ticket on a less crowded day. This pass will only work in the animal kingdom.
The EPCOT Pass may cost more, while Hollywood Studios will cost a little more, with the Premier Pass the most expensive at the Magic Kingdom. To purchase a Premier Pass for Magic Kingdom park on a very busy day like Christmas will cost $478.19 (after tax) on top of your park ticket.
Guest may only purchase one Premier Pass per day.
During the soft launch of this program, the card will only be available to guests staying at luxury hotels at Disney World, seven days prior to check-in.
At Disneyland, the Premier Pass will work a little differently.
It will be available to any guest for one price, and can be used at both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure parks on the same day. Guests can purchase it up to two days in advance, at 7 a.m. PT.
Not every attraction has a faster line, which Disney calls the “Lightning Lane.” But they tend to be accessible to many of the more popular attractions at both resorts. There are currently 55 attractions with Lightning Lanes in the four Disney World parks and 24 in the two Disneyland parks.
Using these wait-reducing passes can be complicated, especially for Disney newbies and people who aren’t familiar with smartphones.
Until this pilot program came along, people going to Disney parks were able to use Lightning Lanes by purchasing what’s called a “Multi Pass.” It allows access to these faster lines by booking them one by one in the resort app. A selection of the most popular rides are sold separately as a “single ticket,” where guests purchase access to the faster line for just that one ride.
According to Disney Food Blog editors who track prices, Multi Pass prices at Disney World so far have ranged from $15.98 to $37.28 (after tax), per person, per day, depending on the season and park. At Disneyland, the price for this pass starts at $32 (not taxable). But using Multi Pass involves a lot of strategies in the app, and most of the time, you can only book access to Lightning Lane during a specific return window, after reaching the previous window.
Premier Pass takes all of these steps away by allowing guests to simply join the faster line, where available, at any time.
The concept of charging extra for express service is not new.
Universal, Disney’s biggest competitor, has been selling its “Express Pass” for more than 20 years. They often cost more than a park ticket. A similar skip-the-line pass exists at Six Flags, Cedar Point, Busch Gardens and SeaWorld parks.
At Universal Studios Hollywood, which has one theme park with 17 express lines, such a ticket can cost between $80 and $170 (not taxed) on top of the theme park ticket price.
Universal Resort Orlando, which has two theme parks with a total of 30 express lines, offers this pass for $111.81 to $319.49 (after tax), and can be used at both existing parks on the same day if the guest holds a basic park-to-park ticket . The price is lower for using the card in only one park. (It is not known at this time if or how the express pass system will change after the newest theme park, Epic Universe, opens next year.)
Universal also sells an “Express Pass Unlimited,” where guests can enter the faster line multiple times per ride, for $143.76 to $351.44 (after tax) in Florida, and is included for anyone staying at any of the three upscale hotels in Florida. Universal Orlando Properties: Portofino Bay, Hard Rock, and Royal Pacific. The same unlimited card in California costs between $115 and $215 (not taxed).
Currently, Disney does not offer the same unlimited service. The Lightning Lane Premier Pass allows use of the Lightning Lane only once per trip per day.
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“If people feel like every new thing they hear from Disney for a while sounds like something new that can only be used by wealthy people, then they’re going to feel bad,” said Don Munsell, who has tracked theme park prices for decades at his site MouseSavers.
Disney recently responded to criticism of high prices by emphasizing a range of options for consumers of all budgets, including deeply discounted $50 per day children’s passes at Disneyland in the new year.
Premier Pass appears to bridge a gap between two levels of service: the current Multi Pass, which costs tens of dollars, and the VIP Tour Experience, which can cost thousands of dollars for a day of routing along faster lines, among other perks, Munsell said. .
He said the price sends a clear message: “The message is that you only buy this if you have money to spend — or you have a little time and are trying to get through everything as quickly as possible.”
This service will not be necessary for most people, Munsell said.
Instead of paying a premium for a theme park pass plus a Premier Pass on one day, guests can still get all the rides for a lower price by purchasing a Multi-Day Pass (because subsequent days cost less per day) and adding a Multi Pass.
The difference is whether someone has more time to spend in the parks.
The Premier Pass “is priced for someone for whom the trade-off of time and money is different,” Munsell said.
