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Walt Disney World has raised costs for the Lightning Lane Single Pass, effective immediately for previously booked ride reservation dates beginning in October 2024. Additionally, Multi-Pass pricing modes for EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom will increase. This covers before/after prices as well as our commentary. (Updated September 30, 2024.)
Let’s start with a brief background. Lightning Lane Single Pass (LLSP) attractions are the main single rides not included in the multi-trip Lightning Lane Multi-Pass (LLMP) service. With LLMP, you can pre-book 3 ride reservations per day, and the total number you get depends on the crowds and how efficiently you make your ride reservations after entering the park.
The LLMP excludes each park’s most popular ride (or two), which are the LLSP attractions. The Lightning Lane Multi Pass now uses per-park and date pricing, meaning it can cost as little as $16 or as much as $39 per person, per day. LLSP ranges currently range from $10 to $25 per trip. Check out our guide to Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World for everything you need to know.
Here’s a look at the current high and low price points we’ve seen for individual Lightning Lane cards before October 2024:
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: High $12, Low $10 TRON Lightcycle Run: $20 Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind: High $17, Low $14 Star Wars Rise of the Resistance: High $25, Low $15 Avatar Flight of Passage : High $17, Low $11
Here are the new standard LLSP rates as of October 18, 2024:
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: $13 TRON Lightcycle Run: $21 Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind: $18 Star Wars Rise of the Resistance: Avatar Flight of Passage: No change
Just a few days later, Walt Disney World raised prices on LLSPs again to new highs effective October 21, 2024:
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: $14 TRON Lightcycle Run: $22 Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind: $19 Star Wars Rise of the Resistance: Avatar Flight of Passage: $18
Although it hasn’t changed, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is still the most expensive at $25. This was set a while ago when the RotR was newer and more popular, so we wouldn’t be surprised if this particular ride doesn’t see a price increase until 2025 or later.
In addition, there is a change in the pricing cadence of Lightning Lane Multi-Pass. Here are the prices as of October 19:
Magic Kingdom: $29 EPCOT: $21 Hollywood Studios: $27 Animal Kingdom: $19
Here are the prices as of October 20, 2024:
Magic Kingdom: $29 (no change) EPCOT: $24 Hollywood Studios: $29 Animal Kingdom: $22
Here are the prices as of October 21, 2024:
Magic Kingdom: $32 (up $3) EPCOT: $24 Hollywood Studios: $29 Animal Kingdom: $19 (up $3)
Note that none of these LLMP prices represent new highs at all, while they are for LLSPs. The Lightning Lane Multi-Pass changes are, for lack of a better term, new price changes. Magic Kingdom is usually a few dollars more expensive than DHS, and usually $10 (or more) more expensive than Animal Kingdom. On October 20, the gaps between the other parks and the Magic Kingdom became narrower than usual.
Anyway, I don’t think these LLMP changes are particularly noteworthy (yet), and if this was happening without a corresponding Lightning Lane Single Pass increase, we wouldn’t be reporting on it. This is a fact that Walt Disney World has experimented with a lot of Lightning Lane Multi Pass (or Genie+ before that) price combinations. This may be nothing at all, a test that will be undone in a couple of days.
However, this slight difference between Magic Kingdom and other parks has been very rare, which leads me to suspect that we may see a price hike for Magic Kingdom soon (dates have not been announced beyond October 20th). I don’t expect a new all-time high for Magic Kingdom until Thanksgiving (at the earliest), but it seems very likely that the $40 barrier will be broken after several sold-out dates last December. That Walt Disney World made such a big jump — all the way to $49 at peak times in late December — wouldn’t surprise me in the least.
Update: October 21, 2024 brings back the most popular pattern with a $3 increase at Magic Kingdom and a similar $3 decrease at Animal Kingdom. The wild thing, though? October 21st is Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party! Crowds will be smaller and hours will be shorter. There is less justification for buying LLMP than there was the day before!
I’m almost certain that this is a new record for LLMP or Genie+ at Magic Kingdom in the history of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. There may have been MVMCP dates around Thanksgiving or in the run-up to Christmas when prices were that high (just a quick look at last year’s calendar makes this fairly self-evident), but those weeks are also busier than Monday Random in late October after fall breaks are (mostly) over. There was no way I was going to drop $32 for an LLMP in MK that day – and I normally advocate buying it at Magic Kingdom over all other parks.
(See? I’ve told you before that fans wrongly assume that Walt Disney World has advanced analytics and makes great data-driven decisions. They do and they don’t. A lot of their moves are guesswork, reactionary, and/or inexplicable.)
Moving on to commentary, Lightning Lane’s price increases and changes struck us as worth reporting for several reasons. The first is the obvious thing that raising prices at Walt Disney World is newsworthy. It’s especially noticeable with Lightning Lane Single Passes, which rarely see their prices rise. It didn’t happen anywhere near the frequency of the Genie+ or Lightning Lane Multi-Pass.
In fact, the price of TRON Lightcycle Run has never changed. It’s always been $20. Personally, I think it’s because the roller coaster is so short, and Walt Disney World is afraid of complaints or backlash about the lack of “worth” of high prices for such a short ride.
Then again, maybe this is a projection on my part. I like the ship well enough, but I can’t even fathom paying $20 for about 90 seconds. I don’t buy any LLSPs, but if I were to buy one, TRON would literally be my last choice. To each their own, anyway.
It’s also worth noting that this applies to dates in October 2024. As we recently covered potential price hikes coming soon at Walt Disney World and Disneyland for 2024-2025, the company has raised prices for parking, admission, food, surcharges, and more around and will likely start the new fiscal year . It is actually less of a prediction and more of an inevitability.
As mentioned there, Disney has historically increased prices at the beginning of a new fiscal year for a period of time and on October 11, specifically, for both of the past years. However, we felt that this is more likely to happen on October 8 or 9, 2024 than October 11, as the latter is a Friday.
Well, October 18 is also a Friday. Personally, I don’t think this is particularly meaningful as a predictor of when the rest of the increases will be implemented, because Lightning Lane Single Pass prices will not rise on that date. The increase has already occurred (effective immediately) – and this is just the first date affected.
However, I am surprised by the timing of October 18, 2024. This is the weekend after Columbus Day, which is usually the most popular weekend for fall vacations. Long weekends – and the entire week in between – are sure to be busy.
As shown in our list of the 10 best and 10 worst weeks to visit Walt Disney World in 2024 and 2025, we expect October 11-19 to be one of our busiest periods of the year. So why not start the increase at the end of fall break instead of on the back side?
Even though fall break is getting busier and busier, there’s still nothing on peak weekends in November and December, which means it’s entirely possible that those individual Lightning Lane passes haven’t yet reached their 2024 highs. More price increases on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve — where Walt Disney World has been slower to raise prices on a la carte rides — but I wouldn’t bet against that, either.
As for why Lightning Lane Single Pass prices are so high, the simplest explanation is demand.
Even at low to medium crowd levels, a single Lightning Lane ticket sells out much more often than single Lightning Lane sales. Possible reasons for this are beyond the scope of this post, but it is something we cover at length in the Lightning Lane Single Pass is selling out fast!
The title there really says it all, but suffice it to say, many of these LLSPs are fully booked in advance or have limited same-day availability. For what it’s worth, we’re seeing something similar with the high demand for the Lightning Lane Multi-Pass. Clearly, moving to pre-arrival reservations was a smart move for Disney from a financial perspective.
Speaking of which, this might be a good time to add our latest post: When Should You Skip the Lightning Lane Multi-Pass. While that’s good for Disney’s bottom line, the unfortunate byproducts of pre-arrival Lightning Lanes from the guest’s perspective have increased FOMO and FUD – two of my favorite “shortcuts.” Since you no longer purchase Lightning Lanes on the same day, it is difficult to assess the need for them and adjust accordingly while you are on vacation. This post will help you determine when an LLMP may not be a “must have” for you.
On a somewhat similar, but more speculative note, I wouldn’t be surprised if Walt Disney World raises prices on the Multi-Pass and Single Pass in anticipation of the launch of the Lightning Lane Premier Pass, which we fully expect to be Disney’s answer to Universal’s Express Pass (but not with a non- limited).
Raising prices on “regular” Lightning Lanes may help improve the perceived value proposition of the higher offer. Since this new system will undoubtedly be controversial, I could also see Walt Disney World launching it on the same day the rest of the price increases take place. Ripping off Band-Aid all at once and incorporating negative news into one day rather than distilling it would be in Disney’s best interest. Again, just speculation on my part, but it would make sense.
Are you planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Learn about the hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotel Reviews page. To learn about where to eat, read our Walt Disney World restaurant reviews. To save money on tickets or decide which type to buy, read our money-saving tips on the Walt Disney World tickets post. Our What to Pack for a Disney Trip post takes a unique look at smart items to take. To know what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride guide will help you. For comprehensive advice, a great place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide, which has everything you need to know!
Your thoughts
What do you think about the Lightning Lane Single Pass price increase? Is $20 or more for a 90-second roller coaster too much or reasonable if it means skipping a two-hour wait? Do you have thoughts about the possibility of Walt Disney World raising interest rates at the beginning of the new fiscal year? Do you think the Lightning Lane Multi-Pass will break the $40 barrier this year? Are you expecting a price point of $49, or something lower? Are there any expectations for the Lightning Lane Premier Pass? Do you agree or disagree with our reviews? Are there any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback – even when you disagree with us – is interesting to us and useful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
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