Disney World’s New Line-Skipping Service Charges Up To $450 Per Day

It seems like it’s been a long time since Disney allowed users to utilize a free FastPass to skip the lines. Now, Lightning Lane Multi-Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass are the primary options for people who are willing to pay for them. However, Disney World is introducing a new tier, Lightning Lane Premier Pass, which offers an even better experience at a much higher price.

Lightning Lane Premier Pass is only available for guests staying at Disney’s official hotels, so it won’t be available to all guests. It’s also part of a pilot program, which means Disney could discard it after a trial period if the company decides it isn’t working. Lightning Lane Premier Pass does improve upon the lower tiers by letting visitors go to any ride at any time during the day they choose, but just once per ride. While skipping the reservation times is nice, there are some drawbacks. First, Lightning Lane Premier Pass doesn’t have a park hopper option. In other words, it’s only good in a single park each day. Additionally, the pricing tiers for Lightning Lane Premier Pass vary for each of Disney World’s parks, with Magic Kingdom’s prices reaching $450 during peak times.

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom: $129 to $199
• EPCOT: $169 to $249
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios: $269 to $349
• Magic Kingdom: $329 to $449

Note that the prices above are per person, and don’t include the taxes that are added on top. Those are all very expensive options, and most of them are even pricier than the cost of a ticket to any of the parks. The Lightning Lane Multi-Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass options will remain available for guests, but the Premier Pass is another example of the Disney parks squeezing as much money as it can out of the visitors. That was the trend during Bob Chapek’s stint as Disney CEO, and Bob Iger has apparently continued to follow his lead during his second stint as CEO, even though he has said that the price of a Disney vacation needs to be more affordable. As noted by CNN, Disney park attendance has been dropping, and the company has faced criticism over its price hikes.

The new Lightning Lane Premier Pass seems like Disney’s answer to Universal Orlando’s Express Pass, which can run from $90 to $290 per person, while an Unlimited Universal Express Pass goes even higher from $120 to $320. It’s not as high as Disney’s highest tiers, but that could change when Epic Universe opens next year.