Disney Rumors for October 2024

In this month’s Disney Rumors, we’re going to skip the regular topics of conversation and discuss something a bit more universal.

Is Walt Disney World seriously about to change the Lightning Lane system again just a few weeks after the last one?

Some people who would know are saying yes, and I’m about to explain why the idea makes sense.

Pull out your wallets, folks. This might be a very expensive edition of Disney Rumors.

In Denial

Before we get into this, let’s just get right to it. The overwhelming majority of Disney Rumors I hear are utter garbage.

Seriously, there was a story making the rounds last month that Disney World is moving to Nashville…and some people believed it!

I’m too much of an optimist by nature to buy into P.T. Barnum’s old adage, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

What I notice instead are less informed individuals who could be brilliant if you provided them with more specifics.

For instance, should you hand someone a Disney infrastructure book or, you know, show them a TikTok, they’ll quickly realize the truth.

Disney World can’t move because 1) Disney couldn’t afford to buy 40,000 acres of land anywhere else in America and 2) building new infrastructure would take several years.

These ideas are basic when you think about them, but not everyone takes the time to do so. That’s teachable.

I’m going somewhere with this, too. Sometimes, you hear an idea you want to dismiss, but you cannot because it makes too much sense.

I’ll use a more scandalous example here. Let’s say you’re happily in a relationship.

Then, you’re cleaning the closet one day and discover a second phone hidden in a weird place.

You don’t want to believe the worst, but why is your partner sticking a phone in that place they know you cannot reach?

As much as you’d like to deny the truth, the only realistic explanation here isn’t one that’s going to make you happy.

Yeah, that’s where I’m at with the rumor de jure among Disney fans right now.

Park officials are projecting flat revenue growth for the next several quarters in Disney Experiences at the worst possible time.

So, they’re possibly contemplating various nuclear options like…

Lightning Lane Premier?

This story is out there so much that I’m not even sure how much I need to recount it to you.

Just to be safe, some sites have run with the story that Disney might adjust the very recently adjusted Lightning Lane system.

Specifically, Disney would add a kind of deluxe option, which the company has recently called Premier when selling some of its other high-end offerings.

I honestly have no idea whether that naming convention has stuck and is in play here, but for simplicity’s sake, I’ll call it that.

So, what we’re discussing is Lightning Lane Premier, which may sound familiar to Universal Orlando Resort fans.

On our sibling site, UniversalParksBlog, I’ve frequently swooned over a hotel amenity you receive for staying at Universal’s best properties.

Called the Universal Express Pass, it’s the deluxe version of Lightning Lane.  

When you buy or receive this feature at Universal Orlando, you can skip to the front of the line on almost everything.

And please let me be clear on this point. I mean THE front of the line. Even on crowded days, you’ll rarely wait more than ten minutes.

Contrast that to the current Lightning Lane system, where some attractions like Slinky Dog Dash take you to the front.

Others like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance help a lot, but you’ll still spend some time standing in line.

So, we’re not talking apples to apples here, as there are some things Disney isn’t willing to do for almost all customers.

There’s a rare exception for VIP Tours on some attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean, but Disney generally works differently than Universal.

How Would This System Work?

My understanding is that Lightning Lane Premier (or whatever it’s called) would be like instant Lightning Lane for anything.

Yes, this would include Lightning Lane Single Pass offerings such as TRON Lightcycle / Run…probably.

You wouldn’t need to book a Lightning Lane because your purchase would do that for you.

Instead, you’d show up and enter the Lightning Lane queue. Well, that’s the theory anyway. Please remember this is all theoretical.

So, Lightning Lane Premier would be kinda like a Disney VIP Tour only without the tour guide.

Also, as currently rumored, you couldn’t ride E-ticket attractions as often as you like.

Disney would authorize you to ride each Lightning Lane attraction once per day at your own convenience.

Now, this raises another question in that the current version of Lightning Lane doesn’t have the “Multi Parks” price structure.

So, a Lightning Lane purchase works at all four parks. I’m skeptical that Disney would do the same for this idea.

Lightning Lane Premier would be too powerful if it allowed guests to enter the Lightning Lane at all Walt Disney World attractions.

I mean, if it did that, Disney would charge an absolute fortune for it…which they may.

In fact, what I’ve just described is eerily similar to what Universal Studios has.

Their Universal Express Pass works at both parks and allows guests to skip the line in all qualifying attractions.

Therein lies another sticking point, as some rides don’t offer line-skipping at Universal. The same statement is true at Disney.

Ergo, some high-paying guests would quickly realize that their Lightning Lane Premier purchase doesn’t work on everything.

So, I could sit in a Disney meeting and point out several flaws with the idea, but let’s ignore all that for now. Instead, let’s discuss pricing.

How Much Would This Cost?

You may shed tears if/when Disney announces this service and reveals the pricing. It’s…not gonna be cheap.

Right now, Lightning Lane Multi Pass costs ~$25 a day on average, depending on the park, the date, and other factors.

My blind speculation is that Lightning Lane Premier would probably start at $149 per person and possibly even higher.

Please consider the deal from the meta-perspective. You’re getting to skip the line at all the attractions in a given park.

I mean, you possibly might even get to skip the line at all qualifying attractions in every park.

What does that sound like? If you think about it, this is the same deal Disney offers with its after-hours ticketed events.

Let’s ignore the holiday stuff and simply focus on Disney After Hours.

The deal there is you gain access to everything at the park for a few hours when it’s otherwise closed to guests.

So, you’re effectively paying for the privilege of short lines everywhere.

In a certain light, this potential Lightning Lane Premier package represents the all-day version of that, right?

You get the run of the park during a visit and can enter the much shorter line queue for everything.

Folks, Disney After Hours tickets are now on sale for 2025, and they cost $175-$185 on most nights.

You’d expect the all-day implementation of the same general idea to cost that much, if not more, right?

For that matter, Disney would have to price this package at a higher cost. Otherwise, it’d seem like a better value than VIP Tours.

Disney is definitely not going to risk the revenue stream of VIP Tours, which is quietly one of the most lucrative moneymakers at the parks.

Who Would Buy This?

Okay, let’s say that Disney offers this new kind of Lightning Lane service for $149 per person. That’s more than $300 for a couple!

You can imagine how pricey this deal would get for families, even if Disney offers children’s discounts, which it doesn’t currently for Lightning Lane.

So, you may be wondering, “Who is the primary market for this?”

After all, anyone who could afford a high price should just get a VIP Tour, right?

Meanwhile, most guests would do fine with Lightning Lane Multiple Pass, which is the primary reason I remain skeptical about this idea.

But anyone arguing in favor of this idea could use two different rationales.

The first is that Universal currently sells its starter package of the Express Pass for $99 or more on most dates.

Importantly, that’s not even the best version. The Universal Express Unlimited Pass is much more expensive but totally worth it.

Guests can ride and re-ride whatever they want as often as they want when they possess this pass. It’s magical, and I highly recommend it.

Better yet, you get it for free when you stay at Universal’s best resorts, such as Hard Rock Hotel.

Not coincidentally, I usually stay at Hard Rock Hotel. The value I’m getting is light years beyond the extra money I’m paying for the costlier hotel.

To the best of my knowledge, there’s been no mention of Disney offering an unlimited version of Lightning Lane Premier.

That would be too close to VIP Tours and infringe on Disney’s bottom line a bit. I rule nothing out, though.

No, Seriously. Who Would Buy This?

Then, we have the other part which you or may not know.

Entire internet communities exist for the sole purpose of splitting VIP Tours.

Disney prices the service based on ten guests, but there’s no test to determine whether you even know each other.

So, strangers set up package deals online to split the cost of a VIP Tour ten ways.

In adopting this approach, each individual pays $400-$600 in exchange for skipping the lines at Disney. They feel the VIP Tour is worth the split cost.

Those people are the hidden target audience for this deal, as are the folks like me who happily go to Disney After Hours multiple times each year.

If you’ve ever purchased a ticket for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party or Disney’s Very Merry Christmas Party, Disney would view you in the same light.

You’re also a member of the target audience, a person willing to pay a bit more to have an unforgettable day at a Disney theme park.

How many people like that are out there? Well, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party just sold out all its 2024 dates.

As much as it frustrates me to admit this, there are probably enough fans out there for this idea to work.

Final Thoughts

From Disney’s perspective, Lightning Lane Premier accomplishes the Prime Directive of its theme parks, increasing per capita spending.

Those guests were already visiting anyway, and now Disney has persuaded them to pay more.

That’s the x-factor here, explaining why I cannot dismiss this possibility.

The one caveat I’ll add is that Disney has tried something similar at a couple of international parks, and it hasn’t gone great.

Another significant factor working against the idea is that Disney would probably take another media drubbing over this move.

The greed of the move is impossible to overlook, even though the media has done exactly that with Universal Studios.

Disney would simply be copying its industry peers by adding this service, but Disney gets treated differently in the media.

Is the juice worth the squeeze? I’d love to say no, but my honest answer is…maybe.

We’ll know soon enough, as these rumors have taken the odd step of confirming a timeline.

People believe that Disney will do this by the end of 2024, and, well, it’s October.

So, the clock is ticking if there is any real chance of this happening soon. That part is why I’m inclined to dismiss the rumor.

If Disney had wanted to do this, it should have done so at the same time it switched from Disney Genie+ to Lightning Lane.

Then again, not every Disney decision makes sense. They once promoted Bob Chapek to CEO.

Therefore, I’m incredibly skeptical, but I rule nothing. Stay tuned, folks. This would be a HUGE deal if it happened.

Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon!