Is Disney’s New Premier Pass Worth the Price Anywhere?

There’s a running joke in the business world.

It’s better to sell one customer a product at the price of $1 million than persuade a million customers to buy something for a dollar.

Photo: Washington Post

It’s an efficiency thing. And someone at Disney has recently put that idea to the test with the latest park initiative.

In its infinite wisdom, Disney will sell Lightning Lane Premier Pass for as much as $449 per person.

Photo: Disney

That’s Taylor Swift ticket pricing for something that will involve zero costume changes…at least, I hope it will.

Still, we all know some people will pay for Lightning Lane Premier Pass (LLPP), and I’m saying that because I’m one of those suckers.

Photo: Disney

I’ll be at the parks a few days after the service starts and plan to test out the premise. But I’m weird.

You probably shouldn’t be like me in any way, shape, or form. Even so, let’s play this out.

Lightning Lane

Is the Lightning Lane Premier Pass worth the price anywhere?

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

We’ll start each section with the basics. The estimated price for the Premier Pass at Animal Kingdom is $129-$199 plus tax per guest per day.

Tree of Life

Here are the attractions you can access with your Premier Pass:

• Avatar Flight of Passage
• DINOSAUR
• Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
• Feathered Friends in Flight!
• Festival of the Lion King
• Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!
• It’s Tough to Be a Bug!
• Kali River Rapids
• Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Naʻvi River Journey

DINOSAUR

Friends, that’s a thin list, which explains why the price at this park is so much cheaper.

Realistically, you’re paying a minimum of $129 to guarantee that you get to ride Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey.

Lightning Lane

You could achieve the same goal with a Lightning Lane Single Pass (LLSP) and a Lightning Lane Multi Pass, which will cost one-third the price.

On the plus side, the strongest selling point for Premier Pass is that you save yourself the aggravation of working on a schedule.

Avatar — Flight of Passage

You won’t have a return time for your Lightning Lanes. Instead, you can ride them whenever you want.

That saves you the aggravation of crisscrossing the largest park at Disney World. You can explore it at your leisure instead.

Lightning Lane

So, there is some value here, just not a LOT of value, in my opinion.

EPCOT

The estimated price for the Premier Pass at EPCOT is $169-$249 plus tax per guest per day.

Monorail

Here are the attractions covered by the Premier Pass:

• Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
• Frozen Ever After
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
• Journey into Imagination with Figment
• Living with the Land
• Mission: SPACE
• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends
• Soarin’ Around the World
• Spaceship Earth
• Turtle Talk with Crush

Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure

I didn’t mention it in the last section, but I’ll go ahead and say it here.

Whenever I’ve evaluated Lightning Lane Multi Pass (LLMP) or its precursors, I’ve suggested that EPCOT and Animal Kingdom are rarely worth the money.

Journey into Imagination with Figment

On the day I typed this, they cost $19 and $17 respectively. So, you can easily guess how I’ll feel about $129-$199 and $169-$249.

Real talk: Most of the attractions listed here at EPCOT are close to walk-on throughout the day.

Soarin’

So, other than saving yourself the scheduling aggravation, the primary benefit is that you’re sure to experience the big three rides.

Those include Frozen Ever After, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

For a fraction of the price, you can again buy LLMP and LLSP.

Then, you’ll stand in line for about an hour at either Frozen or Ratatouille. It’s slightly more aggravating, but it’s $100 cheaper per person.

Frozen Ever After

Friends, you can buy a LOT of EPCOT festival food, drinks, and merch for $100. It’s a better use of your money.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

The estimated price for the Premier Pass at Hollywood Studios is $269-$349 plus tax per guest per day.

Hollywood Studios

Here are the applicable attractions you can (mostly) skip with a Premier Pass:

• Alien Swirling Saucers
• Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
• Disney Junior Play & Dance!
• Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway*
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run*
• Muppet*Vision 3D
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith*
• Slinky Dog Dash*
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance*
• Toy Story Mania!*
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror*

Tower of Terror

Okay, there’s a WOW! factor here we didn’t have at the first two parks. So, this discussion isn’t as cut and dried.

Realistically, you’re most likely to consider Premier Pass at Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom.

Slinky Dog Dash

And Disney executives know this. That’s why you’ll pay more for the service at these parks.

You’ll notice I placed an asterisk beside seven of the rides.

Smugglers Run

Those attractions often average a wait of 60+ minutes on crowded park dates.

So, Hollywood Studios guests have been conditioned to expect to pick and choose among their favorites.

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway

Currently, it’s all but impossible for someone to experience all of them unless you buy LLMP and everything breaks right.

Ergo, I could at least somewhat justify the thought of Premier Pass at $269 for a full day.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster

Of course, on those full days where seven attractions have hour-long waits, the price will likely be $349.

For that reason, I’d be tempted to take my chances with a Single Pass for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Multi Pass for everything else.

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

I’m accepting that I’ll miss some stuff, but $350 feels wrong for a park this small.

Magic Kingdom

The estimated price for the Premier Pass at Magic Kingdom is $329-$449 plus tax per guest per day.

I’ll level with you. The upper side of that range is a price tag I think should come with a two-drink minimum. It’s funny.

Cinderella Castle

Still, Magic Kingdom is THE most trafficked theme park on the planet. So, some people will pay that price. Happily.

Honestly, I might be one of them. Yes, I’m a hypocrite. But I’ll list the available attractions before explaining:

• The Barnstormer
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant
• Haunted Mansion
• “it’s a small world”
• Jungle Cruise
• Mad Tea Party
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic
• Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• Space Mountain
• Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
• Tomorrowland Speedway
• TRON Lightcycle / Run
• Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid

Haunted Mansion

Anecdotally, whenever I’ve used the Lightning Lane at Magic Kingdom, I’ve marveled at its efficiency.

You can board most of these rides in a matter of minutes, even on hectic park days.

Lightning Lane

So, you could theoretically start at Adventureland and just circle your way around the park, land by land.

Since you decide the timeline, you could do as much as you want during a visit. And isn’t that the dream of every Disney fan?

Peter Pan’s Flight

I’m not saying this is a good or smart investment. Still, I can understand the logic at Hollywood Studios.

At Magic Kingdom, even at that super-hefty price, I’m still tempted as a special occasions kind of thing.

Final Thoughts

I’ll provide a detailed review of Premier Pass once I return from the park on November 8^th.

Predicting the future, I suspect I’ll love everything about it but the price. And it’s the price that matters most.

Photo: Disney

We’re talking about arguably Disney’s most expensive regular-person customer upsell ever.

VIP Tours cater to a different demographic. With the Premier Pass, Disney wants regular park guests to expand their budgets.

Magic Kingdom

Overall, I don’t think the juice is currently worth the squeeze at any of the parks.

But I reserve the right to change my mind after trying Premier Pass.

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