Review: Is Lightning Lane Premier Pass Worth the Money?

I hate myself for what I’m about to say.

On Monday, November 4^th, I tried Walt Disney World’s hugely expensive new line-skipping option.

As previously indicated, I never liked the idea of this one, even though I viewed it as an inevitable park addition in a recent Disney Rumors.

Well, I’ve tried the new option, and it…didn’t go the way I expected.

So, here’s my review of Walt Disney World’s version of the Lightning Lane Premier Pass, which I wanted to hate but didn’t.

How the Premier Pass Works

The Lightning Lane Premier Pass works like Disney’s other Lightning Lane services, which we once knew as FastPasses.

You’ll approach the attraction’s line queue, which Disney typically decorates to make it a recognizable spot.

Then, you’ll tap your MagicBand at the kiosk or whatever you’re using to show admission.

Afterward, rather than entering the longer standby queue, you’ll walk into the shorter line instead. It’s the Lightning Lane.

This side of the line queue is much quicker, often approaching walk-on during slower park days.

In short, a Lightning Lane allows you to skip most of the time spent waiting in line to experience your favorite attractions.

Nobody likes to talk about it, but there’s a hidden benefit to Disney ending the free FastPass service.

Since not every guest uses Lightning Lane – even on the most crowded dates, only half of customers buy it – the waits are shorter now.

So, when you splurge for this upcharge experience, you get what you pay for.

During my most recent Disney visit, I only waited more than ten minutes in a Lightning Lane once the entire trip.

I can honestly say that 98 percent of our Lightning Lane experiences provided nearly instantaneous access.

To a larger point, the primary difference between Premier Pass vs. Lightning Lane Single Pass or Multi Pass is immediacy.

When you book the typical Lightning Lanes, Disney assigns you a return time. That’s when you may access the Lightning Lane.

With the Premier Pass, you set your own schedule. You tap in at the kiosk whenever you like, as long as it’s during regular park hours.

I specifically chose a day when my park, EPCOT, was hosting Extended Evening Hours as well.

Sure enough, the kiosks were no longer accessible once the park had closed to regular guests.

The Price of Premier Pass

I will grit my teeth as I say these things, as my wife and I engaged in the same discussion throughout our park visit.

Long story short, we grudgingly adored Premier Pass. While that’s a nonsensical thing to say, I suspect you understand.

Simply by praising the service, we’re rewarding Disney for adding yet another more expensive experience.

This particular one comes with outrageous prices. To wit, we chose EPCOT on a Monday.

Our price for Premier Pass on this day came across my credit card statement as $487.78.

That was the charge for two of us at a rate of $229 per person plus tax. So, the tax alone bumped the total up another $29.78.

You should remember that tidbit for the most expensive dates at Magic Kingdom, wherein the tax alone is likely to exceed $60.

Again, this service isn’t cheap. I’ve equated it to Disney After Hours events, which typically cost $155-$185.

A comparison to something like Disney’s Very Merry Christmas Party isn’t quite analogous since you don’t get the free stuff here.

At the holiday parties, Disney throws in free snacks and character greetings.

With Premier Pass, the only things you get are what’s available via Lightning Lane.

Our Premier Pass Experience

Simply stated, we had a spectacular day. We slept in rather than participating in Early Theme Park Entry.

That was our approach throughout our vacation save for this date, when we slept in and casually strolled into the park at 11 a.m.

EPCOT’s crowd patterns are well-known, and what I’d ordinarily do is head toward the back, away from the crowds.

Instead, we entered the Lightning Lane for Spaceship Earth immediately, ignoring the sign with the 45-minute wait.

Fifteen minutes later, we were already heading toward The Seas with Nemo & Friends for our next ride.

By 12:30, we’d already experienced five different attractions, including Soarin’.

After some photo ops, a break and some lunch, we headed to the World Showcase, where the funniest thing happened.

Rain started to fall, leading guests to “escape” to the Mexico pavilion. They hopped in line for Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros.

This led to a first for me. I witnessed the line back up all the way outside the pavilion and down the street, thereby defeating the purpose.

Guests stood in the line while waiting in line for an attraction that had averaged a nine-minute wait so far that day.

Meanwhile, we skipped the ride because…it doesn’t have a Lightning Lane queue! So, that’s one of the holes in the system.

Since I love walking in the rain – don’t judge me! – we happily strolled to Frozen Ever After instead.

By 4 PM, we’d ridden everything in the park except for Gran Fiesta Tour…and I include Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in that!

The Premier Pass provides access to Lightning Lane Single Pass attractions as well.

The Pros and Cons of Premier Pass

That 4 PM cutoff reflects a pro as well as a con of Premier Pass.

With that much time left in the park day, we’d ordinarily ride something else or Park Hop.

Since we were returning to EPCOT for Extended Evening Hours, we ruled out Park Hopping.

Thus, we started standing in line after 4 PM, which kinda defeats the purpose of Premier Pass.

I understand why Disney would be reticent to provide unlimited access to Cosmic Rewind, Frozen, or Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.

The logic mystifies me with attractions like The Seas with Nemo & Friends, Journey into Imagination with Figment, or even Soarin’.

At these prices, guests should do what they want. And let me be clear that the price is TOO HIGH!

Despite this criticism, the service itself is freakishly good. Disney delivers precisely what it promises here.

You gain access to every Lightning Lane, and it’s a user-friendly process.

There’s no concern about missing your reservation window or having to juggle your itinerary.

Instead, you gain complete control of your park visit, experiencing whatever you want whenever you want.

Yes, there’s that weird exception of attractions lacking Lightning Lanes. Realistically, that’s only a handful of offerings, though.

At EPCOT, the only two experiences we wish had offered Lightning Lanes were Gran Fiesta Tour and Meet Mickey & Friends.

Otherwise, the amenity was a breathtaking game-changer.

Final Thoughts  

Let’s start with the obvious. If you have the disposable income, Lightning Lane Premier Pass is a no-brainer.

Like, don’t even hesitate. Just buy it. You won’t regret it as long as you plan to spend a hectic day at the parks.

Presuming that you care about the value of a dollar, you’ll need to get your money’s worth from the investment.

For that to happen, you’ll want to experience every Lightning Lane attraction at the park.

Even at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the smallest Disney World park, that’s quite the adventure.

Should you try to maximize the value at Magic Kingdom, you’ll spend 12+ hours at the park, experiencing everything there is to do.

The bright side is that you CAN do it all, which is something that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

After all, the entire point of Magic Kingdom is that you could spend your entire vacation discovering new park offerings.

Lightning Lane reduces your line time to virtually nothing, making every participating attraction nearly walk-on.

Remarkably, the process works, and Disney’s 2021 decision to change the former FastPass into a paid service has a hidden benefit.

The Lightning Lane lines are much shorter now. But that’s true of Lightning Lane Multi Pass as well.

Premier Pass costs up to 12 times as much. Is it worth that? Well, no.

I maintain that Disney has charged about double what I would feel comfortable paying for the service.

Having said that, I freakin’ loved it. So, the service receives an A+, while the pricing gets an F.

I don’t expect this to happen, but if Disney cut the price in half, I would heartily recommend it.

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