Lightning Lane Premier Pass

[IanDLBZF]

Also included in their AP (along with valet parking and a ticket to one of their after hours events, I might add)

Though APs only get express access after 4pm.

 

[DisneyHead123]

What worries me a little about this is that there are reports that money is moving away from dining experiences to LL, and Disney sees this as a positive trend. Understandable on their part considering the margins, but the dynamic is worrisome. Basically deprioritizing enjoyable extras that add something experiential to a park goers experience, like dining, in favor of more and more “plussed” park tickets, which is basically the same experience a bit faster.

I guess the free market will sort it out, but sometimes that can be a messy process, so hoping there’s not too much more movement in this direction.

 

[Splash4eva]

Also included in their AP (along with valet parking and a ticket to one of their after hours events, I might add)

Not that im defending Disney but if you or anyone else feels that way then got to Uni instead. Some have. Some never will and some will give Uni dollars they may have never in the past. Disney imo keeps missing the mark by not building new rides people will pay to ride and sell out daily they will pay for themselves.

 

[MickeyCookies]

Though APs only get express access after 4pm.

True but it has worked great for us. Also early entry is included

 

[MickeyCookies]

Not that im defending Disney but if you or anyone else feels that way then got to Uni instead. Some have. Some never will and some will give Uni dollars they may have never in the past. Disney imo keeps missing the mark by not building new rides people will pay to ride and sell out daily they will pay for themselves.

We do both. I love and appreciate both parks. But imo Uni offers a better bang for the buck

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

I would be completely fine with this if...
-It was available between parks.
-There was an unlimited option.
-The current lightning lane multi pass system went away completely.

This would simplify the park experience for most people and help with standby lines (some may get a bit longer but at least they will move).

Ultimately, I am looking for a better park experience because the current one is lacking, and this doesn't deliver for most guests. But this isn't what Disney is trying to do with this program...that's not the goal.

I thought about this. I think the problem is that Disney is pushing people who no longer qualify for DAS but can't stand in long lines to buy Lightning Lane.
The new "re-entry" system isn't very well organized. If they eliminated LL, it would only hurt those people.

 

[UberMouse]

Hi, I'm a Millennial who was very used to the OG FASTPASS.

It was not perfect, but it was FREE, and that made it better.

However, FASTPASS itself really should never have been created, but it was, and destiny was written. It was always inevitable that one day it would become a paid add-on.


View attachment 820922

All true. Maybe Gen z would be more appropriate..haha

 

[Brer Oswald]

Your loss.

By what metric? You used to get far more “bang for your buck” than you do now.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Maybe because he's passionate about how things used to be and wants to advocate for a return to those times? That's why I'm here.

Until about two months ago, I wasn't sure I was going to get back to the parks either. But it's my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary, and they took my brothers and I to WDW (if we got straight As) for years as we were growing up. It's the perfect place for us to celebrate this occasion, but Disney keeps making terrible, terrible choices that are going to make this trip VERY inferior to what we're used to as a family.

This sums it up. Just because I hate the way the parks are being managed currently, doesn’t mean my lifelong interest and passion for the Disney parks should just…disappear.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

I haven't read the entire thread as this moved fast. But I think Disney needed something to attract back the guests that will be giving up some days to Universal and Epic Universe. If you budget the money, split stays between Universal and WDW are easier to plan if you can be guaranteed to do all rides in one day.

My WDW family is going to Universal/EPIC for first time next holiday season. We would like to do WDW too but probably only Holiday parties due to time constraints. Having the option to skip all the lines is an attractive (but expensive) alternative that we might consider.

I wouldn't be surprised if bookings are down because of EPIC Universe. They likely want to book the deluxe resorts first.

Funny enough, I think one of the things pushing people away from Disney is how complicated it is. The verbiage alone drives me nuts!

Having to explain to first timers the difference between Disney Genie, Lightning Lane Single Pass, Lightning Lane Multi Pass, Lightning Lane Premier Pass and VIP Tours makes my head hurt.

Consider this on top of increasing prices. Why would anyone want to go. I miss just showing up and enjoying the day.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

I think the problem is we have a lot of later born millennials on here that never experienced the OG FASTPASS. It was perfect. I'm a DVC member, so I qualify every time I go. Will I use LLPP? No.

Deep dive

Nah, millennials definitely used the OG fastpass. I think its the Gen Zers who missed out.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Disney has fully embraced the budget airline business model, it’s amazing how quickly they’ve gone from being the best, highest service, all inclusive, airline to becoming Spirit.

Do they not realize most people avoid these airlines like the plague because they loathe the nickel and diming?

But Bob said when he came back that he was going to battle against the nickel and diming. He didn't lie... did he?

 

[KDM31091]

This just adds yet another layer of complication to Disney planning that is already ridiculously complex for the non superfans. As a local I just show up and have fun, but tourists from out of town don't have that luxury, and feel like they have to shell out extra for all these upcharges to be able to ride rides. It's just really sad. At the very least it should offer multiple rides per day on the same ride for the crazy price tag.

I do think it's a precursor to eventually eliminating the "cheap" LL system that exists now, but who knows.

I am very disappointed in the current direction of Disney between this and the new "pay for benefits" DVC thing. I hope things change. It's becoming exhausting being a Disney fan and having to constantly convince yourself they aren't just ripping you off as it eventually starts to feel that way.

In less than a decade Disney has stripped almost every "included" perk away and made it cost money, and now wants you to be so grateful they're rolling out a "perk" for you. It's sickening.

 

[JAN J]

Why? Its a totally different product and offering

Not "totally different".

Sure, there is more stuff that a VIP gets. but I am fairly confident that those who can afford it are more interested in skipping lines, than having someone fetching their coat and grabbing ice cream for them.
And in that case, the switch would make sense.

I am not an expert on VIP guest tours, so I don't know how often buyers repeat the rides. But I wouldn't be surprised that, for some of them, a single time is enough. Especially when there is a 7-hour window for the service (which you can Up$gra$de$ to 10).

Furthermore, since the price for VIP does not change based on party size, it's easier to just buy Premier LL than to look for 9 other people to share VIP with you.

To sum up, not saying one will be the doom of the other. but I do see why it would cannibalize it to an extent.
Also, premier will definitely sell more than VIP tours, but whether the incremental revenue will be accretive to the bottom line, only time will tell.

 

[Purduevian]

So from Len's Spreadsheet He counted 491 people exiting Peter pans flight in 30 mins for a ride capacity of 982 per hour. I'll round up and say 1000 people an hour. Over a 12 hour day 12,000 people get to ride Pan. Lets assume 70% goes to LLMP right now or 8,400 LLMP given out before it is "sold out". 17.7 million attending MK in 2023 or an average of 48,500 per day. If 3% of MK guests buy LLPP, then they take 1,455 of those Pan LLMP spots or 17%.

It doesn't take a high % of guests for this to start affecting LLMP availability on high end, low capacity attractions.

 

[Brer Oswald]

What would Disney have to do to bring you back to the parks and when do you think that will happen?

They need to return to the level of quality output that they used to be known for. Unlike many people on this forum, I’m on the “younger side” of visiting these parks. I’m Gen Z, and my fondest trips to the resort were in the late 2000s and 2010s. The fact that they’ve changed (and degraded) this rapidly is unnatural, and should be a shock for most long term visitors.

What needs to be stressed is that they need to start expanding capacity rather than replacing it if they want to keep imposing these ridiculous upcharges. They claim they’re trying to keep the parks “relevant” by retheming attractions to movies that I did indeed grow up with, but I also grew up with the Disney Parks staples too, and they had a much greater impact on me than the animated films ever did. Perhaps I’d be willing to pay these exorbitant prices if things like Splash Mountain and the Movie Ride were still around, but I’m not paying them for the pathetic imitators that replaced them.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

the forums are full of people spewing nonsense, and worrying about how other people spend their money.

IMO, much of the thread is more laughing than being worried.

We have a common myth that wealth is related to how smart a person is, and that smart/wealthy people are above being fooled into dumb purchases.

So many people find it funny when the emperor is walking around naked while bragging about his invisible clothes.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

The price is insane, but I'm sure those with deep pockets will buy. But your average "family from Colorado" that Disney likes to reference, no, I doubt it. I mean people only have so much disposable income and Disney is just getting more and more expensive.

Then the price is not insane. Its priced appropriately for its target market. It's like complaining a Lamborghini or Rolls price is insane. They aren't they are priced appropriately, even if it outside the price range for certain people.

 

[JenniferS]

Chatting online with my two besties about this before 8:00 am this morning, and this is what one of them said:

“They’re turning a trip into a true once in a lifetime thing. People will shell out once and never go back.”

This is stark raving lunacy. If we ever go back, we’ll take a page out of my brother’s book.

He does after hours events and parties only. No day tickets required. Spends extra time at the Boardwalk, Disney Springs, and the resort pool.
With a party/event ticket, you can enter at 4:00. The riffraff leaves at 7:00. If you don’t waste your time on M&G’s or shows, you can knock out every ride on your must-do list. Some, multiple times.

For me, this just might be the final straw. Also, I received an email yesterday that my Disney+ subscription is going up.

“We wanted to let you know that effective November 1, 2023, your plan will be called Disney+ Premium and will increase in price from your current price of $119.99 to $149.99 per year. The price adjustment will take effect on 19 November 2024. Your payment method on file will be charged unless you cancel your subscription before then. ”

Straight up copy and paste, so it looks like there is a typo in the email, as November 1, 2023 was almost a year ago. Unless of course, they think they can back charge me extra for the past year. I wouldn’t put it past them.

So disappointed.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

I could easily afford to buy this, but... it doesn't seem remotely worth the price.

All of the parks (except maybe DAK) have rides I don't care about riding, so the fact that I could go to them without an advanced booking or waiting in the standby line is irrelevant because I don't really want to ride in the first place. And then there are ones I think are mediocre and wouldn't wait to ride, but would be willing to ride as a walk-on or short wait, but this is way too expensive for that to make sense. And since you can't park hop either...

If it allowed for repeat rides, then maybe they'd have something. There are some attractions I'd happily ride 5 times in a day (the Safari, e.g.), and being able to use the LL for each ride would be fantastic, but that's not what's offered here.

I think this will have very little effect on the average guest because I don't think it's going to sell in any significant volume. It's already limited to a relatively small group, and most of them are capable of looking at the numbers and seeing they should be able to ride everything they want with little to no wait with the standard LL offerings for far less.

I only see this as being really worthwhile or interesting to people who are only going to be at each park a single day and are determined to ride every single attraction in that park with little to no waiting (and people who just have so much money that they don't even look at prices, but in that case... just get a VIP tour and have an even better experience).

You know this brought me another group where this offering would be useful, although you would have to leave out the deluxe resort condition. I could see people who are on cruises and putting in a shore excursion stop to visit the parks as finding this extremely valuable.