Lightning Lane Premier Pass

[Disstevefan1]

It is perfectly possible to go to WDW and not buy any LL, single, multi or whatever. You just have to be prepared to stand in lines, rope drop etc

If you are not going to buy any product, you need some luck to get in the boarding group for Guardians as there is no standby.

The last time I tried I tried at the 1PM time and my return time was over 6 hours away, I never made it.

But, yes its possible.

 

[DisneyCane]

You should stop thinking like a normal person and start thinking like a rich person.

Duh.

I have a very rich friend (generational wealth rich) who stopped going to WDW when they started charging for what used to be FP. He didn't like being nickel and dimed.

The only hotel he ever stayed at on his trips was Grand Floridian and the go to dinner option was Victoria & Albert's. This was a family who spent a ton of money on trips to WDW.

I think you will find that the uptake for this product will be more people who aren't rich and can barely afford it than the people who could throw $100 bills on their way down Main Street, USA and not miss it.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I don't think anyone is implying that just because you can afford something that they are not personally determining it's value proposition. For me, what I'm saying is that people who can afford it determine value differently than people going to WDW on a smaller budget.

Convience and time becomes more valuable the more you can afford them. If I work hard I can probably get the same value, or close to it, with a $25 LLMP compared to aa $350 LLPP. However, if an extra $325 is not a financial burden to me I may consider all the time managing 3 LL tracks, modifying times and refreshing things to be worth that.

There is a huge financial gap between this new product and VIP. One hour of VIP is worth 1 or 2 LLPP. I think this product is a decent in-between for people who want to spend on extra convience.

Time = money
This is overall a good observation. Except I would add there are more options than this.

For example, some people who can afford upsells still opt to vacation on the cheap because they enjoy the game of finding discounts/low-cost vacation options.

I

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

I still think it’s being overlooked that Disney themselves are calling this a pilot rollout with the deluxe resorts.

That indicates (to me) that they have intention to expand this to a wider audience should it go well. There is nowhere to grab capacity from for this besides from the main LLMP/SP pools as well as standby. This is why it matters to the wider guest experience, even if you believe this is going to be sold in such low numbers initially that other guests won’t feel the impact.

I think they may attempt to strike a balance between LLMP/SP guests being satisfied enough to keep spending, while being able to sell off their ability to get that 4th, 5th or whatever LL of the day and beyond to the Premier Pass guests. I think in hindsight this may have been a driver for having LLMP guests lock themselves into 3 in advance.

 

[MrPromey]

Of all the systems you can have, having a very expensive single skip the line option is actually the best for everybody.

If only that's what this was.

 

[Andrew C]

It is perfectly possible to go to WDW and not buy any LL, single, multi or whatever. You just have to be prepared to stand in lines, rope drop etc

yes, it's a crap theme park experience that Disney ignores.

That doesn't even get into them removing experiences that do not require long waits...

 

[Bastet]

I didn't buy any LL for this trip as the value as visitor from the UK wasn't there as I couldn't book anything before as my phone wouldnt accept the location swap to US before. @Indy_UK, no I dont have kids but have been to theme parks with small children and understand your point longest q we managed was 30 mins thanks to octonauts on you tube!!! I was lucky with guardians twice in the 2 weeks I was there and Tiana 3 times, this was on disney wifi, wait times were mostly what they said they would be.

 

[LSLS]

Do you have kids who will stay in line for 45-60 minutes per ride?

Yes, IF the line is moving. The BIGGEST issue is not the line length, it's that you stand in a single spot for 3-4-5 minutes at a time. When they are constantly moving, the lines don't feel as awful.

 

[celluloid]

You mean when the park opened and you had to buy tickets books?

A few reasons with that is majorly different.

The parks offered only what you wanted then. So not really comparable. Admission was very low cost and often completely free, parking etc...

No real planning involved.

There were still completely free attractions with sponsors. New attractions were added and plussed in much more frequency with less resources.

No one was really doing gate parks on the level, so no one in industry moved to that until Disney did it.


But aside from the optics of nickel and diming and what that feels/looks like...

Shouldn't things be better than they were?

 

[celluloid]

If you are not going to buy any product, you need some luck to get in the boarding group for Guardians as there is no standby.

The last time I tried I tried at the 1PM time and my return time was over 6 hours away, I never made it.

But, yes its possible.

Also even if you do get to ride it, it certainly forces your stay in the day to become much longer than it would if you would have waited your turn on a first come first serve. It changed that to increase guest spending.

Too many dirty pulls.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

With Guardians as an example, the issue of virtual queues and Disney keeping them operational far past when necessary, is allowing them to gatekeep access to attractions and seriously inflates the value of LLSP or this new premier pass. Saving some amount of time for $X is a totally different scenario than only being able to access more than once or at all in some cases for $X.

 

[Tom P.]

So legit question, why are you going to to Disney world, when you can travel the world for much much cheaper ? I’m pretty sure a trip to Tokyo and visiting Disney sea is becoming a cheaper option this rate.

I know the demographic for Disney is the people who are making well over 6 figures, but even wealthy people have to be questioning these increase costs. There is more to enjoyment than Disney and Disney world and nothing about Disney output lately justifies these kind of prices.

Because I'd rather go to Walt Disney World than travel to Tokyo. And because I do still think WDW is worth it for the price.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Also even if you do get to ride it, it certainly forces your stay in the day to become much longer than it would if you would have waited your turn on a first come first serve. It changed that to increase guest spending.

Too many dirty pulls.

Totally agree. when I got the return time that was more than 6 hours away, I WISHED there was a standby line, I would have waited in a 90 minute standby instead of the over 6 hour return time,

Hopefully they eventually allow standby for Guardians.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

More...because you can't do this at the mid-range hotels.

Just found Swan for $308 (prepay rate, includes all taxes and hotel fee) for 3 nights in Jan, so $925 for 3 nights.

 

[MrPromey]

I guess people did ask for this pass and Disney has catered.

For over 2 years people were shouting at Disney to bring back the Dining plan, but who is also actually buying that.

The rises over the last couple of years has dropped the amount of merch we buy each trip (just go to the outlet) and if they continue, it's the food that will be dropped next. We are certainly having cereal in the rooms now but I'll probably make pack up lunches too and save the dinners for the only time we'll splash a bit,

So you'll basically be spending the same or more with them while costing them less in merchandise and labor?

I think Josh's tight pants just got a little tighter reading that.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I still think it’s being overlooked that Disney themselves are calling this a pilot rollout with the deluxe resorts.

That indicates (to me) that they have intention to expand this to a wider audience should it go well. There is nowhere to grab capacity from for this besides from the main LLMP/SP pools as well as standby. This is why it matters to the wider guest experience, even if you believe this is going to be sold in such low numbers initially that other guests won’t feel the impact.

I think they may attempt to strike a balance between LLMP/SP guests being satisfied enough to keep spending, while being able to sell off their ability to get that 4th, 5th or whatever LL of the day and beyond to the Premier Pass guests. I think in hindsight this may have been a driver for having LLMP guests lock themselves into 3 in advance.

This is also a ploy to garner free publicity in order to counter today's big Epic Universe announcement.

Epic opens May 22, 2025!

 

[DisneyCane]

Totally agree. when I got the return time that was more than 6 hours away, I WISHED there was a standby line, I would have waited in a 90 minute standby instead of the over 6 hour return time,

Hopefully they eventually allow standby for Guardians.

Probably when reimagined Test Track opens and they move the VQ to there.

 

[DisneyCane]

Yes, IF the line is moving. The BIGGEST issue is not the line length, it's that you stand in a single spot for 3-4-5 minutes at a time. When they are constantly moving, the lines don't feel as awful.

I share your opinion. As an adult, I can wait 2 hours if the line is constantly moving, even if it is moving slowly. What I can't stand is standing in the same spot for several minutes. It makes a 1 hour wait feel like 3 hours.

 

[Disstevefan1]

The other day, I was standing at Ratatouille and the standby was long, and the family member I was with has mobility issues who can't tolerate the standby and obviously no longer qualified for DAS.

I look over a LL entrance and its........ Empty.

There is no LL single pass for Ratatouille. Apparently for same day purchase of multi pass LL, you do not know if you can get a return pass for attractions until after you purchase. In our case we just wanted to purchase in order to go on Ratatouille, Not knowing, we could literally purchase LL multi for NO reason whatsoever.

They should sell single pass LL for everything, but even at that, there will be a return time that is NOT NOW, it will be in the future, who knows how many hours.

How cool would it be if you could walk up to a LL entrance, tap your magic band, assuming your account is linked to a payment method, BOOM you are charged, the light turns green and you are IN!

I would not pay for this premier service, BUT at that moment, I would have paid whatever they charged me to get into Ratatouille with a tap of my magic band.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Probably when reimagined Test Track opens and they move the VQ to there.

And sadly no more standby for TT