Disney Expands Lightning Lane Premier Pass to All Walt Disney World Resort Hotel Guests

Nov 22, 2024 in "Disney Genie"

Gallery / 1 Photo
Lightning Lane Premier Pass logo

Posted: Friday November 22, 2024 7:00am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Walt Disney World has expanded the availability of its Lightning Lane Premier Pass, previously offered exclusively to guests staying at Disney Deluxe Resorts, Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts, and select hotels. As of November 22, 2024, the pass is now available to guests staying at all Walt Disney World Resort hotels, including the Walt Disney World Dolphin, Swan, Swan Reserve, and Shades of Green Resort.

Lightning Lane Premier Pass logo

Expanded Access for More Guests

The Lightning Lane Premier Pass allows guests to skip standby lines and use Lightning Lane entrances for one-time access to each available Lightning Lane attraction in a single park on a given day. Previously limited to guests at Disney’s highest-tier resorts, this expansion now opens the option to all Disney Resort hotel guests, making the service more widely accessible.

Eligible guests include those staying at:

All Disney Resort Hotels
Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
Shades of Green Resort

How the Lightning Lane Premier Pass Works

The Lightning Lane Premier Pass differs from other Lightning Lane options, such as the Multi Pass and Single Pass, in its flexibility and scope:

No Arrival Windows: Unlike other Lightning Lane passes, Premier Pass holders don’t need to select arrival times for attractions. Guests can enter Lightning Lane entrances whenever they choose, subject to availability.
One-Park Access: The pass includes one-time access to every available Lightning Lane experience in a single park for one day.
Photo Perks Included: Guests also receive digital downloads of select attraction photos and videos through Disney PhotoPass, adding extra value to the pass.

Eligibility and How to Purchase

Guests staying at eligible hotels can purchase the Lightning Lane Premier Pass up to seven days before their stay using the My Disney Experience app. Pricing varies by date and park and is displayed in the app at the time of purchase. As this remains a limited-quantity offering, early booking is recommended for those interested.

Magic Kingdom: $329–$449
Hollywood Studios: $249–$349
EPCOT: $149–$249
Animal Kingdom: $119–$199

View current and upcoming Lighting Lane Premier Pass pricing.

What’s Next for Lightning Lane Premier?

With this expansion, Disney is testing how the Lightning Lane Premier Pass can cater to a wider audience. While it remains to be seen how this affects availability and guest satisfaction, the move signals Disney’s interest in providing more premium service options to a broader range of visitors.

Future updates to the Lighting Lane Premier Pass may include an option allowing for Lighting Lane access across all four Walt Disney World theme parks, although Disney is yet to announce any new additions to the service.

Guests are willing to pay a high price to secure easy entry to E-Ticket rides like TRON Lightcycle Run

Discuss on the Forums

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MrPromey16 minutes ago

What if they announced it was going away at the end of the year? 💩

DCBaker7 hours ago

Lightning Lane Premier Pass at Magic Kingdom is now showing as sold out for today:

SingleRider4 days ago

Back in the days of Genie+ if you had an ME pass and a later Genie+ time reserved for the ride it would pull the Genie+ reservation, even if you were HOURS early for it. And if that was your most recently booked reservation you could immediately book another. And if your ME pass was also valid at that next attraction - wash, rinse, repeat.

Tigger&Pooh4 days ago

The prevailing suggestion is to make sure you use the LLSP within the stated window (9am-10am in your example). Don't rely on any "grace period" before or after because it may take the PP at that point.

MickeyLuv'r5 days ago

Isn't what due to weather? The lack of passes?

Chi845 days ago

Isn’t that due to the weather, though?

MickeyLuv'r5 days ago

We pretty much had the opposite reaction to LLMP, given how empty the parks were this past week. The days I bought it, I thought the prebooking options were a sad joke, especially once we saw how empty the parks were. The standby waits were so low we sometimes just used the standby queues instead of booking passes. The other big problem I have with LLMP is that there is a ghost passes. We'd start to book a pass and initially be offered what appeared to be a 2-3pm pass, but then the time of the actual pass would be vastly different. Instead of 2-3pm, it would be a 3-4pm pass, or even sometimes a 7-8pm pass. That's just bad.

JD806 days ago

Not to say it could never happen, but there is no rumor about it. It's mostly speculation that gets echo'd around social media.

Spoonful of Sugar6 days ago

Just returned from WDW, using MP on a few of our days - worked well. Reminded us of FP days. We are a larger family and would never be able to justify adding such a high price tag for PP for any given day for all of us. Is there any truth to rumors that MP & SP will be eliminated...eventually leaving PP as the only option for the Disney parks?

HoustonHorn7 days ago

That's exactly how it works.

Purduevian7 days ago

Can't guarantee it. However, in the past Disney has always "used up" the most restricted valid pass when tapping in. For instance if you were holding both a ME pass and a LLMP for an attraction, the system would automatically use the LLMP. I assume it would work the same way for LLPP, but might be worth asking before tapping in.

JD807 days ago

Good question.

EpcotTom7 days ago

How would the following be handled... I purchase a Premier Pass for Epcot and a Lightning Lane Single Pass for Guardians. The single pass is for 9am-10am. I enter the lightning lane for Guardians at 9am. Which pass will be used? I'd hope the single pass leaving the premier pass usable at any time the rest of the day.