For years, Walt Disney World fans have been clamoring for a "skip the line" service that was similar to Universal's Express Pass and today that day has arrived ... with a price. We're going to take a look at Disney's new service, compare it to Express Pass as well as other Walt Disney World offerings and try to determine who actually the audience for this new product is.
Let's start with the basics - the new service is called Lightning Lane Premier Pass (LLPP). These acronyms are going to be tough to follow, so please pay attention as to whether I'm using this one or the other Lightning Lane offerings - Lightning Lane Single Pass (LLSP) or Lightning Lane Multi-pass (LLMP). Disney loves a good acronym!
In any case, LLPP seems to be only being sold for one park at a time (for now, anyway). LLPP will include one entry to each Lightning Lane entrance at any time during the day. This includes both LLMP and LLSP rides, and as it states, won't require a specific reservation time. This will launch on October 30 and is priced in the following range by park:
Animal Kingdom - $129-$199 per person
Epcot - $169-$249
Hollywood Studios - $269-$349
Magic Kingdom - $329-$449
If those numbers made you do a double take, you probably weren't the only one. Disney's announcement says that LLPP will be offered in "very limited quantities", meaning they will only offer to (and expect use from) a small number of guests.
Let's start with the obvious comparison here, which is indeed Universal's Express Pass. The concept here is exactly the same. In a way, I would even say that Disney's offering is "better" because not every single ride is available as an Express Pass (I THINK Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure is the only current one where Express Pass isn't offered, but I could be overlooking something). On the other hand, Express Pass is valid in both of Universal's (current) parks on the same day, where Disney's is limited to the attractions in one park at a time.
One notable difference is that Universal offers both Express Pass standard and Express Pass Unlimited. Disney's works like the former - one ride per offered attraction per day. Express Pass Unlimited offers, as it implies, unlimited rides on each attraction, subject to time and availability. I looked at the Universal Orlando website, and they list the price range as $90-$290 per person for standard and $120-$320 for Unlimited.
The other (major) difference here is that Universal includes Express Pass Unlimited if you stay at one of their top tier resorts (Portofino Bay, Royal Pacific or Hard Rock). This makes the math more difficult to compare in an apples to apples sort of way. The only way it would be comparable for Disney is if it were included in their deluxe resort stays (kind of like the way Extended Evening Hours is currently included for these hotels).
The problem is (and always has been, whenever this topic comes up) that the pool of guests in these resorts would skew the system too much, which is why Disney had never offered it this way before and why (I presume) this isn't an option now. That may change in the future, but for now, it's just a straight up charge in addition to your regular park tickets (and hotel, airfare, etc). Though it should be noted that, at least at launch, it will only be available for PURCHASE to those staying at deluxe resorts or villas.
As a side note, we have used Universal's Express Pass Unlimited by staying in one of those resorts and it was absolutely spectacular, my favorite line skipping service for ease of use and price (considering it was built into the hotel cost, which in and of itself were cheaper than the comparable Disney resorts). That's neither here nor there as far as Disney's offering goes, but to me, it's the gold standard for this type of upcharge.
The better and more relevant comparison to another Disney offering might be to their own VIP tours. Disney lists the pricing for these as $450-$900 per hour, with a commitment of seven to ten hours. That VIP tour can include a party of up to ten people. So let's say you were able to fill that party of ten for ten hours (to make the math simpler). Splitting this range right down the middle, that would be around $675 per person. So LLPP is actually a better deal, right??
I guess it depends on a few factors (assuming you have the money for either of these - we'll talk more about that below). First, the VIP tour includes a dedicated guide (a "plaid" is the lingo often used) to pre-plan things with you and guide you throughout any or all of the parks during your time. This includes expedited transportation, backstage access (upon arriving and departing) and literal front of the line service (they will walk you past other guests and just get you on a ride).
LLPP can't do most of those things. Whether the guide is a plus or a minus to you is a matter of taste - I'm not sure how I would feel about taking my party around with a stranger tied to your hip all day, though the perks might be fun to try if I ever win the lottery. But without the human element or the ability to park hop, there is a difference here.
In comparison to the current offerings (as in, things that many guests actually utilize), the cost for LLMP ranges from $15-$39 per person ... as of now. Disney was pushing the envelope on pricing over the last few years, but they have yet to find a point at which a significant number of guests balk. And I guess that's what this LLPP service is about now - finding out where that breaking point is, and how they can use that to their advantage.
The thing about the price creep on LLMP is that the numbers are still relatively small (and this isn't to belittle anyone, or make anyone think that these are somehow "cheap" - if you're paying for a Disney vacation, the expectation is that there is already a significant cost involved). Let's use a family of four as an example (which is my situation). Say park tickets for seven days cost around $3,000 for the four of you. If you were to purchase LLMP at a price of say $29 for four of those days, you're looking at $464 ($29 x 4 people x 4 days). In the grand scheme of things, guests are willing to pay that (for something that used to be free, mind you) because it doesn't change the math too much.
On the other hand, say you wanted to purchase LLPP at Magic Kingdom, just for one day. Perhaps you won't buy LLMP or LLSP on ANY other day of your trip - this is your splurge. At the low end, that's $329 a person, or $1,316 total. That is a large difference from LLMP and that's only one day of LLPP as I said. How many guests are willing to do that? Where is the balking point?
I guess these questions will be answered, as well as how "limited" this offering actually is. For those of you who don't purchase it (and I assume that's most of you reading this), how will the LL entrances for these attractions be impacted by this change? That's the real question for most of us, and one that remains to be seen. Disney won't want to anger its "average" guest, who will purchase LLMP and even LLSP but not LLPP. But it's also not going to turn down all this free money that it's creating by this new offering.
So who is the target audience here? I actually don't know for sure. I'm sure there are plenty of wealthy guests who already take advantage of Disney's top tier offerings - Club 33, Golden Oak, VIP tours, etc. Last year, Disney offered a trip around the world to all of their theme parks on a private jet, which took three weeks or so of real world time. The price was astronomical ... yet it sold out immediately. So there has to be a market for these kinds of things.
I suspect that Disney doesn't actually want a high utilization of LLPP, based on the wording and the pricing. Their goal should be to satisfy guests at every level, which means those who purchase LLMP as well as guests who only use standby lines. If this works, it means more money in Disney's pocket, but not much of a noticeable difference in wait times for everyone else who isn't using it. We'll have to monitor how true this is over the next few months.
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