There's going to be a new way to make the most out of a day at one of Walt Disney's (DIS -0.02%) domestic theme parks. It will be pretty spectacular. It's also not going to come cheap.
The world's largest theme park operator is piloting a new attraction entry pass called Lightning Lane Premier Pass, giving those willing to pay between $129 and $449 a day of unprecedented access to a park's most popular attractions. Only a limited number of the passes will be available starting on Oct. 23 at Disneyland in California and a week later at Disney World.
You can expect reactions to be mixed. Well-to-do visitors who can afford the premium experience will love the new offering. Shareholders will enjoy seeing revenue per capita -- already up roughly 40% since before the pandemic -- inch slightly higher. Everyone else may initially grumble about the move, but Disney is only following the lead of its biggest rival and most of the country's other gated attractions.
Thank queues
Disney World and Disneyland currently have two ways to pay for expedited Lightning Lane queues that offer much shorter wait times than the regular standby line. The most popular rides -- two of them at Disneyland and five of them across the four parks at Disney World -- are only available for a one-time purchase of a Lightning Lane Single Pass. The balance of the fast-moving queues can be accessed by buying a Lightning Lane Multi Pass. The rules are different at each resort, but it basically boils down to an all-day pass where you can select new return times at available attractions after using one somewhere else.
Is this system complicated? Perhaps. Is it working? Probably. Disney mentioned in an earnings call two years ago that typically a third to as many as half of guests walking through one of its turnstiles were buying access to these expedited queues that operated under a different name. Those who choose not to pay or can't afford the premium may not appreciate the program, but it should in theory be subsidizing their lower overall admission cost for the day's experience.
Image source: Disney.
A whole new world
The new Lightning Lane Premier Pass will only be available in very limited but unspecified quantities. The pass at Disneyland will cost an extra $400 a day on top of the park's actual entrance fee for the rest of the year. It will drop to as low as $300 next year during the California resort's slow season. The pass includes access to both parks.
Things will be a little different on the other coast when it rolls out the service on Oct. 30. The Premier Pass will only cover one park, and each of the four Disney World destinations will have different prices. The pass will be similar to what rival Comcast (CMCSA -1.26%) offers at Universal Orlando a few highway exits away from the House of Mouse. Its basic Universal Express pass also covers just one park with one-time immediate access to each participating ride, and it's priced between $90 and $290. That's a little less than Disney's range, but Comcast also gives Universal Express access at no additional cost to those staying at its three priciest on-site resorts.
Speaking of premium hotels, while Disneyland is offering Premier Pass access it to all guests with a park ticket or reservation, Disney World is being more restrictive. It's limiting advance purchases to those staying at deluxe or deluxe villa resorts.
That's a smart move by the media stock giant. Some complaints when it comes to the Lightning Lane Multi Pass is that it requires a lot of preparation and too much time on the phone planning for your next return window. You can just hop in each Lightning Lane once with the new Premier Pass, just like Universal Express.
This won't stop regular prices from going higher. Disneyland increased prices last week. Disney World could follow suit soon. Giving guests a new ultra-premium option to make the most of a day at the park while also rolling out seasonal discounts is the right barbell approach to making it through a lull. Don't bet against the Mouse.
