Genie+ is dead and Lightning Lane Multi Pass has arrived at Walt Disney World. This post covers one of the most important topics about the new line-skipping service from a practical perspective: pricing. We have the cost of LLMP for Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom for all dates between now and mid-August 2024. Plus, predictions for October through January 2025.
There are still a lot of questions about the whole Lightning Lane Multi Pass system, and we’ve been doing our best to answer those in the Guide to Lightning Lane Multi Pass & Single Pass at Walt Disney World (which will get another major update later today now that LLMP has launched). This whole system is confusing and convoluted, especially for those who never used FastPass+. That answers all of the most common ones we’ve been receiving from readers.
A lot of major changes have been made to Lightning Lanes with Walt Disney World killing off Genie and rolling out Multi Pass. Among these is the retirement of the Multi-Park option with valid Park Hopper tickets or Annual Passes. This has been a topic of confusion, with some guests mistakenly assuming they’d have to purchase LLMP twice if they Park Hopped or that they’d have to pay the difference. Both are inaccurate.
Under the Lightning Lane Multi Pass system, there is no additional charge for Park Hopping, and you do not need to pay for the Lightning Lane Multi-Pass a second time. However, you must use your first Lightning Lane before making subsequent selections in different parks.
The reason for this is that upfront pricing does differ. Meaning without this ‘tap in’ requirement for the first Lightning Lane, I could purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass for Animal Kingdom at $16, make my selections there at 7:00 am, and then modify them all to Magic Kingdom at 7:01 am. It would be a loophole to save $9 per person, without much cost since availability is still pretty good at 7 am.
But you can’t do that. If you try to modify Lightning Lane Multi Pass selections from one park to another before using any of them, you will have to pay the difference. Thus closing that loophole. However, if you use your Lightning Lane first (let’s say for Na’vi River Journey at 8:30 am), then you can start making Magic Kingdom Lightning Lanes at that point without paying anything extra. Availability won’t be as good and you probably won’t get Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, but that’s the tradeoff!
Hopefully that makes sense and clears up one of the biggest sources of confusion about Lightning Lane Multi Pass pricing. With that out of the way, here’s a look at per-park pricing through August 14, 2024–courtesy of thrill-data.com:
For those keeping score at home, this is more or less identical pricing to Genie+ in comparable (anticipated) crowd levels.
As a general rule, Lightning Lane Multi Pass is more expensive in the parks where it’s more useful–and thus, in higher demand. You can get a sense for this from our ride rankings and strategy guides for each park:
- Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Ride Ranks & Strategy
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Ranks & Strategy
- EPCOT Lightning Lane Ride Ranks & Strategy
- Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane Ride Ranks & Strategy
Our expectation is that those mid-August 2024 prices will extend through the end of that month and through at least mid-September. Labor Day weekend could be higher, but it really shouldn’t be. That has never been a particularly popular holiday at Walt Disney World, and is likely to be even slower this year due to higher hotel rates and blockouts. But I digress.
If you’re wondering when Lightning Lane Multi-Pass will see higher prices, our expectation is that costs will increase at the tail end of September and then again in mid-October for fall break. Even then, we’re looking at prices on par with the current costs. It’s possible that Lightning Lane Multi-Pass will break the $30 barrier for the first time around Columbus Day, but Veterans Day is probably more likely.
Then comes Thanksgiving, which is likely to see a return to $35 pricing. Perhaps once again reaching the all-time high for Genie+ of $39. The big question is whether Christmas and New Year’s Eve will eclipse the $40 barrier for the first time ever. On the one hand, these dates have set new records each of the last two years and sold out many dates last year in spite of that. On the other hand, Walt Disney World now has more bandwidth in the system (meaning more Lightning Lane availability) and consumer spending is starting to slow.
Personally, I think the first “hand” is likely to win out, with the possibility of Lightning Lane Multi Pass pricing as high as $49 starting December 21, 2024 and continuing through at least New Year’s Eve–possibly until January 6, 2025.
Even if LLMP doesn’t hit that high (maybe $45 is more realistic–it is more in line with past increase increments), I wouldn’t expect it to sell out as often as last year. Then again, the ability to lock-in 3 Lightning Lanes up-front may actually result in the opposite–LLMP selling out more frequently. (It’s safe to say some guests didn’t get 3 worthwhile Lightning Lanes during the week of New Year’s Eve last year!)
Lightning Lane Multi Pass is a fairly good proxy for Walt Disney World’s internal crowd forecasts. The higher anticipated attendance, the more LLMP will cost. Lower crowds, cheaper LLMP. Disney isn’t perfect at this, and they’ve been notably reactive in responding to trends, but they’re getting better. (The reasons for this are covered in our 2024-2025 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendars, but it’s basically a simple matter of demand-driven pricing.)
More people purchase Lightning Lanes when crowds are higher. This is something we’ve seen time and time again in the last two years. There’s a reason that demand for Lightning Lanes is higher when prices are higher–it’s because the date-based surcharge over the low or regular seasons is relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
This actually shouldn’t be a surprise. For one thing, there’s a certain amount of price inelasticity when it comes to paid line-skipping. Most guests who don’t balk at the $35 price point also are unlikely to be dissuaded from buying the service when it’s priced at $39. That’s especially true of visitors who pay peak season prices to visit Walt Disney World–they’re less likely to be cost-sensitive (if they were, they’d choose cheaper dates in the first place).
In general, the more guests see longer wait times, the more likely they are to want to skip those standby lines. Worse wait times creates a higher incentive for bypassing lines, meaning higher uptake of Lightning Lane Multi Pass even when it costs more. Demand for beating crowds increases as attendance goes up, and as such, Lightning Lanes will always be most popular when they’re most expensive.
For the same reason, there’s less demand for Lightning Lanes in lower crowds–creating a vicious cycle in reverse. Fewer people buying Lightning Lanes results in a faster-moving standby line, and therefore, lower wait times. Our expectation is that this all remains true under Lightning Lane Multi Pass, albeit to a lesser extent since it’s booked in advance. People will have less insight into crowd levels and FOMO/a desire for certainty might drive more purchases as a result. It’ll be an interesting saga to watch–we’ll keep you posted!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of Lightning Lane Multi Pass pricing? If you’re visiting during the week of Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve, would you pay more than $39 for the line-skipping service? Thoughts on our perspective that demand for LLMPs will continue to be highest on the busiest/most expensive days? Any other considerations we failed to take into account or details we missed/got wrong? Do you agree or disagree with my assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
