Disney’s announcement of Lightning Lane Premier Pass shook the theme park industry as the first option to skip the lines at the rides at Disney Parks. Finally, Disney will offer the same sort of line-skipping option as at Universal Orlando.  But then people saw the prices and flipped out – how could the pass cost much for Animal Kingom’s half-a-dozen rides? This article will compare the two offerings from the theme parks and determine if either is a good value for you.

Pricing Structures & How Passes Work

Lightning Lane Premier Pass is a one-time purchase that grants you immediate access to the Lightning Lane queues for select Walt Disney World attractions at any time once – no need to book reservations or wait. Lighting Lane wait times are usually under 10 minutes and rarely over 15 minutes. All this freedom comes at a price though with LLPP starting at $129 and running up to a staggering $449 per person plus tax. WOW! LLPP can only be purchased at one park per day, so you can’t buy LLPP and Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios on the same day.

Universal Express Pass works similarly – guests purchase Express Pass and then walk up to attractions for immediate access through the Express Pass queue. Universal promises Express Pass will cut your wait in half, so a 60-minute wait would be half an hour or less. Unlike at Disney, Universal offers an unlimited Express Pass option which grants unlimited rides on all attractions with Express Pass. Also, a complementary Unlimited Express Pass is included in your stay at three of the Universal Orlando signature collection hotels. Express Pass starts at $90 per person plus tax for one day for one park to $360 per person person plus tax for two-park Unlimited Express Pass.

Comparing Passes

So lets compare the passes based on pricing for November 11th, 2024. We will compare similar products – an LLPP and the standard one-day regular Express Pass. Here is the pricing data pulled from Thrill Data and Universal Orlando’s website:

• Magic Kingdom – $359 (20) 17.95
• Epcot – $189 (11) 17.11
• Disney Hollywood Studios – $289 (14) 20.64
• Disney Animal Kingdom – $159 (10) *Dinosaur note 15.90
• Universal Studios Florida & Islands of Adventure – $100 (11/16) 9.09/6.25

Of those parks, the following number of attractions feature a line-skipping queue to use:

• Magic Kingdom – 20
• Epcot – 11
• Disney Hollywood Studios – 14
• Disney Animal Kingdom – 10
  • Note: Includes Dinosaur, once closed it will be 9
• Universal Studios Florida – 11
  • Hagrid’s Magical Creature Motorbike Adventure is not included on Express Pass at the time of writing.
• Islands of Adventure – 16

All right, we can see why Magic Kingdom’s price point is so high with 20 attractions on LLPP, including the popular TRON Lightcycle Run and Tiana Bayou Adventure. Now let us find out how much it costs per attraction in the park…

• Magic Kingdom – $17.95/per attraction
• Epcot – $17.11/per attraction
• Disney Hollywood Studios – $20.64/per attraction
• Disney Animal Kingdom – $15.90/per attraction
• Universal Studios Florida – $9.09/per attraction
• Islands of Adventure – $6.25/per attraction

Well, that changes things a little. The worst bang for your buck is at Disney Hollywood Studios which has the most amount of super headliner attractions but the fewest smaller attractions at over $20 per attraction. The most affordable Disney park is Animal Kingdom at nearly $16 per attraction to skip, about in line with the old Genie+ ILL selections. Universal’s parks are even lower, at $9 and $6.25 per attraction, but they only promise to reduce your wait times by half.

Both passes seem similar on the outside, skip the line for an attraction once, but the fine details are what separate the two offerings. LLPP is only available to deluxe hotel and DVC guests during this trial period and places you on the attractions quicker but the cheaper, and still very handy Lightning Lane Multi Pass is still available. Express is available to all and comes with a stay at select Signature Collection hotels, and only promises to lower your wait time by half.

Worth Your Money?

Disney’s line skipping options are priced to discourage its use – Disney wants guests to either use the Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass options or spend way more money on a VIP Tour of the parks. The pricing of LLPP feels more like an offering to guests who either couldn’t book or balk at the price of a VIP Tour. Compare this to Express Pass which is not only more affordably priced but a complementary Express Pass which comes with select hotel stays. Our advice is that arriving before the park opens and using a touring plan is just as successful as buying a line-skipping pass and arriving in the middle of the morning. If you want to skip all the lines at WDW then price out a VIP Tour for your party vs purchasing individual LLPP for your party. At Universal consider staying at the Hard Rock, Royal Pacific, or Portofino Bay hotels to receive the complimentary Express Pass benefit for everyone in your room.

Have you used Lightning Lane Premier Pass or Express Pass? Do you think they’re worth the cost? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!