Lighting Lane Opening Day Pricing. Disney Continues to Bleed Customer Dry

Disney needs your money. While their film slate up until Q3 was a disaster, and their streaming business is not yet profitable, they have been using the theme parks to offset losses. How? By squeezing customers for more money, taking free services, and making guests pay more and more for them. Now, here comes Genie+ 2.0, called “Lighting Lane.”

The latest iteration of paid FastPass+ launched today, and the prices are about what we expected. Like park tickets, these prices fluctuate depending on demand and crowd level. Disney needs every last penny from your pocket, especially now that they have to pay cast members more, and their stock is in the gutter.

If you want to get on more rides and avoid the ridiculous lines they perpetuate to ensure you pay more, you need to pay more. Some attractions that require a virtual queue can also be obtained for a price. Those attractions offer “Single Lighting Lane” upcharges.

How bad are the prices?

Today the prices are as follows:

Lighting Lane (AKA paid FastPass+ because that’s what it is.)

Magic Kingdom – $29 per guest for up to three qualifying attractions.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios -$26 per guest for up to three qualifying attractions.
EPCOT – $21 per guest for up to three qualifying attractions.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom– $18 per guest for up to three qualifying attractions.

Single Lighting Lane

Magic Kingdom
Tron Lightcylce Run – $20 per guest
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – $12 per guest

Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Star Wars Rise of the Resistance – $25 per guest

EPCOT
Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind – $17 per guest

Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Flight of Passage – $16

Again, these prices will vary by date.

This is on top of the daily park ticket price. For today those prices range from $139-$164 per person.

Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom is $164. Say you have a family of four that is $656 before tax. You want to add Lighting Lane for an additional $29 per person ($116) and now your cost is $772 before tax. Just to be able to get on three attractions with a shorter wait time.

Now, if you want to ride Tron but can’t get in the virtual queue, add another $80, for a total of $852 before tax.

Before these price gouging tactics, you could get FastPass+ with three attractions and pay $656 to visit and ride. To actually get through the lines it will cost you almost $200 more.

Let’s visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios today.

Tickets for July 24 are $154 per person. Four tickets will cost you $616 before tax. Now add the $26 Lighting Lane per person ($104) and now it’s $720 before tax. If you don’t want to wait in line for Rise of the Resistance, you will need to add an additional $100, ending with $820 plus tax.

Before you could get FastPass+ with three attractions and pay $616 plus tax. Now the total is over $200 more!

If you were headed to EPCOT today.

EPCOT tickets today cost $149 each. For a family of four that would be $596 plus tax. Then add the Lighting Lane price of $21 per guest ($84) and now you are at $680. If you want to ride Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind and can’t get a virtual queue, add an additional $68 ($17 per guest) bringing your total to $748 before tax.

Prior to Genie+/Lighting Lane you would have paid $596 for the same service. Now it’s almost $150 more.

Lastly, Let’s Visit Animal Kingdom

Disney’s Animal Kingdom tickets cost $139 per person today or $556 for a family of four before tax. Now add the Lighting Lane fee to skip lines ($72) and your total is now $628 before tax. If you want to ride Flight of Passage and don’t want to wait in line it is now $64 more for a total of $692 before tax.

What would have cost you $556 now costs about $140 more.

This adds up. While all days won’t be this high, come busier times like Christmas, they could be so much higher.

Disney wonders why attendance is down.

What do you think? Comment and let us know!

Hat tip- WDWNT