There are only three things in life that are certain: death, taxes and Walt Disney World price increases. At this point, the question isn’t if things will get more expensive in the parks, it’s only a question of how often those increases will happen. Well, get ready, because they are happening again very soon.
Disney World and Disneyland recently rebranded what was called Genie+ as Lightning Lane Multi-Pass, and Lightning Lane Single Pass. Disney World even brought back the ability to book some return times for popular attractions before entering the park, which was nice. However, anybody looking to purchase a Lightning Lane Single Pass will need to get ready to spend a bit more on it.
Lightning Lane Single Pass Prices Are Hitting Record Highs
Lightning Lane Single Pass, which gives guests the ability to skip the queue on each park’s most popular attractions, works on a sliding scale. During slower periods, they should be cheaper, and when things are busier, it's more expensive. Currently, depending on which Disney World attraction you want to experience and which day you do it, you’ll be looking at paying between $10-$25 per ride.
However, a look at the Disney World app over the next few weeks reveals that the top-end prices of most Lightning Lane Single Pass attractions are about to increase. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Tron: Lightcycle Run and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will all see $2 increases by the end of October. Avatar: Flight of Passage will go up by $1. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, already the most expensive single pass at $25 per ride, will not increase.
A dollar here or there is likely no big deal for a single person, but for a family on vacation the total cost is more noticeable. More importantly, it’s just the latest in a long line of steady price increases. None of them are usually a big deal on their own, but over time, the money really begins to add up. Could we ever prices actually go down?
Disney World Has Cut Prices And, Increased Value, Before
It may seem wild to wonder if we could see a decrease in Disney World prices. Prices rarely go down after they’ve gone up, but it’s not entirely impossible. There have been times when we have seen some Disney World costs go down or see value increase without prices going up alongside it.
Many things that used to be free at Disney World now cost money. Parking at Disney World resorts was once free, then they started to charge for it, but now it's free again. That was a change Disney World implemented that made the parks more valuable and saved money for guests. Starting in 2025, guests staying at a Disney World hotel will get free access to Disney World’s water parks on the day they check in.
In the first case, we have Disney World actually lowering the overall cost of going there compared to what it had been. In the second case, Disney World isn’t lowering its prices, but is still giving guests more for that money, making it a better value. At Disneyland, the park even straight up rolled back a price increase on the lightsaber-building experience at Galaxy's Edge. Price cuts can happen.
Cuts to ticket prices or to Lightning Lanes are unlikely, but we can always hope. Price increases aren’t going anywhere, but hopefully we haven’t seen the last of Disney World occasionally balancing those increases with decreases elsewhere.
