LL Premier Pass is here!

[PrincessNelly]

Nope. It will be very popular, probably to the point of selling out on busier days.

Anyone who has used express pass at universal knows what a complete game changer it is for the theme park experience. And plenty of people will overpay for that experience at Disney. I will, 100%. Not for a whole trip but for select days definitely. It will allow me to pay for fewer park days since you can breeze through a park and easily get all the rides in 1 day (or less)

Yes it’s expensive but the whole point is that it’s limited. I totally get why some people would never want it, good to have choices.

I also think people keep overlooking, the average Universal guests doesn't use express.
You can enjoy Universal without it. Just like you'll be able to enjoy WDW/DLR without it. It's a luxury that is nice to have but not needed.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

I don't think that's the right question. A better question might be: Why anyone would find value in this? And, in my experience there are two possible answers.

One is: "It lets me turn my planning brain off for the day." As the person who Does The Planning, there is a fair amount of work leading up to each day, and then during the day constant adjustment as things don't work out exactly the way I thought they would. This removes all of that work.

The second is: "I have a group who is not good at following directions." This happened to me when we traveled with a second family. They did not "get" the idea of a touring plan, because they'd never done it before. When their kids saw something they wanted to do, they wanted to do it RIGHT THEN, and it took a bit to help the parents understand why that might not be wise. We ultimately followed the plan, but not without some resentment on everyone's part.

Yes. I don't want to be the person commanding everyone that they must be somewhere at a certain time all day and stressing out about it. It's not fun and it causes resentment on both sides.

 

[Mr_Woodchuck]

Seems like this is good news for DVC owners -- it can only increase our value since the resorts qualify.

 

[PrincessNelly]

Universal includes it in their Deluxe level stays so not really equivalent as most people will find a cheaper option that includes hotel accommodations at Universal. Plus a single night gets you two days of the pass at Universal.

again, the pass itself is similar.
Ways to make it affordable aren't.

Also, 3 hotels providing it for free is easy vs disney's 21.

 

[Philsfan77]

Ok then $2,245 for no re rides at MK is still ridiculous for one day.

They just dropped this on us. We have a trip already booked.

Then pay the $27 per person for LLMP and add on the LLSP options, and you'll still have a fantastic day.

I'm not quite understanding the backlash from people on this, but it does seem to be overwhelming so maybe I'm missing it.

They are giving people options. Pay a whole lot (VIP Tour), Pay a lot (New Pilot Program) or pay a little bit in comparison to other express pass options out there (LLMP and LLSP).

If they took away Multipass or Single Pass, that would be one thing. However, nothing is changing other than if someone wants to spend more money to make their day easier they can.

 

[sethschroeder]

Sure if you want to do it on Christmas Day or one of the other handful of top days. I’ve never priced VIP but I’m guessing its price is pretty elevated on those days as well, if you could get even get one.

The person on page 5 stated the price for VIP was like $850/hr during Thanksgiving which has to be one of the high end price ranges for this new pass.

In the end I dont think its that far off regardless if you have a sizeable group at all. We will see.

 

[PrincessNelly]

There should have been a 3 month notice for this change. We’re going in Dec and it’s going to impact our trip for sure. We are staying deluxe and didn’t know about this and already have flights booked.

How will this impact you?

 

[2vets]

Well that stinks. Then anyone before us - especially if we want it for one of our first days - will already have had the chance to buy it. And then we'd have to quickly switch plans and buy LLMP and reserve rides! So now I have to have two sets of plans ready.

They should allow purchasing as soon as prices are shown, I think 21 days out.

I can't see this happening, at least not the vast majority of the time. It's only available to people staying deluxe and DVC. There's no way it will be THAT limited.

 

[BamaGuy44]

I also think people keep overlooking, the average Universal guests doesn't use express.
You can enjoy Universal without it. Just like you'll be able to enjoy WDW/DLR without it. It's a luxury that is nice to have but not needed.

True. And unlike Universal you have the option of the much cheaper normal Genie. (Not the official name I know, I’ll always call it genie lol)

Maybe that’s one of the pluses in Disney’s warped brains, it makes the normal line skipping service look dirt cheap

 

[PrincessNelly]

Seems like this is good news for DVC owners -- it can only increase our value since the resorts qualify.

it's only using deluxe guests as a trial. It won't be this way forever.

 

[peder]

it's only using deluxe guests as a trial. It won't be this way forever.

Except maybe it will be forever? They don’t want someone saving money by booking offsite just to afford a Premier Pass. That’s a net negative for Disney.

 

[BamaGuy44]

The person on page 5 stated the price for VIP was like $850/hr during Thanksgiving which has to be one of the high end price ranges for this new pass.

In the end I dont think its that far off regardless if you have a sizeable group at all. We will see.

Could be. I’m way too lazy to do that math because I’ll never be pondering a purchase of LL premiere for 10 people

 

[Disturbia]

It is valuable as it reduces stress of booking and constantly looking at your phone. I’ve had carpel tunnel on Hs days. That was the worst part of our post COVID trips.

I would have purchased it for our entire trip and shortened length of trip to pay for it (we are dessert party people and see value in that).

 

[sethschroeder]

again, the pass itself is similar.
Ways to make it affordable aren't.

Also, 3 hotels providing it for free is easy vs disney's 21.

Disney does not have 21 deluxe hotels to start with and has more capacity across all their parks as well. Additionally Disney could even limit this to Club Level having it included or specific "prime" resorts as a new level for the most expensive of deluxe.

It was brought up about the "price being comparable to ______" which I was calling out as false because if you are going to Universal then you get the hotel room. Its like talking about Kohls prices without a coupon when they always have a coupon.

 

[Lewisc]

Helios is supposed to be the most expensive Universal hotel so it should eventually come with express pass. It's smart by Universal not to offer it at the start it would just cause more chaos.

Tom Bricker's article (disneytouristblog.com) points out that he was able to confirm recently that Universal would get rid of this offering at their premier hotels if they could, but it's in the contract with Loews that was entered into when they first opened those hotels and were trying to get Loews to come in and run them. That's why it's not at the new park or hotel.

I don't think the theme park division has any interest in offering free, or deeply discounted, express passes to hotel guests.

It appears the original 3 hotels are grandfathered.

I wonder if Lowes could add a hotel if they lowered the benefit. Maybe once per attraction per day. Don't offer the pass on both check in and check out day. Don't offer it on either. Guests gave to stay at least 2 nights to benefit

 

[PrincessNelly]

Except maybe it will be forever? They don’t want someone saving money by booking offsite just to afford a Premier Pass. That’s a net negative for Disney.

The verbiage said this is a pilot program and it will launch as available to deluxe guests only. Reading between the lines a bit. Sounds like its a test only. And it makes sense to test it with people who are already splurging or their loyal base (DVC owners)

 

[sethschroeder]

Except maybe it will be forever? They don’t want someone saving money by booking offsite just to afford a Premier Pass. That’s a net negative for Disney.

I am with you if it sells out or to the volume they want it will stay an option only for Deluxe.

 

[peder]

The verbiage said this is a pilot program and it will launch as available to deluxe guests only. Reading between the lines a bit. Sounds like its a test only. And it makes sense to test it with people who are already splurging or their loyal base (DVC owners)

And I’m just saying that it will probably heavily favor Deluxe guests because otherwise the system creates a perverse incentive for Disney customers to stay elsewhere, more cheaply. Disney doesn’t want you staying offsite and using all those savings on a Premier Pass (unless you absolutely weren’t a Disney customer before, but that’s probably a small % of target buyers of the PP)

 

[lvdis]

No thank you. I won't even buy any of the current LL options. Too much added expense on top of the already high priced park tickets. It's sad to see where the parks are headed. I'm glad my family got to enjoy it before all this nonsense.

 

[PrincessNelly]

Disney does not have 21 deluxe hotels to start with and has more capacity across all their parks as well. Additionally Disney could even limit this to Club Level having it included or specific "prime" resorts as a new level for the most expensive of deluxe.

It was brought up about the "price being comparable to ______" which I was calling out as false because if you are going to Universal then you get the hotel room. Its like talking about Kohls prices without a coupon when they always have a coupon.

Yes, they do. Per their website 21 deluxe hotels & villas.
8 deluxe hotels:
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney’s Beach Club Resort
Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Disney’s Yacht Club Resort

13 deluxe villas.
Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas - Jambo House
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas - Kidani Village
Disney’s Beach Club Villas
Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
Disney’s Riviera Resort
Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
The Cabins at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort
The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Not including Shades of Green, the Swan, & Dolphin which will qualify as well.

Also, again, the price if you are buying it outright, its similar. Universal just offers another option that makes it more affordable by staying at one of their hotels. I'm not comparing this part.