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Disney offers pricey, all-access, skip-the-line pass to a limited few
Walt Disney World and Disneyland will soon make skipping the line easier for a limited few willing to pay a hefty sum for the privilege.
The Florida and California resorts on Wednesday unveiled a Lightning Lane Premier Pass alongside the current Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass. Akin to line-jumping passes at rival theme parks, Disney’s new offering will let people into Lightning Lane attractions without having to book ahead.
The passes must be purchased along with the cost of park tickets.
Not every attraction has what Disney calls a “Lightning Lane,” meaning a faster entryway. There are 55 attractions with the quicker lanes at the four Disney World parks and 24 at the two Disneyland parks.
Disneyland
California’s Disneyland is launching its Lightning Lane Premier Pass next week, on Wednesday, October 23. There’s no advance booking ahead of that date for now, but in the future guests will be able to buy the pass up to two days before a park reservation.
Open to all customers on a first-come, first-served basis — but with very limited availability — Disneyland’s pass will include Lightning Lane access at both Disneyland and Disneyland California Adventure on the same day.
For the remainder of 2024, the tab for Disneyland’s pass runs $400 a person, per day. That includes for kids ages 3 and up, as well as adults. The passes will range from $300 to $400 in 2025, depending on the date.
Disney World
Billed as a “convenient way to save time in line,” the Lightning Lane Premier Pass allows one-time entry to each Lightning Lane experience in a theme park, starting Oct. 30, 2024, for guests staying at Disney Resorts and other Disney hotels in Florida.
Guests will be able to buy the passes up to seven days ahead of their visit, except for the launch date, for which no advance purchases are allowed. Disney World’s Lightning Lane Premier Pass will be park-specific, with prices varying depending on the park and date.
Folks can see Lightning Lane pass prices 21 days in advance on Disney World’s app. Here’s a rundown of the cost, per person, per day:
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom: $129 – $199 plus tax
- EPCOT: $169 – $249 plus tax
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios: $269 – $349 plus tax
- Magic Kingdom: $329 – $449 plus tax
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Express failed to disclose nearly $1 million in executive perks to the clothing retailer’s former CEO, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday in saying it had settled charges against the company, which went bankrupt earlier this year.
The agency did not identify the former chief executive by name, but said it involved proxy statements for fiscal years 2019, 2020 and 2021, a period when Tim Baxter was CEO. The Macy’s veteran joined Express in June 2019 and departed less than four years later.
“Express failed to disclose $979,269 worth of perks and personal benefits provided to its CEO, including certain expenses associated with the CEO’s authorized use of chartered aircraft for personal purposes,” the SEC stated.
As a result, the company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April, understated its CEO’s compensation by 94% over three fiscal years, according to the agency.
Public companies have a duty to comply with disclosure obligations so “investors can make educated investment decisions,” Sanjay Wadhwa, acting director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, stated. Still, the commission did not impose a civil penalty due to the company’s self-reporting, cooperation and remedial efforts, Wadhwa noted.
Express in September 2023 appointed former Tyson Foods executive Stewart Glendinning to replace Baxter, calling his resignation “unrelated to the company’s accounting or financial reporting, and the company affirms its guidance previously announced,” the company said at the time.
A group led by brand acquisition and management firm WHP Global now runs Express and Bonobos after purchasing its operating assets, including 450 stores, in late June.
WHP Global did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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