5. Hong Kong Disneyland
Opened in 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland is pretty inarguably the “red-headed stepchild” of Disney Parks. Like its sister parks (Disney California Adventure and Walt Disney Studios), the park was underfunded and creatively starved, opened during the last, desperate, cost-cutting years of Michael Eisner’s dark period, with literally zero one-of-a-kind rides, one certifiable E-Ticket (Space Mountain), and nothing to draw international tourists at all. Though the park had FastPass, guests would rarely find the need to use it.
After the park’s first round of renovation (adding Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point, and Toy Story Land, and the Iron Man Experience), the park introduced Priority Special admission passes. Costing HK$199 (the equivalent of about $25), the pass basically let guests select any three rides out of the park’s “big five” (Big Grizzly Mountain, Mystic Manor, Iron Man Experience, Space Mountain, or – weirdly – Mickey’s Philharmagic) for one-time, anytime access. Priority Special+ (HK$299, or $35) gave guests one-time, anytime access to eight rides – all five from the Priority package, plus Winnie the Pooh and Toy Story Land’s two low-capacity flat rides – Toy Soldier Parachute Drop, and Slinky Dog Spin.
When Hong Kong Disneyland reopened during the COVID-19 pandemic, Priority Special passes had become Premier Access by name, but the same general packages exist: Disney Premier Access – 3 Attractions (choosing three out of Grizzly Mountain, Mystic Manor, Iron Man Experience, Ant-Man: Nano Battle, and Philharmagic) and of course, Disney Premier Access – 8 Attractions (again with all five choices from the lower tier, plus Pooh, Parachute Drop, and Slinky Dog Spin). Compared to its pre-pandemic, “Priority Special” pricing, the latter package has increased to HK$329 ($42), but the former has actually decreased to HK$159 (about $20).
It’s interesting to think of how Hong Kong’s unique bundles-with-choices program could apply to Disney World… For example, imagine if you could pay $25 for one-time, anytime access to three rides at Hollywood Studios, but had to pick from five less-demanded options, while access to Rise of the Resistance, Runaway Railway, and Tower of Terror were only included with a $60 package? Would Disney World's theme parks buckle under the pressure of "anytime" access? Is Disney World right to use the mathematical infrastructure of FastPass to keep that from happening?
6. Tokyo Disney Resort
Like Disney’s other Asian parks that have gotten the brunt of COVID’s continuous closing and re-opening, Tokyo Disney has been put through the wringer with ticketing, policy, and procedural changes as it’s returned to full operation. Along with limited attendance, the parks reopened with a Standby Pass system – virtual queues that handed out each of the resort’s most popular rides’ capacity digitally to keep guests out of cramped lines.
By spring of 2022, Standby Pass began to disappear from the resort’s rides, returning to good ole fashioned, regular lines. (And without FastPass, that means that queues move quickly and continuously rather than stand-by guests being stuck in a swampy, slow-moving line as FastPass guests race past.) It was a good thing for the resort.
But in May 2022, the Oriental Land Company (owners and operators of the resort) announced that a new service (called – you guessed it – Disney Premier Access) would let guests skip the wait on the resort’s two newest and most in-demand attractions – Soaring: Fantastic Flight and The Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast. It costs ¥2,000 ($15) for one-time, reserved access to either ride. A month later, in June 2022, the old FastPass line for Toy Story Mania was re-activated for Premier Access, too. For now, those are the only three rides at the resort with paid line-skipping (or really, any line-skipping at all). The equivalent would be if Disney World kept its Individual Lightning Lanes, but did not offer Genie+ or regular Lightning Lanes on any other rides.
And in its own way, that makes Tokyo’s version of Premier Access an entirely different system in its own right. And really, would it be so bad if, stateside, only each park’s one, signature ride had an “Individual Lightning Lane” while every other ride had just one, fast-moving line with no “Lightning Lane” guests leaping ahead?
Your Way Ahead
If you’ve been keeping track, every Disney Resort outside of the United States has transformed their FastPass systems into Premier Access – be it a la carte, bundled, or both. But even among the four “Premier Access” systems, there’s a whole lot of difference.
- In Shanghai and Paris, you can buy "Premier Access" to rides "a la carte," or in a packaged bundle that includes one time or unlimited access to everything.
- In Hong Kong, you can choose a 3 Attraction package (presented with five rides as choices) or an 8 Attraction package that unlocks all five, plus rides exclusive to the higher tier.
- In Tokyo, Premier Access is “a la carte,” but offered only for the resort’s three hottest E-Tickets, while every other ride is blissfully without “priority” guests clogging its capacity.
- And of course, back at Disneyland and Disney World, Genie+ incorporates the best and worst of them all, with digital, rolling ride reservations, no guaranteed attractions, hour-long return windows, and some rides that are excluded entirely and offered up only as a la carte “Individual Lightning Lanes.” Phew!
So think about Disneyland (with its local crowds) and Disney World (where multi-day stays are the norm) and think… what’s the best paid-for system for each? Have your say by voting in our poll below.
Comments
It’s irrelevant what you call them, this is simplyDisney trying to get yet more and more money from its guests. As if the tickets weren’t expensive enough, these systems are divisive and unfair. How can a family who have scrimped and saved to take the kids to Disney then afford to shell out yet more on these access passes? The Fastpass system was fair and equitable and worked extremely well. It just didn’t make Disney any extra cash.