No Availability Today: Disney World Sold Out, Guests Denied Service At All Four Parks

In case you didn’t know, Walt Disney World Resort is busy right now, and the proof is in the sales.

The week between Christmas and New Year is always a hectic time for Disney’s theme parks, but this year seems to be even more chaotic than usual. Wait times have stretched to as long as three hours for TRON Lightcycle / Run at Magic Kingdom Park, while one guest revealed that parkgoers were so stressed and hectic at Disneyland Resort that nobody stopped to help a young girl who fell in the chaos.

Theoretically, Disney’s line-skipping services can help alleviate some of this stress—if you’re willing to pay for the privilege. However, the very top tier of these services has sold out at all four Disney World parks today.

Lightning Lane Premier Pass, which allows guests to use their chosen park’s Lightning Lane services once per ride without making a reservation in advance, is no longer available for Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom on December 29.

The pass—which costs between $119 and $449 per person, depending on the day and park (with Magic Kingdom Park always the most expensive and Disney’s Animal Kingdom typically the cheapest)—sparked mass debate upon its debut, with guests slamming its extortionate prices compared to the old, free FastPass system.

Another sore point for parkgoers was the fact that Disney World’s Lightning Lane Premier Pass was initially only limited to guests staying at Deluxe Resorts, such as Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, meaning you had to not only pay several hundred dollars for the pass but shell out for one of Disney’s most expensive hotels for the pleasure.

This changed in November, with guests at all Disney hotels now allowed to purchase the pass.

Despite the backlash, it appears that guests are willing to pay for the service in order to skip the queues. While Magic Kingdom has sold out on multiple occasions now (including pretty much the entire Christmas week), this marks the second time that the service has sold out for all four parks at once. The first instance came over Thanksgiving, with zero parks available on November 25.

Disney has never stated how many Lightning Lane Premier Passes it sells per day, instead only claiming that they’re available in “very limited quantities.” However, Disney Resort hotel guests can check the My Disney Experience app up to 21 days in advance for information on Lightning Lane Premier Pass availability.

Have you tried Lightning Lane Premier Pass yet?