Priority Pass, which is the spiritual successor to free FastPass, will soon end at Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea. This is the only complimentary line-skipping service that remains available at any of the global parks post-COVID, and that will seemingly soon come to an end. Here’s the latest, along with our commentary.
As basic background, Oriental Land Company (OLC), the owner and operator of Tokyo Disney Resort, debuted the free Priority Pass line-skipping service in commemoration of Tokyo Disneyland’s 40th Anniversary. That was back in July 2023, so nearly three years ago at this point.
Tokyo Disneyland’s 40th Anniversary ended a while ago. It’s now Tokyo DisneySea’s 25th Anniversary, and Tokyo Disneyland’s 43rd. But Priority Pass was extended indefinitely, without any re-branding or dropping of the 40th designation. According to OLC, “the available period [of Priority Pass] will be announced as soon as it is determined.” That was a few years ago. Well, they’ve finally determined…
OLC has announced that the Tokyo Disney Resort 40th Anniversary Priority Pass “will no longer be available” after August 31, 2026. Exactly what this means is unclear, but we have a few theories. First, some basic background.
Priority Pass is available free of charge, and allows guests of Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea the ability to enjoy certain attractions with a reduced wait time. Priority Pass return times are available to reserve for eligible experiences using the Tokyo Disney Resort App as soon as guests enter the park.
Guests are able to enter the attraction from a ‘fast lane’ line (formerly FastPass) at a specified time and enjoy their selected experience with a reduced wait time. If you’re familiar with the old FastPass system, Priority Pass is basically that but with a different name. It’s also all-digital, but that part actually isn’t new. Back in Summer 2019, Tokyo Disney Resort launched digital FastPass–we were there the day in July when it went live!
Priority Pass works the same way and with pretty much the same policies as paper or digital FastPass. It has a different name only because (presumably) the Walt Disney Company doesn’t want any parks using the FastPass branding.
Each Park ticket can be used to obtain one Priority Pass per person, and only after that ticket has been scanned into the park. If one member of a party has not scanned into the park, but everyone else has, that individual will not be able to make Priority Pass ride reservations. Access to an experience will be permitted for one guest per Priority Pass. Guests ages 3 and under will be able to access the experience with an accompanying person who has obtained a Priority Pass.
Even the FastPass 120 minute rule applies, meaning that guests can obtain their next Priority Pass after the start time of their last Priority Pass or 120 minutes after obtaining their last Priority Pass, whichever is earlier. Unlike Lightning Lanes, re-rides are possible with Priority Pass. However, this is only after the designated time to use the obtained Priority Pass has passed.
As with legacy FastPass, guests are not able to select the time to access the experience. Return times move forward as Priority Passes are distributed, meaning the early bird gets the figurative worm–and the chance for more Priority Passes throughout the day–as some rides will run out of Priority Passes for the duration of the day in the morning. This also means that on-site guests eligible for Happy 15 are the biggest beneficiaries of Priority Pass.
Below are the eligible attractions for the unpaid Priority Pass in each park:
Tokyo Disneyland
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
Big Thunder Mountain
Pooh’s Hunny Hunt
Haunted Mansion
Haunted Mansion Holiday Nightmare (seasonal)
Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek!
Tokyo DisneySea
Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Turtle Talk
Nemo & Friends SeaRider
The Magic Lamp Theater
Raging Spirits
For more info and ride rankings, see our Guide to (Free) Priority Pass & (Paid) Premier Access at Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea.
Our Commentary
There are a few possibly explanations for Tokyo Disney Resort ending Priority Pass. The first is the most boring one, which is that it’s simply being rebranded to drop the 40th Anniversary mention given that’s now a couple of years outdated.
The second is that the attractions currently offering Priority Pass will be converted to the paid Disney Premier Access system. There have already been multiple expansions of Premier Access since it launched, and despite our hopes that it would go in the other direction and contract after revenge travel subsided, the opposite has happened.
Finally, it’s possible that these attractions will drop line-skipping completely and convert to standby lines only. With the overcrowding issues that plague Tokyo Disney Resort and OLC adopting a “we’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas” to solve that, this does seem like a potential fix.
My best guess is that the coming change will be a combination of the second and third possibilities, or perhaps just the second.
It would be odd to announce that the service will no longer be available after August 31, 2026 and then subsequently announce that substantially the same service will be available, but with a new name, starting September 1, 2026. One would expect that to be revealed all at once to reduce guest confusion.
Monetizing line-skipping to an even greater degree makes more sense, especially as Premier Access has become more and more popular. At the same time, OLC’s stock has struggled and the business needs to find ways to achieve growth, beyond the coming cruise ships. One such way has been targeting higher spending guests via vacation packages and other upcharges, as well as international visitors.
Given all of that, it’s easy to envision several of these Priority Pass attractions switching over to Premier Access. There are a total of 4-5 attractions that would probably be viable on Premier Access, and even if they don’t sell as well, that’s still “free” revenue.
The rest of them would probably switch over to standby only. It’s already the case that several of the Priority Pass attractions are just filler, and are consolation prizes meant to make guests feel good about being able to skip a line. Or worse yet, a thinly-veiled way to redistribute crowds on slower days.
Another possibility is offering a system like Walt Disney World, where there’s Premier Access (or Lightning Lane Single Pass) for the top standalone attractions and then a monetized bundle, a la Lightning Lane Multi-Pass. This would “allow” the less desirable Priority Pass options to retain their fast lane for the sake of capacity and consolation prizes.
I don’t think any of these outcomes are necessarily bad. On busier days, it’s already the case that later-arriving guests cannot score a single worthwhile Priority Pass since the options are so limited.
The lineup at Tokyo DisneySea isn’t good at all; it’s mostly filler. Now that Fantasy Springs is open, it would make sense for OLC to move over 2-3 rides from the Premier Access bucket to a lower level. In our view, Tower of Terror and Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Toy Story Mania shouldn’t have Premier Access.
Tokyo Disneyland should drop Premier Access at Splash Mountain and the Happy Ride with Baymax. Even though the latter is still fairly new, it’s a flat ride. This is the equivalent of Walt Disney World or Disneyland selling Lightning Lane Single Passes for Alien Swirling Saucers or Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree. (Literally the exact same ride system.) The only thing more embarrassing than OLC charging a pay-to-ride fee for this attraction is guests paying it.
While I would love to see those attractions downgraded to a relaunched version of Priority Pass or eliminate line-skipping from them completely given TDR’s infamous crowds, it seems unlikely that OLC is going to give up that revenue given their current financials.
Selling a bundle a la Lightning Lane Multi-Pass and allocating less inventory to line-skipping strikes me as the optimal middle ground solution. It gives guests willing to pay more another line-skipping option that’s actually valuable, keeps OLC investors happy, and starts making those standby lines flow a bit better. Another potential upside here is making it just a little less imperative to stay on-site or show up at the crack of dawn.
The obvious downside is getting rid of the free option, but just like FastPass before it, that’s being disproportionately leveraged by a handful of power users and on-site guests. Even taking that into account, this would be a net positive, on balance, from our perspective.
OLC will continue to charge for line-skipping at these attractions so long as guests continue to purchase. There’s also the reality that OLC is attempting to reposition Tokyo Disney Resort as a bona fide destination for domestic and international tourists.
In so doing, OLC has been attempting an increasing number of upcharges, enhancements, priority seating, and package offerings. The logical conclusion would thus be to expect more of this going forward, especially with Fantasy Springs as a blockbuster addition with tremendous global drawing power. We’ve seen this with the rise of Vacation Packages that include unlimited line-skipping (and we’re guilty of supporting this–we bought one for Fantasy Springs!)
How well that works long-term and if there are any unintended consequences remains an open question. The Japanese are famously frugal and not free spenders like their western counterparts, which is why inflation has not been nearly as pronounced in Japan as other countries coming out of the pandemic…or even for the last two decades. (OLC has several business practices that strike us as shortsighted, but that’s another topic for another post.)
In the meantime, Tokyo Disney Resort has benefitted from freer spending guests and an influx of international visitors who view everything in Japan as being “on sale” as a result of the weak yen. It’ll be interesting to see whether OLC expands the free line-skipping or the paid version, but our money is on the latter.
OLC has its Annual Meeting of Shareholders at the end of July and its first quarters earnings report on July 30, 2026, so we fully expect an announcement during one of those events. We’ll keep you posted whenever a replacement for Priority Pass is announced, assuming one is.
Planning a trip to Tokyo Disney Resort? For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea Trip Planning Guide! For more specifics, our TDR Hotel Rankings & Reviews page covers accommodations. Our Restaurant Reviews detail where to dine & snack. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money post. Our What to Pack for Disney post takes a unique look at clever items to take. Venturing elsewhere in Japan? Consult our Ultimate Guide to Kyoto, Japan and City Guide to Tokyo, Japan.
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of Priority Pass no longer being available after August 31, 2026 at Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea? Expect this to be replaced by more free or paid line-skipping, or simply standby lines? Think that OLC will continue targeting higher and freer spending guests? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
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