Disney Premier Access: Is It Worth Paying to Skip the Line at Disneyland Paris?

Disney Premier Access is a pay-per-ride system which allows you to skip the line at some of the most popular attractions at Disneyland Paris.

I have used the Premier Access system on my last few trips to the parks, and I have some thought to share. In this post, I'll be explaining what Premier Access is, how you use it and whether I think it is worth the price.

What is Disney Premier Access?

Disney Premier Access is a skip-the-line system which was introduced at Disneyland Paris in 2021. It replaces the old Fastpass system, bringing an end to free skip the line passes at the parks.

Unlike the Genie+ systems in the US Disney Parks, Disney Premier Access is on a pay-per-ride basis. The price for each attraction varies depending on:

• The attraction itself (e.g. Big Thunder Mountain will always be more expensive than Autopia)
• The day you visit (weekend will generally cost more than weekdays)
• The time of year you visit

For example, at Christmas, Premier Access cost €18 per person for Big Thunder Mountain and €9 per person for Phantom Manor.

You can use the Disneyland Paris App to book Premier Access. You will be given an hour slot to return to the ride, and you are automatically given the next available time when you book (you cannot select to book something later in the day). Once you've paid for your pass, it is non-refundable.

You can hold several Premier Access passes at the same time, and the time slots can overlap, unlike the old Fastpass system.

It is worth noting that when I say you skip the line, I mean you skip a significant portion of the line. Sometimes you join the main line before a pre-show and sometimes you walk right up to the ride vehicle. It really depends on the attraction.

It is also important to remember that Premier Access does not guarantee that you will get on the ride instantly, it just guarantees that you will be waiting less time than in standby. There are times when the Premier Access line might get backed up and you have wait about 10 minutes to board or, like I said, you may join a small portion of the standby queue.

Another thing to know is that if the attraction is suffering from technical difficulties during your return time, you will issued with a special pass allowing you to ride it at any time for the rest the day. You can alternatively use this pass at one of the other Premier Access attractions (the eligible attractions for this will be listed on your pass).

So, to recap:

• Premier Access is a pay-per-ride skip-the-line system
• Prices vary depending on the attraction and when you visit
• You get the next available 60-minute time slot
• You can hold more than one pass at once and they can overlap
• You can't cancel once you've paid for your pass

Disney Premier Access Ultimate

Disney Premier Access Ultimate is a more expensive pass which allows you to ride each attraction included in the Premier Access programme across both parks once in one day.

I couldn't find any prices for this online, but I remember that it cost €90 per person when it was first launched. A few attractions have been added to Premier Access since then, so I suspect it is even more expensive now.

The big difference here is that you don't have to book a specific time slot for the attractions. You can just go to each one whenever you want throughout the day and go through the Premier Access line.

This post is mainly about Premier Access as I don't have experience with Premier Access Ultimate, but this is an optiont available to you if you want to ride all the rides very quickly.

Which Attractions Are Part of Premier Access?

• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril
• Autopia
• Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast
• Orbitron
• Space Mountain
• Peter Pan's Flight
• Big Thunder Mountain
• Phantom Manor
• Avengers Assemble: Flight Force
• Spiderman WEB Adventure
• Cars Road Trip
• Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Remy
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
• Crush's Coaster

How to Book Disney Premier Access?

The easiest way to book Premier Access is through the Disneyland Paris App. A link to the Premier Access page can be found on app's homepage.

This will take you to a screen where you can select which attraction you would like to book. Here, you will also see the current available timeslot displayed.

The first time you use Premier Access on a trip, you will be asked to link your tickets to the app. As long as your booking was already linked to your account, your tickets will appear automatically and all you have to do is assign a name to each ticket.

Then, you can select which members of your party you would like to book Premier Access for.

When you pay for your pass, you will need to type in your card details. You can save your details for later so that next time you use it, you don't have to enter all the information again.

Once you've paid, your pass can be found on the Account Page under My Tickets and Passes. Each person is issued a QR code, which you need to scan at the entrance to the Premier Access line.

If you have any problems with booking Premier Access, or you don't have a mobile phone, you can go to City Hall at Disneyland Park or Studio Photo at Walt Disney Studios Park and a cast member will be able to help you.

My Experience with Premier Access

My last visit to Disneyland Paris was over Christmas, which of course is a very busy time. So, I decided it was a good time to try out Premier Acces.

Over my 4-night holiday, I bought 3 Premier Access Passes for three attractions: Big Thunder Mountain, Spiderman WEB Adventure and Phantom Manor.

The only one of the three I can truly say was worth the money was Spiderman WEB Adventure. This attraction only opened in July and is one of the best rides at the Walt Disney Studios Park, so it always has a long line. There is a single rider line, which would usually be my recommendation, but the vehicle configuration here is not condusive for a quick moving single rider line.

This one was worth it for me because I don't like too many rides at the Studios Park, so I didn't want to rope drop there. Buying Premier Access meant that I could ride in the middle of the day with just a 10-minute wait. Here, you join the main queue at the pre-show, so you do have to wait a bit afterwards.

The other two rides were not worth the money. Normally, I ride Big Thunder Mountain in the morning during Extra Magic Hours, when you can get on once or twice with little to no wait. However, I also wanted to ride it in the dark, so I decided to pay for Premier Access.

At Big Thunder Mountain, you join the main queue just before the stairs down to the loading platform, which usually is less than a 5-minute wait.

Big Thunder Mountain was not worth it though because, half an hour later, the wait time had dropped to just 20 minutes. So, that shows that if you wait till the end of the night, you can sometimes get on rides without a long wait.

Phantom Manor is not a ride I would recommend using on Premier Access. The only reason I did so is because I wanted to ride it on the last day and it just so happened to have a 45-minute wait. Most of the time, Phantom Manor has no more than a 20-minute wait, so you should easily be able to ride it without paying.

The one thing I did enjoy about the Phantom Manor Premier Access queue was that you get to go up a different staircase, giving you different angles for photos of the manor. You also get put in the next group to enter the manor, so you don't really have to wait at all in the Premier Access line.

Overall, my experience with Premier Access was positive. I didn't wait more than 5 or 10 minutes in the Premier Access line, which was significantly shorter than the standby line.

Also, the return time was never more than 30 minutes in advance, meaning that I could make a last minute decision whether I wanted to pay for a ride or not. For me, this is one big plus when compared with Genie+ or even old Fastpass.

However, even though the experience was good, I could've easily ridden at least two of the three rides at other points in the day with a minimal wait. So, if you plan your day right, you shouldn't need to use Premier Access.

Is Premier Access Worth It?

For most people, I don't think Premier Access is worth the money.

If you plan your trip properly, using Extra Magic Hours in particular, you can easily get on all the rides you want in the space of a few days.

The only time I think it would be worth it is if you are only planning on coming to Disneyland Paris once and you have limited time there. Then, I do think buying one or two Premier Access passes might help you achieve absolutely everything on your list.

Overall, while it is nice to have the option, you do not need to use Premier Access to have a good time at Disneyland Paris.

Have you used Premier Access? Was it worth it for you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Thanks for reading and see you next time.