Just like at Walt Disney World, Fastpass+ has gone and been replaced with the new Genie+ service. At Disneyland Paris, Fastpass has gone away there too, and replaced with "Premier Access". Premier Access is generally more simple than Genie+ because every attraction on Premier Access is a pay-per-ride.
The costs vary from €5 to €15 per person, with most of the attractions being the higher end. We've not yet been to Walt Disney World since the borders reopened, but we did travel to Disneyland Paris in early November to get a sneak peak on how these new pay-per-ride systems work.
Premier Access requires the Disneyland Paris app. Not all attractions have a Premier Access option (for example, Crush Coaster), but the attractions that do have that option will have the little Premier Access star logo next to them.
We rocked up to Phantom Manor to see it was a 45-minute wait. We looked on the Disneyland Paris app (at 11:17) and saw instant availability for the attraction on Premier Access at the price of €7 each.
On the first time using Premier Access, you're asked to link your tickets to the app so it can assign the Premier Access to them. You then confirm how many people you want to purchase Premier Access for.
You're then given an option to look over your selections and times, and then confirm. You'll be then taken to the payment page to make your payment. Annoyingly, there's no Apple Pay option, or an option to save your credit card details (you can now save card details).
Payment is then taken and you wait a few moments for it to go through, then you're be presented with your confirmation.
You can then go back to the main Disneyland Paris app to get your QR codes whenever you're ready to use it within your time slot.
You then just walk up to the Premier Access entrance to the entrance, bring up the QR code on your phone, and slot your phone into the scanner to be allowed into the attraction.
We used this service twice on our recent trip. The first time - as described above- was at Phantom Manor when it was a 45-minute wait. At €7 each, I actually thought it was pretty good value. We walked through the Premier Access entrance and we were straight on the attraction. No sign of anyone else using it. The second time we used it was at Remy's Ratatouille Adventure. The attraction was at a 70-minute wait and this one cost €14 each. We had just waited 90 minutes for Crush Coaster so thought we'd try the Premier Access at this one. There were a few people using Premier Access on this attraction, but we were only waiting a couple of minutes.
The linking of the ticket seemed unnecessary. Luckily I already linked our hotel and ticket package on the app before arriving (something Disney specifically told me it's not something you need to do). You wouldn't be on the app purchasing it unless you had a ticket and was there, so why not just pay for Premier Access and just get a QR code? Not accepting a quick Apple Pay payment or saving card details seems to be an oversight as well. I couldn't imagine having the patience to keep needing to input card details if I used the service more. (Disney has since pushed an update to save card details).
Love it or not, paid "Fastpass" lanes are here to stay. While you can feel a little dirty doing it, they're useful if you're in a rush or your feet can't quite handle another hour queue yet. As a couple, paying for a few attractions' Premier Access isn't too bad, but larger families will have a tough time justifying this cost. However, just like Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World, it's optional. We went on most of the Disneyland Paris attractions and only felt compelled to use it twice over the four days. This isn't something you need to "budget" for per se, it's more a spur of the moment thing depending on the status of your tootsies.
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