Which Tokyo Disney Premier Access to buy? 14 rides compared
At DisneySea, buy Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey and Soaring as soon as you enter (both averaged over 2 hours in September). Big Thunder, Pooh's Hunny Hunt and Raging Spirits averaged 33–48 minutes, so on many days you can skip them.
Who this is for:Anyone unsure how much to spend on Premier Access, especially families who want to buy only the ones that really help
Photos: Wikimedia Commons（photographers & licences）
Contents (8)
In short: which ones to buy
Premier Access costs ¥1,000–2,500 per ride. Two adults and a 4-year-old on Frozen Journey is ¥2,500 × 3 = ¥7,500 (children 3 and under are free). We sorted the attractions using wait times from 1 to September 29, 2026 (after Premier Access expanded) and sell-out times from 20 to September 29.
Sources:[1]Official info[3]Official info[4]Official info[6]Offpeak Parks data[7]Offpeak Parks data[9]Official info
Over 2 hours on average in September. Frozen sells out before lunch
1h10–2h on average in September. Some stay long even at night
40 minutes to 1h10 in the day, about 20–35 minutes after 8pm
33–48 minutes on average in September. Check the standby wait first
Tower of Terror is closed until November 5. Indiana Jones starts November 30 at ¥1,500
Photos: Wikimedia Commons（photographers & licences）
Minutes of queue per ¥1,000
Minutes of queue per ¥1,000This shows how much queue the same ¥1,000 lets you skip. Journey to the Center of the Earth comes out top at about an hour per ¥1,000. Peter Pan and Rapunzel are lowest at about 20 minutes, a threefold gap. Beauty and the Beast costs ¥2,500 but averaged about 1h10 in September, so it lands below the middle.
Sources:[1]Official info[7]Offpeak Parks data
Average of waits recorded every 15 minutes from 9:00 to 20:45, September 1–29, 2026, divided by the Premier Access price in thousands of yen. We don't record the wait in the Premier Access line, so it isn't subtracted.
📊 See the detailed numbers
| Attraction | Price | September average wait | Per ¥1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journey to the Center of the Earth | ¥2,000 | ~1h55 | ~58 min |
| Toy Story Mania! | ¥2,000 | ~1h45 | ~52 min |
| Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey | ¥2,500 | ~2h05 | ~50 min |
| Soaring: Fantastic Flight | ¥2,500 | ~2h05 | ~50 min |
| The Happy Ride with Baymax | ¥1,500 | ~1h10 (11 days) | ~47 min |
| Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek! | ¥1,000 | ~40 min | ~42 min |
| Haunted Mansion | ¥1,000 | ~40 min (15 days) | ~42 min |
| Raging Spirits | ¥1,500 | ~50 min | ~32 min |
| Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast | ¥2,500 | ~1h10 | ~28 min |
| Splash Mountain | ¥1,500 | ~40 min | ~27 min |
| Pooh's Hunny Hunt | ¥1,500 | ~40 min | ~27 min |
| Big Thunder Mountain | ¥1,500 | ~35 min | ~22 min |
| Peter Pan's Never Land Adventure | ¥2,000 | ~40 min | ~20 min |
| Rapunzel's Lantern Festival | ¥2,000 | ~40 min | ~20 min |
3Did the four new paid rides get busier?
Did the four new paid rides get busier?
No. September averages were shorter than August: Big Thunder 47 → 33 minutes, Monsters, Inc. 72 → 42, Raging Spirits 70 → 48. But Splash Mountain, which was already on Premier Access, also fell from 72 to 41, so most of the drop is the end of the summer holidays. What we can say is that standby didn't get longer when these rides went paid. If a ride averages around 40 minutes, queuing without Premier Access doesn't cost you much.
Sources:[2]Official info[7]Offpeak Parks data[12]Official info
Average of records every 15 minutes, 9:00–20:45. Pooh's Hunny Hunt has only 3 days of August data, so it isn't shown. Splash Mountain was already on Premier Access before August.
Staying late means fewer to buy
By the 8pm hour, the big DisneySea rides are down to about half their all-day average. If you're staying until near closing, Frozen Journey or Journey to the Center of the Earth (DisneySea), or Beauty and the Beast (Disneyland), can move to evening standby. The Happy Ride with Baymax is the exception: it's still close to an hour after 8pm, so waiting until night doesn't help.
Sources:[7]Offpeak Parks data[8]Offpeak Parks data
Records from September 1–29, 2026. The 8pm figure averages only the times a wait was still posted.
📊 See the detailed numbers
| Attraction | All-day average | 7pm hour | 8pm hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soaring: Fantastic Flight | ~2h05 | ~1h25 | ~55 min |
| Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey | ~2h05 | ~1h10 | ~35 min |
| Journey to the Center of the Earth | ~1h55 | ~1h15 | ~40 min |
| Toy Story Mania! | ~1h45 | ~1h20 | ~55 min |
| Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast | ~1h10 | ~45 min | ~35 min |
| The Happy Ride with Baymax | ~1h10 | ~1h10 | ~55 min |
If you stay until closing, a hotel you can walk back to lets you stay to the end.
Hotels within 10 minutes of the parksStay until closing, then walk backSee hotels
Buy in the order they sell out
Buy in the order they sell outAfter buying one Premier Access you can't buy the next until 60 minutes have passed or your return time starts, whichever is earlier. That limits how many you can get in a day, so buy the ones that sell out first. In our records from 20 to September 29, they sold out in the order above. Frozen Journey, after selling out in the morning, came back on sale every evening from 23 to September 29, so it's worth opening the app again late in the day if you missed it.
Sources:[1]Official info[6]Offpeak Parks data
Sold out between 9:15 and 11:15 every day: by 10:00 on weekends and holidays, around 11:00 on weekdays
9:30–10:30 on the September 20–22 holidays, 1–3pm on the weekend of September 26–27, 11:30am to evening on weekdays
Sold out between 9:00 and 15:30 on the holiday weekend. On weekdays and ordinary weekends, on sale until late afternoon or evening on most days
Usually sold out 16:00–17:00 (10:30–12:00 on 21 and September 22)
Apart from the 21 and September 22 holidays, on sale until 17:00–20:30
Still unsure? Plan a route without buying first
If you can't decide, build an Offpeak Parks route without Premier Access first. Buying only where the long waits fall gets the most out of the least money. Anyone below the height limit can't ride, even with Premier Access. If you combine it with Rider Switch, buy one for everyone who rides.
Sources:[1]Official info[10]Official info[11]Official info
- STEP 1Make a route without Premier Access
Pick the rides you want and see when, where and how long you'll queue
- STEP 2Find waits over an hour
Which ones are long depends on how busy the day is
- STEP 3Buy Premier Access only for those
Work out people aged 4+ × price first
- STEP 4Remove them and rebuild
Take them out with "Add / remove stops" in your route, then tap "Recalculate"
To get your money's worth from Premier Access
- Before the day
- Check closures: Tower of Terror is closed until November 5, and Indiana Jones starts November 30
- Build a route without Premier Access and shortlist only rides with waits over an hour
- Work out the budget: people aged 4+ × price (two adults and a 4-year-old on Frozen Journey = ¥7,500; ¥5,000 if the child is 2)
- On the morning
- DisneySea: buy Frozen Journey as soon as you enter, then Soaring 60 minutes later
- Disneyland: on holidays, buy Beauty and the Beast first (it sold out 10:00–15:30 on September 20–22). On weekdays, no need to rush
- For Big Thunder, Pooh and Raging Spirits, check the standby wait in the app first (33–48 minutes on average in September)
- In the park
- Missed Frozen Journey in the morning? Open Disney Premier Access in the app again in the evening
- Staying until closing? Move one of Frozen Journey, Journey to the Center of the Earth or Beauty and the Beast to standby in the 7pm hour
- After buying, remove that ride from your route with "Add / remove stops" and rebuild it
Build a route without Premier Access from the predicted waits for your day.
Plan a route without Premier AccessRead next
This is guide 9 of 33 under “On the day”.See them all
Frequently asked questions
Q.Do children need their own Premier Access?
Not if they're 3 or under. From age 4, when a park ticket is needed, each person needs one.More in "In short: which ones to buy"
Q.Can I buy one for a child who's too short and use Rider Switch?
No, they can't ride. If you use Premier Access with Rider Switch, buy one for everyone who will ride.More in "Still unsure? Plan a route without buying first"
Q.Can I cancel or change the time after buying?
No. Once you tap Confirm you can't cancel or change it. You only get money back if the park stops the attraction for its own reasons.
Q.Does Premier Access mean no queuing at all?
You use a separate entrance, so it's far shorter than standby, but there can still be a short line before boarding. We don't record the length of the Premier Access line, so it isn't part of the comparison in this article.
Tools:Live waitsBuild a routePacking list
Who writes this and where the numbers come from:About Offpeak ParksHow our crowd forecast works
Sources for this article (12 sources, checked September 30, 2026)
Checked on September 30, 2026. Prices and rules can change, so check the official site just before you go.
- [1]Official infoTokyo Disney Resort official: Disney Premier AccessAttractions and prices, when you can buy the next one, under-4s free, height rules, no canceling after confirming (checked in the September 6, 2026 archived copy)
- [2]Official infoTokyo Disney Resort official: Disney Premier Access (version showing the price change)Attractions added on September 1 (Big Thunder, Pooh, Monsters, Inc., Raging Spirits) and prices before and after (checked in the August 31, 2026 archived copy)
- [3]Official infoTokyo Disneyland official: ClosuresThe Happy Ride with Baymax, September 15–29 (checked in the September 5, 2026 archived copy)
- [4]Official infoTokyo DisneySea official: ClosuresTower of Terror September 28 to November 5; Indiana Jones Adventure until November 29 (checked in the September 5, 2026 archived copy)
- [5]Official infoOriental Land news release (PR TIMES): Indiana Jones Adventure reopeningReopens November 30, 2026 (dated August 5, 2026, Japanese)
- [6]Offpeak Parks dataOffpeak Parks Premier Access sales records (10 days, September 20–29, 2026, every 15 minutes)The first time each day an attraction showed as sold out, and when it came back on sale. September 20–23 was a holiday period. Disneyland data for September 21 is missing
- [7]Offpeak Parks dataOffpeak Parks wait time records (August 1 to September 29, 2026, every 15 minutes)Average of posted waits from 9:00 to 20:45, plus the 7pm and 8pm hours. Operating days only (29 days for most rides; 11 for Baymax, 15 for Haunted Mansion, 3 for Pooh in August)
- [8]Offpeak Parks dataOffpeak Parks wait time records (about 280 days, October 2025 to September 2026, every 15 minutes)On 9pm-closing days, the share of days a wait was still posted at each evening time
- [9]Official infoOfficial FAQ: Park ticket age groupsTickets needed from age 4 (updated August 11, 2026)
- [10]Official infoOfficial FAQ: Attractions with height requirementsHeight requirement for each attraction (updated July 28, 2026)
- [11]Official infoOfficial FAQ: Rider SwitchWith Premier Access, buy one for everyone who rides (updated August 31, 2026)
- [12]Official infoTokyo Disney Resort official: 40th Anniversary Priority Pass"Ended on Monday August 31, 2026" (checked in the June 15, 2026 archived copy)