Tokyo Disney’s Free Priority Pass Ends Aug 2026｜DPA Costs & Budget Tips

If the Tokyo Disney in your head is still the one where you walk in and grab a free skip-the-line ticket, you’re in for a surprise from this September: that door is closing.

In late May, operator Oriental Land quietly announced the end of the free priority entry pass that was still running. In plain terms, after this summer, almost the only way to wait less is to pay.

The news has thrown a lot of late-2026 trip plans into doubt. But before you reshuffle your itinerary, it’s worth untangling the confusing pile of similarly named “passes” Disney now runs—otherwise it’s easy to overpay, or to show up expecting something that no longer exists.

First, which pass is actually going away?

This is where almost everyone gets confused. When people hear “the skip-the-line pass is ending,” they assume FastPass is gone—but the free FastPass you might remember was already abolished back in 2023.

To fill the gap, Disney later introduced a similar, also-free system for its 40th anniversary: the 40th Anniversary Priority Pass. That free Priority Pass is what’s actually ending on August 31, 2026. We previously published a full guide on how the Priority Pass worked—but note up front that it covers exactly the service now being discontinued, so treat it as a record of how things used to run, not as current advice for visits after late August.

Several confusingly similar passes coexist in the parks right now, so here’s a table to keep them straight:

What changes after August 31?

In short: priority entry becomes entirely paid. Once the free Priority Pass is gone, the only way to jump the queue is DPA.

One common misunderstanding worth clearing up: the Priority Pass is a same-day, in-park service—you obtain it through the app on the day of your visit and use it that same day. There’s no such thing as a pass issued in advance for a future date. So there’s no “will my old pass still work?” question here: through August 31 (including that day) you can still get and use it as normal, and from September 1 the free service simply ceases to exist.

Oriental Land says the free pass was always meant to be a limited-time service and that ending it was the plan all along. As for the question everyone cares about—whether a new free pass will appear—the operator would only say it’s “studying other options,” with no timeline or commitment.

The paid option: how much DPA costs and what to buy

Think of DPA as the old FastPass, turned paid and upgraded. You pick a time slot in the app, then use a dedicated DPA entrance at that time to board with almost no wait. It’s billed separately from your ticket, and each person has to buy their own—one pass can’t cover a group.

Prices vary by attraction and type, but generally fall into these ranges:

In practice, DPA sell-out speed is real: the most popular attractions go first, and the Fantasy Springs rides in particular often vanish within the first hour after opening. If there’s a ride you absolutely must do, the first thing to do once you’re inside is open the app and lock in its DPA—don’t wait.

Don’t want to spend it all on DPA? Plan smarter instead

Losing the free pass doesn’t mean you have to pay your way through the whole day. The trick is spending where it counts: buy DPA only for the one or two attractions you care most about, and queue strategically for the rest. A few principles make the “free” part go furthest (for the complete playbook on tickets, transport, hotels and must-ride attractions, pair this with our complete 2026 Tokyo Disney guide).

Hit your top pick right at opening. The shortest waits of the whole day happen in the first hour. Put the must-do attraction you didn’t buy DPA for first, and you can often clear it with the shortest line you’ll see all day.

Go on a weekday if you can. Weekends and holidays are a different world from weekdays in terms of crowds. That single choice alone saves you a lot of queuing without spending a yen—so if your dates are flexible, dodge weekends and Japanese public holidays.

Live inside the official app’s live wait times. The app shows real-time queue lengths for every attraction; when one suddenly drops, dart over. It’s the most effective weapon a no-spend visitor has. And all of this—checking waits, buying DPA, entering show lotteries—runs on data.

Frequently asked questions