2013 Fast Lane and Fast Lane Plus

http://www.cedarpoint.com/things-to-do/fast-lane

Fast Lane excludes GK and TTD. You need Fast Lane Plus for those 2 rides to be added. And the price has started higher than the beginning of last season.

This pricing seems about right: $75/$90 for 1 FL/FLP, with a $5 discount for each additional pass. Priced high enough that you really need to make sure it's worth it before buying.

I feel like they could push Fast Lane Plus up a few dollars, because as of right now I see no reason to get the regular Fast Pass. A new coaster would justify the price for Fast Lane Plus being even greater. Overall though, I like this improvement, because TTD seemed to have Fast Lane problems last year. It would have been nice to see MF on the plus list as well.

What's the over/under before someone posts a response about how FL (and now, FLP) are unfair?

Anyway, I agree FLP should probably be more than $15 incremental cost over the regular FL. But then again, $90 is a lot of loot, nearly as much as the platinum flash pass at SF, which is a far superior system and a better value, IMO.

Also, is it just me or did they add quite a few more rides to the FL program this year? I don't remember Troika, Monster, Scrambler, etc having FL last year? Those rides have ridiculous cycle times as it is, I actually am not to thrilled about their addition, since my kids love them and I always get stuck waiting forever, even when there's no line! You know what I'd pay $90 for? To see more than one freaking ride operator on some of these flat rides. They could probably double the ridership.

^ +1

The $75 and $90 price seem to be for Saturdays and the 4th of July. If you select a day like May 16th which is a Thursday the price for Fast Lane starts at $65 and get as low as $50 and the Fast Lane Plus starts at $80 and get as low as $65 per person.

Will they still be available to buy at the park itself? Or only in advance.

Geez. yet another way to eat everyone's money :D I probably will never buy either. Wait in the regular lines, people :)

If people are willing to pay, take their money. It only makes good business sense.

I'll be purchasing a FL+ when we go in May. Hopefully, the higher prices lead to less FL users and even shorter waits.

trapt3 said:
The $75 and $90 price seem to be for Saturdays and the 4th of July. If you select a day like May 16th which is a Thursday the price for Fast Lane starts at $65...

Well, yes, but you may be getting less value out of that $65 on a Thursday than you would get out of $90 on a Saturday.

They should just have Fast Lane. Its nice and simple. I guess I should start saving my money for Fast Lane Super Plus next year.

Miss_Maverick07 said:
Geez. yet another way to eat everyone's money :D I probably will never buy either. Wait in the regular lines, people :)

I am assuming you don't have any little kids going to the park with you... FP is the only reason I get to go. Wouldn't bother at all without the option. Would be a headache having the wife and little ones always waiting for the bigger kids.

FL/FLP are making a Platinum Season Pass far more valuable to me. With a Platinum Pass, you basically have a free limited hour of Fast Lane Plus everyday, and if the park starts to get packed, you can enjoy some flats and a show, and come back another day. It's nice living close to CP.

I'll admit even with a Platinum Pass, I bit a couple times on FL at Kings Island at the $30-$35 price point. It was just too cheap to resist if the crowds got heavy, especially after a much longer drive. But, if I had to pay $75-90 for the experience, I just wouldn't do it, which I believe is the whole point of them changing the system.

There must have been too many Fastlaners. With the new system, they're hoping to weed some out by collecting more money from fewer. This should make the non-FL customers happier. Hopefully they found the optimal mix of profitability and keeping everyone happy. If not, I'm sure the system will be tweaked some more. That sounds like smart business to me.

There is an option that Cedar Point offers called the Parent Swap. One adult can ride the ride while the other waits with the kids and goes to ride other things. Once the ride is done the parent can give the ticket to one of the ride hosts and then you can come up the exit of the ride and ride without waiting the second time.

I am assuming you don't have any little kids going to the park with you... FP is the only reason I get to go. Wouldn't bother at all without the option. Would be a headache having the wife and little ones always waiting for the bigger kids.

Have you ever used Parent Swap?

We have a 1 & 5 year old, for reference.

And no, I'm not at all arguing against Fast Pass. It's never had any impact on my day at the park.

I'm glad to see that they have added different price points to fastlane. I had wondered what they were going to do with the new coaster, and I guess the multiple price points is it.

What were the problems with fastlane on Dragster? I don't remember there being too much of an issue after opening day.

This seems like a step in the right direction, though not enough IMO.

I still have several issues with the set-up. Mainly, why do they allow unlimited rides? I'm not aware of any other "cut the line system" that allows unlimited rides with no waiting. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.) Sure, the park limits the number of Fast Lane tickets that they sell on any given day, let's call that value X, but with people marathoning on the big three, the actual number of riders becomes a multiple of that, say 3 or 4x.

If they were to limit it to one ride on each major attraction, I feel like that's A) still a good deal for the consumer and B) not as much of a burden on other people waiting in line.

And I, too, think the park could have made another coaster FLP exclusive (either Millennium or Maverick) and thus risen the price another few bucks. Idk... haha I'm anxious to see how it plays out this season.

SF's system doesn't really have any limits... except that last year you could only ride X-Flight twice with a platinum flash pass.

Regarding Parent Swap, I've used it plenty. It's an imperfect system, that, even if you play by the rules, gets you terrific results.

Example: Often times I will run to TTD at 9AM while my wife and kids mosey over much slower. Being a fast runner, I usually get first train, front seat. When I get off and get the parent swap, my wife gets to go front seat, no wait (from the ride exit) anytime within an hour (though the ride ops are much more flexible on that hour if you need it). The result, she gets front seat without waiting at all.

I can hear the wailing now. But remember, I waited for front seat, and am following all the rules of the parent swap program...