2013 Fast Lane and Fast Lane Plus

I ended up buying and printing our FL plus tickets Thursday night when i decided the weather would be ok. Yesterday morning at 6:30 AM before we left i checked just for the heck of it and buying tickets online was not an option for Friday anymore so it looks like you cant buy them say day online.

I bought 2 tickets and the total was $175.99 ouch! I am glad I got the christmas in july deal on the park tickets. Having Fast Lane made the day 100 times more enjoyable but I definitely feel for the people who cant afford it. It was nice to be able to take our time and do some other things like play games and ride Cedar Downs and the railroad without worrying that we wouldnt have time for the big rides

Steve, I'll be going to the park this coming Friday and will be buying FL+. I'm curious as to what your average wait times for the big rides were, I would imagine they'll be similar to what I will experience.

Friday was definitely a day for Fast Lane if you could afford it. Bit of Fast Lane etiquette suggestion, I'm going to guess I'm probably not the first person this has happened to. If you tell someone "I'm going on blah blah day, let's meet up and hang out" tell them you're getting Fast Lane before they are on their way to the park. Nothing quite so much fun as thinking you're going to hang out as a group riding and then getting ditched as soon as you take 3x as long to go on any ride as the person who suggested you meet up with them and their friend.

When FL was first introduced, there was some debate as to whether or not the system would affect those waiting in the standby line, and how great that effect would be, if there were any.

I think the FL effect on non-FL users has been horrible, which I had suspected, though not been able to confirm until my visit to the park yesterday.

I entered Millennium's line at 9:45am on Saturday. Prior to 10am, when FL'ers were not
allowed to enter, the line moved at a nice pace. It was like the old days when you hardly ever stood still; you generally kept moving.

10am came and hordes of FL'ers poured in. The line ground to a halt. It took twice as long to navigate a switchback.

In this particular instance, it was easy for me to see the contrast between a FL and non-FL environment. The degree to which lines have slowed after FL's introduction was now made plainly evident.

Maverick's line has been borderline unbearable this season. During my visit yesterday, I waited a full 2 hours to ride, with only half of the outdoor queue filled. And even on those visits when the outdoor queue has only utilized one switchback, the line has still been at least an hour and a half long.

From my admittedly casual observations, it seems that the ratio of FL to non-FL users at the merge points is about 50 / 50, which seems way too skewed towards FL users, in my opinion.

I'm very pro-business, and I understand that this system is generating a lot of revenue for the park. From a business perspective, it makes a lot of sense. But from a guest's perspective, I hate it.

Top Thrill 182 said:

I entered Millennium's line at 9:45am on Saturday. Prior to 10am, when FL'ers were allowed to enter, the line moved at a nice pace.

FL'ers were allowed to enter prior to 10am? That is not cool.

While in line for Magnum Friday at one point we stood in one place never moving for what had to be almost 10 minutes. I actually plopped myself down on the concrete to have a little rest. I don't remember this ever being the case before Fast Lane. Unless the ride broke down you were always moving.

^^ I worded that poorly; my b. FL'ers were not allowed to enter prior to 10am. They entered starting at 10am.

^I think I read it wrong! Thanks, I see what you mean. Good to know!

MNCP said:
Steve, I'll be going to the park this coming Friday and will be buying FL+. I'm curious as to what your average wait times for the big rides were, I would imagine they'll be similar to what I will experience.

We got there when the park opened and always head straight to Maverick first. We rode it 2 times in a row and the wait was 5-10 minutes at that point. We always ride it first because the lines in the back get crazy as the day goes on. We came back to ride Maverick later on during the day and the ride was down for a little while and the Fast Lane line was actually closed. We came back later and it was up and running. The regular line was huge but the fast lane line which must of just reopened was about 15 minutes.

we rode Dragster 2 times in the afternoon and waited around 15 minutes each time

We rode Magnum multiple times and t he wait was never more than 20 minutes and often less

My niece has trouble with Milennium so I dont know how the fast lane line was for that but the regular line was always huge when we walked by.

We only rode Gatekeeper once because we had major problems with the harness but the wait with fast lane was under 20 minutes.

We also rode Mantis and that wait was longer than some but definitely under a half hour

The park seemed to be much more crowded in the second half of the day which might be normal on a Friday so definitely try to knock out the big rides early in case things get crazy or shut down

3snoH un=l said:

Top Thrill 182 said:

I entered Millennium's line at 9:45am on Saturday. Prior to 10am, when FL'ers were allowed to enter, the line moved at a nice pace.

FL'ers were allowed to enter prior to 10am? That is not cool.

A week ago friday, FL'ers were lining up BEFORE 10 at Millenium. They weren't being allowed in the cue yet though.

Ok, I'll just come out and say it. I think FL sux, but accept it's here to stay. SO having the good fortune to live reasonably close to the park, I strategize my visits by taking advantage of Early Entry and other ERT opportunities. As well as attempt to plan visits when I'm predicting thinner crowds. Now for those who can't visit the park as much as I can....I see how FL would be an option to get the most of one's visit. Perhaps, I'd even consider doing that given the situation. Instead of griping about it, I'd have the "if you can't beat em, join em" philosophy. Although, I really feel that's ALOT of money for ONE visit.

MNCP
Most fast lane lines on the big coasters are around 20 minutes with the exception of maverick which can get up to an hour. Do maverick first before the fl line gets long. Maverick is the best ride to marathon when its not busy since the merge is right at the station. I was there last friday and had 15 rides on maverick by noon (with ert). I am planning on going again this friday and doing the same thing.

top thrill 182
Its never a 50 50 split. They always let more non FL people in. I don't think they have a set amount. It seems to vary depending on which ride op is letting people in

Not a fan of FL...I do understand it brings in extra revenue which is nice for the parks, but just ugh...

^well said.

It's like an unwelcome visitor that is going to stay forever.

^sums up my thoughts entirely. I preferred everyone having to wait in the same line but as long as it makes a profit, it will never go away...

I don't mind the park having Fast Lane. It's just the way it is these days and we have to deal with it. It's not just like this at amusement parks too, it's everywhere. I came back from Canada's Wonderland today and while at border patrol, I noticed that said, "Wanna skip the line? Buy Nexus." That's just the way society is these days. What bugs me is the ratio. I've said this several times and I'll say it again, the ratio of FL to non-FL is way off.

I would be more accepting of Fast Lane if the option to purchase the passes was a perk of staying in the resort or was available for people to purchase online while buying tickets and setting up a trip because I can understand what a difference it would make for the traveler who has a limited amount of vacation time and wants their family to experience everything after coming a long distance to get here. I have trouble accepting just anybody being able to causually decide at the park that they don't feel like waiting in line today so they are going to pay to jump ahead of everybody else.

My thoughts: May/June I've ridden everything so many times. I was there every Sunday, as well as other days, and had the pleasure of a less than 15 wait for everything. Even an empty station at Maverick one Sunday. Probably the only true benefit of living in NW Ohio.

July/August: Ugh...so many FL/+ bands. I will not wait more than 1/2 hour for anything. Although I waited for Millennium Force for just over an hour this morning. Entered the queue @ 9:45, regular line was in the 2nd switchback, near the soda machines.

Keep FL, but limit it to maybe 3 rides each. Scan the wristband at the station.

If they were to limit it to three rides each, they would have to really cut down the price. I can't imagine anyone would pay $90 (or whatever the price is that day) to ride a limited amount of rides. I say raise the price higher (like $100 for FL, $120 for FLP) and add MF and Maverick to FLP. That would price more people out while making up for it by making an additional profit off those who still buy it. I only get to visit the park once or twice a year, so I buy FLP when I go so that I can get as many rides in as possible. I wouldn't mind paying a little more if it meant the FL lines were shorter! The next time I'll be there (a Saturday during Halloweekends) the FLP is $105, and I was happy since I thought that would discourage more people from buying it.

I can agree with that. Just get rid of FL+, and I'd be happy. MF and Maverick have had the longest lines I've seen this year.