2013 Fast Lane and Fast Lane Plus

^^If you think about it though, while Fast Lane includes 20 rides, most are filler (to up the perceived value) on your average day (or at least most of my recent days at CP). It really all comes down to this, right?

FL: Maverick & MF
FLP: Maverick, MF, TTD, & GateKeeper

If you limit to 1 of each, it's starting to sound like a rip off when paying up to $90 extra. Sure you might save some time on Raptor, Mantis, Magnum, Skyhawk, and maXair, but you can usually find a time in the day where these lines are < 15 minutes.

Also, in reviewing that list, I'm surprised Wicked Twister wasn't added to FLP, and that Iron Dragon / Mine Ride aren't on FL. Maybe they just haven't figured out how to make those queues work. Those would be more filler rides, but much less so than Scrambler & Wave Swinger.

I think you guys grossly misunderstand the customer base. These aren't people who are going to marathon ride en masse. I'm sure a few people would, but not in quantities that will seriously impact wait times.

WT would be a nightmare if it was on FL!

MaverickLaunch

I do the same as you! If i wait for the front, my wife should get the front as well, since she would've been with me in line if we didn't have kids with us. I haven't came across a ride op that wouldn't let her ride in the front, but make sure they see that you were sitting in the front!

I'm surprised it's Dragster and not Maverick. From what I saw last year, Maverick always had the longest FL line. It looks like Cedar Fair only wants to do it with two rides though; Carowinds, Kings Dominion, Kings Island and Canada's Wonderland are the same way.

As Jeff said, the majority of park guests who purchase Fast Lane are not of the marathoning sort. It would be unwise for CP to put limits on the unlimited riding aspect of the FL program due to a few bad apples. I would think a majority of the individuals who would like to marathon a ride would be season passholders who probably aren't the type to purchase FL if they can visit the park multiple times in a season.

In some respects, the FL system as set up currently naturally discourages marathoning with the 30-45 minute waits that can develop for the big 3 (soon to be 4) rides on Saturdays or other busy times in the park. Personally, I would just keep on walking by if I saw that MF's FL queue had a 30 minute wait and come back later but apparently several people either don't mind the wait time or truly only want to ride the big 3 coasters repeatedly.

I object to the term "bad apples". Anyone who pays that kind of money ought to be able to use their FL access within the parameters of the system, including marathoning, if that is their wish.

Two funny things I've heard today that made me laugh:

1. "Next thing you know they'll start giving Fast Lane Plus customers their own line so they can jump ahead of regular Fast Lane customers"

2. "Fast Lane users don't marathon rides"

Adam5182 said:
Two funny things I've heard today that made me laugh:

1. "Next thing you know they'll start giving Fast Lane Plus customers their own line so they can jump ahead of regular Fast Lane customers"

2. "Fast Lane users don't marathon rides"

I've only marathoned Millennium at the end of the night once. Even as a platinum pass holder, I only get to the park about 4 to 5 times a year. On Saturdays, I will get fastlane, only because I can only spend 5 or 6 hours in the park.

Last year, I only bought it twice. Once on opening Sunday, and again on the Saturday of Last Dispatch for Disaster Transport.

My trip to Dorny, I did not use it. My trip to Kings Dominion, I did.

So, This year, I will get one for opening day, and one when I make my first trip ever to Kings Island.

Sweet...Fast Lane Plus. I really enjoyed this program last year and to see it expanding on different levels is a nice surprise. It helped us enjoy our limited time at the park and allowed us to actually relax and enjoy the little things. No running from ride to ride, time to smell the roses.

Here's an article that gives a good comparison to how things are across the pond.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/family/theme-parks-hit-families-extras-1780749

^Phantom- I hear ya... I live in Michigan (and not by the the border or Detroit) about in the middle of the state in Saginaw. I've had a Platinum Pass the last 4 years so when I get to the parks I always do it big and spare no expense. Kings Island is my home park since I have family in the Cincinnati area. I always like taking my friends from MI who have never been to KI there for their first time. They are always real shocked by how awesome the park is and can't believe they've never heard of it before. I usually make it to CP about 10-15 times during the year and do about two 3 Day trips to KI each year (one always during halloween). Since Fast Lane came out, I've bought it every single time, and marathon every coaster multiple times throughout the day. I get there from early entry through the last ride of the night when the park closes. (I'm very impatient, and always want to ride as much as i possibly can). Have fun at KI, I'm sure you'll love it. And if you do FL, expect to get harrassed... The normal waiting crowd there didn't like seeing us go through the fast lane line 5-10 times in a row while they'd been waiting for hours just to ride once...After about the third time in a row you start getting heckled and hearing f-bombs... Oh well

^So do you have a season pass for The Serpent, "Mid Michigan's Only Rollercoaster"? ;) I'm from Bay City and have ridden it once but it's very expensive for a ride. At least if we're ever missing Wildcat, we can ride one very similar and close.

My time using FL at Cedar Point was met with many dirty looks and trash talking but it has been worth it every time I've used it. I can appreciate the price increase as a user as well, giving me an added sense of value hoping there are less FL users walking around the park. Time will tell.

The good news for all those "regular-line-waiting" folks, Adam5182, is that your behavior (no, I'm not saying it's wrong at all...you're entitled to use your FL pass) is the exception to the rule.

Hi,
I am new to the pointbuzz forum. I have some questions for you guys. We are coming to Cedar Point May 28-29 of this year. We are traveling all the way from Hawaii so of course we want to maximize our fun during this short stay. He goes with the questions. Many thanks in advance for your advice for us :)

1. Will CP be very crowded May 28 and 29? (i.e. will lines be longer than 10-15 minutes)
2. Are Fast Lane and/or Fast Lane Plus good options to buy to minimize wait during those dates?
3. If you guys think I should buy FL or FLP for my family is it better to purchase online in advance (do they usually sell out) or can I wait until we get to the park?
4. Do you guys have any other advice for us first timers to CP?

Thanks again for any information you may have. We are traveling very far and can only stay for a few days so we just want to get the best bang for our stay.

Since you are going in the middle of the week when most schools are still in session it should not be that crowded. Fast Lane would be a waste of money. Two days is enough time to do everything you want during the busy season, so in this slow part of the season you do not need Fast Lane.

There might be some school groups there, but it still won't be packed, and they usually leave a few hours before the end of the day.

Park in the Soak City lot in the back, and start your day off with Maverick and work around towards Millennium.

Have fun!

How about June 16,17,18 is it a big difference in crowds now that school is out and the warmer weather? But since it is still on a Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday will i need a flp pass? We went last year during Memorial weekend and we bought the FP and was very happy with it!! On Saturday there was a 1.5 hour wait for the Maverick and My boy and I only waited 5mins with FP!! This year we planned it during the week and wondering if someone could tell me what they have experienced for crowds during these dates in June. Thanks for any reply.

I'm always gonna say you don't need Fast Lane. If you don't mind dropping the money for it go ahead, but I don't have any trouble riding everything unless it is a Halloweekends Saturday.

I really hope that they can normalize the amount of waiting that has to be done after merging back with the regular line for FP and FP+.

On Millennium Force, after the merge, you have to wait maybe 2 or 3 trains before it it your turn to ride. At 90 seconds per train, that's less than 5 minutes.

On Top Thrill Dragster, however, when I was there in September, the merge was happening at the bottom of the ramp up to the station. Which means there are at least 4 full trains in the station and another 4 trains in front of you going up the incline. The dual station means that you're waiting about 16 trains before you get on the ride which can be 20 minutes or more.

Maverick: 2 trains. Magnum: 5 trains. Raptor: 5 trains.

Really, I just wish the merge for Top Thrill Dragster was at the top of the ramp.

You're not always going to get front of the line access. Dragster's situation is no different than Magnum's. If you think about Disney, you don't get to the very front of the line on most attractions there either.