2013 Fast Lane and Fast Lane Plus

Used the fast lane plus yesterday. For GateKeeper and Dragster it was great. Since the fast lane lines would generally be either empty or nearly empty and they merge late, the waits for those two rides was usually less than 15 minutes.

Maverick and Millennium's fast lane waits seemed too long IMO. I'd like to see them price more people out. Get it at or north of $100 each.

I take my kids to CP once a year. Last year I remember watching the FL line pass us at TTD and MF, and feeling a little jealous. But I also remember practically walking on most other rides, like Magnum,Corkscrew, Gemini, Blue Streak, and thinking that FL would be a waste of $$. This year, we decided to bite the bullet and buy FL+ (through the local auto club). It was worth every penny! Example: Raptor, 12 min vs. 1.5hr, GK, 8 min vs. 1.25hr. There were lines for everything yesterday. I think it really depends on the day you go, and unfortunately, you won't know how the crowd is until you get there. (We always go T, W, or TH). My experience yesterday was that in most cases the employees merge the lines fairly, and they are merged before the platform so that they are not sending trainfuls of FL. Mean Streak and Gemini are 2 exceptions that come to mind, the FL line lets you right onto the platform, but you still wait on the platform with the regular line.

I was at the park this last Sunday. This was the first time I've been at the park on a day I would call "crowded" since fast lane was implemented. On slow - medium days, I didn't really see fastlane having much of an impact on the standby lane. The only exception was Skyhawk earlier this year, but it was only running one swing. However, on Sunday, I found some of the standby lines to be significantly slower due to fastlane.

I saw lots of people using Fastlane on Millennium Force in the early afternoon, and lots of people using it on Maverick in the evening. The line for Maverick moved at a snail's pace. Gatekeeper, in the late afternoon, didn't have very many people using it, and the line moved fairly quickly. After leaving Maverick, Dragster had a much shorter wait than Maverick.

This leads me to think that most people that buy the normal fastlane, rather than the fastlane plus, and use it primarily for Millennium Force and Maverick. While they may not power ride those two like an ERT session, I would bet they take a few rides on each to get their money's worth. In the future, I almost think that fastlane plus should be Millennium, Dragster, and Maverick, since those seem to be the most popular and slowest loading coasters.

I would have definitely used it if I could have afforded it. I have to admit that it ticked me off when I was standing in line forever, and then I'd see people walking right to the front. Not only did they not have to wait, but they made the wait longer for me. lol. Next time I'm saving up for fast lane.

Here's the hypocrisy for FL. Those who can't afford it, or are for whatever reason unwilling to pay for it, slam it as a wealth-based privilege system that is unfair and, some even say, unethical.

But here's the real test. Would any of you who had significant wealth, to the point that a few hundred dollars is meaningless, NOT buy this for your family? I think not. And so, I say it's hypocritical because anyone with such means would certainly chose FL, first-class airline tickets, top-tier medical care, and all the other perks that go along with wealth.

Does money make you happy? Definitely not. Does lack of money make you unhappy? Usually. So, I call hypocrit on those who bash fast lane, and all other premium pay-for services, cause I think in the shoes of the wealthy we would all do the very same thing. A theoretical argument for sure, but I'm pretty certain that's how it would play out.

We are not saying we wouldn't use it if we had so much money that the cost doesn't have an affect. We are saying that a fast pass system shouldn't be offered at all.

By that logic Cedar Point as a whole should not be offered to any one because I promise you that there are quite a few American families that cannot even afford the gate price.

I am glad there is Fast Lane. I pony up extra cash when I go on a Saturday (usually don't need it on weekdays) and in exchange I get to ride more. I see nothing wrong with that, personally. I've bought it twice this year - one regular, one plus. I'd like them to switch Gatekeeper and Maverick in plus though.

I like the fact that they offer fastlane. If I could only go once a year, I would probably get it. I just think with the price point they have now, they are impacting the standby line too much on some of the most popular rides. This is especially true on Maverick and somewhat true on Millennium.

I totally agree. I'd wait an hour for a ride if I was continuously walking. I was at the park yesterday and Maverick's and Millennium's line just dragged on forever. I'm totally ok with Cedar Point having Fast Lane, but I think the distribution between standby line/FL line is still way off.

I imagine CP only has Gatekeeper on the Fast Lane Plus tier of rides for this season due to being the shiny new attraction and will be replaced by Maverick on the Plus rides for next season. The past few months have proven that the capacity on Gatekeeper is among the best in the park and a ride with poor capacity like Maverick needs the extra protection of having Fast Lane priced at the higher level.

I think 0g is correct regarding the usefulness of Fast Lane depending on how busy the park is on a given day. I bought Fast Lane one time last season on a Friday in June and found out that the only rides (with Fast Lane) that had a decent line to skip over were the big 3 Intamins. I'm sure if I used the FL on a Saturday I would have seen a better value for the money.

You really only notice the impact FL has on the regular line, on MF, Maverick and TTD. GateKeeper just devours its line! Those are the main rides people use it for, i dont see a big run on scrambler and wave swinger..;)

I feel sorry for you if you are in line during a Maverick breakdown, and then its fixed and the Fast Laners come through the woodwork to ride it....mob scene! The ratio is too high of FL vs. regular line let into the station!

I am taking my 10 year olds to CP this week. Do I have to buy a FP for myself if I want to wait in line with my kids, but don't plan on riding on rides? They are at that in-between age. Does anyone know?

What about just seeing them to where they check the pass and letting them go on the rest of the way by themselves?

I would think 10 year olds would be able to wait by themselves in that short of line of Fast Pass to begin with unless they have behavioral issues you need to watch out for. My 11 year old waited for Dragster by himself twice and Gemini a few times as well in the regular lines. My 8 year old could probably do it, too, but only with his older brother to keep him in check as he tends to get on the rails in the queue.

Can you buy Fast Lane passes online 24 hours a day? If I am going to the park on Friday can I buy them Friday morning online or do I have to buy them the night before? Thanks for any info

As far as I know you can buy them on the same day.

I'm not certain, but I believe you you need a means of printing out your certificates after you purchase them. As long as you've got that covered, you should be fine.

I noticed on the CP website the prices for FL and FL+ have increased by $5 each (on only on the weekend, but weekday as well).

I looked at what the passes would cost on Oct. 4th (Saturday during Halloweekends). FL is $85 and FLP is $105! Wow, I wasn't expecting that much of an increase! I wonder if they will have the "fright pass" (I think it was called?) to get into the haunts again this year?

They actually kept the price the same for the standard Fast Lane and bumped up the Fast Lane Plus by $5 so there is now a $20 difference.

I don't understand the reasoning behind that. From all the reports here, their major problems are coming from Maverick and MF, neither of which are included with Fast Lane +. They needed to raise the price on both the FL and FL+. With the $20 differential per person, you'd think more people will just for the FL which is going to even further cause issues with the major FL rides such as MF and Maverick.