Fast Lane is coming to the park

Moneyneversleeps said:
Does anyone think it is possible that they set the price too low for fast lane? If the price is too low, too many people will pay for it and the waits for fast lane would be long. I would also think that the fast lane would take business away from their VIP tours.

I also think the price is a little low for Fast Lane. I wish Cedar Point had a regular and gold version of the Fast Lane. Maybe have the regular version priced at $50; then have an unlimited version at $75.

Busch Gardens has two different versions of their Quick Queue system. The lower priced version ($40) lets riders use the pass on each attraction once. Their $60 version lets riders use the pass an unlimited amount of times.

So you are saying you WANT them to make you pay $50 to ride the ride once and not an unlimited amount? And you WANT to pay $75 to ride them an unlimited number of times? Are you on crack? Just take the $50 and use it an unlimted number of times.

Are you going to go to cacr dealership and say, "$20,000 is too cheap for this car, so I'll give you $27,000 for it."

I just don't understand why you are saying that you want them to make us pay more money.

I agree with coolkid. Its not that WE want to pay $50 or $75 for the fastlane passes. We want the once a year general public visitors to pay $50 or $75 for the fastlane passes. With that pricing scheme there would be less people with unlimited front of line access and less impact on the normal line. Though this opinion is based on how it appears this program will work and how it will affect the lines based on the information we have so far. It will be interesting to see how this new program plays out and how they tweak it over the next couple years.

Moneyneversleeps said:
The problem with the VIP tour is that re-rides are not permitted. The fast lane actually sounds better than the VIP tour. We will have to wait and see.

I am trying to picture how the MF queue would work. I know there is a separate entrance but I can't recall where that queue ends. Does it end inside the station?

Re-rides are allowed on the VIP tour as long as you ride another attraction before returning, and keep in mind VIP tours are also for all 75 rides still. There is defiantly a benefit to having the tour still.

You and me both about the MF queues. The old "freeway merge point" was at the bottom of the ramp where the two lines would merge together. Not 100% sure of what we will see just yet with this ride.

SSL488 said:
So you are saying you WANT them to make you pay $50 to ride the ride once and not an unlimited amount? And you WANT to pay $75 to ride them an unlimited number of times? Are you on crack? Just take the $50 and use it an unlimted number of times.

I am a pass holder, why would I even use this system? Anyways, I feel that Cedar Fair could make much more money if they offered a two priced tier system.

BTW I am not on crack, was that part really necessary?

I have to say I'm sad to see this come to Cedar Point, but will definitely be using it on my one and only trip to Canada's Wonderland. :)

Just speaking for myself here. As a Platinum Pass holder, the days we visit the park Fast Lane would be completely useless. I'm sure some people will still purchase it on those days, but what could I be looking at; a 5-10 minute, at the most, addition to a 10 minute wait?

The rest of the industry already utilizes systems just like this, so aside from guests who only visit Cedar Point, patrons will be accustomed to such a perk, and it should be a cash cow; which is good for everybody. The more money you can make on a system like this, the less the park has to raise food prices, or ticket prices, or parking prices...

So are you willing to wait an additional 10 minutes or so to ride to keep other costs down? If not, buy a Fast Lane.

This is not Cedar Point "milking" its customers for all they are worth; it's the park offering a perk that many, many people will see as worth the cost.

I'll throw in my two cents here. I think it's a great idea. I'm reserving any judgement on its affect on the flow of things until I see it in person. They will probably have an adjustment period where they either sell too many or don't sell enough. They just have to find the right balance. You have to also remember that it's now been done elsewhere, so they have a somewhat clear view on how it affects guests.

I welcome it. I think the price is reasonable (especially if you're only visiting once or twice a year), the ride list is good (their lines tend to get long on busy days) and it's the closest you'll get to a Q-bot or other reservation system at the park.

But I also think it may cannibalize VIP Tours a little. And that's a huge chunk of change they're making on those.

My biggest concern with the new FL system is the, "unlimited re-rides" clause... I'd be surprised if there weren't some groups who marathon on the bigger coasters (TTD comes to mind since the ride is so short), really reducing the remaining capacity for the "normal" line.

Has there been any word as to whether or not CP is keeping the merge points, or will FL users use the exit ramp?

Apparently, from what I've read on TPR, the system at Carowinds is a disaster. FL users enter the station via the exit ramp, and will almost always be boarded before those in the normal line. So, not only do FL users get first pick of seats, the normal line slows down to a near halt because there are hardly any open seats left once FL users have been accounted for...

I fully support this system so long as its impact on everyone else is minimal (it will obviously have some impact, though). But, the situation over at Carowinds doesn't sound pleasant...

I have to say, having never observed it, I also think it should be a one-ride deal. I'm not sure how much that could be monitored, but seeing as how on a very busy day one would be lucky to ride MF, TTD, and Maverick and that's it, $50 would be worth a walk-on on every major attraction.

Again, we'll see how it works, but the "re-ride" part is the only issue that concerns me. Cedar Point is not Kings Island, and I don't think you can compare their ride lineup to CP's and how guests will use/abuse the system. KI is a one day park like Dorney.

Kevinj said:
$50 would be worth a walk-on on every major attraction.

Count me as the odd man out, but I could spend $50 on many things that are more... worthwhile. I think this Fast Lane system is neat and all, but $50 is pretty steep. I understand that they have to make money and all, but even if I was a one-time visitor, I don't think I'd be willing to shell out $50 for one of these passes...

Plus, I like people-watching while in line, so I probably wouldn't use Fast Lane that much even if it was free. People-watching is half of the fun at the park. :)

I don't think rerides are much of an issue because I don't see Fast Lane as being a walk-on during busy days. There will most likely be a line for Fast Lane also, but probably fairly short. Reriders will just get back in the Fast Lane line, who cares if the same groups keep riding or if new groups keep coming in? Reriders will just make the Fast Lane line longer but they really shouldn't affect the wait for the slow lane line.

Top Thrill 182 said:

Apparently, from what I've read on TPR, the system at Carowinds is a disaster. FL users enter the station via the exit ramp, and will almost always be boarded before those in the normal line.

That is the one thing that will really get me to hate this system. It's the absolute worst way to implement it and has the biggest impact on the "standby" line by essentially grinding it to a halt and doubling dispatch times. Due to work I mostly only make it to the park on Saturdays when Fast Lane will probably be in high demand, so if they do the "exit pass" method, I guess I'll be watching a lot of shows this summer.

Anyone have any of photos of the old FreeWay hand stamp booths? I've been googling but can't find much of anything. In the photos section I found a few shots where you can see them, but none of them specifically.

^I think I have a couple but they are of the booths after they were turned into props for Halloweekends.

Ralph Wiggum said:
I guess I'll be watching a lot of shows this summer.

That is something you should be doing anyway. :)

[url][url]In at least some cases, Cedar Fair is creating new entrances for Fast Lane users. Check out this pic from KI's GM. It's a new Fast Lane entrance for Vortex.

https://twitter.com/#!/KIGMGREG/status/189370794843971584/photo/1

Chuck Wagon said:
Anyone have any of photos of the old FreeWay hand stamp booths? I've been googling but can't find much of anything. In the photos section I found a few shots where you can see them, but none of them specifically.

I think there's a better one in there somewhere, but this is the best I could find right now.

I'd like to see the new entrances for Fast Lane at Cedar Point.

Based on what Kings Dominion is doing with their separate entrance/exit rides (Flight of Fear and Volcano), it seems like Millennium and TTD will have FastLane riders board from the exit.

All I know is that at KI this year while in line for BLSC a group had 2 of the 3 trains and just kept going through over and over, therefore making the "normal" line much longer. This also happened to me on Firehawk, Drop Tower, and Diamondback to name a few. The GP standing in line was not happy to say the least. I can definitely see this happening at CP, so I pray that they do something about this.