Fast Lane

It is called capitalism. Nobody feels for the "have not" families that cannot even afford basic gate admission. Maybe no one should be allowed to go to the park at all then everyone would be truly equal.

Seeing how Cedar Fair's attendance hasn't improved much compared to last year, I am curious as to how many Fast Lane users are going to Cedar Point less now than in years past due to being spoiled by using Fast Lane, but not being able to afford it every time they would like to go and in years past would have gone.

Last Year I was at Six Flags New Jersey, and previous to that I had only been exposed to WDW fastpass system, which was free. Whhen I got tickets I just ignored the fast pass option. However once I was in the park I was steaming mad sitting in line watching whole trains get loaded with paying fastpass customers. Also frequently, I was in the 'lucky' queue that the fast pass people were preferring and would have to wait multiple turns messing up groups of riders trying to ride the same train.

I was just plain mad and frustrated. I am going to CP this weekend, and I decided to buy their Fast lane. I am sure their rules are different, however, I do not go to CP but only once every few years, so they extra cash ($60pp) is worth it for me. It will make sure that I get to get on all the coasters. This honestly just like hotel guests getting into the park first. They paid more.

You get what you pay for. I am not sure whether it is fair or not. It will always be subjective. However offering premium service for a premium price is good business practice.

I took a cruise a few years back, and part of the room we booked were special privileges like getting off the boat first and checking in faster. I paid more I got more.

I am not rich, the costs of fastpass is a lot of money, but IMO it is worth it for my occasional visits.

After 14 years of visits to CP, for the first time I went on a Saturday today. As someone who plans my visits for weekdays and off peak times, an August Saturday was a bit of a shell shock. But I had a friend who has always wanted to go to CP, and today was one of those once in a blue moon opportunities to go, so we did, and I used Fastlane for the first time.

With FL, it was about a 45 minute wait for Maverick and about 35 for Millennium Force. At one point, the sign stated it was a 60 minute wait with FL for MF. Everything else was a walkon. By 4pm, they had sold out for the day in all locations.

Without the system, it would have been multi hour waits for many rides. Heck, Corkscrew was posted at an hour and fifteen minutes! Worth every penny, IMO

Yesterday was also the first time I have ever been to CP on a Saturday. I had expected it to be packed and it sure was. Most of the posted waits 2hrs and looked to be longer than that for MF and Maverick. I've been frequenting CP for more than 10 years and this was one of the busier times I've seen, as I've usually only gone during the week and other off-peak times.

I went to CP a few weeks ago and watched car after car on Maverick get loaded with FL folks while we were at the top of the stairs. My buddy and I had decided that morning that there was "no way were were going to pay $60 for those passes". Well, things change and this weekend I had the FL wristband on and it was worth every penny.

I kept track of our various wait times through the day and it ranged from walk-on for Raptor (which had a 1hr wait even at their blistering pace yesterday), Windseeker, Skyhawk, Gemini and Magnum to 20-30min for Maverick and MF. After waiting 1.5hrs for everything last weekend, we probably rode 4-5x as many things as we could have without FL.

I won't brag and rave about everything we rode and how many times, but it was very efficient. At times I did feel like we were 'cheating' the system and being 'unfair', and the looks you receive from the 'regular line' are interesting, especially at Maverick where they can see the entire FL line. The option is open to whoever wants to pay for it and gets there before they're sold out.

Something I noticed was that you end up riding with a lot of the same folks on every ride. I did have a couple people ask us on rides how long our wait times were, etc, and I was honest about it.

I know this post is ridiculously long, but overall, I agree with Cartwright, that it is worth it for the folks who can swing it and those who have that 'once in a blue moon' opportunity to go to CP and want to make the most of it.

Has anyone tried to buy passes at the park right when it opens and found they were sold out already? I'm wondering if they've sold out in advance even once this season.

coasterswim said:
Has anyone tried to buy passes at the park right when it opens and found they were sold out already? I'm wondering if they've sold out in advance even once this season.

We got ours online last week and had to specify which day we were buying them for and they were selling them in the park until at least midday yesterday.

Syracuse Coaster Fan said:

You get what you pay for. I am not sure whether it is fair or not. It will always be subjective. However offering premium service for a premium price is good business practice

I guess this is how I feel as well. But I do think it may keep me from an extra visit this year as I sit contemplating. Do I really want to pay that much for passes plus park tickets, or do the alternative of having to wait extra long in the lines (the regular line time plus even extra waiting for the Fast Lane peeps that get ahead of us) Makes it seem like a lose/lose scenario to me. Maybe I'm over thinking it though. Has anyone studied how much longer the fast pass causes the average rider in extended wait time?

^Sorry, don't remember how to do the quote thing very well ;)

First time Fast Lane user yesterday (Saturday) as well. 100% worth every penny. Truly a fantastic deal!

"To all those angry faces I bypassed in line yesterday while using Fast Lane.............. please forgive me"

Sounds like FastLane has finally come to Cedar Point. With Magic Mountain now being my home park, I have been a fan of the system lately. I never liked the idea originally of paying more to cut the line but now I like having the option of spending more to be able to do more, probably because I can usually afford it. It's especially handy where visitors are in town and don't have much time to get everything in. I do go to the park much less though because the jump in Flash Passes has made going without one an unattractive option. I guess the park will need to figure out where the balance is on that.

I will say that admission to SFMM is dirt cheap and between some of their Season Pass coupons and options, there are some deals to be had. I've never really found that to be the case with CP but I'm not as close to it as I used to be so I could be wrong. As FL popularity grows, CP should recognize that the general admission isn't really the value it used to be and should probably respond accordingly by lowering the price. Otherwise they're appeal with visitors will really be put to the test here soon.

As someone mentioned earlier, it really needs to be restricted on more popular, low-capacity attractions.

My family of six went to CP on Sunday and Monday. The fp was definitely worth the cost. $300 or $50/piece. On Sunday the park was open from 9 am to 10 pm, we rode 33 coasters. We weren't even racing from line to line. We took an hour for lunch and dinner, so that was 33 rides in 11 hours. The longest wait was MF and Maverick. MF broke down later in the day on Sunday and reopened later on Monday. We basically walked on every major ride except Top Thrill, MF, Maverick and Magnum. The longest we waited for any ride was about 15 minutes. In the evening, the wait was even shorter for MF and Maverick. The fp is great for Raptor, Skyhawk, Max-Air, Gemini, Mean Streak. There is no fp for Wicked Twister and Iron Dragon but the wait for those rides was only about 15-20 minutes. It is a much more enjoyable experience than waiting in line 2-2.5 hours. The other advantage is that you can ride in the front if you are willing to wait an extra 10-15 minutes. My family goes to CP every year and we will definitely take advantage of the Fast Pass!

If you can't afford an extra $60 for a fast pass, should you really be spending "discretionary" money at an amusement park?

Jeff said:
I would argue that they don't let enough people in from FL at Maverick. I waited a half-hour for that one, with the line out to the entrance.

With Maverick usually boasting the longest line in the park (by far), though, I'm not sure CP can afford to sacrifice much more standby capacity without really angering those guests.

I really don't see a problem with making FL-ers wait for the big ticket rides. I think the park needs to me more upfront about it, though. "Wait less" is too ambiguous IMO. If they specified that FL cuts [blank] percentage of the normal wait time, at least FL purchasers would know what they're getting for their money.

Still--I think many of these problems would be solved if CF were to invest in a Lo-Q type solution. That way, FL-ers could do their waiting elsewhere in the park rather than standing in the queue.

I have to disagree with taking Fast Lane folks out of the lines - my group found we had to pace ourselves throughout the day having spent such little time waiting as we have become so accustomed. Without some built-in breaks waiting in an actual queue, I fear we would have burned out quicker.

^ Well, I think the parks want that to a degree... They're hoping you'll spend your free time in gift shops, at food stands, etc. (i.e. spending more money). Wasn't it Disney's per cap. that went up quite a bit following the introduction of their Fast Pass program?

MarylandCoasterLover said:
If you can't afford an extra $60 for a fast pass, should you really be spending "discretionary" money at an amusement park?

When the cost of the FL is more than the cost of admission I feel that the discretionary income argument loses a lot of its relativity.

MarylandCoasterLover said:
If you can't afford an extra $60 for a fast pass, should you really be spending "discretionary" money at an amusement park?

Seriously? What if I couldn't afford the extra, so I shouldn't go to the park? Or maybe I just think adding another 300.00 to a one day trip would be excessive. I'm not saying I don't think it's OK if you want to spend the money. But let's not judge whether others should be attending an amusement park based on if they have the means (or the desire) to add perks or not. Peace out...

MarylandCoasterLover said:
If you can't afford an extra $60 for a fast pass, should you really be spending "discretionary" money at an amusement park?

Even if that was the case (it isn't), it still won't work - Fast Lane isn't available to "everyone" at the park. If everyone bought in, the lines would be right back where they were before.