Fastlane Pass

I don't think $65 admission plus around $100 for FP is worth it for a day in the park. I'll continue to wait in line with normal people and let others fork over that kind of money. It's been in place for so long it doesn't really make much of a difference to me anymore.
It seems there are only a handful of rides anymore where it makes a substantial difference and they are all Battle For CP coasters. It's not too often that a Fast Pass is very beneficial at Wicked Twister, Gemini, Magnum, Blue Streak, Snake River, Skyhawk, and other rides with relatively low wait times.

Sorry if this is slightly off topic or if someone already posted... With the platinum pass at CP this year you can buy the fast lane plus for the price of regular fast lane ($25 savings normally, $50 on Saturday) only if you buy it at a location in the park. We had our trip last week and i bought for my wife and i 3 of the 5 days we were there at speedzone by power tower and dragster. I had to show them my platinum pass each day. Last year i could do this on the app, which i did, but this year it doesn't work on the app. Just a tip. Saved me $200 (Wednesday, friday and saturday)

Sollybeast said:

....but for every dozen or so premium tickets sold, the general ticketholders would have to move a row back.

But that's not how it works. When you buy a ticket to a concert, you choose which level of seating you're going to be in. And when you buy a ticket to an amusement park, you choose which level of accessibility you're going to have. If you choose not to buy FOTL access, you use the stand by line.

I can't afford FL/FL+, it's all I can do to get my little vacation to CP every year at all. Luckily I have 3 days and 2 nights to spread everything out so I'll get to ride everything I want at least once.

Must be nice to be able to afford a "little" vacation to Cedar Point every year. Wish I had that kind of money.

But it does get a little grating when the same people dash by several times in the time it takes me to ride once, and knowing that their cutting is contributing to my longer wait time.

Why would that be grating? You chose the level of accessibility you have, and so did they. I never buy FOTL access, and when I'm standing on line, it never occurs to me to resent the people who spent more money to have expedited access.

jsmith7300 said:

Selling reserved seats at a venue is not the same as selling wait times at an amusement park. When you buy the cheaper seat, you know that you are buying the ability to sit in a certain spot and along with that location comes factors or limitations.

...

Nor do they expect that they will be pushed back farther than where they are already sitting because someone walks up at the last minute and says, "hey, I just paid an extra $20 at the ticket window so I can sit closer than you. Move back a few rows." They get the level of service / experience that they paid for and expect and they all get it at the same time as a single event.

No one said they were the same. They're comparable.

If I buy tickets for crappy seats, I run the risk of having someone taller sit in front of me, obstructing my view. Also, often times cheap seats don't have as much elbow room as premium seating, so I run the risk of someone huge sitting next to me, infringing on my ability to relax and spread out. If I buy premium seating, I reduce those risks.

Just as when you don't purchase FL, you run the risk of having your queue time increase due to FL riders. If you purchase FL, you reduce the risk of waiting in line.

Are the two scenarios identical? Of course not. But they are of course comparable.

Someone who doesn't have a fastlane pass can end up sitting with someone who does and they get to enjoy same ride.

But they don't have the same experience, because the FL rider didn't wait as long. Just as someone who purchases premium seats at a concert doesn't have the same experience as someone in the nosebleeds. They're watching the same show, but the person in premium seating has, for example, a server bringing them food and drink, or better access to the facilities.

It directly affects the expectation of service for someone who pays general admission because it changes the more that fastlane is used. At a concert your expectation of service doesn't change after you bought your ticket because you know exactly what you're getting and it doesn't matter how many higher priced tickets are sold.

Not true. If I buy a cheap ticket, and all the premium seats in front of me go unsold, I will have a less-obstructed view of the concert. If other cheap seats in the same row between me and the aisle go unsold, it means I don't have to decide whether to shove my crotch or booty in someone's face as I awkwardly sidle by on my way to pee. The point is, you don't know exactly what your experience will be even if you choose your seat. There are tons of factors that affect the experience beyond the pure geographic location of your seat.

Again, the scenarios may not be identical, but they sure as heck are comparable.

All of the analogies of "it's like complaining about people paying for better seats at a concert" or "paying more for better steak" are completely false. The issue here is not that some people are able to pay more, its that it completely slows down the line. Having the main line constantly closed off to allow people with FL in slows it down significantly. Everybody waits much longer so the rich people can enjoy shorter lines. It is complete BS.

I have never bought into this notion that it really slows the line down that much. Sure, you might wait a cycle or two for a ride, but its not that long. I have found that the ride ops generally do a good job of mixing the fast lane and regular lines together. And honestly, a lot of the fast lane rides dont lead straight to the loading station so they are still having to wait with the "rest of us".

I find it comical that people refer to it as only for the rich. Its an added value that some people will pay for. I have not purchased fast lane at Cedar Point because I'm there all the time. I have purchased it for my Niece and her boyfriend when they came up from Alabama for a visit so they could ride more. I have also purchased fast lane when I have visited some other Cedar Fair parks. Im not in the Forbes top 20 wealthiest people so Im not rich, but I did find value in it.

Why another endless Fast lane debate? Money makes the world go round and those with more money, or willing to spend more, will always have more, better and faster than those that don't. It's as simple as that and amusement parks shouldn't be the exception. It's a great service and the best thing since Magnum.

Ripcord said:

The issue here is not that some people are able to pay more, its that it completely slows down the line.

Exactly. You got what you were willing to pay for: access to the ride through the stand by line. And the same number of people are riding the ride regardless of how many lines are feeding into the station; it's not slowing down "the" line, it may slightly delay the line you chose to stand in.

Lostryder70 said:

I make a good living but I also have 3 kids and myself (wife doesn't like amusement parks) to buy season passes for. I really don't want to spend another $100 per person total $400 to cut in line.

You're not who the Fast Lane is for. I'm sure it happens, but I can't fathom why anyone with season passes would ever buy a Fast Lane. After all, they just layed down all that money and (gasp!) you can come and go anytime you please all season long.

Also, I would offer a gentle reminder that the world is filled with kids and families who can't afford season passes to a park as wonderful as Cedar Point, much less a ticket and a FastLane pass, so you are quite privileged in terms of humanity to be able to do what you do.

How dare someone purchase a commodity they deem worthy of its cost?

And how dare a business sell a product that the consumers want?

Like Pete said, the argument and debate around this issue has long since sailed into the horizon. It's not going anywhere, and if you let it bother you, it's no one's fault but your own. Come on...you have season passes to the best place on Earth. What is there to complain about? A lap on Dragster will turn that frown upside down. ;)

djDaemon said:

Again, the scenarios may not be identical, but they sure as heck are comparable.

Going back to the very first line of my very first comment in this thread, I said, "This is an apples to oranges comparison." Both are fruit but they are not the same.

The OP's displeasure over fastlane was likened to someone complaining about something that, while it may seem similar to some, is not directly comparable because they are uniquely different. Just like all-you-can-eat buffets are not directly comparable to all-season drink cups.

What is comparable is complaints about not getting what other people paid more money for. Whether you're talking about FOTL versus stand by, balcony seats versus front row center seats, the Presidential suite at the Drake Hotel versus the room at the Motel 6, the buffet at your local Pound-a-grossa* versus the buffet at Bellagio in Las Vegas... the customer got what the customer paid for.

FOTL passes are a popular product. Clearly there are many guests at each park that sells such passes that think they're a worthwhile value.

*Are Ponderosa restaurants even still around? I haven't been to one in years.

I have Platinum passes and there's a few times a year where I'll buy Fast Lanes, last time I did that CP my son and I were able to ride TTD at least 15 times not to mention scores of other rides. He still remembers that day of just he and I non-stop coaster riding all day. Worth every penny.

I'm planning on it again Monday but I'll see how the crowds are before buying them.

noggin said:

*Are Ponderosa restaurants even still around? I haven't been to one in years.

Actually, yes! There's one here in Columbus, though it's not in the best neighborhood. I wish I would've taken a picture when I saw it, I thought they were extinct too.

http://ponderosasteakhouses.com/locations/

Now if only Ponderosa offered a Fastlane Pass, I bet they'd be wildly more profitable.

Sollybeast said:

noggin said:

*Are Ponderosa restaurants even still around? I haven't been to one in years.

Actually, yes! There's one here in Columbus, though it's not in the best neighborhood. I wish I would've taken a picture when I saw it, I thought they were extinct too.

Not in the best neighborhood! Well! I live south, in German Village, and Great Southern is far from the worst neighborhood we've got.
Where the hell are you? The Gahamptons or someplace?

...yes? :P

...oh. 🙄

For some reason Ponderosa's "Grand Buffet" was often the destination for my track team when we were out of town.

All-you-can-eat-popcorn shrimp eating contest as an uber-high-metabolized 13-year-old boy...

Yes, please.

Currently Fast Lane Plus adds Top Thrill Dragster, Valravn, Maverick, and GateKeeper access. If Mean Streak is RMC-ed it makes sense that it would be added to FL Plus. Do you think one of the existing attractions drop to regular Fast Lane access, and if so, which one? I would imagine GateKeeper as it usually has a pretty short line anyway...

I agree with this if there are only four slots for FP+. The remaining three coasters have substantially longer wait times in the non Fast Pass lines than Gatekeeper.
Millennium Force could just about take the place of Gatekeeper if those four slots ate determined by average wait times.