Fastlane Pass

noggin said:

But they would have to (virtually) queue up again and again to enjoy those multiple laps. They're not just standing in the station taking repeated rides.

No, they're made to walk from the ride exit back to the station. And on damn near every ride, it's trivial to get 3-4+ laps in a very short time, which makes the wait for standby guests behind the merge point longer. You keep saying that "they'd have been in front of you anyway" as if FL guests are limited to one lap. On top of my own experiences, many people here have pointed out that they've watched the same group ride multiple times while they wait. That results in a significant increase in overall standby queue time at the end of the day.

And even if they were -- if you're in the stand by line, you got the level of access you were willing to pay for.

I'm not sure who you're arguing against with this comment. I get the impression that everyone here is aware that not purchasing FL means you wait in standby. The discussion here - at least the one that I'm focused on - is more about value.

djDaemon said:

....I get the impression that everyone here is aware that not purchasing FL means you wait in standby. The discussion here - at least the one that I'm focused on - is more about value.

Value is the word in question, I guess. On the rare occasions I'm in a park but not at an enthusiast event, I'm not standing online obsessing about what the people who paid for FOTL access are doing, or how many rides they're getting. They paid for what they're getting, I paid for what I'm getting.

You seem hell bent on equating a discussion over the value to ignorance and obsession. We get that "they paid for what they're getting". And noticing that folks are getting several laps via FL isn't being "obsessed". That's simply being aware of one's surroundings.

Brandon, I much prefer being on the same side of a Fast Pass argument with you than on opposite sides of a Bernie Sanders discussion. :D

Ensign,

You pretty much got what I was getting at. Fastlane provides a great revenue source for Cedar Fair. It also is a good benefit for people who want to spend a bit more money for get a premium experience. However, it does come at the expense of the apparent wait time at a minimum. As I stated before, if much more than 20% or so of the seats are given to fast lane, then it does start to impact the apparent wait time to the point that some people might notice it.

Monday with our Platinum Pass we got FL+ for $53 when the prices were $73/$93. It was absolutely worth it, although they sold out and some of the FL lines were still 45 minutes.

I will absolutely buy them again at that price. The $150 it costs on the weekends? Well, a $40 discount still isn't going to bring it down to a price I'm willing to pay, but considering my Platinum Pass money is already spent, dropping $106 for my daughter and I to have FL+ is a no-brainer.

The Platinum pass deal is a FL + for the price of a FL, they were $73 for FL + on Monday with that deal as I bought 3 of them.

I'm willing to dig out my receipt. I got $40 off. I bought two FL+ and a glasses strap and paid $111.

Maybe the cashier screwed up, but she rang up an $80 discount.

Well they did mess up then, because it is a FL+ for the price of a regular FL so consider yourself lucky if that is the case. The platinum pass FL deal for Monday was $73, not $53. I just don't want people reading this thinking they'll get a deal that isn't in place.

Sounds like they entered the platinum pass discount for the glasses strap and it may have given an additional discount on the fast lane wristbands, which shouldn't happen. Yes, consider yourself lucky and don't expect that for next time. 🙂