Maverick Restraints

Oh, Noggin, keep dreaming. Don't you have stock in Cedar Fair?

And after considering it, you may realize that adding fastlane for your family takes you out of your budget.

Pete said:

The Fast Lane crowd should just go right up to the station Shawn, you don't purchase Fast Lane to wait a long time. I don't get your point why that would upset you? Seems like everything was done correctly

Fast Lane is advertised as "wait less". Not, "barely wait at all", nor "enter directly into the station".

With capacity-challenged (relative to popularity) attractions, it makes perfect sense to meter FL in a way that balances guest satisfaction between the two groups.

They do balance the two groups, I believe it is around 50-50 from what I've seen. If there aren't enough Fast Lane riders, then of course they let all the Fast Lane people in. The balance might be 35-65 in favor of the regular line. In a case like that "enter directly into the station" made perfect sense. That is also the way they did it at Canada's Wonderland. I did a marathon on Behemoth for about an hour and always passed people in the regular line a few times.

That it makes sense for FL riders doesn't mean that it makes sense as a business strategy. If you're pissing off a large fraction of guests while only improving the experience for a select few, you're doing it wrong.

I'm a huge proponent of offering premier services for a premium price, but it can't be done at the expense of your core group of customers, at least not over the long term.

Pete said:

They do balance the two groups, I believe it is around 50-50 from what I've seen. If there aren't enough Fast Lane riders, then of course they let all the Fast Lane people in. The balance might be 35-65 in favor of the regular line. In a case like that "enter directly into the station" made perfect sense. That is also the way they did it at Canada's Wonderland. I did a marathon on Behemoth for about an hour and always passed people in the regular line a few times.

That's the way they do it at most of the rides. Millenium Force and Dragster both handle it that way. Maverick typically hasn't this season.

...And believe me... You can tell...

Pete said:
They do balance the two groups, I believe it is around 50-50 from what I've seen...

Wrong. That's how it is SUPPOSED to be, but I find myself stranded on Maverick's stairs watching FL line go in while only letting a few of the regular line. And everybody wonders why that line moves as slow as it does.

I'm blaming the broken seats. The FL line is probably getting backed up more than usual for that reason.

Bluestreaker said:

Where do you find a motel in the Sandusky area for $80 on a Friday or Saturday? And $20 for food, do you only eat once? Let us know your secret.

Ok then, lets try this we will make it $40 for food and $100 for lodging. A $100 for a non resort on a Saturday is more than a fair price. I am excluding resorts here because they are not the norm for a person to stay that would be an average person who takes a vacation, but cannot afford FL+ which is the group that is being discussed.

New Total- $255

FL+- $115 (since you wanted to use Saturday)

Percent increase- 45%

noggin said:

If you have the disposable income to even consider a multi-day trip to an amusement park, you have the disposable income to consider FastLane.

There is a difference between considering something and it being financially possible. Just because someone can afford a trip doesn't mean that they can still afford a trip if it cost 45% more. You are obviously pretty well off financially(meaning you don't have to worry about money often, and you can afford most of the things you desire within reason) if you can't understand that not everyone can to splurge on extra perks.

Also the above scenario is one person. What I can do with my husband's and my income as a family of four and what I would be able to do with it as a childless couple are completely different. Fastlane for one versus fastlane for four is a big difference.

^ I know the percentage increase would get larger the more people you add. The reason I excluded that from my stats is because if I did use those stats then, people opposed to the idea that not everyone can afford FL would be arguing that it isn't that bad if it was just one or two people. I was just trying to cut out that useless rebuttal.

Thabto said:
I'm blaming the broken seats. The FL line is probably getting backed up more than usual for that reason.

This isn't the first season for FastLane, and this isn't the first season Maverick's "regular" line has been affected by it. However, this IS the first seasons I've seen or heard of so many reported broken seats.

3snoH un=l said:

I will say hi to anyone wearing a Pointbuzz shirt! :)

I encourage everyone to buy one of our fine shirts!

http://pointbuzz.spreadshirt.com

On busier days the way I see Maverick run fasten is that the left side of the stairs is for FL and the right side is for the regular line. I have only ridden three times this year but this is how I have seen it. When FL is slow they will let the general line on the left and things speed up. But by only loading one train with the regular line at a time, the line slows down and takes forever, not to mention moves incredibly slow.

I'm confused. Didn't they move Maverick's FL line next to the regular entrance, and you have to enter the station up the stairs by the elevator? I remember it used to be across from Antique Cars and you entered right into the covered part.

Considering how many times I've been there this summer, you would think I would know.

As of about 2 weeks ago when I was last there the entrance was near the elevator, about right where the normal line enters the sheltered queue then it runs next to it to the stairs where the FL goes up the left side and regular line up the right.

3snoH un=l said:

I will say hi to anyone wearing a Pointbuzz shirt! :)

I encourage everyone to buy one of our fine shirts!

http://pointbuzz.spreadshirt.com

But I DID wear it all day Thursday, and not a single person said hi. Of course I only hang out at little known rides like MF, Maverick, and Gatekeeper. Same story in June.

Chris

TwistedWicker77 said:

I'm confused. Didn't they move Maverick's FL line next to the regular entrance, and you have to enter the station up the stairs by the elevator? I remember it used to be across from Antique Cars and you entered right into the covered part.

TwistedWicker, I think you have it backwards. In 2012 (the year FL was implemented) Maverick's Fast Lane entrance was right next to the regular entrance (it's now an unmarked gate to the right of the regular line) and it went straight down against the tunnel and up the stairs next to the elevator in the front of the station. In 2013 it was changed and has been across from the Antique Cars and entered directly into the old WWL station and up the stairs that used to be the "single rider line" ever since.

The FL line in 2012 was golden if you wanted to marathon Maverick, but after it was moved to its current location it has usually taken me much longer (up to 45 minutes) just to get to the station. I haven't used FL this year though to know exactly how the line has moved in 2015.

^^I wasn't there Thursday, sorry. :)

Chris49 said:

But I DID wear it all day Thursday, and not a single person said hi. Of course I only hang out at little known rides like MF, Maverick, and Gatekeeper. Same story in June.

Chris

OK, time to demonstrate the power of the PointBuzz army. :)

The first person who says hi to Chris in the park while she's wearing a PointBuzz shirt gets a $25 Cedar Point gift card. Make sure you tell her your screen name.

Chris, when it happens, just send me a private message with the winner's screen name.