Single Use Fastlane

Sorry if this has been discussed already...a simple search didn't reveal anything...

I was at the park today and noticed something I had never seen before, and this is my third time going this season.

They were selling single use fastlane passes. They had little rolling kiosks at some prominent ride locations and for 17.95 (or something close to that) you get a single use fastlane pass.

Anybody know when they started this? It's been several years since I've been to the park after June, so maybe they do this everything once we get deeper into summer.

Just curious.

This just started for the first time, actually; the booths have been set up over the past week or so, but the first I saw of them being in action was on Monday. I know for sure they’re set up at Millennium Force, Maverick, and Steel Vengeance, but I’m not sure if Valravn has one. Prices are variable, as someone at the park said they paid $22 for an SV pass on Monday. I do wonder how the single-use sales will be capped for FL wait times’ sake, though, since you still have the guests who purchased wristbands on top of the single-use guests. FL is not front-of-the-line access, of course, but it may be critical to evaluate how adoption may impact wait times, especially since the single-use prices are naturally far more attractive than the full wristband prices. (E.g., someone may not be willing to pay $139 for a FL+ wristband, but they may be willing to pay $25 to get on one ride faster.) Maverick is especially going to be tricky to balance; given its low capacity, from what I have seen the FL+ line there frequently fills all the way to the entrance, and that’s been without the single-use passes in play. They do at least only start single-use sales after 2PM, so that should limit the impact.

Now, while this is the first time a single-use FL option has been available, there have been other (free) single-use systems tried in the past to reduce wait times, each with varying amounts of success. The first was Ticket to Ride, which Millennium Force used in its first season or so. TTR was pretty much just like the access pass system used during 2020; during the peak of the day (12-8p, I think), the queue was only open to riders who held an hourly access pass distributed earlier in the day. No pass, no entry to the queue. The second was FreeWay, which was around from ~2003-05. Six or so coasters used it—MF, Dragster, Wicked Twister, Magnum, Raptor, and I think Mantis. FW was much more conventional, akin to Disney’s Fastpass. Guests waited at a FW booth at a ride’s entrance to receive a timed handstamp to return to that ride at a later hourly timeslot; when their time came, they entered the FreeWay queue and merged with the regular line near the end of the line, just like how FastLane does it nowadays. (In fact, the FL queues for the rides I mentioned above are/were the former FreeWay queues for those rides.) There was a maximum of two handstamps per day for each guest—one per hand. The big issue for this system was that the capacity could not match demand; hourly time slots had incredibly small sizes, so rides would run out of handstamps incredibly quickly, especially for Dragster. I distinctly remember waiting in a handstamp line for Dragster that stretched from the FreeWay kiosk next to Corkscrew (where the hat shop is nowadays, next to the Dippin’ Dots booth there) down to Super Himalaya, and I don’t think I managed to get one that day before they sold out.

The first time I saw the single-use FL passes for sale this season was on July 3. That day, it was $22 for MF, $22.50 for Maverick, and $25 for SV. I did not see one person buy at any stand while I around but of course that doesn't mean people aren't buying them. I have all-season FL+ and didn't notice an impact to the FL queue vs other visits so I think they've priced it appropriately.

It would become another game of sorts, trying to weigh the option of spending the money for a ride but buying/using at the right time to make it worth it. It seems to be priced to where it’s not worth buying more than one, because then you’re starting to get to where you could just buy the daily pass. Then if it’s busy enough to warrant a fastlane, is the fastlane line short enough to warrant the single use pass. Too much strategic thinking for me.

But that’s the enthusiast’s point of view, of course.
Who they’re trying to snag with this is the typical customer who gets along fine all day without FL+. But then maybe they’ll get to the ride they really, really want to go on, let’s say Steel Vengeance, and find a long wait that will all but ruin their evening. So to avoid disappointment they get a one-time use, come in at a price point below FL+, use it, and don’t care about or recognize all those other logistics you mentioned. All they see is an opportunity to get on the ride faster then be on their way.
This seems like a smart move by the park as it allows for extra FL revenue on days when FL isn’t such a big seller, and for the reasons mentioned above. It also seems like it could be offered occasionally- are those portable kiosks that could be closed or pushed behind a fence any time? And they won’t have to offer it when the park is insanely busy, if the hotels are sold out, and when FL+ is the hot (and high-priced) ticket. I won’t be surprised if this offer is pulled on Halloweekend Saturdays.

^Or they just price it to reflect the demand. I can imagine some number of people spending $35 to bypass the SV line on a Halloweekends Saturday.

We’ll watch and see, but I say it goes. Reports from October say that even FL lines are unmanageable. FL for Maverick can be out the door and down the street. And when FL+ is 199+ on those days? 35 is ridiculously low and in my opinion would only compound those problems.

As I recall last season, FL+ was $249 on HW Saturdays. You're correct though that the kiosks definitely appear to be easily moved. I further agree that $35 would be ridiculously low on a HW Saturday. If they do leave them open, I'd hope they'd charge no less than $50.

RCMAC:

FL for Maverick can be out the door and down the street.

Out the door and down the street. I like it. The park should just post that phrase whenever the wait time for ride X is multiple hours long.

I always thought a sign that said “May as well go home, what were you thinking, anyway?” would be most appropriate.

I always figured that the cars parked in the grass along the causeway would be a big enough clue to people, but clearly it doesn't stop them.

Wasn’t it said that they don’t sell them if the FL+ line is 30 minutes?

^^Cars parked in the causeway grass?!

NOPE!! even after driving for a few hours -gonna turn right around and head right back home. Maybe after stopping for lunch and a Target visit. (we don't have a local Target)

JW Addington:

Wasn’t it said that they don’t sell them if the FL+ line is 30 minutes?

If indeed that was said, they certainly don't follow it. As others have mentioned, that Maverick line can often be 60-90 minutes on busy days. And Millennium Force is pretty much guaranteed to be 20-25 minutes just on the ramp. Any extension past the merge point and you're in for a long wait. I understand I am "speeding past the regular line", but when FL is priced as it is, I believe that 30 mins or less should be a goal they strive to achieve.

Wishing them luck with Single Use FastLane passes. Hopefully they find a way to keep the all-day FL users happy with their purchase while also making the Single Use folks feel like their purchase was a wise one.

I think JW was referring to them not selling the single use FL when the FL wait is > 30 minutes. Although I don't know if that's actual practice.

I would hope there might be some group of people that would buy a couple of $25 one time use Fastlanes for Maverick and Steel Vengeance and call it a day rather than buying the $150-$250 unlimited option. Not everyone is a power rider. Some people might be one or two day per year visitors and are just looking to get everything done. I wonder if they've considered an offering that would allow one ride per Fastlane attraction?

I do tend to agree that Fastlane, in combination with less emphasis on ride throughput, has made the CP lines move awfully slow compared to "back in the day." Maybe the unlimited offerings are underpriced if so many people get them. Seems like a lot of money to me, but I am pretty cheap. :)

MDOmnis:

I do tend to agree that Fastlane, in combination with less emphasis on ride throughput, has made the CP lines move awfully slow compared to "back in the day." Maybe the unlimited offerings are underpriced if so many people get them. Seems like a lot of money to me, but I am pretty cheap. :)

They seem expensive to me too but obviously lots of people are buying them. I noticed at Millennium Force yesteday that the line was moving very slow. I timed the trains and there were instances where it was 4 minutes in between. Then add in the fast lane users that get let into the line, it was really slow. I bet the fast lane wait was at least 30 minutes as well. It seemed like they use to hustle more to try and get faster intervals. I know there are new safety precautions and all that, but it still seemed slow. It was a great ride though!

Wow - four minutes in between trains is just Six Flags type operations. That is sad. I remember sitting in the Stockade in 2001 as an employee and timing trains cresting the lift of Millennium Force and they were hitting 97 seconds every single time. It was impressive that they were so consistent, but also cool knowing that even with their big morning lines and big lines after park closing, my ride, Magnum, with a 1:20 interval and same size trains was going to have higher numbers on most days. :)

All for safety theater!

After telling myself for years that I would never buy Fast Lane at Cedar Point, I caved and purchased a single use Fast Lane for MF yesterday. It was $22.50, which was a tad more than I was comfortable paying but worth it. In my opinion, part of the experience of spending the day at the park is waiting, so I am okay with waiting for most rides, but I felt the inclination yesterday. I probably would only do it MF or TT2 in the future as those are likely easier to justify.