WOW - Fast Lane is getting expensive

I think it's still too cheap.

waterbucket said:
I'll keep buying fast lane and or plus most likely regardless of the cost, not because I can't stand waiting in line, but because I prefer to get as many rides as I can get in when I am there.

We're the exact opposite. We don't care about quantity of rides. We care about the quality of our day.

Assuming we get to ride all of our "must have's" once or twice every trip, we really couldn't care less about getting as many rides as possible. Especially if that means spending all day in line. That sounds just miserable to us. I suppose coaster geek event ERT will have that effect.

For us, we would much rather spend time walking around, seeing shows, riding the train, relaxing in the shade, and so on.

I strategize to get the rides in. I'll use early entry to get MF and Mav done. Raptor, Gatekeeper and TTD are the wild cards, but then I'll take it easy and ride the less line intensive stuff for the rest of my time there. Being an older guy, sometimes I need to wait in line for a little bit to let my insides settle.

djDaemon said:

waterbucket said:
I'll keep buying fast lane and or plus most likely regardless of the cost, not because I can't stand waiting in line, but because I prefer to get as many rides as I can get in when I am there.

We're the exact opposite. We don't care about quantity of rides. We care about the quality of our day.

Assuming we get to ride all of our "must have's" once or twice every trip, we really couldn't care less about getting as many rides as possible. Especially if that means spending all day in line. That sounds just miserable to us. I suppose coaster geek event ERT will have that effect.

For us, we would much rather spend time walking around, seeing shows, riding the train, relaxing in the shade, and so on.

If I went to enjoy the shows, food, atmosphere, etc or what have you I'd probably have the same attitude about fast lane as yourself. But my favorite part about being there is the rides. I Used to be 160 miles away now I am 1100 miles away.

To each there own, I can respect what you go for, and that many people don't see fast lane as worth it. That ultimately makes me happier to have fast lane as less people using it. Just as if they offered front row seats at shows I would never purchase them as you might. The most important thing about a trip to the point is that you have fun regardless of what others may or may not enjoy. 😁

As a side note: the more rides I enjoy the more quality my day and experience has been.

darkrider68 said:
I strategize to get the rides in. I'll use early entry to get MF and Mav done.

We do the same, but there are times when we just don't have the motivation (read: hangover) to get there in time for morning ERT.

...sometimes I need to wait in line for a little bit to let my insides settle.

I have the same issue about needing time between rides. I miss having an iron stomach.

(old man voice) When I was 10 years old, I once rode Witch's Wheel 17 times in a row. (/old man voice) :)

waterbucket said:
If I went to enjoy the shows, food, atmosphere, etc or what have you I'd probably have the same attitude about fast lane as yourself. But my favorite part about being there is the rides. I Used to be 160 miles away now I am 1100 miles away.

And that's probably the single greatest indicator of use cases for FL - proximity to the park.

If you live within 30 minutes or so, you'll have the opportunity to ride throughout the year so often you might end up being one of those super awesome people who think it's cool to heckle FL participants.

If you live 1-3 hours from the park, your use case might be that you visit often enough to meet your ride/year quota regardless of how aggressively you ride, but you also don't want to spend half or more of your day in line.

And if you live as far away as you do, then it makes perfect sense that you'd want to get the most rides in as you can, and using FL to facilitate aggressive riding is the best way to accommodate that.

And as much as I'm a fan of FL, we will probably only use it once or twice every year, among the 6+ times we'll set foot in the park.

So, you're right - there are lots of use cases, and that's a good thing. :)

If you live 1-3 hours from the park, your use case might be that you visit often enough to meet your ride/year quota regardless of how aggressively you ride, but you also don't want to spend half or more of your day in line.

And if you live as far away as you do, then it makes perfect sense that you'd want to get the most rides in as you can, and using FL to facilitate aggressive riding is the best way to accommodate that.

And as much as I'm a fan of FL, we will probably only use it once or twice every year, among the 6+ times we'll set foot in the park.

So, you're right - there are lots of use cases, and that's a good thing. :)

Had I not been time constrained on my last post I would have added that not only does fast lane allow me to maximize my time spent riding, it also helps me not to feel so rushed when I do need to stop to eat something or grab a drink.

I've been using fast lane every time I've went since it was announced and put into part of the parks services. There have been a few times I'd notice people giving dirty looks or something and I'd just make contact and smile. I almost wanted to have a shirt made that said "the ebt line is over there" with an arrow pointing. Not because I'm an asshole but because I would find it funny to wear around the people who think they are "bothering" those that use fast lane. The value to one person is simply an opinion. Its the same reason people buy more expensive TVs to get better picture quality when I am satisfied with the best bang for the buck I can get with picture quality. If those people want to spend twice as much on their TVs because it pleases them, then so be it.

I suppose if I had no respect for others I could do such a thing, but I get it because I enjoy and want it. Could care less what people not using it think or say to me while at the park. I've heard people giggle and remark about fast lane users bypassing a 20min maverick line and I just look at smile as I walk on to the ride. Like seriously, mind your own business, grow up and let people be; to each their own.

That being said, looking forward to my cedar point journey in a month, its been far too long without riding a coaster. 😀

Now that FL passes are a lot closer to being fairly priced, I will start going again. I might even buy a season pass for the first time in years. It makes me smile to think that someone would actually pay $150 to go to Cedar Point. Family of 4...$600. I love it.

Zoug68 said:
Now that FL passes are a lot closer to being fairly priced, I will start going again. I might even buy a season pass for the first time in years. It makes me smile to think that someone would actually pay $150 to go to Cedar Point. Family of 4...$600. I love it.

Agreed, loving the price increase, won't mind if they increase it again later or next year. The less people using them the better for me.

I think you guys have it wrong. I don't think you will see less Fast Lane usage, CP is simply matching the price to come in line with demand. If demand exceeds supply often, the price is raised to try to make demand equal to supply. You will still see, let's say, 1000 Fast Lane users on a given day. But there will be less people shut out from buying it because demand has matched supply, and the park makes more money obviously. This is apparent because of different prices based on the date, another way they are trying to match demand with supply.

I see it as, those that are going to buy fast lane will, those that are on the fence will be directly influenced by price. Of the two or three times I was there last summer I can say that I have yet to witness a fast lane sell out regardless of price. There will of course be exceptions. All we can really do is guess though, since we don't have the data like the park management does.

I still believe that the increase is to balance out usage compared to guests in the park, as to minimize impact for everybody. That's just an opinion and only can I witness any data by being there which couldn't be taken as fact anyway.

The only issue I see with a supply and demand argument is that they can increase the supply at will, doing so would make them worth less, obviously the opposite applies, so one could infer they intend on offering less wristbands at the cost of increased price. This is only opinion though, as I don't have access to any real data. That's at least how I view it.

Seems like the price will continue to increase in my opinion. It might be expensive now, but I wouldn't let that stop me since it might go up another $20 next year. I don't think they have fully stabilized the pricing yet.

waterbucket said:

I've been using fast lane every time I've went since it was announced and put into part of the parks services. There have been a few times I'd notice people giving dirty looks or something and I'd just make contact and smile. Its the same reason people buy more expensive TVs to get better picture quality when I am satisfied with the best bang for the buck I can get with picture quality. If those people want to spend twice as much on their TVs because it pleases them, then so be it.

When someone buys an 80" super high grade plasma TV, it doesn't make other people's TVs take longer to buffer the television shows. Fast Lane does increase wait time for those already in the regular line, they now wait for you and your party to ride before they can. And any additional Fast Lane customers. Whether you acknowledge it or not, your use of Fast Lane has a real, tangible negative effect on others. A lot of non-Fast Lane users don't care, but some care a lot. I rarely ride rides at this point. Luckily, Cedar Fair has not figured out a way to "Fast Lane" the park's atmosphere or benches yet.

How about Deluxe Restroom Passes, with front-of-the-line stall privileges?

Or Food Lane, special windows at all of the counter service food stands just for Food Lane customers?

I think these might negatively impact regular visitors, as well.

Are you suggesting that FL's impact on others justifies the described reaction of standard queue guests?

djDaemon said:
Are you suggesting that FL's impact on others justifies the described reaction of standard queue guests?

No, some people are just born to be jerks, no matter what the situation. I just think it's important to remind some posters that their Fast Lane ride position wasn't created out of thin air by the payment of a fee, but was created by lengthening the wait time for others.

And at the same time, those "others" made a conscious choice not to be in the Fast Lane, and some posters need reminded of that as well.

Person A chose Fast Lane. Shouldn't be a jerk about it.

Person B did not. Shouldn't be a jerk about it.

It only negatively impacts someone if they choose that as well. Personally, I've never purchased Fast Lane. Have I ever experienced a wait time that was marginally longer because of that? I'm sure I have.

Did that negatively impact me? Nope.

What's interesting is watching people's reactions as they let things like this completely ruin their day, or at least the little slice of life that exists in the ride queue.

I mostly go on days when crowds are minimal. I know that's not an option for everyone, but I'm self-employed and it allows for great flexibility. Plus, I go to the park frequently. So Fast Lane is not much use to me since my top wait time is about 45 minutes. If the line's too long, I just say "oh well, I'll ride it next time." I usually don't go to the park mid-July to mid-August since that is peak season.

Rugrats2001 said:

waterbucket said:

I've been using fast lane every time I've went since it was announced and put into part of the parks services. There have been a few times I'd notice people giving dirty looks or something and I'd just make contact and smile. Its the same reason people buy more expensive TVs to get better picture quality when I am satisfied with the best bang for the buck I can get with picture quality. If those people want to spend twice as much on their TVs because it pleases them, then so be it.

When someone buys an 80" super high grade plasma TV, it doesn't make other people's TVs take longer to buffer the television shows. Fast Lane does increase wait time for those already in the regular line, they now wait for you and your party to ride before they can. And any additional Fast Lane customers. Whether you acknowledge it or not, your use of Fast Lane has a real, tangible negative effect on others. A lot of non-Fast Lane users don't care, but some care a lot. I rarely ride rides at this point. Luckily, Cedar Fair has not figured out a way to "Fast Lane" the park's atmosphere or benches yet.

How about Deluxe Restroom Passes, with front-of-the-line stall privileges?

Or Food Lane, special windows at all of the counter service food stands just for Food Lane customers?

I think these might negatively impact regular visitors, as well.

Unfortunately there are multiple flaws in your argument, let's start with the TV counter. Bandwidth is indeed limited in many areas. There are many people that aren't using 1080p or i yet but are using 720p or 480i. Let's do some basic math without even doing the math. 1920x1080, 1280x720, and 640x480 are each the pixel resolution of listed standards in order. Bandwidth, whether it be over cable or satellite to provide these feeds is not infinite in most markets, which is why internet speeds are not guaranteed (yes you can pay more for more speed there too), and with cellular and satellite data is usually very limited. Fiber is a different story, however is in extremely limited markets. Those markets are where your argument could be true.

Here's another simple thought, whether you acknowledge or not; those fast lane users would be in your line anyway impacting your wait anyway, so unless you can prove you would be in line before those people or that those people are riding multiple times before you, you don't have enough data to prove your second argument.

Its unfortunate that neither "side" has what is needed to prove their theories. You and I both are purely speculating based on our opinion on the matter. The real bottom line is, there's no need to whine about fast lane until you can prove something. If you really have a problem with it, vote with your wallet or purse, instead of continuing going to the park and condoning it. You are already off to a good start not riding rides.

I'll continue enjoying my fast lane experience just as others enjoy things they find worth the increased price in life and I won't think twice about getting it. Would be easy enough for me to say that the regular line users are impacting my wait, but I don't have time nor want to waste time on that argument. Just because something is new doesn't make what came before it right or wrong.

I do have plenty more on both subjects if you want to carry on.

Rugrats2001 said:
Luckily, Cedar Fair has not figured out a way to "Fast Lane" the park's atmosphere or benches yet.

How about Deluxe Restroom Passes, with front-of-the-line stall privileges?

Or Food Lane, special windows at all of the counter service food stands just for Food Lane customers?

I think these might negatively impact regular visitors, as well.

I figured this deserved a separate response. If they implemented restroom passes or a "food lane" I personally would not purchase either nor would I mind if others did. Nor would I come to the forums to complain about it. I simply would just not purchase. In fact I would be more likely to purchase food or drinks less often, thus making my point the way a business understands it, losing potential sales or profit.

I might add that thanks to fast lane I have time to wait for people using a deluxe restroom pass, plenty of it actually. Fortunately the restrooms are almost never typically jammed with people waiting though. 😀

Still fascinates me that people who can afford to buy admission to an amusement park -- a purchase out of reach for many people -- are bothered that people are buying Fast Lane passes. You've bought a ticket into the park? You've chosen to spend your money on something you value even though others can't afford such a purchase. People buying Fast Lane have done the very same thing.

I'm just going to mention again that people who plan to use fast lane should make sure that if they ask friends to meet up with them at the park they should make it clear that they plan to purchase fastlane. Showing up expecting to hang out and then finding out you're about to be ditched because you aren't buying fast lane and the other person already did sucks.