Fast Lane

[jcgoble3]

To allow the Fast Lane program to double the wait of a great capacity ride like DB ( I timed it one Satuday night-the wait from Rivertown Junction increased from a normal 50 minute wait to 1 hour 55 minute) to me is absolute madness.

Let me play devil's advocate here for a minute. You may be comparing apples and oranges there, and here's why: Those guests in the FL would, without FL, all be in the regular line, making the regular line longer. It might be that the wait time in a given situation is the same as it would be without FL, only that the the line is physically shorter (because guests are split between two lines instead of all being in one line) and thus misleading you as to what the wait time without FL would be. Does that make sense?

This would only account for people in the Fast Lane pre getting in line. Wait times will be increased due to people getting in line after someone get in line. I'm not against the Fast Lane pass in any way but I do not agree that the wait times are not affected.

But while it does not account for people who pass you in the FL after you're in line, think about people who used FL and rode before you got in line but who would have otherwise, without FL, still been in line ahead of you when you got in line. At first glance, those people, taken alone, should shorten your wait compared to no FL because they're no longer in line. Those people will likely be similar in number to the people who get in the FL after you enter the standby line and who, taken alone, lengthen your wait, and I would guess that those two factors cancel each other out nicely, leaving my previous explanation still valid.

That argument is the same as saying, if there were only one single line, to think about the people that rode at 10AM when I get into line at 5PM. They have already been through and forgotten about. Those rides would have went weather I was in line or not.

Anyone entering the FL post me getting into the standby line increases my wait by their ride.Basically the same as if I were waiting in line and decide to let someone in front of me to ride with their larger group. My wait time increases by 1 train cycle.

What I'm trying to say is this: let's say that pre-FL, your wait time would have been 45 minutes, meaning that 45 minutes of riders are in line ahead of you when you get in line. With FL, let's say that of those 45 minutes worth of riders, one-third purchase a FL wristband and use the FL before you get in line, thus reducing the standby line to what appears to be (from your pre-FL experience) a 30-minute wait when you get in line. While you are in line, 15 minutes worth of riders enter the FL and pass you. Add those last two figures together, and you end up waiting 45 minutes, which is the same length of time you would have waited without FL. In other words, yes, those who pass you in the FL slow down the standby line, but that increase is offset by the reduction in the initial length of the line, which you don't see.

Essentially, what we need to do is throw away our preconceived notions of "a line to this point is this long of a wait", because those "timepoints" have been changed by FL, even though the actual wait times have not changed much, if at all.

[kingsrattler]

very true, better not go to Disney, Universial, Six Flags, Dollywood, CP, KI, goodness how many others?

I just read up on Six Flags' Flash Pass system, and it doesn't seem to offer near the access to rides as Fast Lane does.

Did you read about the Platinum Flash Pass option?

[kingsrattler]

Enjoy riding our rides with a 90% reduction in wait time! Consecutive riding allows you to WAIT ONCE and RIDE TWICE. Quantities are limited. Some restrictions apply.

Ride Availibility (SFoG):

• 
  Acrophobia
  
• 
  BATMAN: THE RIDE
  
• 
  Wile E. Coyote Canyon Blaster
  
• 
  Dare Devil Dive (Platinum Pass ONLY**)
  
• 
  Dahlonega Mine Train
  
• 
  Dodge City Bumper Cars
  
• 
  Georgia Cyclone
  
• 
  Goliath
  
• 
  GOTHAM CITY Crime Wave
  
• 
  Mind Bender
  
• 
  Monster Mansion
  
• 
  Ninja
  
• Splashwater Falls
  
• 
  SUPERMAN: ULTIMATE FLIGHT
  
• 
  The Georgia Scorcher
  
• 
  The Great American Scream Machine
  
• 
  Thunder River
  
• 
  Wheelie
  

That doesn't seem all that limited to me.

[KIfan73]

When I read that you have to reserve a spot, then come back at a certain time, it seemed more limiting than just getting in line and getting on ahead of other people, a little more regulated, I guess. Also, the Platinum is $105.

[The Interpreter]

And Six Flags DOES STRICTLY limit the number of Flash passes sold. At Great Adventure, they are frequently sold out by noon.

Has Kings Island ever run out of Fast Lane passes?

[TTD-120-420]

No.

[Jr for Birdy]

There never gonna run out of fastlane passes, unless the wristband truck gets lost. Ive watched people ride multiple times why i stood in a short line for DB,cant imagine a long line wait.

[kingsrattler]

How things were run last year aren't necessarily now they will be ran this year. Or maybe they will.

[Jr for Birdy]

Ummmm, my wife just informed me that if we go to CP this year and its packed we are getting fastlane, so i guess i will tuck my tail between my legs and shut up now! lol

[jcgoble3]

Ummmm, my wife just informed me that if we go to CP this year and its packed we are getting fastlane, so i guess i will tuck my tail between my legs and shut up now! lol

Who knows? Perhaps you'll discover that it's not all bad. I didn't like the idea when it was first announced last July, but my opinions changed after I tried it out for myself on a Saturday a couple weeks later. Once you see it in operation from both sides (with and without a FL pass), your views on the matter may very well change.

[pkiboy]

The Fast Lane worked out Wonderful when I was at Carowinds this past Sat!! it help out as well man the park was Packed!!

[alsoran17]

Ok, well everyone knows I am 100% against this Fast Lane. I still and always will say this is the rich kids fantasy, someone who doesn't know the value of a dollar. However, it is not going to go anywhere. Where do they draw the line now? How about and platnum pass, where you pay $100 per person and walk in front of the Fast Lane people? Or how about an ultimate pass, where for $200 per person you get carted around and go straight to the front of every line and get to tell everyone else what to do?

[The Interpreter]

I see you have heard of the premium Flash passes at Six Flags and the VIP program at both it and Cedar Fair. If, however, you were trying to be sarcastic, the parks, and their customers, are ahead of you (in reality, buyers of the VIP program DO tell other customers what to do, "Wait, while I ride."

[markr]

Since I live so close to the park, long line waits don't completely ruin my day since I go back to the park frequently. Therefore, I plan to act as "guinea pig" in the next few weeks and test the line waits on the busy Saturdays and see if management has listened to our feedback about the Fast Lane weaknesses. I do have faith that the problems will be fixed eventually.

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

I am planning a CP trip for late July on a weekend. I am going in assuming I will need a FastPass so my fiancee, who has never been to CP, can enjoy everything. I am by NO MEANS a rich person

[RD Reynolds]

Maybe it's just me, but in the past few years, I've been to KI many times where the need for a FL pass would have been kinda silly. Sure, if you go during a busy day, you'll have to wait, and perhaps the wait will be a bit longer than it has been now that FL is in place. However, I went to Haunt last year, one of the earliest days they had it to be fair, and we were laughing at the concept of people having paid for them. I actually felt bad for the FL folks when we were waiting like 15 min for DB.

Is it possible that FL will ruin everything at KI and make lines multiple times longer? Perhaps. But I also think that a lot of folks are getting antsy over something that will have little impact, especially if you plan your trip with the idea of what will be the busiest days in mind...

[LongliveKingsCobra]

aka avoid Fourth of July Weekend AT ALL COSTS!

[The Interpreter]

aka avoid Fourth of July Weekend AT ALL COSTS!

Which one? This year, the 4th is on Wednesday.

[RD Reynolds]

I have a friend who goes to KI every 4th, noting that it's never really that crowded because folks tend to go other places? Anyone ever go on the 4th?

[The Interpreter]

Yes. Otherwise, the place WOULD be empty.

Seriously, some 4ths have been total zoos.

Much depends on weather, as always.

[Guest rcfreak339]

When I used Fast Lane at Carowinds a few weekends back it ran fairly well. How they did it was simple, every 3 trains or so they would just let 1 train be only Fast Lane. This means that if the ride operators are doing their job correctly then wait times shouldn't hurt at all. Those saying it will directly effect wait times are merely jumping to conclusions too quickly, remember Six Flags has had the same system for over 10 years now.

For example, let say the park has a busy 60,000 people day and out of those 60,000 about 10,000 buy Fast Lane. Those 10,000 people, even without Fast Lane, would still wait in lines for those rides meaning that would be more people waiting in the actual line. So yea, Fast Lane guests are pushed to the front but that also means a smaller line in the regular queue.

Fast Lane, if done properly, should NOT effect line wait times.

[markr]

I have a friend who goes to KI every 4th, noting that it's never really that crowded because folks tend to go other places? Anyone ever go on the 4th?

I think reports of crowds on holidays, even on weekends, tend to be over-rated. For example in 2010 I was at the KI on Saturday 7/3 and it was an absolutely gorgeous day-the park was practically empty. Also, I have been to CP on Labor Day Saturdays when the crowds are light. It is usually the Sunday in the middle of three day holiday weekends that are the most crowded.

[alsoran17]

I do not believe the wait times should not change for Fast Lane. Personal experience has has my daughter and I in line starting at the same place in line without Fast Lane was 30 min, with Fast Lane it was 1 hour and 30 minutes.

[Browntggrr]

I think reports of crowds on holidays, even on weekends, tend to be over-rated.

Absolutely. That often happens. Especially when the actual holiday falls on a Saturday.

Yet, there will be some that do not agree with FL and blame the long wait specifically on that. Of course those days with long waits will come on a Saturday/ Sunday/ holiday weekend when many of regular park guests know it will be busy and need to blame a poor decision on something else other than their own bad decision.

[gad198]

When I used Fast Lane at Carowinds a few weekends back it ran fairly well. How they did it was simple, every 3 trains or so they would just let 1 train be only Fast Lane. This means that if the ride operators are doing their job correctly then wait times shouldn't hurt at all. Those saying it will directly effect wait times are merely jumping to conclusions too quickly, remember Six Flags has had the same system for over 10 years now.

This is precisely the wrong way to handle Fast Lane users IMO. Six Flags still loads Flash Pass riders on the exit side on some rides (Batman: the Ride comes immediately to mind), but keep in mind that on rides where they do that it would cost Six Flags a ton of money to build a new Flash Pass queue line to merge into the station. It's easier and cheaper for Six Flags logistically to just push Flash Passers up the exit and designate rows for them on the trains. Notice that on rides where they were once doing this and it was feasible to build a separate line to merge with the station that they did build the line to merge with the station instead (think Bizarro at Great Adventure). Designating whole trains for Fast Lane people is absolutely the worst way to handle those guests. The fact is that no chain right now outside of Cedar Fair, not even Six Flags, is designating whole trains for Flash Pass folks now on a regular basis. That should say something.

For example, let say the park has a busy 60,000 people day and out of those 60,000 about 10,000 buy Fast Lane. Those 10,000 people, even without Fast Lane, would still wait in lines for those rides meaning that would be more people waiting in the actual line. So yea, Fast Lane guests are pushed to the front but that also means a smaller line in the regular queue.

I'll agree with this part as it's written. The issue is if Fast Lane folks ride more than those in the standby lines and that brings me to...

Fast Lane, if done properly, should NOT effect line wait times.

I covered this in a post earlier in this thread. The only time that Fast Lane users affect wait times is if they ride more often (or less often) than those in the standby line are capable of riding. The longer the standby line the more likely it is that Fast Lane users will ride more than those in the standby line, thereby increasing the wait times for those in standby lines. Rides are only capable of giving a fixed number of rides in a day, and the more rides that Fast Lane users are getting the less rides those in standby lines are getting and the more time those in the standby lines will be waiting. Simple as that.

[kingsrattler]

The fact is that no chain right now outside of Cedar Fair, not even Six Flags, is designating whole trains for Flash Pass folks now on a regular basis. That should say something.

You are correct, as I am aware of, that no parks designate a whole train to a Fast Lane system, but Busch Gardens does designate seats.. for every train, for their system. So if there is no one in their express lanes, those seats usually go empty. And say a train has 16 rows, 3 are blocked off for express passers. Through 5 train cycles you have effectively allowed a whole train of express riders. So in the real world, this provides very close for the same capacity. And I can only imagine that if there were only 4 fast laners in line, that they would allow non Fast Lane guest onto the train.

[gad198]

Yeah, if you time it right you can get quick rides (and potential rerides) in row 2 on Alpengeist and Apollo's Chariot. I love the funny looks I get from people in adjacent rows when I walk right into those seats. It's one of the best kept secrets in that park.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg does have reserved rows on several rides as you mentioned, but those ride queues were not designed with Quick Queue in mind. Notice that Griffon merges in the station so there are no blocked rows for Quick Queue there. Montu at Busch Gardens Tampa used to have the second row blocked for Quick Queue for years but very recently they changed it so that Quick Queue users also merge in the station due to a new queue built specifically for that purpose.

[kingsrattler]

And if I had to take a guess from the new queues for Vortex, and The Racer, along with where the Diamondback queue is, something similar will be in place for these rides, where there's a controlled merging between Fast Lane and Queued riders. From the sound of people who have visited parks that are already open, it sounds like they have a much better, much more planned out system in place, than what was available at Kings Island last year.

[gigacoaster2k]

What about reserving a table at a restaurant?

What about paying extra for tickets to a Reds game where you're so close to the field that you can feel the wind when they swing The Bat?

What about VIP backstage passes you got to see your favorite band?

What about paying extra for sprinkles on your kid's ice cream cone if the mother behind you can't afford it?

What about the person in your class who gets a full ride scholarship to the college that you're saving money to go to?

Isn't that all "unfair" too?

Isn't that all pretty much "line jumping"?

So many of us do so many things in life that someone else cannot afford, or we are given opportunities to do something extraordinary. We take those opportunities and run with them, and are willing to spend money on these opportunities, because we're human.. we don't say "it's not fair to someone else" and pass up those Reds game seats or reject that scholarship.

[markr]

What about reserving a table at a restaurant?

What about paying extra for tickets to a Reds game where you're so close to the field that you can feel the wind when they swing The Bat?

What about VIP backstage passes you got to see your favorite band?

What about paying extra for sprinkles on your kid's ice cream cone if the mother behind you can't afford it?

What about the person in your class who gets a full ride scholarship to the college that you're saving money to go to?

Isn't that all "unfair" too?

Isn't that all pretty much "line jumping"?

So many of us do so many things in life that someone else cannot afford, or we are given opportunities to do something extraordinary. We take those opportunities and run with them, and are willing to spend money on these opportunities, because we're human.. we don't say "it's not fair to someone else" and pass up those Reds game seats or reject that scholarship.

What you say is true to a point. However, that does not mean that all customers should not be valued equally. It is the merchant's responsibility to make sure all guests, not just the guests that pay more, have a positive customer service experience. To implement the Fast Lane program at the expense of sacrificing outstanding line capacity does just that-it creates a negative customer experience for guests who cannot afford the Fast Lane pass. So what happens? In the long run, you lose more customers than you gain

In my job as a Customer Service Respresentative, I serve customers from all walks of life. The customers from better walks of life can afford the better products that our company offers. But guess what? We are expected to value all of our customers equally by providing everyone with the same outstanding service and treating everyone with the same level of respect and dignity.