TheLip2 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I was thinking that also....made up story? I want to promise you something. I am a 42 year old man with a lot better things to do than make up stories for whatever reason people make up stories. If I erred in any way it was in using quotations since I am pretty sure those weren't the EXACT words exchanged. It did happen and I wasn't really even watching the Fast Lane stuff during the day or anything. I simply saw the signs and was looking at how some of it was configured, but overall wasn't paying a lot of attention to how many people were utilizing it or anything else. If i would have been alone I might have found some people who had them and asked questions or watched more closely, but I was shepherding a 9 and 12 year old and it was really hot. Again, I was caught off guard by the whole thing. Started to walk to the boat and was stopped by the loading attendant. The attendant that unloads the boats was talking to the people in the boat for an inordinate amount of time. I was watching this trying to see "what was going on." That is when I had the short conversation with the loading attendant. (the one that asks how many in your party) My first instinct was that something had happened negatively for them and they were being aloud to reride. If anyone wonders more about me since I have been accused of possible making the story up I will give you a quick bio: 42 year old male. Graduated Lawrenceburg High School. Attended Purdue University for MET. (Did not graduate) Worked in the machine tool industry for over 6 years in the engineering dept of US Drillhead as a detail draftsmen and CAD designer/detailer. Currently employed by Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg as a dual rate Dealer / Floor Supervisor I have been working in that capacity for 15 years in a very stressful, competitive and customer service oriented environment. I own my own house / car. Sorry for going off topic. The moderator asked for suggestions for Kings Island: Utilize a Disney type virtual queau system. I understand all your points about cost and staffing and seasonal operations. They could only use it during crowded or peak days. I believe it could be implemented cost effectively. You do not. That is fine.I just believe that companies are run by bean counters who can prove how much money they save by cutting and controlling costs. It is very difficult for anyone to prove that the cuts and cheapness and reduced customer service have COST the company money. They are intangible items. The beancounter says, "The economy is down." Blames everything on the economy when in fact he is in part at fault for losing customers and revenue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 TheLip2 thanks for reporting what you have seen or experienced so far on this matter. Before I go on let me say welcome to KICentral. I have used Disney Fast Pass system for many years now and love it, I know how to maximize their Fast Pass to the point we never wait in a line all day, Honestly. Neither the Disney Fast Pass system or Kings Island Speed Lane is set up to accommodate the the locals or season pass holders, but rather both give the whole day visitors and ones who visit here and there and opportunity to have a great day at the park out of the lines. The difference here as GYK describes is Kings Island has a large Season Pass base and Kings Island is seasonal. Could Kings Island use a system like Disney probably but would it be worth the cost considering the target markets and what they could make out of it. As much as I would love to have the Disney type system I feel it is very unlikely that it will be installed anytime soon. Thanks for getting into the conversation and offering what you feel may work and who knows your suggestion may prove us all wrong. I look forward to you posting more and adding to the conversations here on KICentral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDD Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 My wife will be there Saturday. I'll have her keep an eye out. BTW..hello KI Central. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanna Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Tanna...that is one brilliant post, why am I not surprised that you are a MSTie?! I also work retail...I can't count how many times I am in the store after closing counting out, doors locked and only one dim light on and someone will still come and tug on the door...and when I look over they give me a look like...hey, your door is stuck! Ty. The rules of the world are geared towards the lowest common denominator. We see "Employees must wash hands", and take it as a given. There are people out there that take it as an infringement to their personal space. For every decent guy out there with a FastPass that would be gracious, you have to factor in every dueling banjo player, and his family, besides. It's just human nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afkifan Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Welcome to KICentral afkifan. Sounds like you plan on going to Kings Island this Saturday. If you do I hope you enjoy your visit and manage to stay cool. I would like to ask you to do something for us here if you would like and it would be appreciated by many here. When/if you go Saturday could you report back to us on how/if the new Speed Lane affected you in waiting if at all. You have a unique opportunity to give us some great feedback as you say this may be your only visit this year to kings Island. I am not asking you to go out of your way or to alter you visit in any way but to just give us a unbiased report after your visit to Kings Island. Sometimes us members here tend to bring in our biased views on a subject then exaggerate in our post. It would be of great interest to me as I know others would be interested as well to hear about how the Speed Lane did/did not affect you while waiting in line for a Speed Lane attraction. If it affected your enjoyment or even if you noticed a difference. The thing to keep in mind if you do report back to us is to make sure you go into it with a open mind with no biased or preconceived opinions on the Speed Lane. I wrote this after your first response about 4 posts back. I see now that you may consider in paying the $50.00 to try out the Speed Lane if it is too busy. If you do please report back on how that worked for you. But above all else please have a great time and again welcome to KICentral. Thanks for the welcome! I highly doubt we will spend the money to get it... there will be a group of 8 adults, in addition to my young son who will basically only be able to ride a few things in Planet Snoopy. I was just trying to make the point that I can understand there are scenarios where this could be seen as a valuable tool. Especially when US charges more than that for a pass that only allowed 1 ride per attraction. With the heat and potential crowds this Saturday, we are going to try to just take it easy and do what we can. I am definitely a thrill ride junkie though so we will be getting there early and do as many as possible before the lines start getting too backed up. I sadly haven't been to KI in a few years, so I'm sure whatever we run into will be an entirely different experience than what I have been used to, but I will definitely keep an open mind and post back with my thoughts. As I've said, I've used the Universal system back when it was free to everyone and I've been there since they started charging for it both as a purchaser and a standby rider, and I've also got experience with Disney's system, so I should at least be able to compare between those 3 different programs. Two of the individuals going with us are KI pass holders so I'll try to pick their brains a little bit and see what they think of it as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopThrill Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Maybe that can take the money from this Fast Lane, and use it to fix up Timberwolf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongliveKingsCobra Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Timberwolf isn't affiliated(sp?) with KI anymore... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HTCO Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 For those of you concerned about your wait time being longer due to the Fast Lane, don't. That is all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaptorGuy Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 For those of you concerned about your wait time being longer due to the Fast Lane, don't. That is all. I have to peacefully disagree. I was there this past Friday, and the lines were very short. I was in line for DB, and it felt like I was standing there for a good ten minutes longer considering where I was standing at. It felt like the line had stopped completely. I couldn't believe Fast Lane passes were even being purchased on a day that all the rides were walk ons! I even got to ride WindSeeker two times in a row despite fast pass. All I can say is, it must be nice to have money to throw away like that! Because, if you bought one of those yesterday, that's what you did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Let's face it: the mind sees what it chooses to see. Many here will recount extraordinarily longer wait times since the implementation of Fast Lane. Doesn't matter if there are two or twenty-two Fast Lane users, the wait will take ages and ages longer. If only we'd known ahead of time so someone could use a stop watch from a given location to boarding Diamondback, that way we could empirically see how much longer the wait really is on average. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Timberwolf isn't affiliated(sp?) with KI anymore... Yes it is. That's the amphitheater. Perhaps you confused it with Great Wolf Lodge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_humor Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 I can't possibly explain this any more than so many here already have. Disney's system is NOT FREE. It costs a LOT to buy a half-dozen machines to place at the entrance to each ride. It costs to keep those machines filled with paper and ink. It costs to build second queue lines for each ride. It costs to hire employees to staff the secondary lines and to hang around the machines to help people who are confused. You DO pay for Disney's FastPass system. It is $85.00 to get into a Disney park. I don't know how to make that many any more sense. It is $85.00. This pretty much explains it. Folks, Kings Island, Cedar Point...in comparison to other activities one could do for your dollar, is pretty cheap. I have thought for years that the Platinum Pass is WAY under-priced (not that I am complaining, I just keep buying them for my family). it felt like I was standing there for a good ten minutes longer considering where I was standing at So now you have to ask yourself. Are those precious "perceived" 10 minutes of your time worth 50 bucks? If so, time to get in the Fast Lane! 3 cheers for business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIfan1980 Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 For those of you concerned about your wait time being longer due to the Fast Lane, don't. That is all. I agree, don't worry about it because there is nothing you can do about it. Reality, if you want to test how the Fast Lane pass impacts your wait, you can count how many people enter that line and ride while you are in line. On Diamonback, if 96 people pass you, it cost you about 4 minutes (riders per train, dispatches per minute) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Kinda Guy Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Raptorguy, myself and 95 of my closest friends are going to buy Fast Lane and ride Diamondback while you're in line just to tick you off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HTCO Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 The average capacity per hour for Fast Lane is like 2 people. So calm down Raptor Guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback96 Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 On Diamonback, if 96 people pass you Hi there. Anyway, I would prefer it to be free, but since KI is not a destination park it can't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afkifan Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I was there yesterday, and honestly I don't think the Fast Lane had a huge impact on things. They shut down for maybe a couple of hours due to weather, but after they reopened everything we headed back to Beast. The wait was maybe 25 minutes and you could see the Fast Lane queue all the way in. I only saw 4 people enter that line. Around 6 pm we headed over to Diamondback for what was about a 40 minute wait. I did notice several people going into the Fast Lane, but in the 40 min it wasn't any more than maybe 20 people. The line never stopped moving and while I might have gotten on 1 train later than I might have otherwise, I don't think it had a huge impact on the standby line. That said, with the Saturday crowds yesterday, lines were long, but we were able to get through everything we wanted to do without it. I don't really see the benefit of paying for it in Kings Island. The only ride we didn't hit that we wanted was Flight of Fear and that was due to the fact that the line was all the way outside when they closed everything else, and it never really much shorter when we came back later to check. I did see some people doing re-rides with Fast Lane, but they were forced to leave the ride and re-enter the queue. Yes, it is a much shorter wait and you could potentially ride several times in an hour, but you'd have to wait a few trains in between. My brother in law did make the comment though that it might be fun to spend the 50 bucks sometime though just to see how many times we could ride Diamondback in the 7 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markr Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I went to the park last night and they were still allowing fast pass rides on DB durng the 8:00 hour-perhaps they were extending the hours because of the rain earlier. Didn't notice any significant difference in the wait time other than some ride down-time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 The reports like these will keep rolling in, but when will we hear more from those who thought this was the absolute worst thing ever to happen to Kings Island, and that they'd see 40 minute additions to their normal waits? And another question, when will those nay-sayers actually go to the park and see it for themselves instead of speculating? While the theoretical math may not be perfect, the fact of the matter is, as afkifan said, if 20 people pass you in the Fast Lane, you will wait one additional train. Perhaps each cycle will take an extra 10 seconds as the attendant at the top of the stairs is controlling two lines simultaneously, but 20 extra people means one extra train total (even if it's 5 people on 4 trains), and your wait will reflect that by being 1 - 2 minutes longer. Yeehaw. EDIT: As for extending the Fast Lane time, I can see why. More than a strict limitation, I always thought of it as the park's way of saying that you'll really only need it from noon to 7:00, as lines aren't too heavy before or after that. So when lines continue to be daunting after a day of delayed operation, I can see why they'd go ahead and extend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markr Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 ^Plus I just don't think the average family especially in these tough times can afford an extra $50 a person. Therefore, I just don't see a lot of Fast Lane customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeastForever Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I liked it better when they had the gold pass speed lane pass that was included into your gold pass. Although those NEVER seemed to be actually open. But the point is, the thing I HATE most about any theme/amusement parks are those darn fast passes. Just because someone pays $50 extra(or some outrageous price) they get to be considered "better" so they get to wait less and slow up the line for everybody else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 When I was there Friday, I was astounded that nearly every Fast Lane user I saw was an early teen boy. Well, that and, of all people, Gary Coleman of the many rides on Diamondback fame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongliveKingsCobra Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I liked it better when they had the gold pass speed lane pass that was included into your gold pass. Although those NEVER seemed to be actually open. But the point is, the thing I HATE most about any theme/amusement parks are those darn fast passes. Just because someone pays $50 extra(or some outrageous price) they get to be considered "better" so they get to wait less and slow up the line for everybody else. You didn't seem to mind it when YOU were inluded in those "better" people...I mean you yourself said, "I liked it better when they had the gold pass speed lane...." I mean...didn't you pay EXTRA for that Gold Pass? You didn't have too...but you paid more than someone else who didn't buy the Gold Pass, just a Season Pass, or even just a Ticket... Interesting.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortex Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 When I was there Friday, I was astounded that nearly every Fast Lane user I saw was an early teen boy. Well, that and, of all people, Gary Coleman of the many rides on Diamondback fame. How long where the lines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedarPointer Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Remember, if it's not included with your gold pass, it's pure evil and must be complained about as much as possible. (DA, Fast Lane, food, upcharge rides, preferred parking...) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortex Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Remember, if it's not included with your gold pass, it's pure evil and must be complained about as much as possible. (DA, Fast Lane, food, upcharge rides, preferred parking...) Why did you put that? Are you tring to start something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongliveKingsCobra Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 No....he's stating the truth.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedarPointer Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 People didn't complain about the Gold Pass Speed Lane. People are complaining about Fast Lane. It's a simple observation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Vortex: Friday the lines were very short. They were shorter still Thursday, though it was a bit warm both days, even by Georgia standards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortex Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Sorry about that I read it the wrong way. Thank Interpreter for telling me about the lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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