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Fast lane treatment


RollerCoasterRoyalty
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I have visited Cedar Point this year and utilized their Fast Lane program and I will pay whatever the price is to do it again. It was probably the best day I've had at any park. If you can't afford it, then there is a line for you. Amusement Parks are businesses. They have found a customer need that will result in BIG money for them. If you do not agree, don't go. Simple as that. Stop complaining on websites like this. The park will always choose BIG money over your complaints.

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One is allowed by the park, one isn't. Is Fastpass at Disney line jumping? How does paying make it different when both are allowed by the park?

Because people badly want to place some moral judgement (that Fast Lane and/or the people who use it are inherently "right" or "wrong") on a business practice.

I can only afford an average car with nonexistent shocks and broken air conditioning. My friend the CEO has twelve cars, each newer and nicer than the one before. He effortlessly accelerates past me on the highway and gets to our mutual destination first only because he purchased a nicer car. Meanwhile, some people don't have a car to get to our destination at all. There is no morality assumed in that situation - no one is "right" and no one is doing anything "wrong." That is just the nature of capitalist stratification.

If we get stuck in a traffic jam and my CEO friend is two miles ahead of me and nimbly (but safely) makes his way from lane to lane and is able to stay well ahead of me in his sporty, smooth car with plentiful cool air, he's still not doing anything that deserves a moral judgement. And somewhere, there are still the people who can't afford the car at all, which makes his ease of commute no more right, nor more wrong.

So many here DESPERATELY want to label Fast Lane as a service that is intrinsically wrong. I'd wager that most of the same people, if they only had one day at Universal's Islands of Adventure, would get the Universal Express pass.

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In response to goodyellowkorn182, I will note that I was merely pointing out irony specifically with line breaking policy number 1 on that sign, and making no moral judgment.

But, in response to pki_rulz, a lot of us are complaining about Fast Lane, but that doesn't necessarily mean we all want it gone. I enjoy watching people put $50 bucks a piece into the new coaster fund park's bank account. I think we can all agree, however, that the Cedar Fair model is imperfect. Sure, no truly "perfect" model exists. But the system can improve. In many ways, it has since launch. I think the park learned a lot from Haunt last year. I bought Fast Lane during Haunt, and I honestly felt guilty because even the Fast Lane lines were so long that I KNEW everyone else was waiting longer than they would have if it didn't exist. Heck, even waiting in the Fast Lane line, wait times seemed only slightly less than I remember from Haunt 2010. If the park's statements are true (and I personally believe that Don never lies to us) then they did see that issue and tweak the system as a result. I may be wrong, but I believe they raised the price slightly (from $40 to $50) so that though 20% less people get the passes, they make the same money. Though I may be wrong about that. It's an evolving system, and we will hopefully see things change about it so that it can enhance the experience for those who buy in, all while having minimal impact on those who choose not to. I will openly say that the park handles the program decently for it being so young, and I like the fact that even with Vortex's line backed up to Jukebox, I can still ride within 30 minutes.

On an unrelated note, this is post number 150 for me (:

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I really do not care what the specifications are on the program. The company has figured it out that if they charge $100 to skip the line, people will pay. And they will. No amount of complaining will stop that. The park makes BIG money while everyone complains.

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I wasn't specifically pointing out your post, homestar. I see the irony in the sign placement and imagine many members of the general public do, too, when they see guests floating past them to get on the ride before them. My post was more generally about the many people here who say they hate it, would never use it no matter what, and that just knowing it exists ruined their experience. Come on.

I will say that I am very surprised that Kings Island doesn't offer a "regular" Fast Lane separate from an "unlimited" Fast Lane. I remember an interview with Ouimet saying he was never a fan of the "limited" front-of-the-line pass, but I can say that I would be much more willing to purchase a one-time-per-ride pass for $25 than an unlimited for $45. It occurs to me that that would also help control crowds, with the "unlimited" pass number capped much lower than the one-per-ride. At SeaWorld parks, you're given a wristband and a wallet-sized card with the name of each ride you can use the pass on - with the unlimited variety, they just check your wristband and card and usher you through. With the one-time-per-ride option, the Quick Queue greeter uses a permanent marker to cross off the ride they represent. It still gives people the "VIP" treatment, but reduces the anxiety so many people have here that every Fast Lane user will maliciously team up and marathon Diamondback during prime riding hours on a Saturday.

I really do not care what the specifications are on the program. The company has figured it out that if they charge $100 to skip the line, people will pay. And they will. No amount of complaining will stop that. The park makes BIG money while everyone complains.

What makes you say this? Have you seen them charge $100? Did people pay it as you just claimed?

The idea of "pursuit of profit" is that anyone can charge whatever they see fit for their product. But if Fast Lane cost $1000, they wouldn't sell any... So they have to find a balance between how much people are willing to pay and how little they can justify charging.

If 100 people would buy it if it cost $100, the park would make $10,000.

If 300 people buy it when it costs $50, the park has made $15,000, or 50% more.

The price has fluctuated even in these early months as the company tries to find out where the most profit can be made. At many Cedar Fair parks, the pass is more expensive on Saturdays than any day of the week, because it helps limit the amount of people getting it while maximizing profit... That's the "Test and Adjust" period of this product.

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first off... i would pay $100 based off my Cedar Point Fast Lane experience. Next, everyone thought $50 was way to expensive for Fast Lane yet Kings Island (the test park) proved for the entire Cedar Fair company that people will pay whatever to bypass the line. Less people may use it at $100 but I promise you people will still pay it. You guys should be happy if they charged it to $100... it will ultimately result in less people using it but people would still use it.

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You guys should be happy if they charged it to $100... it will ultimately result in less people using it but people would still use it.

If 100 people would buy it if it cost $100, the park would make $10,000.

If 300 people buy it when it costs $50, the park has made $15,000, or 50% more.

Probably not worth reposting, but I might as well try.

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To try to steer the topic into a different direction, I think that a cool Platinum Pass perk would be that you get so many Fast Lane tickets for free in a given season (Even a small number like 3-4 would be fine). I think it would be a great way to sell more platinum passes to locals. Or allow you to buy 4 passes for yourself (for different days) for the per-pass pricing that you would get buying 4 for 4 separate people on one day. This would get more regulars using the program. "Free" trials have a way of making addicts out of people who would ordinarily never try something. I think that would have HUGE money-making potential for the park.

Also, I think what GYK was getting at, is that if the park makes more money, we get better new attractions (at least, in theory)

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