tanthonyam Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Hey guys just a question. Does Fast Lane let you choose the front seat on all the coasters?? Or is it assigned seating? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuxedoman52 Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Still assigned seats as far as I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgoble3 Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Depends on the coaster, but in general Fast Lane is not treated differently than the regular queue in terms of seat choice as the FL queue merges with the regular queue on the loading side. Only at a few small flats does FL enter through the exit. Some coasters will sometimes assign seats, others will always let you choose your own. Note that Banshee, whether you have FL or not, will not let you wait for the front if the line for that seat is too long. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgoble3 Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Still assigned seats as far as I know. I believe the OP is referring to practices at some other chains where guests with a line-skipping pass enter through the exit with restricted seat choice. At SeaWorld Orlando, for example, on Kraken, Quick Queue enters through the exit and must take the row set aside for that purpose (or choose one of two rows). On Gwazi at BGT, Quick Queue riders enter through the exit and can choose any row, except that they cannot choose the front row or back row. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OleShawn Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Fast Lane merges at the station and is no diffrent than the normal que as far as seating goes. Preferred seating is not guaranteed with Fast Lane or without. Most rides you can pick, depends on whos running it or the ride. You have a small seperate line for each seat. For example you use it on Diamondback and want to sit front row, you will have a small line for it once you get on the station, that Fast Lane doesnt skip you ahead of. Hope that helps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortex lover Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Keep in mind that Banshee is a people eater the max I watied for it was 15 min 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Italian Job 2005 Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 ^ Well put. So Banshee is first with Diamonback in second in the Kings Island people eating contest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgoble3 Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Diamondstack used to be second, but it's fallen out of that position. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KI FANATIC 37 Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Diamondback has gotten bad. The queue was 1/3 filled last night around 9 and it took 40 min. I can remember when a full queue was like 45 minutes. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gad198 Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 ^ You must have been in line right ahead of us. In fairness, the queue was probably closer to half-full all told (close to half-full in the upper portion and half of the lower queue area), but your wait time assessment is dead-on, as it took us about 45 minutes. I even turned to my brother and said the exact same thing about the old days when a full queue was a 45 minute wait. Seems like a long time ago. Two things are happening at Diamondback this year: (1) Lots of Fast Lane guests are strolling through the line. I'm guessing there must have been at least 200 Fast Lane guests that came through during our time in line yesterday. I don't have an issue with the fact that Fast Laners are coming through. I DO have an issue with how Fast Lane guests are allowed access to the ride.. I've seen groups of 15, 20 or more Fast Laners all let in at one time so as to clear out their queue. I've seen this on more than one occasion and it irks me to no end. Diamondback is - by far - the most popular ride on the Fast Lane system right now. It's the best ride on the Fast Lane (non-Plus edition) right now and it's also the most re-rideable. I've seen numerous Fast Laners who will get in line, ride, and then get right back in to ride again. Unfortunately, it's putting stresses on the system I don't believe Kings Island envisioned. (2) The crew this year - with some exceptions - has been lackluster this year as far as getting trains out in a timely fastion. I'm at the park usually a couple of times a week, and the only ride I will consistently ride no matter the crowd levels is Banshee. Why? Because I know that the Banshee line won't take forever to get through and the line will always move quickly. Yesterday was a great example. I could get on Banshee 3 times in 45 minutes yesterday in the same time it would take me to get 1 ride on Diamondback. Banshee is consistently moving several hundred people an hour more than Diamondback right now. Those several hundred people aren't - for the most part - still clogging the Banshee lines later on in the day because they've already moved through the line. This is a large part of the reason why the Banshee lines are manageable this year and the Diamondback lines usually aren't. I'd like to see Kings Island do the following: Limit the number of Fast Lane guests to a maximum of 8-10 people per train, all the time. Some of us have been warning for a long time that a high Fast Lane-to-standby guest allocation would lead to longer wait times, and Diamondback is falling victim to that right now. You can't create shorter wait times for some without creating longer wait times for others. Ironically enough Banshee has not had this same issue as there have been far fewer Fast Lane guests there. Interesting. Make Diamondback a Fast Lane Plus ride only. High Fast Lane usage was a problem at Firehawk for a while, so what did they do - they simply put in on Fast Lane Plus. High Fast Lane usage was an issue at Flight of Fear, so what did they do - they removed it from the system entirely, at least as of today. If you go to Canada's Wonderland their two best rides - Leviathan and Behemoth - are on Fast Lane Plus only. This is the best solution IMO for everyone because Kings Island makes the same amount of money with fewer Fast Lane guests, which means shorter standby wait times AND a better Fast Lane experience because there are fewer people in front of them. Done and done. Adopt the Banshee/Firehawk model and remove the loose article bins. You have to wear your shoes/flip flops on Diamondback, so doing this eliminates every and all possible causes of slow dispatch times. Just make it to where all guests can do is sit down in the seat and strap in. I know that members of Kings Island's staff reads these boards, and this item is directed at them. We're not coming on to this site to complain about Diamondback's operations just to have something to complain about. We try to be as objective and thorough in our analysis as possible and we're simply trying to enjoy a better experience while at the park. Many of us have been going to the park for quite some time and go frequently. Many seasoned park goers - and I'd argue some of your most loyal patrons - are bringing out what we feel is an issue that needs to be fixed. I really encourage you to delve in to the things we've brought to your attention, because it is affecting a significant part of your customer base. Diamondback is one of the best rides in the world, and it should have some of the best operations to match. Thank you. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagoda Gift Shop Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Yeah I don't really get why it isn't on Fast Lane Plus. Seems like the 2 most popular rides should be there. Firehawk is there mostly due to capacity issues I think. Those 3 coasters make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark6495 Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 I hate to be the voice of reason but... The crew may or may not be as fast as Banshee's crew but the biggest difference has to be the bins. On Banshee you hop on and hop off. On DB not so much. As for Fast Pass, it is what it is. If you don't like waiting then buy one. A 45 minute wait is nothing Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastien6221 Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 I hate to be the voice of reason but... The crew may or may not be as fast as Banshee's crew but the biggest difference has to be the bins. On Banshee you hop on and hop off. On DB not so much. As for Fast Pass, it is what it is. If you don't like waiting then buy one. A 45 minute wait is nothing Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Fast Pass is a queue system used at Disney, whereas Fast Lane is a queue system used at Cedar Fair parks. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purdude86 Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 I hate to be the voice of reason but... The crew may or may not be as fast as Banshee's crew but the biggest difference has to be the bins. On Banshee you hop on and hop off. On DB not so much. As for Fast Pass, it is what it is. If you don't like waiting then buy one. A 45 minute wait is nothing Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk But it still needs to be managed better. They should not be taking almost an entire trainload of guests from the Fast Lane queue at a time. It needs to be distributed a little better. Fast Lane isn't meant to allow you to walk on to everything but have a shorter wait, so it's ok to make some of them wait for the next train. Also the issue is kind of that it hasn't been a problem in the past. It's always been on Fast Lane and the line has moved really fast and could have a full queue go through in under an hour in standby. Now they are getting about half that amount and I don't think the seatbelts are adding that much to it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterfanatic83 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Diamondstack used to be second, but it's fallen out of that position. Did I just see you use a nickname invented by Mr. YoungStud? Is this the apocalypse? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 The Apocalypse is a truly terrible stand up roller coaster at Six Flags America. Why, I have no idea. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I was 'lucky' enough to ride it at Great America. Yikes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 It's worse now. Very much so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIVortex Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I have seen them doing Fast Lane better on some rides. Vortex had a Fast Lane line all the way back to the bridge and they were not letting the entire group go into the station at once. They were splitting up Fast Lane with Normal Line. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 At Six Flags, you wanna ride immediately, you can do that. But it's a gonna cost ya. $105 for passholders at Six Flags Great America for The Flash Pass--Platinum. And that gets you TWO rides on the new coaster. Not three. Want another? Buy it again or stand in line like everyone else. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Italian Job 2005 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I believe that in the short period between Flight of Fear's first and second smoking incidents, Kings Island had moved Flight of Fear to Fast Lane Plus (bringing the total number of Fast Lane Plus rides to 3); before they completely removed it after the second incident due to the ride's reduced train capacity. (i.e. 20 riders to 16 riders) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgoble3 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Diamondstack used to be second, but it's fallen out of that position. Did I just see you use a nickname invented by Mr. YoungStud? Is this the apocalypse? ohiocolts's use of that name has warmed me up to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldschool75 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Diamondstack used to be second, but it's fallen out of that position.Did I just see you use a nickname invented by Mr. YoungStud? Is this the apocalypse?ohiocolts's use of that name has warmed me up to it. I also call it Diamondstack. I have not been able to ride it the last 3 times at the park due to the extremely long lines. Mind you, I visit during the week, and the past 3 times all the queues were full. Until recently; I haven't seen the queue right by the lift hill used since the first year of operation. They really need to do something. Not sure, but I would say the seatbelt may have something more to do with it than the crew working it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magenta Lizard Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I don't think it is the seatbelts. There have been several times that I've waited in a 45 minute line to get to the station and then see trains go with four or more empty seats. The ride op letting people in only allows one train's worth of people in at a time, then gets distracted by fiddling around with height wrist bands or whatever on a single passenger, checking Fast Lane bands and assigning seats for them, or trying to figure out how to deal with a party of six in the front of a line, and only finally gets around to actually letting anyone in when the gates are already opening for the next train creating a not very efficient mad dash for seats (or often, still tries to assign seats at that point and only half-fills the train, or the beginning of loading and checking is delayed by seat assigning). The ride ops checking belts and restraints also often get too tied up in questions/negotiations from single passengers about what can or can't be taken on, collecting bags and drinks, etc, in a way that often delays the whole train. Pretty much every passenger understands how to buckle a seatbelt, and the ride ops can check a restraint and belt almost as quickly as a restraint alone (maybe a full second difference for an entire train's checking). The problem seems to be with training of how to deal with individuals in a way that doesn't cause the train to be delayed or unfilled. Asking a measured child or a party of six to stand aside for a single dispatch so their issues don't delay an entire train, for example. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark6495 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I did notice that in the station the assigning of seats took some time. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegajone Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 It's mystifying to me why they would feel the need to assign seats on that ride rather than just pulse the line. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Slow down the regular lines. Sell more Fast Lane. Nah. They wouldn't consciously do that. Just as Flags would NEVER greatly overestimate wait times to sell more The Flash Passes. Of course not. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldschool75 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Money talks and B....... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 ...and the regular folk wait longer and longer and longer. If one lane is Fast, the other is sloooow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark6495 Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 The other night they had someone who admittedly was not familiar with The Beast line. He was assigning seats by using the front f the coaster line, then he would do the next train from the back of the coaster line. It drastically slowed the line down. Finally someone complained to a Blue shirt who was on the other side of the station. He was told to let the line fill on it's own Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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