dtk1378 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Didn't see this mentioned anywhere, seems like Fast Lane might not be so fast next year: via KingsIslandPR Twitter... ............ Buy a daily ticket at 2014 front gate prices and get a FREE Fast Lane. https://www. https://www.visitkingsisland.com/?promoCode=precybermonday2015email .......... Looks like the deal is good through 9/7/15, so pretty much the full operating season. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 The ticket is valid through Labor Day once purchased. The option to purchase it might be available only for another few weeks, days, or hours. The fact that it can be used through Labor Day is good. It'll disperse all of these ticket holder across the length of the season. Imagine if, instead, the offer was admission + Fast Lane valid only on Saturdays in June. Being less restrictive in that is helpful. The online system doesn't give any more specific information, but I would assume that this offer is available only in this pre-holiday season - a way to try to encourage people to buy this as a gift if the Gold Pass is outside their price range. A Gold Pass gets you unlimited access to Kings Island all season for $117.00 plus processing. For half the cost, you can still give your loved one a "best day of the year" experience. Oh, and let's hope their friends are also gifted an admission + Fast Lane combo. If not, they'll have to do a little extra purchasing to keep up. Get it? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtk1378 Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 Hopefully it's only a thing for the holiday season, doing this all year long would obviously make some long Fast Lane lines. It might also only be today, I just got a notification from the Kings Island mobile app stating that if you buy it "TODAY" that you would get the pass with Fast Lane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upstop Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Appears to be a holiday special to buy a single day ticket for any day during the season and get a free Fast Lane. Nice stocking stuffer...but I'd rather have the season long pass, Santa. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagoda Gift Shop Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 How much did Fast Lane cost for a single person last year? I know you could find admission tickets for around $30, so I'm curious how much of a savings deal this is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 The ticket is $59.99. When purchasing it, the "details" of the ticket point out that Fast Lane is a $60 value. It's fun to think that they're paying you one cent to visit, then you're paying them $60.00 for Fast Lane. This does give incentive to pay the full gate price (which practically no one does) and remember that Fast Lane costs very, very little for Kings Island to run. In essence, they've come up with a way to get full price for admission with practically no expense on their end. Smart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McSalsa Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 There's an ad for it on Facebook now that states this sale is indeed just that- and it ends next Thursday at Midnight. Pretty decent way for the park to make some money IMO, but I'm smart enough to either go for another season pass or buy a Kroger ticket and visit during a May or late August weekday. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 They sure aren't afraid to use Fastlane as leverage. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 ...which, ironically, can lessen its value to those who pay the suggested retail price for it... 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Clearly the company has high expectations for a secondary year of a new coaster. Maybe they suffered in good any day ticket sales last year. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freaks76 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 A few years back, (I think around time Diamondback opened) Terp asked the question of what people thought the single rider line would look like in 2013. Even though it's a year later, I think it's evolved enough where that question has answered itself. I don't think a whole lot of people will buy into it. Personally, when we have to shop for my teens Christmas gifts, I have to thinks of phones and I-Pads, things of the sort. I can for sure say, it would get the same reaction as when they open up a pair of pajamas.......... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagoda Gift Shop Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 I'll point out that Cedar Point has announced the same deal as the KI one. I'm guessing they probably looked at their Fast Lane numbers for the past 2 years and saw that they had plenty of room to sell more before hitting capacity. Seems like a good experiment, especially in November. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIVortex Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 All Cedar Fair parks with the exception of Knott's is doing this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electricsun Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 I imagine that this would be a good incentive for families to purchase now if they plan ahead for their trip to Kings Island. With a season pass, if I don't ride something, it's not a big deal as I'll get to it next time. For those that make one trip a year, the Fast Lane is a perk where they could make the most of their visit. Also, buying tickets now boosts the budget/revenue for this fiscal year. Pricing integrity is important, but so is making revenue. The amusement park business is quite a bit different from mine but I know how vital it is to make plan. So for example, I have to be willing to adjust the price of one program for one customer by dropping $10. It can make the difference between having a program and not having a program - and having $450+ or $0. Just like Cedar Fair, I know how low I can go and still make a profit. Sometimes creative solutions end up making a big difference. Or not. You don't know until you try. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyrider Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Does anyone else remember the day when line jumping is not a sport (said so on the signs to the rides) and was a reason to eject you from the park without a refund? Now you can line jump if you are willing to pay extra for it. I know it is industry standard now but I still feel funny about it and does not sit well with me. I would like to know who started this idea in the first place? Did it stem from Disney's Fast Pass? If so at least everyone USE TO get equal access for the price of admission but now it is a perk if staying on property or buying a Magic band. The good old days.....good memories.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 You mean the days when EVERY ride cycle was filled with riders who bought tickets for that ride, those who ran out of tickets or couldn't afford them didn't ride and there were no season passes? When parking was free but using the toilet wasn't? When admission was free...or a dime? When there were E ticket rides? Those were the days when I grew up. The industry is changing again. As it has and must.... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 ^^ Plenty of discussion about this around the site, and well worth searching for and reading. Lots of arguments and valid points from both sides, but a great topic to discuss and read through. In short, Disney started it as we know it today. Equal access, yep... Unless you can't afford to go to Disney Parks at all, right? That kind of stratification is everywhere. Some can't afford to enter Kings Island at all. Some can, but can't afford season passes. Some can, but can't afford season passes with season-long dining. Some can't afford Fast Lane. Some can't afford VIP tours. Some can't afford to rent the park out. Is that wrong? Does morality have anything to do with it? (This is not to you, Skyrider, just to a general "you" and worth pondering for everyone): Just paying to get into Kings Island doesn't seem offensive to your sensibilities even though there are many who can't do it. Does it only become immoral or unjust when it gets to the point that you can't comfortably afford to do it yourself? Tiers? Gate prices? What's included in your admission price? What's really "free"? Unlimited access, or once on each ride? (EDIT: See everything Terp said, too.) Lots and lots and lots of questions, and lots of good discussion. Search, and dig in! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 See also airlines. Or live in a huge metro...see also food, clothing and shelter... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freaks76 Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 (edited) You mean the days when EVERY ride cycle was filled with riders who bought tickets for that ride, those who ran out of tickets or couldn't afford them didn't ride and there were no season passes? When parking was free but using the toilet wasn't? When admission was free...or a dime? When there were E ticket rides? Those were the days when I grew up. The industry is changing again. As it has and must.... You mean the days when EVERY ride cycle was filled with riders who bought tickets for that ride, those who ran out of tickets or couldn't afford them didn't ride and there were no season passes? When parking was free but using the toilet wasn't? When admission was free...or a dime? When there were E ticket rides? Those were the days when I grew up . The industry is changing again. As it has and must.... I went to Camden Park this season and was kinda surprised to see they still had their pay toilets there. they weren't in working order, which wasn't the only thing. being a small park, that probably doesn't have alot of money to keep with newer times, If the upkeep was better that would be a great place to go for a nostalgic 60's/70's type of amusement park. Don't know what i've done here, Not real computer smart sometimes Edited November 19, 2014 by freaks76 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 And their pay toilets date back to the nickel days. If they'd fix them and use the collected money to keep the toilets clean, it'd be an improvement. Then again, the urinals, which used to be the long, open trough type with continually running fresh treated city drinking water, were always free, so I could see a discrimination suit coming. Fun (?) fact: A few years back, Camden Park suddenly got hit unexpectedly with a huge water bill. One it could ill afford. Those open trough urinals were quickly replaced with waterless urinals. The bill, instead of going down, increased more. Further investigations followed. A large, underground water leak was discovered. And that's how a park like Camden got waterless urinals. At the same time, some fool thought it was a great idea to put a drinking fountain in the back of the men's restroom. YUCK. The following year, the women complained. I guess husbands told their wives about the fountain. And, for that one season, the ONLY water fountain in the park, which does not give out free water, was in the back of the men's room. So, the women got one, too, the next season. And the woman's restroom exterior got painted. A hot pink. Really? Fun (?) fact #2 (so to speak). Smell sewage at Camden? It may NOT be coming from their typically disgusting, nasty bathrooms. Ride the Skyliner. Look to your far left, over by the Ohio River. City sewage plant. And on hot days, it gets mighty ripe. Then again, for years there have been several areas at Kings Island that smell exactly like that on hot days. Terp. Enjoy your breakfast! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freaks76 Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Yea, i got to enjoy the sewage plant one very hot, muggy August day this past summer. It was the first time I had been down there in five years or so, and was kinda sad to see how much more it had went downhill. We went on a Sunday and there were, maybe, 200 people in the park. When I was younger I can remember that place being just packed to where to where you was in line a while to get on any of the rides..........I understand that Camden doesn't have money like alot of the bigger parks and chains, but, sometimes a mop, a good cleaner, and elbow grease go along way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Fun (?) fact #2 (so to speak). Smell sewage at Camden? It may NOT be coming from their typically disgusting, nasty bathrooms. Ride the Skyliner. Look to your far left, over by the Ohio River. City sewage plant. And on hot days, it gets mighty ripe. So THAT'S what that was!? Well, that actually makes me like the park a bit more now. I was really bothered by that smell the whole time I was there, and it reflected badly on the park. The knowledge doesn't make it any more enjoyable, of course, but at least it makes me think more highly of the park. This is kind of off topic, but do you, by chance, know what the deal with the back row (or rather, what SHOULD be the back row) on Big Dipper is? I noticed it had no seat or lap bar and from pictures I've seen online, it's been that way for some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freaks76 Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 ^One of the ride ops said it had something to do with the lock on the lap bar. He wouldn't really say a whole lot about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 The back row has intense airtime. The back row seat and lapbar were removed years ago, supposedly at the request of the insurance company. Think Tornado at Stricker's Grove in the back. Compare to any other row... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freaks76 Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 That makes alot more sence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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