All Season Fast Lane Available at Kings Island in 2018

[VekomaRulz]

On August 7, 2017 at 11:58 AM, Kenban said:

Not exactly, they were answering a question about season pass sales.  They first use Kings Island as an example because it has one of the highest number of Pass Holders of any park in the chain.  Then talk about the incremental add-ons including Dining, photos, beverages, and fastlane.  They never discussed adding season long Fast Lane to Kings Island or expanding the program in general.  

But I would not be surprised to see it next year.  Likely around $499.  After Canada's Wonderland started offering it at $499 I expect Kings Island to be next.  The next step is chain wide fastlane for even more money but it would work at Cedar Point.

You were exactly right, it is $499 for Kings Island for 2018.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/tickets-passes/fast-lane

 

[Saerenzea]

Yes! I'm going to start saving...... 

[Kenban]

$499 will buy a lot of Fast Lane passes but if you are a frequent visitor especially on the weekends this could be worth it.  Knott's also added the season long option also at $499 so Cedar Point is the only park in the chain without a season long option.  But that might change because the renewal option is not loaded yet.

[flightoffear1996]

I think the parks don't want to make the Fast Lane worth it.  You make it worth it and the entire product losses it appeal.

[Gannersdaddy]

We just signed up for all of 2018 including this. Gotta love the 9 month east pay. 

From what I hear, only a certain number will be sold

[BoddaH1994]

This was too big of a deal to get buried in the other loosely-based topic.

 

The rumors have been true!  Kings Island is adding the option of All Season Fast Lane for the price of $499 for the 2018 season!

 

Would you consider purchasing this?  Is the price right?

 

More info/purchase here: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/tickets-passes/season-passes

 

[Oldiesmann]

I wouldn't. I've got better things to spend $500 on

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[Kenban]

The value of a season long Fast Lane pass just like the dining plan, drink plan, and even the season pass itself is completely down to the individual.  I decided to splurge and buy the Fast Lane pass.  I can normally only visit the park on Saturdays and Sundays and I find myself only riding attractions with short lines which typically limits what I am willing to ride because while I really do prefer the newer coasters like Mystic Timbers I do find myself not willing to wait an hour.  Also I am not even willing to drive to the park if I feel like it will be extremely busy.  Right now it feels like this will change everything about what I do when I visit the park and how often I visit the park.

I have zero doubts about the value to me of the annual pass, dining plan, and drink plan.  I am sitting here even after purchasing the Fast Lane pass wondering if I will get my moneys worth.  Oddly I feel like I would have paid even more money for one which is good at the entire chain.

[malem]

7 minutes ago, BoddaH1994 said:

This was too big of a deal to get buried in the other loosely-based topic.

 

Agreed; I combined the other posts into this thread, to keep them organized.

At $500, I probably won't buy it. My use of it would be limited when I would visit the park with people who hadn't purchased Fast Lane. I also visit a lot of parks, so spending that much to skip lines at just one (even my favorite one) is hard to justify.

For people who would buy Fast Lane Plus six or more times a season, it's a fantastic value.

[BoddaH1994]

3 minutes ago, malem said:

Agreed; I combined the other posts into this thread, to keep them organized.

At $500, I probably won't buy it. My use of it would be limited when I would visit the park with people who hadn't purchased Fast Lane. I also visit a lot of parks, so spending that much to skip lines at just one (even my favorite one) is hard to justify.

For people who would buy Fast Lane Plus six or more times a season, it's a fantastic value.

That's kind of my thought too- if some of my friends were on board I'd definitely go for it, but all it takes is one person in your group not having it to mess it up for everyone.

Maybe I just need a higher class of friends. 

 

[Stoan]

So 90 bucks for the pass, 90 for food, 30 for drink, 500 for fast pass. 710 per person. 9 month easy pay, only 79 bucks a month per person.

[TheRickster]

I've never been a day this year that I felt fast pass would be worth it and I've been pretty much once a week all year. I almost feel like these are selling themselves as status symbols more than anything.

[Magenta Lizard]

I'm hoping they are fairly limited in the number they sell. 

I also tend to try to avoid crowded days, so even though I'm at the park a LOT, I don't think this would necessarily be worth it for me. Some part of me still WANTS it though!

On the occasions when I've redeemed my free Fast Lanes from renewal, I've noticed that they often don't seem to care who they go onto (usually, I have been handed the band and had to put it on myself). I worry that some unscrupulous people may buy one of these just to resell their daily bands for less than face value. Kings Island is going to need to be /very/ vigilant to prevent this, assuming they don't intend for the FLs to be transferable. 

[BoddaH1994]

2 minutes ago, Magenta Lizard said:

I'm hoping they are fairly limited in the number they sell. 

I also tend to try to avoid crowded days, so even though I'm at the park a LOT, I don't think this would necessarily be worth it for me. Some part of me still WANTS it though!

On the occasions when I've redeemed my free Fast Lanes from renewal, I've noticed that they often don't seem to care who they go onto (usually, I have been handed the band and had to put it on myself). I worry that some unscrupulous people may buy one of these just to resell their daily bands for less than face value. Kings Island is going to need to be /very/ vigilant to prevent this, assuming they don't intend for the FLs to be transferable. 

The early rumor I heard was that it was limited to 500, although I haven't seen that stated anywhere yet.

[Magenta Lizard]

I hope so. I would be totally ok with that number. Its enough to sort of prime the pump and maybe convince others to buy single day Fast Lane on busy days, but not so many that it will become "necessary" to buy one or wait extensively for marathoners every visit. 

I want KI to be profitable, and I don't want them to sort of kill the cash cow when it comes to Fast Lane. As I think I've mentioned in other threads, they are selling a privilege that costs them extremely minimal amounts (a little employee time) for fairly big $. Each Fast Lane Plus costs nearly as much as my Gold Pass. I feel like waiting for FLs to go first subsidizes my ability to be at the park as often as I am for a very economical price, so I don't begrudge it. But if KI starts selling too many because they've knocked the price way down, the value goes way down for both the purchaser and the park. Anyone who doesn't have it is going to feel left in the cold and probably won't come back (including people who paid half the price of a season pass for their single day tickets!)

[BoddaH1994]

1 minute ago, Magenta Lizard said:

I hope so. I would be totally ok with that number. Its enough to sort of prime the pump and maybe convince others to buy single day Fast Lane on busy days, but not so many that it will become "necessary" to buy one or wait extensively for marathoners every visit. 

I want KI to be profitable, and I don't want them to sort of kill the cash cow when it comes to Fast Lane. As I think I've mentioned in other threads, they are selling a privilege that costs them extremely minimal amounts (a little employee time) for fairly big $. Each Fast Lane Plus costs nearly as much as my Gold Pass. I feel like waiting for them to go first subsidizes my ability to be at the park as often as I am for a very economical price, so I don't begrudge it. But if they start selling too many because they've knocked the price way down, its worth goes way down for both the purchaser and the park, and anyone who doesn't have it is going to feel left in the cold and probably won't come back (including people who paid half the price of a season pass for their single day tickets!)

I can honestly say that I've never really felt like I was in a situation where the FL people were truly impeding the wait time of the normal riders.

[Magenta Lizard]

Neither have I and I hope they don't sell so many of these that it changes. 

[King Ding Dong]

I don't know how it is implementated at other CF parks but one way to minimize transfers to others is if it is loaded on your gold/plat pass like the dinning/drink plan so it can't  be used unless you have scanned into the park.   Of course not a perfect solution but at least would require the holder to scan into the park.  If a wireless device with a LCD screen that brings up your photo is used to scan your Pass then most abuse could be minimized.   

If my situation was different and I could generally only come on weekends (and for other reasons some of you are aware of) I would consider this but it certainly would limit any other entertainment options given the cost for a family of 3 or 4.  We are already at about $1400 to outfit the family with Platinum passes, FunPix and 3 meal/drink plans. 

[upstop]

In a word. Nope, I'll stick with my $90 pass. I've got all summer to ride what I want to ride. If the lines get slower, I won't be in them.

[BoddaH1994]

9 hours ago, TheRickster said:

I've never been a day this year that I felt fast pass would be worth it and I've been pretty much once a week all year. I almost feel like these are selling themselves as status symbols more than anything.

I bought it once this year.

had a friend in from out of town. His one day at the park this year and it was busy.

It was worth it for that situation... and I think that's kind of what the original program was intended for.

All season, though? I could see your Gary Coleman's doing that. But hey - if they can make money then I'm all for it.

[silver2005]

I do maybe 1-2 gung ho ride marathon days at KI a season, usually 1 using FLP, and that's it.  I sometimes don't mind going slower or even waiting in line, especially for KIC meet ups, plus I spread out my visits.  I think I would get tired and kind of spoiled of the park if every visit was with FLP.   If you go through my TR's, I pay a lot of attention to park atmosphere (even at KI, I love any and all spontaneity during visits), and being a psych major, I like to people watch as well, not to mention taking in a few shows (coughOffTheChartsHornSectioncough).  

In short, I definitely wouldn't go for this.  

[lifetimecoaster]

On my most recent visit to the park, I did note that it seemed the fast pass holders were very few and far between. It was surprising to me honestly. The one thing that I noted about the KI fast pass was that you don't really miss anything by having a fast pass. My family are very regular Disney World visitors (2 year old and 4 year old, they're big for their ages, but still not big enough to have the real fun at KI yet) is that when you fast pass into a ride you miss 90 percent of the theming of the ride. To save myself from 2-3 hour waits for the rides my daughter enjoys, I'll deal, but it's not as immersive when you have to skip past everything that themes the build for the ride. 

As far as a year long pass, for 500 bucks, I'll pass. Especially considering for me, that's 2 grand for my family of 4 next year, on top of a season pass. In a few more years when the kiddos are big enough to do the real rides at KI, we may rethink that decision. My 4 year old daughter is already a coaster fanatic, and my 2 year old son was showing traits on the pumpkin coaster Sunday. I told him to hold his hands up, so he was very angry with my wife that she wasn't doing the same!! 

[teenageninja]

18 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

That's kind of my thought too- if some of my friends were on board I'd definitely go for it, but all it takes is one person in your group not having it to mess it up for everyone.

Maybe I just need a higher class of friends. 

 

This is very obvious :).

18 hours ago, TheRickster said:

I've never been a day this year that I felt fast pass would be worth it and I've been pretty much once a week all year. I almost feel like these are selling themselves as status symbols more than anything.

If you could only go on weekends, it MIGHT be worth it.  

[APE]

I think the prospect of having Fast Lane every time you walk into the park is any coaster nerds dream but the practicality of it for most that live close is pretty low. I know I am out for two simple reasons, lines usually aren't that bad and i come come back to ride whenever having a season pass, and I have a family so adding $1500 isn't going to fly lol.

[malem]

Counting my visits, I realized that I could buy this for less than the menu cost of the food I'm redeeming at Cedar Fair parks this season with the dining plan.

Potential justification for really frequent visitors, perhaps.

[bjcolglazier]

Yeah, the thought of buying an $80 Fast Lane Plus SIX TIMES, and still not hitting the $499 mark is enough to deter me.  5 in my family, too---there's just no way---the math doesn't work for us.  As long as they don't sell thousands of them it's a great idea though---super-easy money-maker for the park, for those who want in.  And for those who can really get their money's worth for it, it'll be amazing.  I hope they enjoy it.  

[DMann1979]

Yeah, I really see no need for it for me, 99 dollar season pass plus another 150 for season dining and drink? I'm good. I've gone 11 times this year and haven't had to wait more than at most 45 minutes for Mystic Timbers. Park Wifi and a smart phone helps pass the time in a queue too.

[SonODiamondback]

I don't see the need for a fast pass. A least for me. Most the the lines of the rides I ride move pretty quickly. I never had to wait more the 45 mind in line on a busy day for Banshee or Diamondback. And with a Gold pass I can get early rides in on Mystic Timbers. The only exception is the night rides on The Beast but if you time it right it's not that long of a wait.

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[flightoffear1996]

I think by getting a fast pass you miss out on the best of times.  Some of the best of times I have had are with my friends and family joking around in line.  Some rides (not so much at KI) the line really adds to the experience.  If you ride Flight of Fear without waiting in line your just on a roller coaster in the dark.

[KingsMills79]

OK, they have the KI 2018 all season FL+ for a whopping $500.00 where as Kings Dominion shows $225, Carowinds at $250.00 and Cedar Point still undecided.

Anyone think that is WAY too much money for Fast Lane +?