New Single-Use Fast Lane System

[FUN&ONLY!]

This picture was posted by Roger Goffinet on the Kings Island Season Passholders page on Facebook. It appears that Kings Island is getting ready to roll out a new Single-Use Fast Lane System similar to Disney’s Lightning Lane or Six Flags’ Single-Use Flash Passes. I assume carts or stands similar to this one will pop up in front of other major attractions like Mystic Timbers, Diamondback, The Beast, and Banshee. What are your thoughts on this new Fast Lane product?

 

[IBEW_Sparky]

I think they need to make them about $50 apiece, so the people who dropped a G to get season long FL are still receiving the perceived value of said season long Fast Lane program.  Some may agree, some may disagree, but thats my viewpoint and it will remain that way regardless of dissenting opinions.  Stop diluting a high priced premium experience for a money grab (this, gold passes, summer passes, you get my point.)

[FUN&ONLY!]

I agree that these Single-Use Fast Lane passes need to be high priced and limited in supply or else Fast Lane lines are going to get way longer, which will also make the standby lines move slower.

Also, if you look closely at the top of the cart in the picture, it used to be an Oreo Churro stand. LOL!

[brenthodge]

20 minutes ago, IBEW_Sparky said:

I think they need to make them about $50 apiece, so the people who dropped a G to get season long FL are still receiving the perceived value of said season long Fast Lane program.  Some may agree, some may disagree, but thats my viewpoint and it will remain that way regardless of dissenting opinions.  Stop diluting a high priced premium experience for a money grab (this, gold passes, summer passes, you get my point.)

I fail to see how a 1x use ride pass diluted a season-long, all ride fast pass. It will most likely be targeted at single day visitors who don’t see a value in getting a Fast Lane for all rides, but have 1-2 must do that they want to ride. You still got what you paid for! 

[jdf21972]

Currently a $10 cost for that spin the wheel game, which allows 2 people single FL ride use. Could be based on attendance and raise the price like slingshot or skyflyer does based on attendance. They would keep it low end of price point. 

 

[johnjniehaus]

I get the argument that this is "cheating" pass holders in a way so perhaps the timing is not the best however, I personally like the idea. Six Flags has the option to get a single use fast pass for $11 or something and when you only visit for 1 day and need to get all the credits on a budget you often just wait in line however if you can buy an affordable fast pass for the one ride you don't have enough time to ride it's a much more successful day.

For example at Six Flags Over TX I had had moderate waits for Shockwave, Titan, Batman, and Runaway Mine Train during the morning. In the afternoon the park became swamped and I had to wait two hours for Mr Freeze and close to two hrs for New TX Giant. After those two coasters sucking down 4hrs of my day I had two hours till closing to get the remaining coasters - Pandemonium, Runaway Mountain, and La Vibora. I got the single use fast pass on Pandemonium and Runaway Mountain knocking both out in a half hour. I then discovered that runaway mountain had a single rider line (so I actually wasted $11 there). I decided to wait for La Vibora and because of a break down waited an hour. (I should have got the fast pass for it seeing as I would have been on and off before the break down delay). However in my final two hrs I was able to get one ride on Pandemonium, two on runaway mountain (1 fast pass, 1 single rider), one on La Vibora and two on Shockwave (which was station wait near park closing). I thought the single fast pass was worth it personally and I would probably use it at KI especially if going with friends who have limited time and just need to get on one more ride. 

[RedSummit20]

55 minutes ago, jdf21972 said:

Currently a $10 cost for that spin the wheel game, which allows 2 people single FL ride use. Could be based on attendance and raise the price like slingshot or skyflyer does based on attendance. They would keep it low end of price point. 

 

whats Sling Shot  

[IBEW_Sparky]

1 hour ago, brenthodge said:

I fail to see how a 1x use ride pass diluted a season-long, all ride fast pass. It will most likely be targeted at single day visitors who don’t see a value in getting a Fast Lane for all rides, but have 1-2 must do that they want to ride. You still got what you paid for! 

I fail to see how my thoughts and opinions are up for debate, I see it how it is, and know my voice means d*ck to CF so they are going to do what they are going to do and Im accustomed to that.

[brenthodge]

39 minutes ago, IBEW_Sparky said:

I fail to see how my thoughts and opinions are up for debate, I see it how it is, and know my voice means d*ck to CF so they are going to do what they are going to do and Im accustomed to that.

Good, just as long as you know what to expect so you aren’t disappointed. 

[Benjamin22]

Terrible idea imo, going to make regular line longer while devaluing the fastlane product.

[Captain Nemo]

I'm kind of getting over the nickel and dime approach for premium experiences at parks. They basically removed paid attractions and just rebranded them under the guise of paid 'premium' Experiences. It's not necessarily the new Fast Lane single us, but a combination of things I'm noticing around park chains. We all say it about Disney World, or Having your internet throttled by streaming services. I don't want a Company like CF to have that same approach. Now they dangle this 'premium' in front of guests for $10.

If you want to have fun you have to pay extra. 

this opens up a much larger conversation outside the scope of the original post so I'll leave it here. 

Otherwise, I'm still surprised wristbands are still a thing and hasn't been rolled out digitally to the app. Great way to increase traffic to KIs official app, more money for KI 

[Cedar Fair Fanboy]

I wonder? Can you get the Prestige's single use Fast Lane in that booth as well?

[FUN&ONLY!]

40 minutes ago, Captain Nemo said:

I'm kind of getting over the nickel and dime approach for premium experiences at parks. They basically removed paid attractions and just rebranded them under the guise of paid 'premium' Experiences. It's not necessarily the new Fast Lane single us, but a combination of things I'm noticing around park chains. We all say it about Disney World, or Having your internet throttled by streaming services. I don't want a Company like CF to have that same approach. Now they dangle this 'premium' in front of guests for $10.

If you want to have fun you have to pay extra. 

this opens up a much larger conversation outside the scope of the original post so I'll leave it here. 

Otherwise, I'm still surprised wristbands are still a thing and hasn't been rolled out digitally to the app. Great way to increase traffic to KIs official app, more money for KI 

I definitely feel that Cedar Fair and Kings Island have been nickeling and diming guests recently. The price of lockers (which should be free) has gone up this year. Food add-ons that used to be free (like queso and guacamole) are now an up-charge. Some food items are now just gone. Now the Ride Photo Booths around the park are trying to sell you a Coca-Cola product in addition to an on-ride photo and pins. Now there are single-use Fast Lane stands trying to sell you more. Paper maps are now a thing of the past. On top of that, now you can ride Kings Mills Antique Autos and see a Progressive advertisement. While this does not affect Kings Island as much, Cedar Point has tried to save money on labor by not only cutting Forbidden Frontier altogether but also cutting most of the live actors from Snake River Expedition.

That being said, I really do like the money Cedar Fair has put into theming recently. That should not come at the cost of guest experience, though. Like how much more revenue does charging for queso and guacamole actually bring in? How much of the budget does printing paper maps really take up?

[disco2000]

Gotta increase the per cap spending and these are quick ways to do it.  They do have paper maps kinda...for the food locations as that increase per cap spending LOL

[IndyGuy4KI]

I agree with @IBEW_Sparkythat I hope this is a high ticket item. The choice of FOF I think is a bad one. You are going to use one of your slowest riders per hour coaster to upsell a FL? I guess it increases the value of the FL, but not for everyone else in line for FOF. It should be between the 3 B&M's only.

[IndyGuy4KI]

I agree with @IBEW_Sparkythat I hope this is a high ticket item. The choice of FOF I think is a bad one. You are going to use one of your slowest riders per hour coaster to upsell a FL? I guess it increases the value of the FL, but not for everyone else in line for FOF. It should only be between the 3 B&M's.

[Oldschool75]

Two words. BIG MISTAKE


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LuvingKI]

If they was to do it, it shouldn't be till next year.. Not fair to the people who paid 1k a piece for all season, not knowing the lines are going to get longer, and for the regular pass holders also not knowing

 

P.s I just got to Cedar Point today to start a 9 day vacation here, and my front tooth completely shattered eating outback steakhouse 

[IndyGuy4KI]

1 hour ago, LuvingKI said:

P.s I just got to Cedar Point today to start a 9 day vacation here, and my front tooth completely shattered eating outback steakhouse 

I guess that is better than an actual broken bone. I hope your enjoy your vacation. Let us know if they have these single use options at CP too.

[calakapepe]

single-use should've always been the only option from the inception of fastlane IMO.

But since we're not in my idealized imagination, I just hope they make legit limits to how many FLs get redeemed, or simply sold per day by a certain time.

[disco2000]

7 minutes ago, calakapepe said:

single-use should've always been the only option from the inception of fastlane IMO.

But since we're not in my idealized imagination, I just hope they make legit limits to how many FLs get redeemed, or simply sold per day by a certain time.

 

Totally agree.  It should have been a wristband or lanyard that gets a hole punched when you completed a ride.  So one front of the line per FL ride.

Just think they could make more money because inevitably someone would just purchase another wristband/lanyard when they used up the first one LOL.

Now we all know what will happen.  On the busy Saturday when FastLane has been "sold out" we will see them selling these single use FastLane passes.

[FUN&ONLY!]

I wonder if Kings Island is the “test park “ for this new Single-Use Fast Lane system. Kings Island was the “test park” for the original rollout of the Fast Lane system in 2011, and by the next year, it was rolled out to other parks.

[brenthodge]

8 hours ago, disco2000 said:

 

Totally agree.  It should have been a wristband or lanyard that gets a hole punched when you completed a ride.  So one front of the line per FL ride.

Just think they could make more money because inevitably someone would just purchase another wristband/lanyard when they used up the first one LOL.

Now we all know what will happen.  On the busy Saturday when FastLane has been "sold out" we will see them selling these single use FastLane passes.

Or do a 2 tier like Dollywood where you can get one with a set number of punches (more than ride options) that you can use 1x each at different rides, or all at one ride, but when they are done they are done unless you have the “unlimited” version, but it seems crazy there, because I think it’s only a 10-20.00 difference. I’d suggest making it like BASIC 69.00, UNLIMITED 209.00 ( random numbers, but you get the idea) 

[jbeast]

Wow! I am not opposed to Fast Lane....I have used it in the past at parks I only had a day to enjoy at. So, it's a great deal if you need it. 

I'm really wondering what the price point is going to be and how many they are selling on any given day. If the lowball the price, that Fast Lane line might get a bit long on busy days! Which, in turn makes the regular line crawl a bit slower. I remember a day that you used to just get in line for an attraction and wait your turn. That seems so old fashioned now.

Now if I wait in the regular line, get right up to the gate to get on a ride, I have found I wait while almost the entire line of fast pass people get in right before me and sometimes filling up most all of the train. So, I wait one more or two more cycles. That's kinda frustrating after waiting, getting up to just about to ride and, oh wait, all these people get on before you. Wait some more.

Like I say, not opposed to Fast Lane, just wish only a few at a time would be let in at the getting on the ride point, instead of the entire group. Saying that, I'd be a little irritated if I bought a season long fast pass or pre bought for a busy day. Really depends on single use pricing and the number they are planning on selling daily. It's a cash cow it seems.

[DispatchMaster]

43 minutes ago, jbeast said:

I remember a day that you used to just get in line for an attraction and wait your turn. That seems so old fashioned now.

 If you go back further than the POP days, guests purchased tickets to get access to rides. The more tickets you could afford, the more you were able to ride.

People getting more by paying more is not a new thing by any stretch of the imagination.

[jbeast]

Dispatchmaster, true fact. And that's why POP became so popular is the standard at most bigger amusement parks. Carrying around all those tickets is annoying...ha!

[disco2000]

1 hour ago, jbeast said:

 

Now if I wait in the regular line, get right up to the gate to get on a ride, I have found I wait while almost the entire line of fast pass people get in right before me and sometimes filling up most all of the train. So, I wait one more or two more cycles. That's kinda frustrating after waiting, getting up to just about to ride and, oh wait, all these people get on before you. Wait some more.

 

Now remember they say that the FastLane doesn't increase your wait time as those people would have already been in line blah blah blah....maybe it it were a one and done Fast Lane, but with the current approach, you can see the same group marathon 15-20 times before you get on.

And what you visibly saw once into the station of having to wait an additional one or two more cycles was happening the ENTIRE time you were in line...

Look at Dragster where they ran one loading station for FastLane and the other for the regular line.  You cannot tell me that doesn't increase your wait time...

[Gordon Bombay]

6 hours ago, disco2000 said:

 

Look at Dragster where they ran one loading station for FastLane and the other for the regular line.  You cannot tell me that doesn't increase your wait time...

Or Firehawk back in the day when the “Fast Lane” line became the “slightly less long wait line compared to that other long wait line.”

”Premium Experiences” certainly aren’t anything new, but what’s your bottom line worth once you start to reliably inconvenience the “regular” guest?

[Captain Nemo]

1 hour ago, Gordon Bombay said:

Or Firehawk back in the day when the “Fast Lane” line became the “slightly less long wait line compared to that other long wait line.”

”Premium Experiences” certainly aren’t anything new, but what’s your bottom line worth once you start to reliably inconvenience the “regular” guest?

Bottom line, When being a regular entry guest doesn't feel like the experience was meant for you because you didn't pay for premium.

[BeeastFarmer]

I think ki will continue to have great ops and the impact will be minimal except on the busiest of days. Think about it...if you charge $15 for a one time pass, most people will only buy one.  Or, the day ticket holder will just buy the normal Fast Lane. Ki is heavily saturated with season pass holders, so they probably won't buy multiples. The people who may feel slighted are prestige and all season Fast Lane folks.  

I could see this being a mess at Cedar Point where you almost have to have a Fast Lane plus.