Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[KDCOASTERFAN]

I just really hope all these people that are against quick queues, Q-bots, Fast Lanes, etc do quit going to parks that utilize them as a protest....then my wait times will be less with or without my "line cutting" pass!

 

And personally, I think these systems are outstanding. Any time I don't have to stand in line for long periods of time with annoying teenagers and GP makes my day that much better. And if there is a time I visit a park and don't purchase one of these passes (which is fairly often), I definitely don't get upset or even pay attention to those that do. It's a personal choice whether or not to purchase one. I don't quite understand why people waste their thoughts and energy on getting upset over these things. Do people that get upset having someone with a fast pass receive priority boarding also get upset if a handicapped rider boards before you? I've been asked to wait a train or 2 for these riders and it's never once bothered me.

 

With a disabled rider it's far different than with someone who "pays" to cut the line since the disabled rider has a valid reason for being permitted to use an alternate entrance to board an attraction....besides with a disabled rider there aren't streams of them all attempting to board at the same time so that analogy doesn't hold water.

[Solid Gold]

It's not like they are loading five full trains of people with Fast Passes without letting any people on that don't have them.

 

Unfortunately, this is what a ride op suggested to me at Carowinds today at Vortex, that as long as there are Fastlane guests waiting they will board first, regardless of anyone waiting in line. For us, that meant we were "next" 3 times before actually getting to ride. At other rides later in the day they were at least running it 1 Fastlane train, 1 normal train.

 

Still, it's not equal. Fastlane get their pick of seats on Intimidator and Carolina Cobra as they are let in first. Everyone else is assigned what's left in the middle. Lines ARE longer since by the time FL guests board a train from the entrance in the front of the station the second train has already stacked. Then we get the air gates opening for the 1 remaining row to be filled. Beyond that, they are not spread out throughout the ride- they have choice of seats- in other words, the line you see for the front is half of what you'll wait.

 

I don't mind these systems when there is control, but what I saw today was sorely lacking. It is the utmost stupidity to build staircases to load platforms and then hold up boarding anyway. There is no limit on riding, and users can get on every other train. After seeing the majority of rows fill with FL regularly, it's hard to believe there's a limit on the number sold.

 

I hope that Cedar Point does a better job of implementing it, cause what I saw today was horrible for operations...

 

Can everyone blustering their caption obvious business sense and otherwise misguided logic please read this?

 

I went to Carowinds as well yesterday and I could not have come away more disappointed with the FL system.If you look at the first picture on this page you will see the columns in front of Boo Blasters where I spent the last 30 minutes of my 1.5 hour wait for the ride. Once inside I saw the 15 person FL wait that had somewhere between 85-100% priority to board the ride at any given time, which made the normal line hilariously long.

 

On Intimidator I watched the same group of 12 kids pass the regular line 6 times while we were in line for the one ride we could get. When we passed under the brake run and I could look at the operations, it was clear that anyone waiting at FL got 100% priority into the station, with the general outcome being .75 Fastlane users, 1.25 Regular line for any two trains. I don't know what time length a full regular queue for Intimidator usually amounts to, but I'm pretty sure a near doubling of the line doesn't help matters.

 

Also watched the Front Row of Afterburn get taken 4 times consecutively by Fastlane (who have choice of any seat). I'm sure the tier 1 customers were happy about that and want to come spend their money at Carowinds again. Adding to that point, I heard complaints from other non-FL guests a few times directed towards employees.

 

I have no problem with Fastpass systems if they don't inconvenience matters (and I've used them before). I've never seen them inconvenience matters before yesterday. I do know for a fact that Carowinds' system is broken to hell. Notice that SFOG'S Gold pass costs DOUBLE the price of the Carowinds system. Notice that you can't find many more examples of unlimited front of the line access at theme parks.

 

If Cedar Fair ups the prices or falls in line with something like what other parks have settled with then it's all good but there are going to be plenty of horror stories until they do. Under the current system, when summer hits they have effectively doubled their prices to actually ride the rides.

Edited April 8, 2012 by Solid Gold

[KDCOASTERFAN]

^What needs to be done is to get rid of the system alltogether & run rides at full capacity when possible...waiting in line is a reality at amusement parks but the wait doesn't need to be ridiculously outragous so as to even have a need for such a system to begin with.

 

Perhaps the parks should go back to what worked for the early parks of the day & go to a pay per ride basis instead? that in itself would limit the number ofguests visiting the park to begin with & make the waits tolerable....it's only been 50 years or so since six flags introduced the concept of the pay one price,free rides all day to the amusement industry & back then the parks were so spread out across the nation compared to today so far fewer people actually visited on an annual basis.

[bottom_feeder_13]

The simple solution is to have a merge point, probably at the same spot that the normal line enters the loading platform, where the fast lane joins the normal line, if its this way then fast lane users get to skip the majority of the line without pissing everyone else off.

[YoshiFan]

I agree, with all but 1 coaster at Great Adventure (Skull Mountain), the other coasters that have Flashpass merge right at the station or right before the station which works really well since no one has priority for any seat and there are no cars/rows reserved for Flashpass.

[1pizza14]

I agree, with all but 1 coaster at Great Adventure (Skull Mountain), the other coasters that have Flashpass merge right at the station or right before the station which works really well since no one has priority for any seat and there are no cars/rows reserved for Flashpass.

 

I think that THIS is how the Fastlane should be handled. Instead of slowing down dispatches from guests entering using the exit of the attraction make a simple merge point. That way no one really gets that mad if a guest takes their seat because the lines would have already merged. I am hoping Cedar Point will have merge points instead of exit entrances

[TXman308]

I agree, with all but 1 coaster at Great Adventure (Skull Mountain), the other coasters that have Flashpass merge right at the station or right before the station which works really well since no one has priority for any seat and there are no cars/rows reserved for Flashpass.

 

I think that THIS is how the Fastlane should be handled. Instead of slowing down dispatches from guests entering using the exit of the attraction make a simple merge point. That way no one really gets that mad if a guest takes their seat because the lines would have already merged. I am hoping Cedar Point will have merge points instead of exit entrances

 

I would agree If they make sure the stations don't get flooded. I would be upset if I bought FL and then when I got to the station I had to wait an extra 30 min. (cough, Dragster, cough)

[netdvn]

besides with a disabled rider there aren't streams of them all attempting to board at the same time so that analogy doesn't hold water.

 

I've had that happen before on many non Fastpass rides. It's magnified on busy days. I'm pretty sure it's worse on major rides.

 

^What needs to be done is to get rid of the system alltogether & run rides at full capacity when possible...waiting in line is a reality at amusement parks but the wait doesn't need to be ridiculously outragous so as to even have a need for such a system to begin with.

 

Those outrageous waits will be there, passes or no passes. It's up to the park and the employees to handle how many guests come through the FP lines and how many times. Carowinds doesn't seem to be doing things right like other parks are. BGW reserves a specific row for fastpass guests to ride and the lines don't change. Merge points are another great idea.

[eltoro96]

It's about time! i can finally go to cp and not have to deal with ridiculous lines while I ride alone lol

[Geauga Dog]

If[/u] they make sure the stations don't get flooded. I would be upset if I bought FL and then when I got to the station I had to wait an extra 30 min. (cough, Dragster, cough)

 

Not to stir up any trouble but why would you be upset when you've pretty much passed up a 1.5 to 2 hour line? What if your wait was also due to the ride breaking down?

 

When I used a Gold Bot at Great Adventure in 2005 they let you in at the ride exit but instructed that I could sit anywhere except for the front. Batman at SFOG had the last two rows closed to Fast Lane riders last year (and I've read still do it this year).

 

When Kings Island was under Paramount they had the special double ride days for Gold Pass members on certain rides but was limited to only certain seats or cars on a train and was clearly marked in the station. If this is going to be a problem, as stated in the report at Carowinds, then only certain seats/cars should be set aside for Fast Lane and properly marked so the GP knows what's going on.

[Intimidator305]

Kings Dominion surprisingly ran the Fast Lane very well this opening weekend, so hopefully Cedar Point will do just as good of a job. Although I've heard of complaints of how it is being ran down at Carowinds as it is wasting a lot of time and hurting capacity...

 

I will definitely be getting Fast Lane at CP when I go up there the second week of June this season!

[TXman308]

Not to stir up any trouble but why would you be upset when you've pretty much passed up a 1.5 to 2 hour line? What if your wait was also due to the ride breaking down?

 

You're completely right, I was just referring to the last time that I went when Dragster's wait was 45 min. and two thirds of that was spent inside the station. This comes back to the point of if you buy FL on a crowded or light day, but I think they should put you right in a un-congested station for both.

[coasterlover420]

I just really hope all these people that are against quick queues, Q-bots, Fast Lanes, etc do quit going to parks that utilize them as a protest....then my wait times will be less with or without my "line cutting" pass!

 

And personally, I think these systems are outstanding. Any time I don't have to stand in line for long periods of time with annoying teenagers and GP makes my day that much better. And if there is a time I visit a park and don't purchase one of these passes (which is fairly often), I definitely don't get upset or even pay attention to those that do. It's a personal choice whether or not to purchase one. I don't quite understand why people waste their thoughts and energy on getting upset over these things. Do people that get upset having someone with a fast pass receive priority boarding also get upset if a handicapped rider boards before you? I've been asked to wait a train or 2 for these riders and it's never once bothered me.

 

With a disabled rider it's far different than with someone who "pays" to cut the line since the disabled rider has a valid reason for being permitted to use an alternate entrance to board an attraction....besides with a disabled rider there aren't streams of them all attempting to board at the same time so that analogy doesn't hold water.

Also with special access passes, they actually have to wait the same amount of time the line would be, they just don't have to wait IN the line. Another thing is that if a ride does get flooded with special access passes all at once, we're not even allowed to use the same seats twice in a row, so the front won't get hogged or something like that. I doubt FL will be used in that manner, since there are several ways to get to the station that aren't the exit (on most of the FL rides, at least).

 

^As I mentioned earlier, flooding of the station has nothing to do with park policy or guidelines, it is simply the choice of the ride ops at the time, and like I said at Dragster or Millennium, the crowd position is the position that starts rotation every half hour, so the station will get flooded nonetheless. Waiting in a station is not a bad thing, just get used to it.

[Nozzy]

^In the past it may have been up to the ops, but think about it- the crowd person limiting the number of people into the station is also probably the person who would check Fastlane wristbands (assuming a pre-station merge point). It might be fine for stations to get flooded, but there's no way that there won't be anyone checking wristbands, and so that position being temporarily empty to allow for rotations can't happen then (sorry if I misunderstand what you're saying about rotation). In order to keep Fastlane users happy it would make sense not to flood stations.

 

Station waits generally aren't a big deal, but if the platform is huge and lacks sizable corrals (a la Dragster) it can be rather annoying, especially for groups trying to ride together, and Fastlane users don't deserve a 30 minute station wait.

[orangeblue]

I actually agree with the FL queue having 100% priority over the regular queue. If I have a FL ticket that's advertised as eliminating the wait to get on a ride, I don't want to have to wait in a FL line, even if it's shorter than the regular line. Waiting in the station is fine with me since I get the added benefit of choosing my row (versus having a predefined car).

 

The parks appear to be overselling their FL tickets right now, which is the main cause for delay with the regular lines. I've used the QuickQueue option a few times at Busch Gardens Tampa, and although they appear to be giving the QQ line 100% priority, due to the limited number of QQ passes available, this doesn't seem to significantly alter the regular line, or bring it to a complete stop as others have mentioned. The worst case would be Cheetah Hunt, where I would estimate about 1/3 of the people entering the station used QQ. With all of the other rides, QQ people came so sporadically that it could hardly affect the normal line.

 

As for different implementations, merging at the station appears to be the best option. Roping off individual rows and having people use the exit, almost doubles the dispatch time in my experience (this was on Gwazi, which as some of you may know, doesn't exactly have fast dispatch times to begin with). Also, as I mentioned earlier, this gives you the chance to choose your row, while also giving all guests equal access to all rows.

[XYZ]

I think that if there is exit entry for Fast Lane users, they should do what Six Flags does with the Flash Pass, is to load FP holders in every other dispatch.

[cal1br3tto]

I don't like seeing anyone restricted from any seat (not just front or back), especially not people who paid extra to maximize their experience at a park. Station waits are a good compromise since you can choose even the most desirable seats without ruining grouping for others. They can still be lengthy (the main reason I love exit path or similar ultra-quick access), but at least they save time compared to the main queue.

 

Hopefully the Cedar Point system works out well. It sounds like it should!

[paiging_jen]

I just really hope all these people that are against quick queues, Q-bots, Fast Lanes, etc do quit going to parks that utilize them as a protest....then my wait times will be less with or without my "line cutting" pass!

 

And personally, I think these systems are outstanding. Any time I don't have to stand in line for long periods of time with annoying teenagers and GP makes my day that much better. And if there is a time I visit a park and don't purchase one of these passes (which is fairly often), I definitely don't get upset or even pay attention to those that do. It's a personal choice whether or not to purchase one. I don't quite understand why people waste their thoughts and energy on getting upset over these things. Do people that get upset having someone with a fast pass receive priority boarding also get upset if a handicapped rider boards before you? I've been asked to wait a train or 2 for these riders and it's never once bothered me.

 

With a disabled rider it's far different than with someone who "pays" to cut the line since the disabled rider has a valid reason for being permitted to use an alternate entrance to board an attraction....besides with a disabled rider there aren't streams of them all attempting to board at the same time so that analogy doesn't hold water.

 

It was tongue in cheek. I realize there aren't streams of disabled riders taking your seat. I'll just never understand the anger and disdain for those who purchase these type of passes. Moral of the story, save your quarters and use the system yourself. You'll be a believer!

[KDCOASTERFAN]

I think that if there is exit entry for Fast Lane users, they should do what Six Flags does with the Flash Pass, is to load FP holders in every other dispatch.

 

That idea may look fine on paper but in practice it doesn't work any better as I saw in 07 on ROS because eventually one too many people begin showing up at the ride all at once & the ops can't simply limit FL/FP riders to one group every other train & resort to loading an entire train at once,or being instructed by supervisors/managment to do so.

 

The key to making it work fairly & smoothly is to severely limit the number of passes sold per day & if it cannot be done thenthe system should be abandoned in favor of what has always worked since the first themeparks opened for business in the 60's & 70's.....which is to make every guest wait in the same line with preference being given to disabled guests of course as that had woked just fine up until 2001 when SFI first invented this idea as a means of making a quick buck.

[99er]

The key to making it work fairly & smoothly is to severely limit the number of passes sold per day

Which is what Cedar Point is going to do. As to how much we don't know, thus the reason it is stupid for anyone to state on here that this is already a failure.

[David H]

You know what I find absolutely hilarious?

 

People complaining that it's not fair if other people get to ride more roller coasters than they do because those people have more money.

 

I mean, seriously? You're complaining about classism in a LUXURY hobby like this one? There is absolutely nothing fair about this hobby. And there never has been.

 

The vast, vast majority of people in the world will NEVER attend any amusement park. And some of you are complaining because some people might get a few more rides than you?

 

I'd love to see you find some poor, starving, sick kid and ask him to get upset that an amusement park is actually letting some people pay to get more rides than you do.

 

Many people in the world don't have food to eat. Or homes. Or jobs. Or medical care. That's capitalism for you. The same capitalism that allows big companies to spend tens of millions of dollars to build roller coasters, while people go to bed hungry.

 

And it's the same capitalism that allows YOU to visit amusement parks in the first place and enjoy this hobby.

 

It's great when YOU are getting the benefits of that capitalism. But it sucks when someone else does, and you don't.

 

Welcome to the world.

[netdvn]

The key to making it work fairly & smoothly is to severely limit the number of passes sold per day

 

Most parks do that. I'm pretty sure SF is the only one that doesn't place limits on how many can be sold, but it was stated earlier in the thread that their FP prices are pretty steep to begin with anyway.

[ginzo]

^Six Flags parks do sell out of Q-Bots. That's why you can reserve them online in advance if you plan on visiting on a busy day.

[bgroodog]

I actually agree with the FL queue having 100% priority over the regular queue. If I have a FL ticket that's advertised as eliminating the wait to get on a ride, I don't want to have to wait in a FL line, even if it's shorter than the regular line. Waiting in the station is fine with me since I get the added benefit of choosing my row (versus having a predefined car).

It is being advertised as a LIMITED WAIT not a total elimination of wait. You will have to wait, but only a SMALL fraction when compared to the normal line. I can ensure you that CP is making every effort to implement this system correctly and more efficiently than any other park in the company using what information is available company and industry wide.

[Philrad71]

Personally, I'm hoping that we're closing in on a "next one to bitch about FL in this thread gets a 24 hour ban" from the mods similar to the Waldameer thread about the wristbands for games, food, etc (which I believe only went about two or three pages).

 

It's interesting how people go to great lengths to download photos and do nice trip reports, yet most are lucky to get but a few comments for their work. But if there is anything that people can complain about (Fast Lanes, Q-bots, lockers, colors of coasters, trains, etc, etc...) it can lead to 10+ pages of confrontation and argument.

 

While it's one thing for someone to say, "I like it" or "I don't like it" and move on, some people just seem to want to constantly rant & confront people to get in their last word.

 

Sounds almost like Congress or Rush Limbaugh doesn't it???

Edited April 9, 2012 by Philrad71