What do you think of Fast Passes?

[DirkFunk]

I'm a relatively poor person and find amusement parks, or at least the closest one(s), one of the best entertainment values. It's true a poorer person might not do $60+25 but most parks have discount days, seasons passes, and one can car pool or even take the bus, but even at full price, almost anything else vacation-like costs more. It's very important that parks make a lot of their money on optional purchases rather than admissions, and this is the main justification for Fast Pass.

 

I don't know you or your finances. Heck, I don't even know where you live. For people living in Section 8 or city run housing or living in bad apartments and trailers, regular trips to amusement parks simply aren't an option. Assuming you live in VA (guess from your profile info), do you think people living in Richmond's Gilpin Court are equally represented percentage wise in KD or BGW's numbers as a similarly sized housing development as in Fredricksburg or Midlothian? Most theme parks aren't in urban areas and are difficult to reach by public transport intentionally. It isn't a coincidence that developers chose those sorts of locations from the 1950s through to the present day (new Elitch's exempted).

 

They do make sense for those making an expensive trip to a park. I didn't get one on my only major park trip in recent years because I couldn't really afford it, waiting would have put the trip into another year, which doesn't help.

 

And I'm lucky that I am in a position where I can spend what I do on trips, no doubt about it. But I recognize that there a whole lot of people who's current situation precludes them from doing what I do. I've been there. It sucks for the billions of people who live in abject poverty, but my purchase of a Q-Bot at Six Flags Great America isn't making a difference one way or the other about that.

[FaithPlus1]

I won't go to a larger park if i can't afford the Fast Pass. It's a nice option that we all have:)

If you can't afford a FP and you can't wait to go, don't bitch!! Again, it's an option that we all have:)

[Patrick B8men]

I would never use one. It has nothing to do with the cost either or the ethics of cutting in front of someone else. For me waiting in line is part of the fun of the ride, even more so if the track interacts with the queue line. Waiting in line gives you a chance to build up anticipation for the ride especially when I was younger and was nervous about going on the coaster. If it takes longer to ride all the rides I would just spread it out over two days.

[prozach626]

^ I see what you're saying. That being said, waiting in line can be miserable depending on who is close to you in line.

[Coaster Curt]

There is nothing fun about waiting in a line for half an hour or an hour, I am at the park to get in as many coaster rides I possibly can. Living in Minnesota with the exception of VF it is a decent distance to another good park, when I make the trip to another park like I am doing in May to KImand CP I will of course be buying the FL plus at Cedar and if there is even a hint of a crowd at akai we will be buying it there as well.

 

I do not and will not be buying a FL at VF because I know when to go to avoid any crowds. Normally when at VF and we see some people with FL bands on we have to chuckle because there really is no to,e you ever need to buy a FL at the park (with the exception of Haunt).

[Password121]

75% of the time at Six Flags America, those that buy at Flash pass wait longer than those that don't. I've only waited beyond a station wait with one train on one single occasion, and that was a Fright Fest Saturday night at Batwing with (drum roll....) one train.

Other than this, I find it humorous when I see people pay money to take an alternate entrance and scan their FP wristband to start at the station, which at SFA is the back of the line. I see it often at Superman and I have to wonder why anyone buys a FP at this park.

[Password121]

75% of the time at Six Flags America, those that buy at Flash pass wait longer than those that don't. I've only waited beyond a station wait with one train on one single occasion, and that was a Fright Fest Saturday night at Batwing with (drum roll....) one train.

Other than this, I find it humorous when I see people pay money to take an alternate entrance and scan their FP wristband to start at the station, which at SFA is the back of the line. I see it often at Superman and I have to wonder why anyone buys a FP at this park.

 

Edit: My general opinion is that I don't personally have a problem with them as long as they are distributed properly. It becomes a problem too many are sold as that diminishes the experience further for those that didn't buy it, as well as for those that did. Buying a Fast Pass/Flash Pass should decrease your wait time, not severely increase that of others. I bought a Fast Lane at Cedar Point once and found it very helpful to handle the long waits with only one day at the park, but I would never buy one for my home park. If you want to pay more to have a more enjoyable day, that's great. However, it shouldn't be a necessity to buy one to have an enjoyable day, which can happen at some of the larger parks (Great Adventure, SF Great America, Cedar Point, Canada's Wonderland, etc).

[cfc]

^I rarely buy them at my home park, BGW, unless I'm there with a group that wants to use them (and they can be handy on a Saturday for Howl-o-Scream).

[ajfelice]

One of my favorite economic quotes/theories is, "there is no such thing as a free lunch." Whenever someone purchases or acquires a form of a fast pass and they receive the advantage of riding more than someone who did not have a fast pass, so they are in fact diminishing the experience of the person who did not purchase the fast pass. It doesn't matter how you distribute fast passes, because in the end the people taking advantage of them are doing so at the disadvantage of the people who did not elect to use them.

 

For most major parks, the issue of whether or not fast passes are ethically right seems to have been answered by almost every major park or chain offering a form of fast passes. The new hotly debated subject nowadays seems to be the question, "By how much should those who did not purchase a fast pass be put at a disadvantage?" The answer to this depends on who you ask, and for me I just can't be thankful enough that my park of choice for my career is way too small to even fathom a form of fast passes.

[Ridewatchers]

One of my favorite economic quotes/theories is, "there is no such thing as a free lunch." Whenever someone purchases or acquires a form of a fast pass and they receive the advantage of riding more than someone who did not have a fast pass, so they are in fact diminishing the experience of the person who did not purchase the fast pass. It doesn't matter how you distribute fast passes, because in the end the people taking advantage of them are doing so at the disadvantage of the people who did not elect to use them.

 

For most major parks, the issue of whether or not fast passes are ethically right seems to have been answered by almost every major park or chain offering a form of fast passes. The new hotly debated subject nowadays seems to be the question, "By how much should those who did not purchase a fast pass be put at a disadvantage?" The answer to this depends on who you ask, and for me I just can't be thankful enough that my park of choice for my career is way too small to even fathom a form of fast passes.

 

As guests who like to ride as much as possible, our position is one of self-interestedness. The only reason to buy a FP is to save time, and if this increases the wait of the "stand-by public," that's no problem to us.

 

For those with money, a FP is generally the right option, especially during peak times. Using a FP during peak times (at least at our home park) can cut off 2 1/2 hours of waiting per ride. Additionally, not much research has to be done: just grab a park map and ask where to get the pass. If going to park X has been your family's dream for the last 6 months, and y'all are crazy about riding big-name coasters, FP's are a good investment.

 

But for those who don't have much money and have flexibility, trip planning is the best thing, and our wait-time data show how a well-planned trip can result in average waits that are less than the FP. But there's a different kind of cost: you'll have to come early, follow an itinerary, etc.

 

So it depends: are you willing to do some research beforehand, or do you have the resources to "buy down" the cost of research?

[Ridewatchers]

Be as knowledgeable as possible about the park you're about to visit and you'll be able to make the best choices possible money-wise. In this age of information, there really is no excuse other than laziness to not do that.

 

We agree. The cost of doing something is not just the dollars, but time, too!

 

Cost = Dollars + Time

 

Cost of Tatsu off-peak = $40 + 1 hour of research

Cost of Tatsu on-peak = $40 + 2 1/2 hours of waiting

Cost of Tatsu with flash pass = $40 to $110 + 1/3 hours of waiting

[WayCool64]

I know this might sound a bit hypocritical given that I've used FastLane at Kings Island and will be probably using FastPasses at Disneyland more often, but I really never understood the full concept of these passes. I can understand waiting for a certain time to get on the ride, but what if you're waiting during peak season and there's nothing else to do because every corner is packed? What if you had limited time visiting a park far away from home and wanted to ride all the rides? Maybe it's just coming from someone who likes to try and ride all the rides in one day. And like I said, I have become more open minded to them. Despite having to shell out more cash for them, I found the FastLane to be efficient and well worth on a busy day. And I've started to figure out ways I can use my time to wait for a certain time to get on an attraction.

[rctneil]

If a park provide a skip the line system for free to anyone (like Disney) then yes i'll use them along with everyone else.

 

If a park provides a paid skip the line system I normally will use it if I am visiting a park that i'll likely only visit once OR I am with friends and they are only likely to ever visit once.

 

Parks that offer a paid system that I visit regularly then I normally will not bother.

 

I think skip the line systems have their uses but it fully depends on the scenario of the person visiting.