What do you think of the fastpass
has anyone heard of this new thing that many parks, including Six Flags an Disney are implementing called fastpasses. They are free passes that can be picked up in the park, and they allow the holder to directly board a coaster/ride without waiting in line within a certain time frame. (Usually 30 min to an hour) If anyone has heard about these, what do you think of them?
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Red Wings Suck!!!
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Red Wings Suck!!!
Last week when I was at SFGAdv, the FastLane passes were still free. Regardless of who's park it is, if FastLane or FastPass is free, it's great because you KNOW that you'll get to ride SOMETHING good at least once even if the park is filled to capacity...it's like a ride-guarantee. BUT... any multi-million dollar park that makes you pay for this option should be ashamed of themselves!!! Once you pay for your admission ticket into the park, there should be a level playing field for ALL...rich and poor alike. It just seems like another way for big parks to make EVEN MORE money, and the average person/family who had to save-up to get themselves and their kids into the park loses out to the wealthier patrons and that's NOT what an amusement park should be about!!!!! It REALLY annoys me, to say it nicely.
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Life is a Great Adventure!!
Just returned from Disney and found the system there to be very useful. We would get a fast pass for one ride and ride on another near by. Once off the first ride we could walk onto the other right away with the fast pass. But I would not pay for it. It should be done to control crowds and time waits in a line/ride, not to reap in a million more dollars a year.
went to Disney last year and found fastpass to be a pain in the arse. At that time you could only have one fastpass at a time and the computers wouldn't allow you to get another. Almost every ride had a fastpass station to it. So it became wait in line here for an hour rather than there. Also it made me plan my day. When i go to an amusement park I just kind of like to walk around and then pick something. Now I had to strategize. "If I pick up a fastpass to this ride we can then circle around this way to get back here by the time on my ticket" Another bug they had was that the disney passes had a 1 hour time on them. I was unable to get another pass until that one hour was done. So if my pass says I can ride between 2 and 3, and I get on the ride at 2, I have to wait until 3 until I can get another. It is a good idea so you don't have to wait in line but my main problem is that you can only get one at a time. There is a standby line for most of the rides and I found that most of the times i skipped the fastpass and just waited the 1/2 hour in the standby line.
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Top 5 coasters:
1. The Beast 2. Millenium Force 3. The Incredible Hulk 4. Superman: ROS (SFNE) 5. Alpengeist
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Top 5 coasters:
1. The Beast 2. Millenium Force 3. The Incredible Hulk 4. Superman: ROS (SFNE) 5. Alpengeist
I've used it very successfully at SFGAdv. Nitro line was out to the end of the queue and I rode it twice in the span of about 2 minutes using Fast Passes. Obviously, you don't get to pick your row, but SITTING in Nitro's 6th row is better than STANDING in line for the front. I wouldn't pay for them though, that's just ludicrous.
I would only use fastpass for two reasons.The first is when my husband and i bring the boys to the park with us.If one of us needs a coaster riding fix,we will get fastpass so neither of us have to handle the boys to long by ourselves.The other,if i am on a limited amount of time to spend at the park i will use fastpass.Other then that,lines don't bother me as long as i have someone with me to talk to while i'm waiting.
I definately would not pay for it if it wasn't free at Sfgadv.I agree with Sgonda,it is totally ridiculous for SF to make people pay and,it is very unfair to the people who can't afford the extra cash after paying so much to get in the park in the first place!
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~*Rickyswmn*~
I definately would not pay for it if it wasn't free at Sfgadv.I agree with Sgonda,it is totally ridiculous for SF to make people pay and,it is very unfair to the people who can't afford the extra cash after paying so much to get in the park in the first place!
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~*Rickyswmn*~
The way Disney does fast pass is the way to go. The rides there that have it are modified to accomidate it instead of just walking up the exit ramp, therefore the impact on the regular line seems to be minimal. They also provide it free to all guests, which makes the system fair. I also think SFoG's system works well, or at least it seemed to when I was there. I see where they can justify charging for the service due to the technology and investment involved with it. (Isn't it also supposed to double as a group locater?)
However, are we really all that surprised that a park chain that will charge $6+ for a hotdog, fries, and drink will charge for fast pass? I personally think these parks need to solve capacity issues before implementing systems like this. Where fast pass may help capacity on a ride that is being run efficiently, it seems just to create more problems for rides that aren't running at capacity.
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Syntax Error
New, but not necessarily improved.
However, are we really all that surprised that a park chain that will charge $6+ for a hotdog, fries, and drink will charge for fast pass? I personally think these parks need to solve capacity issues before implementing systems like this. Where fast pass may help capacity on a ride that is being run efficiently, it seems just to create more problems for rides that aren't running at capacity.
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Syntax Error
New, but not necessarily improved.
BMuskie, if you don't want to plan your day, don't use the fast pass option. No one requires you to do so.
Sgonda, multi-million dollar companies are businesses, they want to make money. It's why they're in business. Enough people refuse to pay for fastpasses, and trust me, they'll disappear fast enough.
Rickyswmn -- your concern for those poor wretches who scrimped and saved and ate macaroni and cheese for a month to afford a visit to a theme park is touching (end sarcasm)-- if they can't afford the extra cash for fast passes, then they don't have to buy them. I just wonder, if a family's money is so tight, why are they at an amusement park anyway?
Djansi, a theme park creates a class system just by opening its gates: those who can afford to go in are allowed; those who cannot, no matter how badly they may want to ride the rides, cannot. Interesting that the one class system, the one that places you within the park, is OK, but another-- the one that places people in line ahead of you-- is not.
Sgonda, multi-million dollar companies are businesses, they want to make money. It's why they're in business. Enough people refuse to pay for fastpasses, and trust me, they'll disappear fast enough.
Rickyswmn -- your concern for those poor wretches who scrimped and saved and ate macaroni and cheese for a month to afford a visit to a theme park is touching (end sarcasm)-- if they can't afford the extra cash for fast passes, then they don't have to buy them. I just wonder, if a family's money is so tight, why are they at an amusement park anyway?
Djansi, a theme park creates a class system just by opening its gates: those who can afford to go in are allowed; those who cannot, no matter how badly they may want to ride the rides, cannot. Interesting that the one class system, the one that places you within the park, is OK, but another-- the one that places people in line ahead of you-- is not.
slithernoggin said:
Rickyswmn -- your concern for those poor wretches who scrimped and saved and ate macaroni and cheese for a month to afford a visit to a theme park is touching (end sarcasm)-- if they can't afford the extra cash for fast passes, then they don't have to buy them. I just wonder, if a family's money is so tight, why are they at an amusement park anyway?
Ouch!I am guessing you weren't born to a single parent or a dysfunctional family?Alot of people with children will do whatever it takes to please their kids.Single parents in particular will kill themselves by working 70 hour work weeks so they have extra cash to do nice things for their kids.Why should they be denied the same privledges as the people who are well off? It isn't always their fault they are in the situations they are in.
I have no remorse for people who take advantage of the system but,for those who work their rear ends off to make ends meet and try and give their kids a day of fun,yeah,i have sympathy and respect for them.Life doesn't deal everyone a fair hand.I could give so many examples of people i have sympathy for but,i am an extremely compassionate person so,you may not see my examples as pliable ones.
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~*Rickyswmn*~
Rickyswmn -- your concern for those poor wretches who scrimped and saved and ate macaroni and cheese for a month to afford a visit to a theme park is touching (end sarcasm)-- if they can't afford the extra cash for fast passes, then they don't have to buy them. I just wonder, if a family's money is so tight, why are they at an amusement park anyway?
Ouch!I am guessing you weren't born to a single parent or a dysfunctional family?Alot of people with children will do whatever it takes to please their kids.Single parents in particular will kill themselves by working 70 hour work weeks so they have extra cash to do nice things for their kids.Why should they be denied the same privledges as the people who are well off? It isn't always their fault they are in the situations they are in.
I have no remorse for people who take advantage of the system but,for those who work their rear ends off to make ends meet and try and give their kids a day of fun,yeah,i have sympathy and respect for them.Life doesn't deal everyone a fair hand.I could give so many examples of people i have sympathy for but,i am an extremely compassionate person so,you may not see my examples as pliable ones.
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~*Rickyswmn*~
How would people feel on Millennium Force if they had a fastlane? When I took my Cedar Point trip 1 day I had to wait 3 hours for 1 ride and the other 4 days usual 2 hour wait. I personaly dont think its fare for those of you waiting for 2 hours for a 1 time ride and for those with a fastlane get to ride first I think it would draw a lot of heat towards the park would anyone else agree?
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Rickyswmn said:
Ouch!I am guessing you weren't born to a single parent or a dysfunctional family?Alot of people with children will do whatever it takes to please their kids.Single parents in particular will kill themselves by working 70 hour work weeks so they have extra cash to do nice things for their kids.Why should they be denied the same privledges as the people who are well off? It isn't always their fault they are in the situations they are in.
Wrong guess.
Single parents who work 70 hours a week to have extra cash to do nice things for the kids... interesting that you equate money with nice things. Single parents who work nearly the equivalent of 2 full time jobs are depriving their children of their only parent for far too long. A week at Disney World, a day at Six Flags is no replacement for spending time with children at home each night.
I'm not criticizing those who work hard, or those who do some extra work to afford a day at an amusement park. Not at all. But I think it is legitimate to question the priorities of a parent who is at an amusement park, if buying a fast pass is going to make or break the outing. If money is THAT tight, stay home, take the kids camping, or to the lake. From my personal experience, outings with family to camp in my aunt's back 40, or visits to the South Haven beach, are far more treasured than our visits to Cedar Point or other parks. Again, you seem to be making the equation that money = quality. In the case of the fast pass, money equals convenience and no more. Not every one can afford a fast pass, not everyone wants a fast pass. Not everyone can afford to take their family to a theme park, not everyone wants to.
I just have trouble understanding how people who will spend $40 a head to get into a park, $5-10 to park, $2-3 for each soda bought, $10-20 a head buying food, and $??? buying tacky souvenirs that cost cents to buy, without a thought to the less fortunate who cannot afford to even visit a theme park, suddenly think it's so outrageously unfair to the less fortunate who can barely afford a visit when a park wants to offer a convenient service, for a fee.
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