Best and Worst season pass processing procedure

I recently purchased and process my fifth season pass of the 2002 season, and had what was undoubtedly my worst pass processing experience. It got me thinking about how the different parks process passes. What was your best and/or worst processing experience and why?

My worst process involved waiting about 30 minutes to purchase my pass certificate at the one open windows (about 10-20 minutes after I went throught they did open a second). After finally getting the certificate, I had to join a few hundred other people in the processing line out side of the park. This was over and hour and a half wait since they only had three cameras. Regretably, the certificate was not valid until processed, so I couldn't enter the park to kill time until the line died down some.

The best procedure I found (apart preseason purchase/process) was where I could purchase the certificate at a normal ticket booth. The certificate contained a first day admission ticket- basically I was allowed into the park, and sometime before I left that day I had to get my picture taken at a processing center that had about 10 cameras. Although the processing center still got backuped up some, at least guests could go enjoy the park and come backup later when they needed a break.

Worst: Trying to get my pass at Six Flags Belgium. Bought the pass, got a voucher and a coupon to fill out... then send by the mail to the park, with my own personal, small picture. I filled out the coupon, sended it from France (was working at DLP), then never heard of it again... Oh well, I still had the voucher to enter the park. After telling this to a friend, my friend instead sended his coupon to another SF park in France, Walibi Smurf. He got last year plastic card for his pass! SF Belgium was still called Walibi Wavre on his pass... Oh well, at least he got it a week after sending it.

SFMW's is great, you get called in to one of I am pretty shure, 8 camras were they take your voucher, then snap your picture. You then go to another room were you wait about 30 seconds and your pass is printed and you get your coupon, done in about a minute once inside, and it was HUGE line!

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X-Flight World's Only flying coaster!
Batwing World's only flying coaster!
S:UF World's only flying coaster! Don't you love SF ?

Ive only got two season passes:Cedar Point and Six Flags.

Six Flags:Worlds of Adventure was a great experience. Opening day and they had eight cameras going and quick, friendly staff. twenty minutes total in line.

Cedar Point on the other hand was a nightmare. I only saw two cameras working. When I got there at one o'clock, the wait was five hours. I went out to actually validate my pass at seven o'clock, and it still took a little over an hour. I am very glad I can send my pass in next season.

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Hey man. Wanna buy some weed? Crack? Freepass on Millennium Force? I got the hook up...

SFGAm was very quick on May 4th. I waited probably 15 minutes, even when the printer broke down. Once they got it up again, the line went quick, I stood in front of the camera, and went to pick up my pass. It went so fast, my sister and bro-in-law went on the train, and I had enough time left over to go on 2 flat rides before it came back.

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When did American Eagle get more airtime than Viper?

I went to SFGAM before the season to process our families season pass and everything went very smooth. They had alot of people working and did a great job!!

Michigan's Adventure is good because nobody is there! CP was a nightmare on opening day, 3 hours??????!!!!??? They need more than two cameras for the freaking biggest park on earth.

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"This feels like walking into pins and needles. Nice to Know You.
Goodbye."-Incubus

I liked BGW pass processing last year. I went right through the regular ticketing booths, bought the passes, was asked a few questions, had my picture taken, they stuck a pass in a machine, and voila, my pass was handed to me with my picture on it, still nice and warm. I think I waited five minutes in line, and for the three of us the passes took about ten to fifteen minutes total, and we still got in the park before ten o'clock. I thought that was pretty efficient. Of course we never do this opening day so I don't know how efficient they are at that time. I'm going to try doing it online next year to save even more time.

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Enjoy yourself. These are the good old days you're going to miss in the years ahead.

There was no line for me because I got my SFNE Pass proccessed at the end of the day. The picture is awful though. The camera wasn't centered so I am all the way over to the left on the pass instead of centered like it is suppossed to be.

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TOP 5
1. Alpengeist, 2. Magnum XL-200, 3. Superman: Ride of Steel (SFNE), 4. Volcano: The Blast Coaster, 5. Apollo's Chariot
Close Calls 1. Grizzly (PKD), 2. Batwing, 3. Montu

season pass processing is the one thing six flags does right

Holiday World is horrible. ONE camera, ONE printer working on the first day. But Holiday World kicks so much butt, I didn't mind at all. PKI used to have a really good system, but is sort of a hassle now when 500 people are standing up at the booth to pick up their pass and they just stand around because they don't know what camera they had their picture taken at. In fact, PKI is rediculous for season pass processing. At least Holiday World was just having technical difficulties. Six Flags season pass processing was good, pretty fast and the person that took your picture gave you your pass right then. CP has problems too.

Eric

*** This post was edited by eric.walton on 5/12/2002. ***

I have to say that I was pritty happy with my season pass processing at Six Flags Great Adventure. I believe they had over 20 cameras open! After waiting in line for a bit, filling out your form, you are assigned a camera. You then walk out of the fairly large season pass building and wait until they call your name. The whole process took no more than a half hour. I was amazed how they staffed over 20 cameras and kept most of their rides open that great day.

I went waaaaay back in December to get my Texas Gold Passport for SFoT processed. They gave me a special discount and there was no one in line. I simply entered the park with my season pass from last year. Then walked up to the guest relations and bought my pass. They told me I could go ahead and get it processed now since there was no one waiting. I walked aroung to the processing area and saw that it was empty. I went in and saw a lady at one of the ten or so cameras. She looked like she was about to fall asleep it was so slow. I went up to her and she had me out of there with my pass in hand in about 5 minutes. I went to the SFoT's opening weekend in March and the season pass processing line was backed all the way up to the front entrance. Probably a 2 hour wait.

God I'm glad I went in December.

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TITAN RULES!

SFNE for me had a terrible time. It took 2 hours of waiting in line, and at the location I went to, the people moved like snails. Fortunately, the next visit, I was with a friend who needed processing. Took him 30 seconds to buy the voucher and we got in a midly-long line 10 minutes before the park opened and waited max. 15 minutes. The people at this location were friendly and moved quickly. The 'bad' processing center I'm speaking of is the one in Crackaxle Canyon by the way.

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Make it to SFNE for S:Ros and BDK!!!!

Anyone here got annual passes for UO/IOA? I'm thinking of getting passes for me & my hubby and was wondering how their processing procedures are.

SFGAm has pre-processing days. We took the family (4 of us) on a Saturday in April and from the time we parked until we returned to our car was less than 15 minutes. In fact, it took us longer to walk to and from the car than to get the passes processed.

My wife and I got our Cedar Fair passes at WoF. We had a great experience there because they let us buy our passes and process them after the park was closed. We got to the park Friday night 4/26 about 8:30 and noticed the rides going. So we went to the park and found out it was a company sponsored night but, because of light employee turnout, they were allowing anyone in who showed up at the gate. So, we paid $15 each to get in (the company had picked up the rest) and we rode until closing at 11pm. Then, on our way out, they let us buy our passes (crediting the $15 toward each of our passes) and then took our pictures. By now it was almost 11:30 and they even had to turn the equipment back on to process our passes.

I have to say that the personnel at WoF our OUTSTANDING. And the park is great, too. We are already planning on making WoF a regular trip. And for those old enough, Kansas City has some great casinos.

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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

I just had my season pass processed at PKI this past week. If there is a better system, I'd love to see it. It was incredibly busy the day I went, and I was still finished (SP in hand) in UNDER 5 minutes. I wish the DMV could come in and hire these people.

Jim Moreland

I'm still laughing over the employees who worked SFWoA's season pass office during the 2000 season. I couldn't believe how horrible the job was they did on my friend's photo. The picture showed him from the waist up and he was still wearing his hat and sunglasses. I think we got a total of four other people into the park using that pass.

Hopefully they have cleaned up their act since then.

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James Draeger
http://draegs.livejournal.com
"Legend is a wooden Jesus"

US/IOA are fine because that dont have an opening day to deal with Ive never seen long lines for them. You just buy the voucher at the ticket window and process it before you leave the park that day.

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Joey Ciborek, Florida Coaster Club, Member
"WE RIDE ALL YEAR!!!" www.FloridaCoasterClub.com
"all the sea around the KRAKEN darkened"

My worst experience was this year's opening day at SFOG. Got to the park an hour early so I could get my pass processed. (From what I've been told, they open early to process passes on this day). After waiting an hour in the line that never moved (only 12 people in front of me), someone finally came out and told us that the computers were down and there would be no passes processed on that day. They then went back and forth on how to get those of us waiting in, and decided to send us to the main gate and to have them tear off part of the voucher to act as our pass. Couldn't believe that the passes couldn't be processed opening day! But then you know those computers....always breaking down at the worst possible time!