I am a hypocrite. I bought Fastlane.

A number of share holders lost money on Six Flags stock. I believe Disney has done all right. But I'd be surprised to hear how successful amusement parks have done during the recession. Its been a while since 30 to 40 coasters were built in a years time in the U.S.

Tekwardo said:

And then you bring up failed businesses. Theme parks are thriving.

You must have misunderstood something I said. I do not recall bringing up failed businesses.

I see everyone counterpoints, and respect them. I also agree that you could very well be correct.

RC Madness, they aren't building 30 or 40 coasters a year in the US anymore because doing so was, at times, the very definition of the second word in your username.

This post came up to me in an old FB memory so I went back and re-read what I wrote. My firt impression of myself was "Wow, I sound like a whiny, socialist douchebag." followed immediately by "I wonder if I can delete the whole entire thread since I'm the one who started it."

But since I apparently don't have the power to delete it, my next thought was to necropost it for all of you to see. We don't need to have the whole discussion again, but it's interesting to see how my opinion has changed. (Full disclosure, I make a lot more money now than I did 10 years ago.)

I've done a complete 180 on Fastlane and now am more of a won't bother visiting without it kind of person. In fact, I pay Disney AP money every year for Cedar Fair Platinum Fastlane because, TBH, I have no interest in visiting my home park, CP, without it.

Also, $50 each for Fastlane?!?!

Interesting read.

I am not against Fastlane, we simply choose not to use it. We visit Cedar Point enough times in a season to be able to ride everything, just not in one trip. And at my age, power riding is really no longer an option. The days of 25 rides in a day are long gone.

That being said, last year we took a Friday off to spend the day at Cedar Point. It was later in the year, late August, and we did not think the park would be busy, since school had started. Got to the park at opening and went to Valraven. 45 minutes later we looked at each other and said, we are not doing this. Not after spending a vacation day. The park was far busier than we expected. Got off Valraven and went straight to the gift shop and plunked down $250 for two wrist bands.

Was it worth it? OMG Yes. We had the most relaxing day we have had at the park in a long time. No rush to get to rides. No waiting 60 minutes for anything. Able to eat whenever we wanted to without thinking we were missing out on a ride. The only down side, and not really much of one, was when getting in line for Magnum (no wait, so through the regular line) a person behind us, after seeing someone come through the Fastline line, said "I don't like those people who cut the line". She then saw our wristbands and we were greeted with "Oh, you're one of them". Kind of funny really.

I would do it again. Just not often.

Had the same experience at Kings Island. Had a totally relaxing day not waiting for anything with a nice long break in the late afternoon heat. Got multiple rides on Orion and most importantly 4 rides on Mystic Timbers at night which would not have been possible without the wrist band.

Tommytheduck:

Full disclosure, I make a lot more money now than I did 10 years ago.)

Heh. Fastlane hates poor people?

I typically buy express passes when I go to Universal studios. I’m only there every 2/3 years, and I find the experience much more enjoyable with it.

but when I was young and poor I definitely would never have bought an express pass.

I would like to point out that in a decade my opinions haven't changed at all. If anything, I've gotten more cynical.

I've generally not paid for skip the line passes, with the exception of Disney. We usually open the park so lines are typically shorter. However, I am definitely considering it for our trip this summer. We will be at Kennywood midweek late in June, Hershey Park on a Thursday night / Friday that same week, SFGAdv on a Monday, and SFNE on July 4th. Does anyone have experience using their skip the line passes? Are they worth it?

Lord Gonchar:

If anything, I've gotten more cynical.

Tooshay...

We hadn't been to Disneyland in several years when we went in February. Yes, we spent a small fortune on single-day tickets, Genie+, and for Rise of the Resistance passes. But we got in 18 attractions in 15 hours, and had a very nice sit-down meal. I too was once party of the anti-line-cutting crowd. Don't tell Iger, but it was worth every penny.

By the way, if I had passes, I wouldn't use the service. But I also wouldn't expect to get in 18 attractions. I'd be happy with one or two and a show.

Now parking prices, on the other hand, ... 😉

I am at a stage in life where I have a lot more money than time (and tolerance for standing around). The calculus is pretty easy - if it's not somewhere I can go on a whim, the additional dollars is worth the extra rides and convenience. The only place I rope drop or close down anymore is Disney (where I also pay for the line cutting pass).

Lord Gonchar:

I would like to point out that in a decade my opinions haven't changed at all.

This sentence reminds me of a quote I'm very fond of when a well-known politician was asked if there was anything he hadn't changed his opinion on over his long career.

"When I first entered this parliament many years ago I formed the opinion that the honourable gentleman was an ass. I have not changed that opinion."

Not aimed at you of course, Gonch :)

I absolutely use/buy the fast passes at the big destination parks like Disney and Universal.

I didn’t at Cedar Point when I was there like 4-5 years ago though. But I was there 3 days in a row so could take my time.

As enthusiasts many of us are/were far more likely to "take full advantage" of these fastlane programs than the average person. Some of us may even assume the majority of buyers would do the same. I've bought them many times for different reasons. Examples: (1) My dad was recovering from knee surgery on two different occasions and couldn't handle waiting in long lines and absolutely refused to get a medical boarding pass. (2) My daughter took her friend Cameron a few times many years ago. They were close to the same age, but Kira was normally around 3" taller than Cammy, so we bought passes to get us through the lines of the larger rides that Cammy wasn't able to ride. (3) Only once did I feel like I "abused" it. May of 2014, Banshee, 23 laps. I'm still sore from it.

I think that WDW’s G+ is both too cheap and too expensive. It’s way too much of a hassle, creates added stress to use, and doesn’t seem to get results most want that’s why it’s too expensive. It’s too cheap because I would be willing to pay a far higher cost more frequently for even a one time per ride use at their parks. I’ve bought a VIP tour before, they are great but I do not need that pampering unless I’m touring with someone on a time crunch, however, if I arrived for vacation and found the park I was at a freaking zoo, I would be very tempted to purchase a 100-300 one time LL for every ride in a park.

Touchdown:

I would be very tempted to purchase a 100-300 one time LL for every ride in a park.

That's Universal pricing for that product; assume Disney would be higher.

On the subject, though, if I were In Charge, I'd move to the model that (I think) TDL and DLRP use. There is no "bulk" buy in the way G+ works. Instead, every expedited queue is pay-per-use.

Touchdown:

I would be very tempted to purchase a 100-300 one time LL for every ride in a park.

If Disney did this , they would still have to have a cap of some sort. People are willing to pay unlimited amounts of $$$$ for Disney.

Brian Noble:

That's Universal pricing for that product; assume Disney would be higher.

This already exists as the VIP tour program. I've done it once in Magic Kingdom, and it was worth it, if only once. It's variable, but I think a year ago we paid with another family a total of $4,275 for up to ten people (we had nine).

VIP is unlimited rides for 8 hours. I’m looking for a cheaper product that would be a one time use at one parks LL, no lottery needed. I would imagine it start at a couple hundred per person.