Sea World hops on the pay-to-cut bandwagon

Looks like one more joins the fray. $30. Gets you on each ride once (plus one ride a second time). Also includes priority access to most of the shows (but I don't know what that means). Also includes admission to one upcharge attraction.

Only mentions Orlando. Just a test through 9/1.

http://tinyurl.com/6pbbpx
*** Edited 8/23/2008 3:27:28 PM UTC by Brian Noble***

No much of a surprise since the Busch Gardens park has been doing it for a while now.

Only makes sense that it'd go to the SeaWorld parks too. Probably a sign that it's been getting a good reception. :)

I'm a little surprised at the pricing, myself---especially considering this is hurricane season. (Disney has to give away food to get people to come.)

We'll see what the real program eventually rolls out at.

My feelings on these things aside, it sounds overpriced. You get to jump to the front of each line once, and a second "jump" for one ride only? Sea World has two major rides and a few kiddie attractions. Doesn't sound like a great deal as it would be at Busch Gardens, which has a ton of rides.

^Which I guess is why the SW version includes one upcharge...note that including the shows in the SW version is a big plus as well, since their shwos can become QUITE full.

For $30 they might need to include a refillable drink cup to boost sales during the offseason...come next Spring, they'll have NO trouble finding more than enough people to take them up. If anything, Aquatica brings mroe people into SW, since the gates close on the waterpark seemingly about an hour after opening....and many people go over to SW until the 4pm re-opening.

I wonder what PETA will think of this...

Will the animals get their cut?!?!?!?!
Well, will they????
Hmmmmmm?
;)

^That was just close enough to a haiku to make me count syllables. ;)

I was at Busch gardens VA last month. At the end of the night, I stopped by Customer Relations to let them know that I would have got on a few more rides throughout the day if they didn't offer to let people cut in front of me.

It's really a shame that this has caught on. You might say that it's impossible for a business to be greedy, because making money is their reason for existing, but this is wrong. Cutting to the front of the line is wrong, no matter the circumstances.

It may be good for the company (profits). It may be good for the people who can afford it (or "choose" to afford it, whatever THAT means). It is not good for the people who do not or can not use it, and that is the majority.

I had about five different angles I could take, but none of them would be new, and I just don't have the energy anymore.

Is this discussion gonna happen AGAIN?

Lol. I just wanted to chime in. No need to have the discussion again. I feel very strongly against it so how could I not say a few words about it every time it comes up?

Head. Wall.

Commence banging. :)

It's going to happen each time this is news. Like some others, I've said all I have to say, but I certainly won't stop someone from saying something else.

What I don't get is why Sea World is going to do this for the few rides they have. I mean, at a park like Great Adventure, like it or not, the lines are so long that people who may not have a chance to do all the rides and can't get to the park frequently to hit everything really get a benefit from Flashpass. However, what's the point at Sea World? They have, what, two rides? Three? Just doesn't make sense to pay an extra 30 bucks for that.

I could see this being popular in December. Last time I was there was in 2004 and Kraken was an hour, Journey to Atlantis was 45 minutes. I didn't go on either as it was kind of cold out for Journey and I wasn't riding big coasters at that time so no Kraken.

The park was packed and you had to get to shows 90 minutes early or else you couldn't get in. For the Shamu show, people were lining up for close to 2 hours. Way too many people were allowed in the park if you need to get to a show that early to be sure you get in.

Depending on how popular this is, I'd hate to see what will happen to people not using this pay to cut service during that same time.

Why are the wait times so unbearably long at SFGAdv, Bunky? Could it be because there are so many people cutting?

Back to Sea World though...

The lines are long for the rides at Sea world simply because there are only a few of them. High demand for the rides and low supply...

I noticed at BGE that the lines did not seem that much longer because the line cutting system limits how may times you can cut. People who don't buy a cut will still wait longer and get a few less rides for their admission in the long run though. Another words, it's not THAT bad, but it's still bad.

(Wow. Except for the SFGAdv reply, this post was not about pay-to-cut in general!)

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LostKause said:
I was at Busch gardens VA last month. At the end of the night, I stopped by Customer Relations to let them know that I would have got on a few more rides throughout the day if they didn't offer to let people cut in front of me.

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Seriously? What was their response?

I guess we always go to Sea World at the right times. An hour for Kraken? Yikes! We've been there at least a half dozen times since Kraken was built and we never wait more than ten minutes.

^Assuming YoshiFan came during the Christmas/New Year's week. Other than that, December is generally an excellent time to visit...or fall ill with a case of "I've gotta go ride something".

Haven't come down with that in a while. It might soon be time.