[mess98]

Wait... this seriously became a "class issue"? I'm sorry, but if I can get a "one up" on someone by paying extra money... I have no problem.

Do people at a Leafs or Blue Jays game who spend $12 deserve to sit in the same area where the people spend $120+ a ticket?

Nope.

Come on now, this is North America... not Soviet Russia. Money talks here.

[sheldonmans14]

Wonderland isn't the government, it's a business. They want to make the most amount of money possible. A fast pass does not create a class system, it is just a way for the park to get more money and you get a little perk.

Anyways, I think they should implement this next season on some of the busier rides. One it will reduce costs of creating a new line and two it will be like a testing phase for the park. If it succeeds, than each season expand to more rides.

Also what system should it be? Should it be like Disney (first come first serve at each ride) or like Universal (buy it at the front gate).

[coasterboy]

Rollin'n'coastin hit the nail on the head for my opinion. When I'm traveling to parks, I often have only one day there to experience as much as I can. At a Six Flags park there can be 12-15 credits to get, and I can't wait a long time for each one. The Fast-pass concept is key to me even going there, as I would not attempt a big park in the summer without a line cutting option.

For Wonderland, I doubt I would ever use it. As a local and pass holder, I get to hit up the park for short visits more frequently, taking advantage of slower days. You won't find me there on a weekend day in July or August, unless I'm arriving after 8pm at night.

I think what we'll see next year at Wonderland is a simple system like the Quick Queue program at the Busch Parks. A simple card or lanyard that has a list of available rides. As you ride they cross them off the list, so you get one ride with no wait on each ride on the list. Easy to manage for the park, a great service to provide out of town guests, and a way to increase revenue. I say go for it.

I guess Bellicoaster won't be attending any CWMania or Ace events, because as enthusiast groups we pay for incredible special perks like ERT and backstage access that the GP never get. Talk about a class system!

[TimgHill]

The fast pass system is amazing for visitors. When I went to SFGAdv, we essentially walked onto every ride. We would have about a 10 minute wait, but by the time we got there (we never got maps so we got lost) we could just walk on. It was a brutally hot day in mid July, probably about 40 degrees plus humidity. We got on everything multiple times by I think around 2pm, it was great. It probably saved us about 2 hours of waiting on superman ultimate flight alone (I think we went on 3 times). It is a great way for CF to make more money of of CW, which means they can expand more/get rid of debt more. It might raise wait times by at most 5-10%. That's not even that much on the busiest days. Just my two cents.

[cheese]

I'm sick to death of systems that reward those with more expendable cash. Keep it out of Wonderland , please!

Your entire point is irrelevant because being able to visit Wonderland (or any park) in the first place is engaging in an activity that is essentially a reward for having enough "expendable cash".

[Cadieness]

I think what we'll see next year at Wonderland is a simple system like the Quick Queue program at the Busch Parks. A simple card or lanyard that has a list of available rides. As you ride they cross them off the list, so you get one ride with no wait on each ride on the list. Easy to manage for the park, a great service to provide out of town guests, and a way to increase revenue. I say go for it.

The only problem with this system is having the man power, and the workers willing to actually comply with such a system. As it stands now, the ops are supposed to check handstamps, and wristbands on seasons pass early mornings. Do they? Barely. Having one person who stands at the front of a fast pass line and crosses off that ride is a useless position for wonderland to attempt to create and fill, imo.

[kunpc1]

I'm sure they'll just have you go up the exit at this point (since there's no dedicated lines in place at this time). There's always employees on the platforms so they'll be the ones to quickly cross off the ride on your "ticket". This is how it's done on a lot of the rides at Busch Gardens and works very well.

No new positions needed to be staffed.

[bratman]

I guess Bellicoaster won't be attending any CWMania or Ace events, because as enthusiast groups we pay for incredible special perks like ERT and backstage access that the GP never get. Talk about a class system!

While I will say the whole "class system" thing is a bit "out there" for me, I will say that when I go to an ACE event, the special priveleges, tours, and ERT that I pay for do not usually interfere with other guests' enjoyment of the park(the exception to this would be our day at Schlitterbahn this past June during Coaster Con -- we actually had some ERT mid-day there, for which they closed the ERT attractions to the GP). The perks that i pay for either happen behind the scenes or when the park is closed. I am not making someone wait longer in line while I do these things... which is my issue with the Fast Passes.

Now, I have used the Fast Passes at Six Flags before a couple of times. One time was at an ACE event in New England, where they gave us a great deal on them, so I figured I would try it out; the other time was at the New Jersey park when I went there with some credit whoring friends who were concerned about the lines that never happened.

So, I did get to experience the plusses of having a pass. In New England, I was able to wait in air conditioned comfort (or go on a non pass ride) while I waited for my scheduled ride. However, I have also been on the other side of the queue : where I am in a line that seems to never move because people with passes are being let in continuously in front of me. What looks like a 20 minute wait stretches to over an hour. And that alone there is why I am not in favour of the passes.

Just my 2 cents

[Cadieness]

I'm sure they'll just have you go up the exit at this point (since there's no dedicated lines in place at this time). There's always employees on the platforms so they'll be the ones to quickly cross off the ride on your "ticket". This is how it's done on a lot of the rides at Busch Gardens and works very well.

No new positions needed to be staffed.

D'oh! why didn't I think of this! it's like the passes for the wheelchairs! This does work much better than what I was thinking.

[themeparklover]

I'm sick to death of systems that reward those with more expendable cash. Keep it out of Wonderland , please!

That's just life though... those who have more money are capable of purchasing more. There are those who cannot even afford admission into the park, there are others who can invest in a single trip every year or so, there are season pass holders who frequent the park, etc. The only way to "keep it out of Wonderalnd" would be to eliminate admission costs and drink, food and merchandise prices... at that point, you may as well shut-down the park.


I'll be surprised if Fast Lane did not come to CW next year. Despite the initial hatred amongst both park fanatics and the facebook "fans", Kings Island's Fast Lane proved hugely successful in 2011... which is probably why the Fright Lane spin-off was introduced at KI, KBF, CW and several other parks.

Regarding the program itself, a few random thoughts...

-Even if it is to only bypass a few people, there are still people willing to invest in the service. Therefore, there are no rides that shouldn't have Fast Lane. Look at Kings Island- we have it on the bumper cars, swinging ship, children's log flume, etc. And I expect the list to be even longer next year.
-Despite what the whole of facebook seems to think, making the program free (or even extremely cheap) to season pass holders is a stupid idea. If CW is anything like KI, then a massive percentage of park guests are season pass holders. Although the benefit would definitely boost season pass sales, it'd destroy the purpose behind Fast Lane- to shorten the wait. Everybody and their mother would be in the Fast Lane for every ride, making those lines longer than the regular ones.
-The service is also not necessarily intended for the die-hard fans or the frequent park visitors. It's for the families who rarely visit for whatever reason and want to make the most out of their time at the park. For example, my family lives down in Ohio. We visited CW once, back in the summer of 2009. Had the program been available, we would've taken advantage of it and paid for it, knowing it'd be years until we returned to the park.
-Kings Island's program allows you through the Fast Lane unlimited times for all available rides. Although steps are taken to avoid Fast Lane guests from overtaking the ride (so many Fast Lane guests are let on, then so many regular guests, etc.), the regular queue times can still become a bit extensive. Therefore I wish that KI (and all other parks to adopt the program) would limit guests to one-time through each attraction (and possibly offer a Fast Lane Plus, which would allow unlimited times through each attraction). Adding more rides to the available list would also help this.

[coasterboy]

The Busch Quick Queue program includes each ride only once, with a "Bonus" so you can re-ride something you really liked. They included not just the big coasters, but also Water rides and others to balance out the offering. The Busch program was very reasonably priced as well, with a more expensive priced "Unlimited" option.

http://commerce.4adventure.com/estore/s ... Queue.aspx

[Mom2PandD]

Disney has a "fast pass" and it is free. They have the "fast pass" for the rides that have a large attendance, not all rides have it. I do think this could work at Wonderland. I like that I can grab a pass, it has a time on it to return to the ride, and in the meantime I can go on other rides and plan my day around the fast passes.

[bratman]

A system like Disney's I am alright with. While there will still be people "cutting in line " (as I addressed in my earlier post), at least everyone has equal access to that system. Plus, the amount of passes available for each time window is limited, to keep the pass line from overwhelming the ride.

[themeparklover]

Disney's Fast Pass is not "free". The machines, tickets, ink and staffing that all go into the program are funded via your admission. If the system did not exist, admission tickets very well may be cheaper.

Now if Canada's Wonderland was to adopt a similar program, there'd be all the fans complaining about how admission (for both tickets and season passes) is now higher and that it's unfair, and that they should have a choice whether to pay for the program or not. Which Fast Lane would give you - a choice. Buy it if you want, ignore it otherwise.

Guess you can't make everyone happy - there'll always be someone complaining or finding something to whine about.

[Eric]

I understand the motive that Parks use to justify these types of things; but, if Wonderland, or any park, wanted to truly make more money: stop overcharging on everything you sell in the park, from clothing to food; it's all waaay too over-priced. If they were smart, they would see the value in charging less per item; but having many, many more people actually purchasing items. Far too many people walk away from purchases at Wonderland, simply because the stuff is so ridiculously over-priced!

That's not necessarily true. The reason most people buy clothing in the park isn't because they want clothes, but rather because they want something with the Wonderland logo/name on it. The item they desire is not easily replaced with any store bought item. The fact that there are not a lot of substitutes for what these people want makes the good relatively price inelastic. That means the amount of goods the people buy does not decrease significantly with a price increase. Similarly, the amount of goods bought does not increase significantly enough to justify lowering the price. In this case, CW as a profit maximizing entity would choose not to lower prices because it makes a larger profit at current prices.