Fast Lane (Cedar Fair)

Fast Lane is an optional, pay-per-person line queue system offered on select rides at Cedar Fair amusement parks. The system provides shorter lines, and guests who want access must pay a fee in addition to general park admission. They are given a wristband for identification, and a limited number are sold each day to keep wait times under control. First piloted in 2011 at Kings Island, the system was rolled out to the rest of the Cedar Fair chain in 2012.

History

On July 18, 2011, Kings Island announced the introduction of Fast Lane, a separate line queue featuring shorter lines, that originally involved ten select rides and was only active from noon to 7:00 pm.[1] The upcharge for access was $50 per person, and the purchase did not include park admission.[2] Cedar Fair wanted to test the system before deploying to every location, and Kings Island was chosen to fill that purpose.[3] Fast Lane received positive feedback, and it generated nearly $1 million in half a season.[4] Cedar Fair deemed it a success and announced that Fast Lane would be rolled out the rest of their parks in 2012.[4]

There is also Fright Lane, which is the Halloween version of Fast Lane during the fall season at Cedar Fair parks.[5] In 2013, Canada's Wonderland, Carowinds, Cedar Point, Kings Dominion, and Kings Island introduced Fast Lane Plus, which allows purchasers to bypass the lines of additional rides that standard Fast Lane holders would not have access to. Dorney Park did the same in 2014, introducing Fast Lane Plus for Wildwater Kingdom attractions and free rides on a pay-per-experience attraction. Also in 2014, Worlds of Fun introduced Fast Lane Plus allowing riders to bypass the lines of additional water slides at the Oceans of Fun water park.

Rules

Visitors can purchase Fast Lane access individually or as a group, with group pricing offering a lower price per group member. Visitors then receive a wrist band to would give them the ability to cut to the front of the line on the park's most popular attractions. Originally, it could be used only from noon to 7:00 PM, but it was later expanded to all-day availability. Fast Lane differs from a virtual queue in that there is nothing virtual, only two physical queues (lines): one for regular patrons and a separate one for Fast Lane purchasers. Fast Lane is not included with season pass purchases, and the amount sold per day is restricted.

Reception

The priority queuing system was originally controversial.[6] An earlier version implemented at Cedar Point in the early 2000s allowed guests to enter a virtual queue, similar to Disney's FastPass, where riders could return to a ride hours later and skip to the front of the line.[6] It was first called Ticket to Ride, and later it was renamed FreeWay.[6] The system was discontinued in 2004 due to negative reception; guests were uncomfortable with the park "sanctioning line-jumping".[6] Fast Lane received higher marks when assessed internally by Cedar Fair, and the system has been in place at all Cedar Fair parks since 2012.[3]

Attractions

This is a list of the Fast Lane attractions at each of the parks.

California's Great America

As of May 8, 2018:[7]

Fast Lane
Barney Oldfield Speedway Gold Striker
Celebration Swings Mass Effect: New Earth
Delirium Patriot
Delta Flyer Psycho Mouse
Demon RailBlazer
Drop Tower Rue Le Dodge
Eagle's Flight Rip Roaring Rapids
Flight Deck The Grizzly
Flying Eagles Tiki Twirl

Canada's Wonderland

As of May 8, 2018:[8]

Fast Lane Fast Lane Plus
Backlot Stunt Coaster Shockwave Behemoth
Drop Tower Skyhawk Leviathan
Flight Deck Sledge Hammer Lumberjack
Klockwerks Swing of the Century
Krachenwagon Timberwolf Falls
Mighty Canadian Minebuster Time Warp
Night Mares The Rage
Orbiter Vortex
Psyclone Wild Beast
Riptide WindSeeker
Soaring Timbers

Carowinds

Fast Lane sign at Carowinds

As of May 8, 2018:[9]

Fast Lane Fast Lane Plus
Afterburn Hurler Electro-Spin
Blackbeard's Revenge Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare: 3Z Arena Fury 325
Boo Blasters on Boo Hill Rock'N'Roller Intimidator
Carolina Cyclone Scrambler Nighthawk
Carolina Goldrusher Surfer's Swell Rip Roaring Rapids
Carolina Skytower The Flying Cobras
Dorsal Fin Drop Vortex
Do-Si-Do WindSeeker
Drop Tower Zephyr
Flying Ace Balloon Race

Cedar Point

Fast Lane Plus wait time sign for GateKeeper.

As of June 2, 2018:[10]

Fast Lane Fast Lane Plus
Antique Cars Pipe Scream GateKeeper
Blue Streak Power Tower Maverick
Cadillac Cars Raptor Steel Vengeance
Corkscrew Rougarou Top Thrill Dragster
Dodgem Scrambler Valravn
Gemini Skyhawk
Giant Wheel Snake River Falls
Lake Erie Eagles Troika
Magnum XL-200 Wave Swinger
maXair Wicked Twister
Millennium Force Windseeker
Monster

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom

As of May 8, 2018:[11]

Fast Lane Fast Lane Plus
Cedar Creek Cannonball Scrambler Aquablast
Cedar Creek Flyers Steel Force Aqua Racer
Dodgem Talon Runaway River
Dominator Thunder Canyon Snake Pit
Hydra the Revenge Thunderhawk Wildwater River
Meteor Tilt-A-Whirl
Musik Express Wave Swinger
Possessed Whip
Revolution White Water Landing
Road Rally Wild Mouse

Kings Dominion

As of May 8, 2018:[12]

Fast Lane Fast Lane Plus
Avalanche Dominator
Backlot Stunt Coaster Intimidator 305
Bad Apple Twisted Timbers
Blue Ridge Tollway Volcano: The Blast Coaster
Delirium
Dodgem
Drop Tower
Flight of Fear
Flying Eagles
Shenandoah Lumber Company
Wave Swinger
WindSeeker

Kings Island

As of July 28, 2018:[13]

Fast Lane Fast Lane Plus
Adventure Express Invertigo The Beast
Backlot Stunt Coaster Monster Firehawk
Banshee Race For Your Life Charlie Brown Flight of Fear
Boo Blasters on Boo Hill The Racer Mystic Timbers
Congo Falls Scrambler Rendezvous Run
Delirium Shake, Rattle & Roll Thunder Falls
Diamondback Surf Dog Tropical Plunge
Dodgem Vortex Zoom Flume
Drop Tower WindSeeker
Eiffel Tower Woodstock Gliders
Flying Ace Aerial Chase Zephyr

Knott's Berry Farm

As of May 8, 2018:[14]

Fast Lane
Bigfoot Rapids Pony Express
Calico Mine Ride Sierra Sidewinder
Coast Rider Silver Bullet
HangTime Supreme Scream
GhostRider Timber Mountain Log Ride
Jaguar! Voyage to the Iron Reef
Montezooma's Revenge Xcelerator

Michigan's Adventure

As of May 8, 2018:[15]

Fast Lane
Adventure Falls Mad Mouse
Be-Bop Blvd Scrambler
Dodgem Shivering Timbers
Flying Trapeze Thunderhawk
Giant Gondola Wheel Tilt-A-Whirl
Grand Rapids Wolverine Wildcat
Lakeside Gliders Zach's Zoomer
Logger's Run

Valleyfair

As of May 8, 2018:[16]

Fast Lane
Breakers Plunge & Pipeline Northern Lights
Corkscrew Power Tower
Delirious Renegade
Flying Eagles Steel Venom
High Roller Thunder Canyon
Looping Starship Wild Thing
Mad Mouse The Wave
Monster Xtreme Swing
North Star

Worlds of Fun

The Fast Lane Plus option at Worlds of Fun is a combination of the Fast Lane passes for Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun.

As of May 8, 2018:[17]

Fast Lane
Worlds of Fun Oceans of Fun
Boomerang Patriot Constrictor
Detonator Prowler Diamond Head
Falcon's Flight Spinning Dragons Monsoon
Fury of the Nile SteelHawk Predator's Plunge
Le Taxi Tour Timberwolf Shark's Revenge
Mamba Viking Voyager Typhoon
Mustang Runner

See also

References

  1. ↑ "NewsPlusNotes: Kings Island Announces Fast Lane". Newsplusnotes.blogspot.com. 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  2. ↑ "Kings Island – Fast Lane". Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Glaser, Susan (April 28, 2012). "Pay to get in the Fast Lane and you'll wait less at Cedar Point: close to home". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Cedar Fair Is Looking Fun Forward". NewsPlusNotes. January 21, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Cedar Point 2012". PointBuzz. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Glaser, Susan (July 30, 2011). "Amusement parks offer different ways of letting people skip long lines". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Fast Lane". California's Great America. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Fast Lane". Canada's Wonderland. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Fast Lane". Carowinds. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Fast Lane". Cedar Point. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Fast Lane". Dorney Park. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Fast Lane". Kings Dominion. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Fast Lane". Kings Island. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Fast Lane". Knott's Berry Farm. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Fast Lane". Michigan's Adventure. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Fast Lane". Valleyfair. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Fast Lane". Worlds of Fun. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
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