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So how many of us use fastrack?

Do you use fastracks?

  • Occasionally

    Votes: 31 41.9%
  • No

    Votes: 36 48.6%
  • Yes

    Votes: 7 9.5%

  • Total voters
    74
Dave said:
The GP would hate a park without FT
This is true, but the Disney system works great, so ...
There is lots of improvement to be made on the current paid fastrack situation
 
At the end of the day theme parks are businesses. There is clearly a demand for fastracks in theme parks, otherwise they would not exist. Parks are meeting this demand for fastrack. It is a great revenue stream for parks as the financial costs are extremely low. As I've said all along, a well managed fastrack system benefits pretty much all parties. The parks get more money, guests that want fastrack are satisfied and as it is well managed the impact on the main queue in not noticeable.

:)
 
At Alton Towers I have never paid any money for Fastrack, the only fastrack I have used has been given to me free, E.g Smiler breaking down, hotel fastrack, during an event and also my friend bought me some once.

I once paid for fastrack for a couple of rides at Thorpe Park a few years ago, this was when the park was very busy and it was my first visit to the park since a child, and before I had a Merlin annual pass. I have also bought Pleasure Beachs version of fastrack.
 
I think the idea of paid for Fast Passes is a good one, in principal.

If a park wanted to, it could use the fast passes to reduce on the gate price as you can keep income the same, allowing more people on a smaller budget to visit the park. Would people rather pay an extra £10/£15 to get in the park, and there not be any fast passes, or save that money and then have the choice to pay to skip a few queues?

If a park wanted to, it could use the fast passes to increase the amount of money it was going to invest in a ride. They have budget X to spend, but if they add fast pass to the ride, can spend x+ 20%. Once the additional budget spent on the ride has been met, it can then be used to cover the maintenance cost of the ride and immediate area, to keep it looking better for all guests.

The point I am trying to make is that people who can afford to buy fast passes, can help generate extra revenue for the parks, to re-invest back in to the park, allowing all guests to have a better experience, at the expense of having to queue an extra 5-10 minutes.

When parks use the revenue from Fast Passes to increase the bottom line, that's when I have a problem with it, as then its only benefiting those who are buying it, and the park owners.

The way Merlin operates its Fast Passes comes across as a blatant attempt to generate as much profit for the business as possible, at the expense of all customers, those using fast pass and those in the normal queue. If this is not the case, I would love Alton Towers, and all Merlin Attractions to have a fast track promise on site at the parks, and on the web sites, advising where the money generated from it goes, but I sadly think this will never happen, as we all know where it is going.

Ian
 
Unless provided Fastrack for free or under similar circumstances, I would never purchase any form of it even on an exceptionally busy day. I've enjoyed the numerous occasions throughout this year in the summer where I've had the chance to explore the Gardens or Ruins in the lovely weather due to the long queue times, rather than handing over money to ride the rides that I'd be able to experience countless times on any other visit.
 
FT shouldn't be given out for complaints on really busy days. On quieter days, it's fine.

Dave said:
The GP would hate a park without FT (Europa gets loads of complaints for not offering it) but with the above you still offer the option without and reduce the impact on the queues. Also i would reverse the current trend of slowly reducing throughput on the rides that seems to be occurring!

A myth. If Europa really did get that many complaints, they would have introduced FT. As it is, they haven't and they are the most highly rated theme park by the public in the world.

Disney and Universal also don't have paid FT, again, the two most popular park chains in the world. Drayton Manor also doesn't have paid FT, and it ranks higher than Alton Towers in public opinion (average TripAdvisor scores for the past year)

A small percentage of the public who regularly use paid FT would hate it. But it would improve guest satisfaction for the vast majority who don't use it, and who would see their queue times fall. Seeing someone cut in front of you at merge undoubtedly has a subliminal negative effect on your view of the park. You see it as somewhere cynical, and unfair.
 
Dave said:
Europa gets loads of complaints for not offering fastrack

I think this is over exaggerated, based on the comments of one person on the situation regarding fastrack. I really doubt they're getting 'loads'. Maybe they're getting asked if it's sold, but not complaints.

If they felt it would benefit the guests, they would offer it. If it was causing so many complaints, guest services couldn't cope, they'd offer it.

Europa Park aren't alone in this either.
 
I confess I used to in the past, when it was cheaper and less aggressively marketed and popular.

Now it's too expensive for me, too popular to really make a difference, especially with the price, and it's unfair on people in the normal queue who have to wait longer and people who can't afford it. Also, with all the bashing of Merlin and consumerism I do, if I bought them I'd be selling out.

Besides, I've been to the park enough to know how to get on everything in an averagely to fairly busy day without having to pay. And I've been enough times that I don't mind if I have to miss one or two of the main rides.
 
I don't think it is a clear case of 'this makes money for the parks'.

While the removal of FT would see that revenue lost, it's very difficult to quantify the money lost from the generally lower guest experience that a park with FT offers.

If it really made so much financial sense, arch-capitalists Disney would do it. But they know it'd turn people against the parks, make them look like cynical profiteers, and decrease the overall quality of the experience of visiting a Disney theme park.
 
It is an ethical issue for me. It doesn't put me off visiting the park, but it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth knowing the negative effect it has on the majority of guests. However, unfortunately, with the exception of Disney and Europa Park (Universal now charge for, but do limit it), it's now just part of the business.
 
Does Fastrack really impact the main queues? I know it will affect queues when you have cases of a ride like The Smiler breaking down with 1000+ people being given a free Fastrack passes. Although beyond that does it really make an impact? I don't think it does personally.

I would agree if this were 2012 for example, when Towers went sales mad and sold far too many Fastracks resulting in long main queues. Although when you look at the 2013 season for example. The sales of Fastrack tickets has been more controlled this year with quotas managed a bit more closely.

I'm by no means defending the system. However comments in here that claim it increases the wait time for guests in the main queue I don't really think is a solid enough argument. While it WILL make the main queue longer in some way, it's not noticeable enough to ruin a day or make main queues have insanely longer queue lengths.

Fastrack has been the norm forever in a day, it's not really like this is a new revelation or Fastrack is the first or only 'class segregation' in history (far from it in fact, especially in tourism). The queue times we have judged for years are dictated by our queuing systems of main queue/Fastrack queue/single rider queue. It has been the same since Fastrack was born. I find it somewhat strange this is a topic that has been brought up in recent years when Fastrack is far from being a recent introduction to Alton Towers.

Like I say though, I'm not defending the system. Just throwing a different point of view out there.
 
It's hard to tell the amount of affect. I could've just been going on a busy day.

But it's not just that. We, as humans, feel very low as we see people smugly skipping the queue, pass visible in their hand.
 
People here have MAPs and annual passes, it's easy to forget that. If The Smiler has a 3 hour queue you can just go back the next weekend, maybe ride it then and once again. In the case of those who don't own MAPs and passes, for the sake of £6 it's just not worth spending all that money to visit, then not riding what you came to ride. It just isn't.
 
AstroDan said:
The Smiler is £10.

;)

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

And I'm one of the suckers who paid that much (Why? Because I wanted to ride it at night but needed to venture back to London in the same night, I didn't really want to miss out night riding anything else than queue 3 hours for it)...

Universal's Express Pass is paid for these days I thought? It's at least a perk with the hotels I know that much, and Disney are introducing Fastrack+ (not that I really understand it), so those 2 are not immune to the idea...

I sometimes use it... Used it throughout Port Aventura because sod having to endure those queues (and it was a hotel perk in a way), got a Q-Bot one day at Heide Park because I was severely ill and couldn't stand in unshaded cattlepens, done it at Universal Hollywood as well when time was limited to half a day, and of course did a VIP day at Kings Island which really was full of spite for many guests (though we rarely did front row for most coasters, just Beast and Diamondback, and even then that was just the once)...

Does this make me upper class? I don't think so considering I come from Croydon, to call me posh or upper class is quite ridiculous really... Why does Thorpe sell so many Fastrack if apparently the majority can't afford them? The idea SHOULD be that Fastrack's are relatively expensive to buy to reduce the amount of people who can use it, because otherwise we get situations where the normal queue barely moves due to over-selling...

Getting the balance right is the most important thing the park needs to do, it's here to stay as long as people buy it (and the various incarnations, as mentioned regarding the Scarefest Freedom Passes, which people love on here)... And since that's because the guests do because of how the parks are (be it busy or because people have been slightly perceived that they NEED it to have a good day) rather than the enthusiasts, I don't really get much of the bile being directed...

Merlin seem to have the idea of "A fool and his money are soon parted" sorted quite well...
 
AstroDan said:
Dave said:
Europa gets loads of complaints for not offering fastrack

I think this is over exaggerated, based on the comments of one person on the situation regarding fastrack. I really doubt they're getting 'loads'. Maybe they're getting asked if it's sold, but not complaints.

If they felt it would benefit the guests, they would offer it. If it was causing so many complaints, guest services couldn't cope, they'd offer it.

Europa Park aren't alone in this either.

It wasn't an insignificant person Dan and you where in the same conversation. You also have to question why EP keep trialling Fastrack at their Horror Nights event.

I wouldn't be surprised if EP started offering paid Fastrack in the near future.

Drayton is an interesting one though, it's always surprised me they haven't started offering Fastrack ever since Blackpool jumped on the band wagon. It's not like they are averse to unpopular income tactics as they started charging for car parking.

As for Disney their system is great, but they are in their own league when it comes to park operations so it's not that surprising. If only everywhere was Disney :)
 
I am sure the only reason Disney still offer free fast passes is because when they launched it they promised it would always be free. At that time, everyone was doing it for free. I am sure if they could go back and change it, they would.

Should people who pay for the Disney Behind the scenes tours be ashamed, or feel guilty, because they are paying for a perk, other guests do not get?

Should people who pay to be a Zoo Keeper for the day at CWOA be ashamed or feel guilty because they are paying for a perk other guests do not get?

Do the people who run the parks, and fund the parks, deserve to get something back for what they have put it?

As long as the Perks are expensive enough that it covers the cost of it, and the additional revenue goes towards improving the experience of all the guests, I do not have a problem with it.

Ian
 
It's not hard to think back to the days before paid fastrack... Queues definately moved quicker. There is no denying that the more people use FT, the more those who don't suffer.
 
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