[Jonathan]

People will walk 5 miles in the park without thinking twice about it but god forbid you have to walk from the parking lot to the gate.

[pproteinc]

Right!!! Cedar Point's parking lot isn't that big to me plus I'm distracted by the breeze while walking to the gate. It just feels so good. Now Carowinds parking lot is torture if parked in the outer end of the parking lot. The south and north gates seems like 40 miles in 90+ degree weather lol

[RollerBee]

Now Carowinds parking lot is torture if parked in the outer end of the parking lot. The south and north gates seems like 40 miles in 90+ degree weather lol

Never had that problem, I always park by Fury 325.

[arby]

I'm actually in favor of upgrades:
- preferred parking
- valet parking
- fast passes
- VIP tours
- etc.

Some people like to pay for upgraded services so why not capitalize on them, assuming they bring in more money than they cost to implement. I usually don't pay for the upgrades but when I want/need them, they are really great.

None of the upgrade services have negatively impacted me in any way when I don't use them. Conversely, more revenue for the park = more new rides/upgrades.

[Jonathan]

The only one I disagree on are fast passes. They do negatively impact those who can't afford to buy them who have a longer wait, especially the way Cedar Fair does it.

[Edwardo]

I disagree because parks are, in and of themselves, luxuries. Queue skipping is just another level of the luxury.

Fast lane, for those times I've done it, has been great. But, then, I tend to go to parks when it's not going to be needed.

[arby]

I haven't noticed that at Carowinds. However, I haven't been to any other Cedar Fair park in the past few years, except a short trip to KI, so perhaps it is used a lot more at some other parks.

[Edwardo]

If I pay $40 and find a new scratch, I am getting my $100 and some odd dollars out of them. I hope their 5 & Dime selves have good insurance.

Really?

If the park were in the business of scratching your 1980s Buick (or any other vehicle), they wouldn't be doing this. I've valet parked plenty of times (never at parks, I don't see the value) and even when free, I've never had a problem.

[Jonathan]

I disagree because parks are, in and of themselves, luxuries. Queue skipping is just another level of the luxury.

Fast lane, for those times I've done it, has been great. But, then, I tend to go to parks when it's not going to be needed.

Except that unlike most luxuries, it is a luxury that comes at the expense of everyone else.

[Edwardo]

That's where I disagree. If I pay more for a concert or sports ticket, it comes at the expense of people that couldn't afford or weren't able to purchase (in time) better tickets.

Same thing with early access.

I just don't think any level of luxury is unfair to anyone partaking in the luxury at any level.

[Jonathan]

I don't really see how those situations are comparable. These are people who have already paid to go to the park (an expensive day out for many families) and are now finding themselves getting bypassed in line by those who can afford the premium. That's not the same as simply not purchasing a concert ticket. Same with early access or ERT, which is an added perk that comes at the expense of no one. The vitriol I've seen from people in line on the rare occasions I've used fast past systems (last year at C3 where I'm pretty sure we single handedly added significant time to the Fury queue by reriding repeatedly and then a couple weeks ago at Magic Mountain) tells me that I'm not the only one annoyed by it.

For me Disney is the only place that does it right. Six Flags is somewhere in the middle (at least the regular and gold flash passes make you wait some time in between rides) and Cedar Fair the worst.

[RollerBee]

Fastlane bothered me at first but most of the time I am watching laughing at people who spent $50 dollar when rides are near walk on or completely walk on. Only rides that commonly needs Fastlane are Nighthawk and Rapids(during the summer).
Add Flyers to Fastlane....

[Edwardo]

I re-read that sentence and it came out wrong. I was comparing to someone that either:

A) Couldn't afford the more expensive concert ticket or
B) Could afford it, but that level sold out before they could get it

If I pay more for a premium service, I don't care if people spew vitriol towards me or not (Well, I don't care any time that happens, I think thats obvious). We live in a capitalist society where the more you pay, the more you get, and I'm fine with that. I'm sure that there are people annoyed, I've seen it outside of the enthusiast world. But, I've also seen people that were annoyed and went 'Next time, we're getting that'.

Obviously its not as much of an issue as most enthusiasts who hate it often feel that it is or the park's attendance and spending would be going down and there would be more backlash.

I'll never feel bad about being able to buy a more premium service that I can afford, when others can't, especially if the very definition of the price of entrance to whatever the event/space is is a luxury in and of itself.

And Disney does exactly the same thing that Cedar Point does. For a fee. It's just that you like their basic option that you're included in with the price of admission.

I respect the opinion, I just disagree. My BFF Matt Scott (acoustic viscosity for those of you that know him from other sites) feels the same way. But I do find it interesting that you (like him) will buy in to the system to benefit yourself when needed. Not a comment about character (so please don't take it as such), I'm just baffled by that.

[Edwardo]

Fastlane bothered me at first but most of the time I am watching laughing at people who spent $50 dollar when rides are near walk on or completely walk on. Only rides that commonly needs Fastlane are Nighthawk and Rapids(during the summer).
Add Flyers to Fastlane....

And while you're laughing at your perception of their 'stupidity' for blowing the money, they're paying you no mind and having the time of their life.

It's all about perception of value.

[Jonathan]

I respect the opinion, I just disagree. My BFF Matt Scott (acoustic viscosity for those of you that know him from other sites) feels the same way. But I do find it interesting that you (like him) will buy in to the system to benefit yourself when needed. Not a comment about character (so please don't take it as such), I'm just baffled by that.

I don't think it's that strange. People are rational actors. There are plenty of things I disagree with fundamentally but that doesn't mean I'm going to act against my own self interests. I think parking should have market pricing, but that doesn't mean I won't happily take advantage of a free spot. I think more needs to be done to address income inequality, but I'm not voluntarily sending part of my paycheck to someone else.

That said, I really do try to avoid using flash pass if at all possible and quite frankly felt a bit embarrassed the few times I did.

Also I didn't know Disney had a pay fast pass.