Should Theme Parks Have Fast Track Systems

Accelerated access to rides is a thorny issue. Some people are great fans of paying extra to jump the queues others think that it is an abomination. In truth, there is no system which would allow people fast track entry without any detrimental effect on the rest of the guests so what is the fairest solution for everyone?

Let’s face it parks don’t sell fast passes for the good of their health or ours. It is a way of generating extra revenue and if the park is making a charge for the service then the only reason they offer it is to make money. There are usually plenty of takers no matter what the charges and so it is tempting to say that it is a service that is in demand and is therefore justifiable. The problem is that every guest who buys accelerated access is holding up the main queue line making the system highly favourable to those with cash to burn and a bloody nuisance for everyone else. The parks often over sell the passes too in my opinion meaning that the wait in the main line can be considerably extended. Queuing for hours is very depressing particularly when you are in enclosed lines and don’t have so much as a window to look out of.

Low capacity rides are particularly badly affected by fast track entry. The queues move slowly enough as it is and with a low capacity and the parks selling so many passes often 50% of the seats have to be allocated to the fast track holders in order to make their wait short enough to justify having charged them for the privilege. Herein lies another issue. If you have paid extra what is a reasonable wait time?

I have run many theme park attractions and have had so many fast track holders at my ride due to overselling and the knock on effect of shut downs that even they have had to wait for more than 30 minutes. It is difficult to strike a balance between loading those who have paid extra in a sensible time and not holding up the main queue for too long.

Ultimately accelerated access causes a lot of bitterness. The main queue gets angry because they see people getting on quicker and the pass holders seem to get angry if they have to wait at all. Fast track queues also make estimating the queue times more difficult as you never know how many pass holders are going to turn up at a given time. Displaying incorrect queuing times also makes people angry!

Perhaps Europa Park have got it right. They do not have any accelerated access. Everyone joins the main queue and the wait is what it is. If you have to have any fast pass system then Disney’s is the most fair to all. The passes are free but each guest can realistically only pick up a small number. Everyone gets a chance to jump the queues on a couple of rides and so those with smaller budgets are not penalised. These parks are fairer but I can’t see the others sacrificing their revenue in the interests of peace.

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Article By Sally Stacey