Theme parks allow visitors to cut to front of the line

SANDUSKY, Ohio -- With beepers, special tickets and hand stamps, amusement parks these days are actually encouraging visitors to cut in line.

Front of the line privileges for popular rides cost extra at some parks and are free at others. The parks benefit because less time standing means visitors can spend more money in shops and restaurants.

"Standing in line for two or three hours is just not going to cut it," said Tim O'Brien, author of "Amusement Park Guide." "Things have to be done to avoid long lines and long waits."

O'Brien imagines that someday guests will reserve rides through hand-held computers even before entering the park.

Bypassing lines is more than just a guest service. It's expected by some visitors.

"No matter where you are people are generally impatient," said Chris Knauf, assistant manager of ride operations at Cedar Point amusement park, which gives out hand stamps that allow visitors to skip ahead later.

The trend began five years ago with the FastPass reservation system at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom, and has trickled down to regional theme parks. Complaints about long waits had been at the top of the list of what people didn't like about visiting, said parks spokesman Dave Herbst.

So the park came up with a solution. Visitors can avoid standing in packed queues for 26 of the top attractions, including The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Space Mountain.

Guest surveys show that those who use FastPass have a much better experience at the parks and are able to see 25 percent more attractions and shows.

"We're hitting at the one thing they dislike," said Todd Evans, manager for attractions at the Florida parks.

While the Disney system is free, Six Flags parks charge a fee for getting to the front.

Six Flags, with 28 theme and water parks nationwide, sells front of the line tickets at most of its parks. Five parks rent an electronic device that works like a pager.

The costs vary at each park. At Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags Over Georgia it costs $10 to rent the device and another $10 for each person using it.

Guests insert the palm-sized device at a sign near the ride and reserve their time to come back and get on a roller coaster with little or no wait. The device, called a Q-Bot, vibrates and beeps when it's time to ride.

The system, developed by England-based Lo-Q, is used at Six Flags parks in New Jersey, Texas, Massachusetts, Missouri and Georgia.

Leah Moss, director of Lo-Q's U.S. operation based near Atlanta, said more people would visit amusement parks if they knew they could cut to the front of the line.

"We're looking at people who work really long hours and don't have much leisure time," she said. "People have more money than time these days."

The Q-Bot also allows the parks to directly communicate with guests through text messages that can be changed throughout the day.

"It can let them know when they're near an area that has a special on drinks or food," she said. "It can suggest a hotel to stay at when they're leaving or tell when a show is about to start."

Not everyone thinks it's fair that some guests can buy their way to the front, especially when the have-nots see the haves bypassing them in line.

Sean Flaharty, a roller coaster enthusiast from Columbus, said some parks do a poor job of merging those two lines, resulting in clashes.

He said the system also can produce longer lines. Some parks reserve coaster seats for only those with the front of line passes, and those seats sometimes go unfilled.

"I can see why people get angry because that makes the line actually go slower," said Flaharty, who estimates he'll visit 70 parks this year.

To make sure there aren't problems, some Six Flags parks station employees in the lines to explain how Q-Bot works.

"The program is fair because people are still waiting for rides," said Kristin Siebeneicher, a spokeswoman for Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. "They just can do other things while they wait."

The park typically rents 250 of the devices on an average day.

Cedar Point has a low-tech solution to long waits. Its hand stamps allows guests to bypass the lines on six of the park's 16 roller coasters.

The stamps are free and available to anyone willing to wait from a few minutes to a half-hour. Lines start forming early, and a day's supply of stamps for the two top coasters can be gone in half an hour.

"We're waiting in line not to wait in line," said 12-year-old Corey Bodenbach, laughing at the thought while waiting to get a stamp to ride Millennium Force, the park's 310-foot tall roller coaster.

The Bodenbachs, a family of five from Oshkosh, Wis., shaved several hours off their waits over three days, allowing them to ride more of the less popular rides.

"We were able to sit down and eat, and we did some of the things that a lot of people say is a waste of time," said Corey's mother, Jennifer Bodenbach.

Right behind in line, Greg McNeely, of Lafayette, Ind., said his family can't wait in long lines because their son has diabetes and needs regular snacks and two insulin shots each day.

"This allows us to plan our day and make sure he has everything he needs," McNeely said.

Park operators say the front of the line systems don't bring in a lot of money but are popular.

At Disney, at least half of all visitors use FastPass on a typical day. The number of Q-Bot users at Six Flags doubled last year to about 750,000.

Many of the big theme parks place a priority on ensuring that their lines move quickly.

Cedar Point sometimes rewards efficient ride operators with breakfast, and there's an annual trophy that goes to the best group. "Everybody wants to win it," Knauf said.

At Disney parks, any employee with access to a computer can tell a guest where the shortest lines can be found.

Paramount's Kings Island near Cincinnati offers season pass holders timed tickets for five of its most popular rides on the weekends, and opens select areas an hour early for "Waterpark Wednesday and "Thrill seekers Thursday."

The park is working on other ways of making the lines move faster, replacing low-capacity rides with big attractions that hold 50 or 60 people at a time.

"If we can manage all of the lines to where it's a minimal wait," said park spokesman Jeffrey Siebert, "there's no need for a ride reservation system."

On the Net:

Cedar Point: http://cedarpoint.com

Walt Disney World: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/index

Paramount's Kings Island: http://www.pki.com

Lo-Q: http://www.lo-q.com/

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