To think the fast track queues at Thorpe park are unfair?

Huh? Where have I said anything about taking pleasure? My comment was in response for calling people tight for not buying the fast pass

Rap queues no, because these are for people that are unable to queue. My daughter has one for her anteverted hips. Fast tracks? Yes.

Well yes, if that was the condition of getting cheaper seats. Its not new, people do this every year for the Proms, Wimbledon, etc.

FWIW no, that’s not how it works at all. My daughter is disabled and has a RAP, they let on a specific number of rap/fast pass each time. Usually around 20% of the ride at most - so one car of rap/fast pass and four cars of the regular queue. Some rides work differently but it’s still around 20% or less. Sometimes you do have to queue even with the rap but obviously no where near as much.

Also, for those wondering, the RAP (ride access pass)/free fast pass for disabled people works something like this: (plenty of applying and rebooking and organisation required before you start), on the day when we arrive I chose our first ride on the website and it gives me a qr code to show at the front of the queue that means we can get straight on (we = my disabled daughter and upto 3 others), the operator scans the code and the website then sets a timer than is roughly equal to the current queue time, so if it’s a 60 minute queue then we have to wait 60 mins before going on our next ride. And so on. It’s brilliant because it means we can spend the ‘wait time’ doing other things - like walking to the next ride which takes us longer, or toileting or eating which take us longer as well. Very valuable for disabled people.

It's different because it impacts on the people who haven't bought them, because they have to wait even longer. It's not the same as seats in the theatre or on the plane because those don't impact on the other people.

As for "it can't be immoral because it's available to buy" I just don't even know where to start!

Yep, I'd book annual leave and day of unauthorised absence.

I do it on DS's birthday or as close to it as I could, I'd be honest with the school about what we were doing so DS doesn't have to lie about it

Wherever you go, if the fast pass or Q jump etc aren't restricted to people with disabilities or any other specific criteria, how on earth is it immoral? To buy something they sell?

I can't see how it's any different than paying more to have better seats at the theatre or a concert or to go first class on a plane or train
(I know it has ever so slightly different, but morally, I don't think it is)

I think you just need to decide if you can afford it and if you can afford it, whether it's worth it or not. If it's worth it and you can afford it and you don't have to lie to get it then I don't see the problem.

It reminds me of the sketch where they were selling early-boarding passes at the airport and said they were so popular "everone has bought one"

Oh ok, so that makes it ok to take pleasure in someone not getting something they paid extra for? Fine if that’s the kind of person you are, I guess!

I do think they are a bit wrong and for dicks, but I also did get one for Universal Japan because we only will have one day there. I felt guilty but also pleased with my decision. And a lot poorer afterwards!

Do it OP it's one day and you only get one life. Sometimes you just have to say fuck it and break the odd rule. Very little queuing and a whole load of adventure. Have fun!!

We went to Thorpe Park on DH's birthday one year, which is after the schools have gone back in September. We just bought regular entry tickets on the usual 2 for 1 deals.

We'd done every ride by lunchtime, had the pizza buffet for lunch then re-rode everything we wanted to and were still done by 3pm!

Went on the rapids and went round 3 times because it was so quiet!

I think there have been studies that have proven that a park that doesn't have this "fast pass" type arrangement has much lower queue times overall.

Ultimately it comes down to the extra cash the parks make. Once you're through the door, they either want more money out of you or they don't really care whether you're having a nice time or not.

In Disney, they always prioritise people with lightning lanes so if you happen to get a stream of LL guests, they just keep letting them in, without anyone from the regular queue being let in.

I don't agree with your DH that the people that are buying the tickets are unreasonable, but I think the parks are unreasonable for either selling them in the first place; or by selling so many that it makes the parks unbearable for other guests.

We've bought them in the past for either special occasions or if it's somewhere that we're not going to go back to again, or for a long time.

I wouldn't pay £200 per person for the privilege though, whether I could afford it or not!

It’s something I’ve never understood. I’d pay extra to be last on the plane.

What I think is totally immoral is people paying money for priority access to government services that everybody is OBLIGED to use (eg immigration at the airport).

Imagine if I paid extra for priority access to NHS operations.

That said, your DH is being annoying simply for the reasons that if he prevails you'll resent him each time you're standing in a slow-moving queue!

100% I would do this.

I agree with your DH completely, fast track passes are fucking dreadful. At least when they were free and you just got a timeslot they were useful, but making them paid - at a venue which is already an expensive day out for so many families - is just unfair and elitist.

BUT also having experienced Chessington at the weekend and the impact the fast passes have on the main queues, and the knock-on effect of actually how few rides you end up being able to go on as a result, I'd probably pay the money as a one-off, otherwise you're looking at getting on about 4 rides during the whole day and it's just not worth the entrance fee and won't be a good birthday for your DS.

Would you go for this offer ?

We came over from Dublin and has the best day ever . It's really reasonable and includes all day fastpass . Everything is covered except the newly opened ride .

Also includes a night in the Shark cabins and a decent breakfast .

You get the free fastpass becausethe park is closed one day either side of your stay and the usual offer is for '2 days and 1 night'.

https://www.thorpepark.com/short-breaks/offers-packages/breaks-with-fastrack/

Edited - forgot you are constrained by the fines over there !

Remember, if they got rid of fast pass then they will want those revenues somehow so all ticket prices would go up.

Systems can't be moral or immoral, only ethical or unethical. Morals are always individual.

Immoral? It’s a theme park, not an essential service. What about all the people who can’t afford it even without the fast pass? Should the theme park just close its doors?

The real 'moral issue' with fast track isn't that some can afford it and others can't, it's that while people are prepared to pay up to £200 each for a fast pass, there is no incentive for the theme parks to do anything to improve the queuing situation generally.

In fact, it's a disincentive because if they introduced a completely new system to minimise queuing (e.g. everyone having time slots by default) they would lose the revenue from the fast passes.

Essentially they are being rewarded for incompetence.

We found the same at Legoland at Christmas. We couldn’t understand why the wait time was so long when the queues were relatively small. Then we realised that there were entire rides filled with fast pass holders, so it could be the second or third ride before the normal queue moves at all (and then only by a couple of people, because of the majority being fast pass). I’d hate to see how bad it gets at busier times of year.

If they are doing fast passes, they need to limit how many fast passes can be used each time a ride runs - it would still be quicker for the holders but not quite so detrimental to others.