on wral.com:

Quote :

"RALEIGH, N.C. -- There's a lot to love about the N.C. State Fair, but crowds and lines are two things most people dread. This year the ride operator, Wade Shows, has a new tool to help people get to the head of the line. It's called the Fast-Pass. For $10, you can get a wristband that gives you priority in the ride lines. You still have to purchase ride tickets, but with your Fast-Pass you also receive a coupon for $10 in food. Wade Shows said it modeled the pass after similar passes at places like Disney World. Not everyone thinks this new option is fair."

personally i don't think this is fair. and its really going to cause problems with the long lines on the weekends

10/13/2005 10:06:50 AM

Quote :

"personally i don't think this is fair"

bad pun..

[Edited on October 13, 2005 at 10:08 AM. Reason : .]

10/13/2005 10:07:49 AM

eh, same pun was mentioned at the end of the article. no pun intended though

10/13/2005 10:11:41 AM

what if everyone buys the fast pass?

10/13/2005 10:20:25 AM

Then everyone will get through the line faster.

[Edited on October 13, 2005 at 10:22 AM. Reason : ]

10/13/2005 10:22:21 AM

its only $10
so many people will buy it that it wont help much

10/13/2005 10:44:12 AM

Quote :

"ou still have to purchase ride tickets, but with your Fast-Pass you also receive a coupon for $10 in food"

what i want to know is exactly how this works. what are the food coupons for?

10/13/2005 11:11:41 AM

just a money making scheme for Wade Shows, and probably a pretty good one at that.

10/13/2005 11:11:43 AM

More like the state UN fair!

10/13/2005 11:13:18 AM

meh...theres a bar i frequent that has a juke box with a similar policy. you pay for your song, and then you can pay extra (atleast another dollar) to put "top priority" on your song (meaning it goes to the top of the list). There have been nights were ive been there for 3-4 hours without hearing my song because of that damn feature.

10/13/2005 11:24:04 AM

Of course, on such nights the bar owner hears his song continuously. Money-Money-Money! MONEY!

[Edited on October 13, 2005 at 12:50 PM. Reason : mn]

10/13/2005 12:50:02 PM

THis is nothing like Disney's Fast Pass though. At Disney there are only so many of the fast passes available for each time slot throughout the day. WHen those are all gone there are no more fast passes for that ride. You can come back within the 1 hour bracketed time slot for the fast pass in get in a much shorter line. Also, you can only ever have 1 active fast pass at a time. This bracelet just allows people to cut at any given time on any given ride. People are gonna be riding rides in continuous circles.

10/13/2005 2:46:32 PM

they had this shit at 6 flags in new jersey

annoying as hell

10/13/2005 2:49:25 PM

nevermind:

Quote :

"Wade Shows Suspends FASTPass Program For State Fair RALEIGH, N.C. -- State fair officials have decided not to go with a program that was a source of contention for potential fairgoers. Wade Shows, the operator for this year's State Fair, has suspended its FASTPass program. "Due to misconceptions about this pilot program, we have decided to suspend FASTPass for this year," said Frank Zaitshik, the company's owner. "We will re-evaluate the FASTPass program and seek ways to better inform the public about it.""

10/14/2005 3:14:04 PM

THE WOLF WEB AGAIN TRIUMPHS OVER EVIL

10/14/2005 3:17:35 PM

This shit is retarded.

Brilliant, but retarded.

Te$as for Wade though.

10/14/2005 4:26:14 PM

Quote :

"61 if 111 state fair rides failed inspections, and are not operating today"

fox news channel

no clue why its on fox news...but some chick just read that

10/14/2005 4:41:56 PM

Quote :

"THis is nothing like Disney's Fast Pass though. At Disney there are only so many of the fast passes available for each time slot throughout the day. WHen those are all gone there are no more fast passes for that ride. You can come back within the 1 hour bracketed time slot for the fast pass in get in a much shorter line. Also, you can only ever have 1 active fast pass at a time. This bracelet just allows people to cut at any given time on any given ride. People are gonna be riding rides in continuous circles."

Not to mention the fact that everyone at Disney World gets the Fast Pass, not just people who pay extra.

10/14/2005 6:38:18 PM

This is more like the Lo-Q system that some of the Six Flags parks use. The difference is, with Lo-Q, you actually have to spend time waiting for the ride, you are just free to do it anywhere in the park instead of the actual line. This system is pretty flawed, so it's probably best that they axed it. I'd say Wade Shows has biggest problems on their hands right now, though.

10/14/2005 6:48:00 PM

Quote :

"THE WOLF WEB AGAIN TRIUMPHS OVER EVIL"

10/15/2005 10:23:13 AM

i love when nerdchick quotes me

10/15/2005 10:57:36 AM

Quote :

"Not to mention the fact that everyone at Disney World gets the Fast Pass, not just people who pay extra."

i'm lazy, where does it say that?

10/16/2005 2:42:03 AM

Quote :

"Disney FASTPASS allows guests to make 'reservations' for a particular ride to avoid waiting in long lines. As you approach an attraction that uses the FASTPASS system, you will see three lines. One is the FASTPASS distribution line (where you can make your reservation), the second is the FASTPASS entrance (when you're returning to ride after making your FASTPASS reservation), and the third is the Standby entrance. Each line will have a clock noting the window of time during which you can return to the attraction with no further wait if you select the FASTPASS option. For example, let's say the line for Kali River Rapids is 60 minutes, and you don't feel like waiting in line. You would put your ticket through a special machine, which would produce a slip of paper telling you what time to come back and ride the ride...with no wait!! You have a 1 hour window to return, so you have some flexibility in touring. The time you will be scheduled to return will be the same, or slightly longer, than the current wait time for the attraction. The major difference is, instead of standing on line...you can be enjoying the park!! Each guest can get a FASTPASS every two hours. The time the computer printed out your ticket will provide the basis for the two hours. For example, if the machine printed out a ticket at 9:00 a.m., you would be able to get another ticket at 11:00 a.m. There is no charge for the service."

courtesy of: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/fastpass.htm

note: this is nothing like the proposed state fair policy which is basically just a money grubbing venture for the operator. Fastpass is a very well implemented solution.

[Edited on October 16, 2005 at 9:39 AM. Reason : /]

10/16/2005 9:37:31 AM

^ yeah, they have a similar system at Cedar Point

Basically you go to a booth where you can get your hand stamped for a certain hour and a certain ride. Then you go to your ride in the specified hour, show them your hand, and get in the way short fast-pass line. Obviously you can only have 2 fast passes at a time and they only give out a certain number of them for each hour. It's a great system and doesn't cost extra at Cedar Point.

10/16/2005 10:42:59 PM

I read the new posts. Oops.

[Edited on October 17, 2005 at 11:50 AM. Reason : .]

10/17/2005 11:48:58 AM