Update: As of April 12, Cedar Point announces an All-Season Fast Lane Plus Pass! Yes, for $849, you can get Fast Lane Plus access for the entire season! These go on sale April 23.

Fast Lane passes have now been loaded into the online system on the Cedar Point website. Guests can purchase the Fast Lane passes for any day starting May 11 through September 2 and then weekends September 7 through October 27, 2019.

The Fast Lane program is broken up into two categories, dependent on which rides you wish to use the benefit.

Fast Lane gets you access to Antique Cars, Blue Streak, Cadillac Cars, Corkscrew, Dodgem, Gemini, Giant Wheel, Lake Erie Eagles, Magnum XL-200, maXair,
Millennium Force, Monster, Pipe Scream, Power Tower, Raptor, Rougarou, Scrambler, Skyhawk, Snake River Falls, Troika, Wave Swinger, Wicked Twister, and WindSeeker.

Fast Lane Plus gets you access to all the Fast Lane rides plus GateKeeper, Maverick, Steel Vengeance, Top Thrill Dragster, and Valravn.

Online prices vary from $65-105 for Fast Lane and $85-155 for Fast Lane Plus dependent on the day. Prices of the Fast Lane wristbands can vary when purchasing directly at Cedar Point and can even change price throughout the day depending on demand.

Guests with Fast Lane wristbands enter a separate queue for the attraction, allowing them to by-pass the guests in the regular queue. On extremely busy days, the wait for Fast Lane, while still less than the regular queue, can often still be quite an extensive wait. Usually this is experienced on major attractions like Maverick and Steel Vengeance.

The gamble the guest takes in pre-purchasing the Fast Lane wristband is one never knows how the crowds will be on certain days, as weather and many other factors can play a big role in crowd levels. The pricing structure gives guests a good idea on what Cedar Point expects the crowd level to be for a certain day. However, should it rain all day Saturday, there is a good chance the park will see higher attendance on a sunny Sunday and the Fast Lane plus prices will be adjusted accordingly.

Fast Lane wristbands also do sell out, as there is only a limited supply available each day. This is where the guest needs to make a decision on whether it is worth it to purchase the Fast Lane wristbands ahead of time or wait to buy at the park.

Are you visiting Cedar Point on vacation and it will be your only day at the park? For guests that do not visit Cedar Point often, the Fast Lane program is an exciting add-on, as it gives you the potential to ride all the attractions with your limited time at the park.

If you have the benefit of a season pass and visit Cedar Point often throughout the year, a Fast Lane may not be of interest given you can come and go to the park at your leisure. For example, we are locals and visit Cedar Point typically 25+ days per year; therefore, we have no need for the Fast Lane program since if we do not ride our favorite attractions, we can do it next time. As a passholder, we also know what days of the week and time of year to visit to enjoy minimal crowds. It is rare to find us at Cedar Point on a Saturday, for example, when Fast Lane is in highest demand and crowds at their highest.

Convinced you need a Fast Lane wristband for your visit to Cedar Point?

If multiple rides on some of the more popular attractions are the goal of your Cedar Point vacation, then go ahead and get a Fast Lane wristband.

Saturdays and busy holidays are always the most expensive. If saving money is your goal, perhaps you want to consider getting the Fast Lane wristbands on Friday or Sunday. Or better yet, consider going on a weekday, where the Fast Lane wristbands can be as much as 23% cheaper than a Saturday.

Platinum Fast Lane Upgrade

One of the lesser known Cedar Point insider secrets is for Platinum passholders. Guests can purchase a regular Fast Lane and get a free upgrade to Fast Lane Plus! The upgrade is only available for purchases made at the park. This can be a savings of $20-50 depending on the day. On busier days, Platinum passholders should do this upgrade early in case they sell out for the day.

Annual Pass Renewal

For the last several years, Cedar Point has done an incentive to those that renew their season pass when they go on sale for the following year in August. Typically, guests will get a free Fast Lane Plus wristband to use in the current year when renewing their pass for the subsequent year. The only caveat is they are never valid for use on Saturdays.

Cedar Point goes to weekend only operation in September and October. This means guests can only redeem for the passholder Fast Lane incentive on Fridays and Sundays, when the park is typically experiencing lower crowds and Fast Lane often is not even needed (with the exception of Steel Vengeance, Maverick, etc.).

Fast Lane Sales

Occasionally Cedar Point will offer an incentive on Fast Lane throughout the year.

For example, the park recently had a sale only for passholders, which offered a Fast Lane Plus for $74.99 valid any day through September 2. The caveat, like above, is the program was only available Sunday-Friday.

There are also other combo sales available that combine tickets and Fast Lane into one.

Summary

Despite often being a point of contention for the cost and idea of allowing people to cut the line, the Fast Lane system provides a crucial means for the parks to up-charge the guests. The additional income stream allows us to see a steady supply of improvements each year, while providing a benefit to the guests with a limited time to enjoy the park.

Yes, Fast Lane adds a substantial cost to your vacation, but it also needs to be that way to balance supply and demand. If the price was too low, there would be no benefit to the system.

If guests have some flexibility in their schedule, they can save some money on the purchase of Cedar Point Fast Lane passes by buying on less busy days.

Have any other tips for using the Fast Lane program?

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