For $299 you can skip to the front of the line at Universal. Does this bother you?

Actually, it makes me smirk a little to think of someone paying $300 to sit where an entire theatre can throw popcorn at his head. Just a little.

No, stuff like this has been around. If you got the dough and want to blow it. Blow it.

I don’t care for USH, but I would take advantage if I did. Every company offers premium service. It’s a smart business move.There is demand for it.

I can stay in line at the post office like everyone else, or I can do the smart move by paying a premium price to have the truck driver come to my house and pick up my package.

Well at least it comes with all that other stuff, but still, not worth it.

I’ve heard of this all over the place.
I remember going on a ride in Europe in the mountains and there being some sort of advanced ticket you could buy to bypass the line.. and we got it.

Whatever happened to patience? I can’t think of any kind of entertainment (let alone Universal!) worth paying $300 extra to see a little sooner.

Yes, it bothers me. Here’s why.

It’s one thing when an airline, hotel, arena, car rental agency or any other business offers a selection for a potential customer to choose from the offerings available. It is a good business practice to offer a variety of products/services in order to target the right customers. These companies are out to make a profit. They know that in order to do so, they have to offer a variety during high demand times. They have to know their market mix and how to accommodate all.

Where Universal Studios doesn’t seem to grasp the concept is that allowing people to cut in line of those who are already waiting generates ill-will. It’s one thing to walk through first class on an airline flight and observe customers already comfortably seated with their beverage of choice. They either paid for this benefit or were upgraded. We are still on the same flight because we chose that date to fly. It’s different when those of us in line have to wait longer due to those with a VIP ticket being able to go to the front.

I think of it as buying an express ticket? Nothing wrong here.

It doesn’t bother me. It’s been over 10 years since I’ve done it, but I’ve spent extra money to use the express lane at Great America. I think we only spent an extra $25 to $30, not $300. I’ve spent close to 2 hours waiting in line for a ride, so the extra money to skip the wait is worth it.

No. If people are either stupid enough to pay that just to avoid waiting in line or have so much money that they can spend it on things like that, then more power to ‘em. I’ll wait and save my $299.

To me having the option says that I might not want to use any service from that company. Waiting two hours for a ride is absurd. I would rather them double the price for everyone so you can actually go on more than 3 rides in a day.

The lines at amusement parks are generally pretty ridiculous, but there’s really nothing the parks can do about it.

We live about an hour away from Carowinds on the South Carolina/North Carolina state line and every October it turns into Scarowinds at night. I love riding roller coasters at night when it’s not 110 degrees out and they have pretty decent Halloween-type attractions, so we go every couple of years. The tickets are about $40 each and it only lasts from 7–12 each night. Last time we went, we got to ride one (yes, ONE) roller coaster, go through a creepy funhouse, and do a haunted corn maze thing before realizing it was already 11PM. I was pretty disappointed to spend all that money to do three things and then make the hour-long drive home.

@glacial, I read your response when you posted it, and I’m still puzzling over it. Did you think this was about a movie theater rather than a theme park, or did I miss something?

@Jeruba I sure did!

“Does this bother you?”

I try my best to not let anything bother me. And although I personally would not allow such an option for my business, I have no issues with others running their business any way they wish. Who am I to judge?

It’s not easy for my mind to let go of such judgements. So I don’t like to go there at all. I’m still struggling to accept the recently reported Handicapped Black Market Disney Guides who rent themselves to rich folk for $130 pr/hr to roll around with the family all day. Being in the wheelchair gets up to six people moved to the front of every line, without paying the additional preferred customer fees to the park.

“Passing around the rogue guide service’s phone number recently became a shameless ritual among Manhattan’s private-school set during spring break. The service asks who referred you before they even take your call. It’s insider knowledge that very few have and share carefully.”

I just don’t know how to feel about something like this. So I try not to feel anything about it at all.

@RealEyesRealizeRealLies: They had a segment about that on The Today Show about two weeks ago. The guides were not in wheelchairs, they were walking but had handicapped passes (which, as we all know, you can be handicapped and not appear to be handicapped – only your doctor knows for sure). The show profiled two particular guides – one man and one woman. One guide charged $500 per day and one charged by the hour. The handicapped passes allow for up to 5 additional guests per handicapped person. The two guides profiled in the segment were confronted afterwards, and The Today Show staff said you could bet their photos were now posted at Disneyland and they’re probably not going to be allowed back any time soon. The guides were not apologetic when they were confronted by the mikes and cameras.

No. I look at it this way. More money for these theme parks the better. Maybe naive of me to think but couldn’t help imagining it would be used to improve the experience of theme park going and maybe even more hires-? : )

It bothers me.

But, at the same time, are we bothered by some groups getting discounts? The military discount at Disney is huge. I think when we went 4 years ago it was 5 days for around $120 and the pass was good for a year. I want the military families to have the access, but at the same time what about low income families? I guess that is different topic than paying extra for a VIP service. I think @Pied_Pfeffer made a good point that what is really wrong with it is it slows down the line just because someone has the money to be so extravagant while us peasants wait in the heat. I don’t think many people pay for the service though, so the inconvenience is minimal. They also let the disabled get right on. If you are in a wheel chair, often you can queue in a different place and cut into the line. Depending on the person’s disability you might think this is fair or not.

Nah, I find it hilarious though that folks will stand in line for a couple of hours to get a minimal rush that most of these lame rides offer, nowt as queer as folk.

@ucme I see men do it for sex all the time. Pay for dinner, a couple hours of conversation that they don’t really care about.

Yeah, but that’s a ride worth waiting for & I don’t feel sick afterwards either…depending on the meal.

Universal? Go during the week – Tuesday or Wednesday, during the summer. Go late if you want to avoid the traffic. About 1:00, 1:30 PM it will rain for 15 – 20 minutes. This is when you go into a restaurant and eat lunch. By the time you come out, the rain will be over, and 80% of the tourists will have left, thinking the day is a washout. You will then have time to ride/see everything you want, twice.

Save the $300, ask a Floridian.

@Seek_Kolinahr My experience at Disney, I haven’t been to Universal in so many years, but I assume it is the same, is during the summer the lines are long all week long. I guess I am so spoiled about going off season and rarely having a line, the summer just seems annoying. Even when I lived out of state we went off season, because I don’t have kids and am not controlled by the school year. We just went to Busch Gardens on a weekend day, but I made sure to go early May before schools started letting out and after spring breaks had finished. Wait time was zero to ten minutes on everything. I have been in the smmer to Disney only because I was meeting friends coming down from a northern state, usully we just went to a water park and met them for dinner. If it is really true about Tuesday and Wednesday I’ll definitely let my friends know. Still, any of the parks in the summer—so hot.

Disney is hell. No one leaves Disney because of the rain – they paid way too much to get in. I don’t do Disney. Except Epcot. Epcot is cool. And Downtown Disney, if you count that.

@Seek_Kolinahr Epcot is Disney (did we do this once before or was it someone else?) you must mean Magic Kingdom. Or, Maybe you mean you don’t like the other three parks, just Epcot? I like Disney better than Universal personally. We are going to go to Sea World some day soon, is it not bad in the summer? I was going to wait until Late October.

Meanwhile, what did you think about the main question? About people paying more money to avoid the lines? Do you think it is fair that people willing to shell out more $$$‘s can cut in line?

I do not go to any Disney parks, save for Epcot.

“I don’t do Disney. Except Epcot”. How does that imply that I believe Epcot is anything other than a Disney park? I’m confused at your confusion.

If people want to pay more, let them. Doesn’t hurt me any. I avoid the lines without paying more.

@Seek_Kolinahr I just think the sentence can be interpreted either way, because so many people I know use Disney synonomous with Magic Kingdom, but most of them are from out of state, or only go to Disney once every ten years.

The word “except” means something, love.

I know dear. :)