Skip the line tickets: are they worth it?

Skipping the line tickets. They’re tempting, but when you have to pay extra, are they worth it? Today, we’ll be diving into the answer to that very question.

There are many places around the world that offer this service: Thorpe park, Disneyland, Disneyworld, Merlin affiliates, LEGOLAND, Aston towers and Sea World to name just a handful. And many smaller venues do too. But what is it that you are actually paying for? Just as it sounds, you are buying your way past the queue, some of which can be up to three hours! By purchasing a skip the line ticket you unlock access to the FastTrack priority line which means that you can maximise your time at a particular resort.

First of all, let’s look at the maths. We’re going to use Thorpe Park as an example here.

According to Trip Advisor, the average wait time for a ride at Thorpe Park is between 45 minutes and hour and a half. Because they’re generally open for 12 hours, depending on season times and extra events like Fright Nights and raves. In that time, including food and breaks, the average guest can go on 7 or 8 rides without a fast pass. Purchasing a fast past cuts the wait time down to as little as 10 to 15 minutes. That’s a lot of extra ride time. Factoring in the extra walking you’ll have to do between rides, that means that you’ll probably get in around 20 rides! That’s twice as much as on a normal pass. Even if you buy an advanced day ticket at £39 (which is £11 cheaper than the standard), getting 20 rides in would take 2 to 3 days. That would be £117 (around $155 USD), before extra accommodation for staying 2 nights. On a fast pass, costing £10 you could do it all in one day, meaning that after purchasing a fast pass and a ticket, you’d only have spent £49 – that’s a saving of £68 not including hotels – around $85.

Unless you specifically want to only do a few certain rides, the pass definitely works out better from a financial points. This is especially useful in family groups where not everyone will want to go on the same ride.

Their site also states that “You can also purchase FastTrack on your mobile by scanning the QR codes found at the entrance to some of our most popular rides” for as little as £10 (around $15 USD) even after getting to the park. This is great news for budget buyers since you won’t have wasted any money purchasing one for a quiet day, but if you do arrive and it’s busy, you can grab your pass there and then! These things are much more flexible than they used to be, and they’re getting better all the time.

One example of this improvement is Disney’s FastTrack+, which actually has a 60 day scope for any of their resorts – and there are a lot of them, including:

·       Disney Resort Hotels

·       Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel

·       Walt Disney World Swan Hotel

·       Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World

·       Best Western Lake Buena Vista Resort Hotel

·       B-Hotel Disney

·       Doubletree Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista

·       Hilton Buena Vista Palace Resort

·       Hilton Orlando Resort Lake Buena Vista

·       Holiday Inn Orlando Disney Springs Area

·       Wyndham Garden Hotel Lake Buena Vista

·       Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort

·       Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek

·       Waldorf Astoria Bonnet Creek

Now, that’s all great in itself, but that’s not the only fast pass perk available in many places. This time, we are looking at Disneyworld’s official policy on the fast pass plus. It has a few variants that will massively boost your experience. Here is what they had to say:

“Disney Fast Pass+ service allows you to reserve access to select Walt Disney World theme park attractions, entertainment and Character Greetings in advance.”

So, you don’t even need to walk to a queue with your card (other venues often use lanyards). You can book in from the comfort of your hotel, planning your route in advance the night before. This means that you’ll be able to get organized to see everything you want without getting in a frenzy at the ground level. It also works for character meetings, meaning that you won’t run the risk of it being fully booked – because your place is already reserved. There’s nothing worse than booking an all inclusive, expensive holiday, only to miss out on the main reason for your trip. As you can see with character meet ups, the line skip aren’t only limited to rides. In many cases, they can be used for food too!

If you have disabilities fast track is definitely worth it, but not through the standard avenues. The websites aren’t always workable but if you call up, many of these companies have special types of fast track – and they’re usually free! They’re available for all kinds of ailments whether physical or non-physical, ensuring you get equal involvement.

So, coming back to our original question of whether fast pass tickets are worth the money, the answer is a resounding yes!