Posted on 10/15/2005 2:50:50 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
TAMPA -- It cost Barry Grayson $600 to tour Busch Gardens the other night with his family, but the Bradenton man says it was worth every penny to have a guide escort them to the front of the line of major attractions at Busch's annual Halloween event.
The fee was more than double the regular admission price for Grayson's five-member party. But for an increasing number of tourists at theme parks and attractions, paying extra to break in line or join a custom tour is the only way to go.
Hour waits for rides marred his family's otherwise pleasant visits to Busch Gardens in the past, Grayson said.
"It was well worth it to optimize our experience in the park," Grayson said.
The extra fees for VIP treatment are a growing source of revenue for theme parks and attractions. Operators say guest demand is driving what they do. Long lines are guests' No. 1 complaint and a pleasure killer in our increasingly time-compressed society, they say. Visitors, especially repeat patrons, also want more specialized experiences.
The Empire State Building in New York started an express option in May. Tourists can plunk down $14 to wait up to 90 minutes with the masses for the elevator ride to the 86th floor observatory, or they can pay $35 for the same view but with a wait guaranteed to be no more than 20 minutes.
The idea, observatory director Bob Zorn said, was to offer an option for tourists who didn't want to wait and to boost business. "People were walking away," he said.
About 3 percent of the 396,000visitors have taken advantage of the offer in July, the most recent month for which information is available. No one has complained about the system, Zorn said.
Some Dislike Idea
The strategy is not embraced by all theme parks and attractions, however. Industry leader Disney won't let guests break the line at Walt Disney World near Orlando or Disneyland in Southern California.
Disney's philosophy, which dates to the founding of Disneyland in 1955 in California, is that all guests are VIPs, said Walt Disney World spokesman Dave Herbst.
Its answer to long lines is Fastpass, the system introduced in 1999 to give visitors who don't want to wait in line a predetermined time to come back for fast access.
Walt Disney World's version of fast-tracking lines is a VIP tour service at $115 an hour plus park admission, Herbst said. Personal guides use Fastpass and their knowledge of the park to avoid long lines, but they don't cut in front of others.
Disney offers at least one privilege for that premium price.
Guests can enter special areas at Walt Disney World for prime viewing of its popular parades. They don't have to wait an hour or more, as regular visitors do, to get the best view. Herbst said the parade policy doesn't inconvenience regular customers as cutting in line would.
Different Parks, Different Perks
Not all theme park VIP programs are created equally.
At Universal Orlando Resort, which includes Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, Express Plus shortens lines to no more than 15-minutes. But to get unlimited, short-line visits to attractions, there's a catch. Guests must stay in specific hotels owned in part by the theme parks, and the room rates often exceed $170 a night.
For vacationers who can't afford the hotels, Universal also sells Express Plus access for an additional $15 on top of the $59.75 regular admission, but the fast access is available only once per ride, not unlimited as offered to hotel guests.
Such policies bother Steve Baker, one of the original top managers at Walt Disney World and now an Orlando-based theme park consultant. Baker said it's unfair to give those who can afford it special treatment while regular guests go without. "There's something basically wrong with the attitude that money can buy some people out of the hassle of waiting in line," Baker said.
At Universal's parks, cutting in line can mean sneaking around to the back of attractions. Park officials place the VIP line in inconspicuous places to limit exposure.
Few Guests Grumble
At Busch Gardens' Howl-O-Scream Halloween event, guided group tours go straight through the front entrance of haunted houses but use the handicapped entrance up the exit ramp for break-the-line-access at the park's top roller coasters.
Part-time tour guide Roger Scruggs, a Tampa high school English teacher, says there has been only occasional grumbling from guests as the tour groups pass by. More typical, he says, are guests asking to join the tour. Halloween tour prices range from $49.99 to $129.99 per adult, depending on amenities.
For the first time, Busch Gardens is allowing nontour guests front-line access to haunted houses and roller coasters for extra fees of between $25 and $35 in addition to the $55-plus regular admission. Park spokesman Gerard Hoeppner said he doesn't expect other guests to be upset.
In addition to breaking the line, many of the parks also offer enhanced experiences for an extra fee.
Regular visitors to Busch Gardens get a good view of roaming animals during a train ride included in the regular admission price. A more personalized $33.95 truck tour of the animal habitat allows visitors to feed giraffes lettuce by hand.
"You could never do this on the train ride," said Donna Harding, who with husband Mike had just fed a giraffe. The Bedford, England, couple said the price was worth it.
"You could never do this on the train ride."
Donna Harding, On close encounter with animals on premium tour at Busch Gardens
Great lesson to teach your children. That you can cut in front of the peasants. For a price of course.
Money buys you things. It's the capitalist way.
But why would anyone stand in such long lines to begin with?
I'm glad my kids are too old for that nonsense now. My idea of a vacation is just sitting on the beach with a good book and watching the waves roll in.
(Denny Crane: "I like nature. Don't talk to me about the environment".)
Bump!
Interesting.
Agreed. If it's torture you're looking for, why not just stay home and flog yourself? It's cheaper, too.
True and we're not told to stand in the lines.
What will they do when everyone pays the extra money? How will they reduce the lines then?
How true.
Busch's fault?
One aspect of the story nobody is talking about is the life of the guides for these amusement park yahoos. Can anyone here imagine a worse job than walking an amusement park with a family of self-satisfied chuckleheads with a sense of entitlement?
<< There are better ways to spend your money than waiting in line for hours, watching others, who plunked down more, escorted to the front of the line. It's the company's right to do it but who wants to pay for the privilege of standing in a line that gets longer and longer? >>
Not me.
That's also why I fly First Class. Especially internationally.
Way better to be one of three or four passengers among 6-14 seats, than one of 320 or so jammed into 330 "seats!"
I've heard rumors that if you slip your airline an extra $500 to $1000, they give you this nice wide seat up in the front of the plane, with free drinks and better food, too.
yeah, reminds me of willy wonka and the chocolate factory. Too bad similar results don't occur!
1. Charge more. And/or:
2. Build another park.
Kids cry. Parents are stubborn. The excitement of the moment. The once a year or longer opportunity. The price of parking. The ubber disgust of having to return and try the line a second time. The good rides always have lines. To aggravate your parents. To aggravate your kids. To do something while drying off from the water ride. To hide. To blend. To try a different seat. To find your hat. You promised your cousin a first hand experience report. You have one barf bag left and you need to use it before you fly home.
After living up the street from Disney for 17 years, I can supply you with more answers, but you get the gist. :-)
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