Priority lanes at amusement parks, yes or no? \ stacker news ~AskSN

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Priority lanes at amusement parks, yes or no?

423 sats \ 21 comments \ @south_korea_ln 15 Sep AskSN

I went to Universal Studios in Osaka over the weekend with my son. My wife asked if I had gotten the Priority Pass that allows one to skip lines, and I said no. She thinks it's a completely normal thing to buy, whereas I feel like it's teaching my son a wrong life lesson, i.e. that one is somehow better than the other because one has money. At the end of the day, waiting in line actually was one of his highlights. As I did not portray it as a chore, he thought it was part of the fun. But I think next time I go there with my wife, she'll insist on buying it. We can afford it, so I'm not going to die on this hill, but I'm just wondering what fellow stackers think of this concept that has become surprisingly common in amusement parks. As a kid, it didn't exist yet, and everyone had to wait the same amount of time.

No, and I don't go to amusement parks18.8%

No31.3%

Yes50.0%

16 votes \ poll ended

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152 sats \ 3 replies \ @SimpleStacker 15 Sep

I hate priority passes, but I would pay for them for a better experience.

I think the interesting questions are:

Why can amusement parks get away with this practice that consumers mostly despise?
Why didn't they do it in our generation?

I think the second is easier to answer. It's probably because digital identity is now easier to manage. In the past, if they sold paper priority passes, it could be easy for someone to give their pass to someone else. Checking for ID at the gate of every ride would probably be too slow.

The first is a little trickier. It's some combination of IP law and land regs limiting the creation of new parks, while simultaneously a surge in demand from places like China. Thus, with high demand and limited supply, the incumbents have a lot of power to do whatever they want and consumers don't have better options.

30 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 10h

Haha, we had exactly opposite responses. I like them but won't pay for them.

30 sats \ 1 reply \ @south_korea_ln OP 11h

Yeah, i noticed a lot of Chinese visitors (in addition to koreans, ofc). One scolded the worker when he felt that, as a priority pass holder, he was not given sufficient priority. Didn't want to add it initially as it confirmed a negative stereotype about Chinese tourists pervasive in the Korean mindset. And it was the odd exception.

Good point about it being easier to implement now.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @SimpleStacker 9h

he felt that, as a priority pass holder, he was not given sufficient priority

The really weird thing about priority passes is that if too many people buy them, then they actually become less useful. Then they might have to introduce yet another tier of privilege.

I haven't been to Disney in years, but I heard their system has gotten incredibly complicated

105 sats \ 2 replies \ @jimmysong 15 Sep

Funny, my experience at the same park in Osaka this past summer is what changed my mind.

From a pure economic perspective, you'll get roughly double the number of rides by buying fastpass, so depending on how much of a priority you put into the ride experience, it's not a hard calculation to see if it's worth it.
For me, not buying one is penny wise and pound foolish. The point of going to these places is to have a good time. Waiting in line sucks (especially outdoors in hot weather) and detracts from your experience, so reducing that has significant utility, beyond the time savings.
Ultimately, this is a case of skimpflation, where they degrade the main experience because they can't easily raise the prices of the general ticket too much without taking a big PR hit. If you're on a Bitcoin standard, the tickets are getting cheaper in BTC terms, even with the additional cost of a priority pass. You don't need to be a cheapskate or have your experience debased.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @south_korea_ln OP 11h

I agree that from an economic point of view it makes sense. We could have done at least twice as many rides. I was thinking more philosophically/morally.

By the way, did you wear the hat in Japan?~~

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @jimmysong 9h

I did wear my hat. Definitely makes it cooler on hot summer days and helps my family keep track of me in crowds.

I suppose there's some lesson about a willingness to suffer or something, but there are lots of ways to teach that outside an amusement park context.

136 sats \ 3 replies \ @Undisciplined 15 Sep

Are you asking if I pay for them or if I approve of them?

42 sats \ 2 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 11h

We could draw a Venn diagram and argue about how big the overlap is...

For now, I'll just note that this confirms a pet peeve i have about online polls, one never adds sufficient options or clearly states the question to cover all outcomes.

And this probably also extends to offline polls and highlights the weaknesses of polling in general to probe people's (political) mindset.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 10h

I'll just answer both versions.

I approve of express lanes. They better ration scarce resources by giving those with greater demand a way to pay more. It's just a really crude auction mechanism and it probably enables lower general admission prices for everyone else.

I never pay for them because I have super low time preference.

42 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 10h

I did not expect any less utilitarian of you~~

68 sats \ 1 reply \ @CruncherDefi 14h

From utilitarian perspective priority pass is easily worth it. If you calculate how much does it cost to spend one hour in the park, and then calculate how many hours you spent in lines, it easily pays off to take priority pass.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 11h

Yeah, from an utilitarian perspective, it makes sense. I just grew up in an environment where having money is not necessarily a virtue and showing privilege is against my core values. I've only started to question those and slightly change them after meeting my wife~~

140 sats \ 1 reply \ @justin_shocknet 15 Sep

It reflects economic reality, without these upgrades the base ticket would have to cost more, meaning less foot traffic because that would price more people out

It's like taxing the rich, but the you can't complain when the rich get better service because now you depend on them for revenue

Personally I'd prefer the UX of a higher priced standard ticket and have less people in the park overall, but then economies of scale would probably make that standard ticket even closer to the cost of an upgraded ticket today

It's basically a subsidy to the lower income as constructed, but also why park UX sucks... Something something socialism

17 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 11h

Didn't think of it in terms of taxing the rich. Having some socialist background, this will maybe help me feel more comfortable about paying up next time. I'm doing it to help the people who can't afford it. I like this framing~~

200 sats \ 1 reply \ @tomlaies 15 Sep

The weird thing about amusement parks that people WANT to have them packed and long lines. Only if they're full makes people think they're desirable. It's a social memetic.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 11h

Yeah, same as these days, lots of restaurants in Korea will make you queue even if there is available seating. Gotta create that FOMO.

135 sats \ 1 reply \ @OT 15 Sep

I probably lean towards no.

The interesting thing is that it's a funny question for a Bitcoin forum as this is exactly how block space works! Yes for Bitcoin, no for theme parks. I guess the difference is the social issue of being seen walking straight through where as with Bitcoin they're just addresses.

42 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 15 Sep

I have some expectations as to how the poll will go, being on a forum with many free market maximalists, but I am still curious to what extent this applies when social factors come into play, as you appropriately highlight.

EDIT: the block space analogy is spot on. Missed it on the first reading.

97 sats \ 1 reply \ @StillStackinAfterAllTheseYears 15 Sep

No, because I don't like spending extra money, yes because I hate lines. So ideally, someone else picks up the tab and we hit the express line.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 11h

Your honesty is appreciated and noted, if ever we meet in person~~