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Priority lanes at amusement parks, yes or no?
381 sats \ 8 comments \ @south_korea_ln 4h 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 parks10.0%
No40.0%
Yes50.0%
10 votes \ 20h left
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135 sats \ 1 reply \ @OT 4h
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.
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42 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 4h
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.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @jimmysong 18m
Funny, my experience at the same park in Osaka this past summer is what changed my mind.
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @tomlaies 1h
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.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @justin_shocknet 1h
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
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @SimpleStacker 2h
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.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @StillStackinAfterAllTheseYears 2h
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.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 3h
Are you asking if I pay for them or if I approve of them?
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