At a recent visit to Six Flags New England, the Flash Pass program worked like a charm. Once my park companions and I determined which rides we wanted to try, we ran around and beeped in at the reservation stations in front of each Q-bot-equipped attraction. The device then prompted us to head over to the rides at the appropriate times. Instead of waiting in lines, we were eating lunch, chilling out at the waterpark, or off riding other attractions.
Q-bot does not give you a full-day itinerary; it only indicates the boarding time for one ride at a time. After guests have finished a ride, it calculates the wait and lists the time to arrive for the next ride. When a coaster had a problem and we had to wait an extra 45 minutes before we could board the ride, the Q-bot "knew" that we were detained in the line even though we had already checked in.
When another coaster had a brief delay, the Q-bot informed us of the problem and recalculated the wait time. And when we realized we had reserved too many attractions to reasonably experience in one day, canceling a ride was a breeze.
Is Flash Pass worth it?
Unlike the Disney and Universal parks, which include time-ticketing programs as part of the admission price, Six Flags charges extra for Flash Pass. Once you've shelled out your hard-earned cash to get into the park, does it make sense to fork over more money to avoid lines? If the park is crowded, yes.
If you've already made the investment in time, effort, and cash to visit a park, it probably doesn't make sense to wait four or five hours in lines over the course of a day just to save the cost of the Flash Pass program. The additional rides you'll be able to experience, not to mention the freedom you'll gain, translates into real value. And as they say in those credit card commercials, the red-carpet treatment is "priceless."
The Flash Pass paper tickets program
The less sophisticated paper ticket Flash Pass program that Six Flags offers at some of its parks is also a good value. It is easier to use and actually more flexible than the Q-bot technology. You hand over the fee; the Flash Pass attendant gives you a handful of tickets (the number varies from park to park) that are good for the most popular rides; you trade in your tickets and get into the Flash Pass priority seating line.
The upside is that you can ride whenever you wish. The downside is that you have a limited number of Flash Pass rides (unless you pay more for another batch of tickets). Also, on busy days, there may be a couple dozen people ahead of you in the Flash Pass line, so you may not be able to immediately board the ride. Still, waiting 10 or 15 minutes is better than waiting two or three hours.
More Flash Pass Info:
Next page: How Flash Pass Works plus Flash Pass Tips
Participating Six Flags Parks
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