Another Popular Theme Park Is Now Competing With Disney’s Skip-the-Line Service Trend

You know what they say! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

The Disneyland Resort is considered by most to be the premier theme park experience in Southern California. In fact, Disney’s first theme park resort could be getting even better with a possible billion-dollar-plus expansion on the horizon. So it only makes sense that another Orange County theme park is taking after the Disney juggernaut in its own park operations.

Technically speaking, Knott’s Berry Farm isn’t just the oldest theme park in California, it’s one of the oldest theme parks in America. Yet, the historic park  is now fighting to get back to the top of the theme park heirarchy, starting with a new pay-to-ride ticket add-on.

According to Los Angeles Daily News, Knott’s Berry Farm is following the Disney playbook by introducing its own version of the Lightning Lane, essentially a FastPass system you can pay for to skip lines.

The new Knott’s program is called the Fast Lane and it starts at $7.50 per individual ride. This optional ticket add-on will act as a front-of-the-line upgrade and can be accessed in the newly upgraded Knott’s mobile app.

You can purchase a Single-Use Fast Lane pass the app after 2PM each day and YOU MUST BE IN THE PARK to buy. The pricing will vary (just as Disneyland’s Lightning Lane passes) based on date, time of day, demand, and time of year.

The Single-Use Fast Lane passes are also only good for eight rides: Bear-y Tales, Ghost Rider, Hang Time, Jaguar, Pony Express, Silver Bullet, Timber Mountain Log Ride, and Xcelerator — some of Knott’s Berry Farm’s most popular rides.

The single-use passes join the all-day Fast Lane passes that are already available and will also be limited in availability each day. The all-day passes currently range between $70 to $120 and cover a total of 15 rides.

The new offering comes in the wake of the announced Cedar Fair (Knott’s Berry Farm’s owner) and Six Flags merger set to be completed this year. Per Los Angeles Daily News, the new option is expected to make its way to other Cedar Fair properties, including:

• Carowinds — March 8th, 2024
• Dorney Park — April 12th, 2024
• Kings Island — April 19th, 2024
• Canada’s Wonderland — April 20th, 2024
• Cedar Point — May 4th, 2024 and
• Schlitterbahn Waterpark and Resort — May 18th, 2024

Disneyland’s Lightning Lane option usually ranges from $15 to $30 per person per ride so the Knott’s option is significantly less as it continues a market that is still dominated by Disney.

How the new Knott’s Berry Farm ride experience offering fares remains to be seen, but so far the reception has been positive. In the meantime, we’ll keep you posted on all the biggest theme park news so stay tuned here at AllEars to stay in the know!

FIRST LOOK: See The CHANGES Disney Made to PhotoPass Cast Member Costumes!

In a world without free FastPasses, are you a fan of the pay-per-ride format or do you prefer the all-ride-all-day coverage of something like Genie+? Let us know in the comments!