Dragons & ET FOTL

[wings91]

The last time we went, we used FOTL for everything. Some ride like Mummy, MiB, Hulk, etc you would walk right up to the boarding area with no merging with the regular queue.

I was very excited to use FOTL for Dragons (my favorite coaster) and be able to ride at will. However, instead of getting ending up at the boarding area, we merged with the regular line at the choice for Fire or Ice. Because the park wasn't vary crowded, this is also where the regular line began also. So FOTL didn't save me a second. I had to wait in the boarding line with everyone else. Now had it been a bussier time, I would have bypassed a lot of people, but it wasn't busy. I know I'm a FOTL snob, but since I've got it, I want to use it.

For ET, I also had to wait through the outdoor area for the doors to open, then watch the preshow before entering the naming card room to get my boarding pass. There was a shortcut after that for FOTL, but it didn't seem to speed things up much either.

My questions is: Was this normal for both these rides? What other rides don't save you any line time?

 

[TommyTutone]

I went in August when the parks were fairly busy and like you, Dueling Dragons still had a long wait because of the line after the split, but it was still much faster than the normal line.

In ET, we were let in ahead of the crowd waiting outside, merged with them for our nametags, and then a 2nd, Express Pass lane after. In both cases, the ET lines were extremely long and we probably saved 40 minutes with the express pass.

 

[Metro West]

The last time we went, we used FOTL for everything. Some ride like Mummy, MiB, Hulk, etc you would walk right up to the boarding area with no merging with the regular queue.

I was very excited to use FOTL for Dragons (my favorite coaster) and be able to ride at will. However, instead of getting ending up at the boarding area, we merged with the regular line at the choice for Fire or Ice. Because the park wasn't vary crowded, this is also where the regular line began also. So FOTL didn't save me a second. I had to wait in the boarding line with everyone else. Now had it been a bussier time, I would have bypassed a lot of people, but it wasn't busy. I know I'm a FOTL snob, but since I've got it, I want to use it.

For ET, I also had to wait through the outdoor area for the doors to open, then watch the preshow before entering the naming card room to get my boarding pass. There was a shortcut after that for FOTL, but it didn't seem to speed things up much either.

My questions is: Was this normal for both these rides? What other rides don't save you any line time?

You are correct on E.T....there is an Express Line to the left after you walk into the forest.

Dueling Dragons doesn't have a true Express line...you still have to wait when you get to the loading room. Personally...I think it's because you get to sit in whatever row you want on DD...unlike other rides when they tell you where to sit. Make sense? That's just my opinion...nothing official.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

You definitely save more or less time with Express depending on how busy the attraction is at that particular time that you arrive. E.T. and Dueling Dragons COULD save you a lot of time with Express.

But if the line is shorter than where Express cuts in then no, not really.

 

[Timmy Boy]

Dragons also has 2 coasters, so if the Express line dumped you out at the Ice boarding area, people would be backtracking through the line to get to Fire, causing commotion.