GAcoaster Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Having worked in GR, I can tell you not having to do photos any longer and eliminating SP fraud (people using passes that aren't theirs) is a BIG reason for this. Fraud happens more than you think because the quality of the pictures is so poor. Usually they only catch people cheating the system becuase they try to use the same pass twice in one day. In the long run the savings will be huge, and not having photos means you can now do the cards as memberships which means you keep billing people for as long as they want to keep their pass, no new cards needed. The biometric scanning won't be used for day tickets from what I understand, just season passes and any multi-day tickets. I've had a Platinum pass from BGW for YEARS now (15+) and I just use the same card and they keep billing me the $10 a month I agreed to when I signed up so I keep the rate I got when I bought it, they keep making money from me spread out throughout the year rather than just for the summer season. It's a win for me and for the park. For any company a steady and predictable revenue stream from a membership like that is ideal because it helps even out the peaks and valleys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikematar Posted April 22, 2014 Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 I know it's going to get better but....Holy long lines! We ended up going yesterday for the first time this season and it was a relatively quiet day in the park as far as crowds go. It took over a half hour to get into the park because of all the season pass redemptions and most of the gates were open. The average wait time at the season pass redemption tent was 2+ hours for most of the day, I was going to add dining to my pass but didn't think it was worth the wait. I also found out today (thanks to a friend) that I needed to wait in that line after all to add parking to my pass (???) ... something that they forgot to mention at the front gates. Not really sure how I'm going to fix this now, I’m going to call over to the park this afternoon. (beside all of this, the park looked great ... so excited for this season) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANofNJ Posted April 25, 2014 Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 Why are they only letting gold pass holder in 10 min early? And on top of it, the rides aren't open. I went to Kings Dominion the last weekend with my platinum pass, and they let us in 30 min early and they had a few coasters open. Dorney and Cedar Point I believe give you a hour, Disney gives their guest an hour on certain days, and nights. Great Adventure needs to get with the program. The whole 10 minute thing is a joke and on top of it, the new gold season passes don't even mention they are gold passes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonlee Posted April 25, 2014 Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 processing is horrible! i waited over an hour on opening day and about 15 minutes the next day for my cousin. I decided to go earlier the second time. My fingerprint didn't work on the second day. The 10 min was a joke. They let everybody in at the gate then 10 min early at the ribbon. We got to superman and had to wait because it wasn't open. They do need to fix that. I think this might just be a trial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted April 25, 2014 Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 I hate the new scanners, their processing speed is very slow. On Monday after Easter, people had to rescan and rescan their finger prints, it was taking up to 10 minutes for each person. The scanner worked right for me on the first try but it still took 2 minutes for it to process, just very slow machines that back up the gate lines. I don't want to think how long it would take to get through the gates on a busy day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiller Posted April 27, 2014 Report Share Posted April 27, 2014 Why are they only letting gold pass holder in 10 min early? And on top of it, the rides aren't open. I went to Kings Dominion the last weekend with my platinum pass, and they let us in 30 min early and they had a few coasters open. Dorney and Cedar Point I believe give you a hour, Disney gives their guest an hour on certain days, and nights. Great Adventure needs to get with the program. The whole 10 minute thing is a joke and on top of it, the new gold season passes don't even mention they are gold passes. SFGAdv basically allows pass holders to have the opportunity to be the first in line for the major rides. Kings Dominion opens a half hour early to everyone, but it is only three rides that they open. They let pass holders in 10 min early to the rest of the park. Dorney only opens certain rides a half hour early to pass holders on certain days. Cedar Point does give a hour, but that is only for Platinum pass holders. 10 minutes is better than nothing. Some parks don't open early at all, for anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANofNJ Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 ill take 3 rides being opened early anytime then the 0 rides SFgadv does for passholders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ogolo Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 Why do they still use hand stamp for re-entry into the park? With the history of fraud..it seems this would have been a major reason for utilizing the biometric readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted April 30, 2014 Report Share Posted April 30, 2014 ^ That is true! I haven't had any problems or delays with the scanners on my visits. It has always taken just seconds for me and the people in front of me. On the other hand, they really need to make some "Visitors Without Bags/Strollers" lanes at the security checkpoint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANofNJ Posted April 30, 2014 Report Share Posted April 30, 2014 i just talked to a buddy of mine who was at the park on sunday. he happened to be in line behind a germ freak. the lady refused to put her finger on the scanner till they cleaned it. the lady held the line up for like 5 min. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFGadv123 Posted April 30, 2014 Report Share Posted April 30, 2014 The new scanner isn't a lot slower, but I would say it takes around 10 seconds for each person since you need to scan your ticket and finger. That would be just 6 people going in every minute, where usually you would just scan your ticket/pass and go right in. Just my opinion but I think that all it is doing is making the lines to get in longer. I also fell that some people that have a season pass don't know they can go in any line, because the season pass holder only lines were definitely longer than the other lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAM527 Posted May 1, 2014 Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 We slid right in on Sunday using the Discover Card entrance line, while every other line was at least 15 people deep. I can't imagine anyone going for just a day. First there's the line to pay for parking, then you stand in line to get through security, then you stand in line to buy your tickets, then you stand in the worst line of all to wait and get in. I can see it taking hours on a busy day during the Summer or even worse Fright Fest, that's going to be it's own nightmare and horror story for anyone without even getting in the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 The biometrics were all covered up today and hand scanners were being used. New ropes have been put in place outside the gates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFGadv123 Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 I saw that when I went yesterday and thought to myself "good now the line will take shorter", although there was no line to get in yesterday so it didn't matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANofNJ Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 About time SF puts some organization at the front gate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 They should have done that years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebuker Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 Yeah the ropes will definitely help. That's one of the standard replies I have when they send me surveys. Anyone know the reason for the hand scanners? My youngest always has trouble with the standard scanners reading her fingerprint. Has anyone ever had to "reset" their biometric? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANofNJ Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 my last 4 visits to the park in the past week and a half they have not been doing the biometrics scanner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 They were using the scanners and biometric readers at both Hurricane Harbor and the theme park today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railer Posted June 15, 2014 Report Share Posted June 15, 2014 I've used them at both Park's and never had a problem. Just have to keep your finger still and you'll get through quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANofNJ Posted June 15, 2014 Report Share Posted June 15, 2014 Instead of adding the biometrics this season, they should have just done what Dorney does- scan your pass and your pic comes up on a video screen. So much quicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted June 15, 2014 Report Share Posted June 15, 2014 But, the biometrics mean they save time and money by eliminating photos on passes altogether. That's why Disney, Universal and SeaWorld started doing this YEARS ago. No more long lines "processing" passes and taking pictures (which are always hard to see anyway, and subject to fraud). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyferry Posted June 15, 2014 Report Share Posted June 15, 2014 (edited) 3 of us never have an issue and got through the scan quickly. However, my 5 year old daughter's never worked. Our trip last Sunday included her meal plan being denied twice (the manager overrode it as her picture is on her pass and she was obviously with us). They told us to go back to the pass processing center. While there, it was explained to me that they are now recommending children 5 and under to just get a picture pass (which we already have anyway as we got them in October), and the pass will be set up to bypass the biometrics. It still needs to be scanned to show park entry however. Just no finger scan. Edited June 15, 2014 by hollyferry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonlee Posted June 18, 2014 Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 The scanners weren't open on sunday June 15. I used my bring a friend for free so my wife could go. Scanned my pass, the coupon came up, no problems! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoshi Posted June 21, 2014 Report Share Posted June 21, 2014 On Tuesday they were using the handheld scanners. With the talk of them not using the biometrics I thought maybe on crowded days or early in the day they weren't using it to help get people in the park faster. On Tuesday, they had 2 entrances open with no one waiting to get it and that seemed like it would have been a good time to be using the biometrics since it wouldn't cause lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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