I purchased my tickets through the online portal about a month before our trip to Norway. I don't…read morebelieve you really have to do this because the line for ticket buying is pretty short and there are kiosks along the way inside to buy tickets. Also, if you happened to be in the line to buy tickets, you just enter afterwards, instead of waiting in the prepaid ticket line, it's kind of a cheat. At least that's what we observed.
The line for the prepaid tickets was extremely long, going down the block for a bit but it did move fast. We got into line around 235 pm and we ready for the funicular around 3pm. For the length of the line, I thought this moved very fast.
When you enter the gates to the funicular, be aware of the people counter. It counts down the amount of people that can enter. So if you're a party of 5 people and it says only 3 more can enter, you will be split up if you enter. There are like 5 gates so you have to pay attention if you want to stay with your party. There were MANY people who did not seem to understand this and started yelling at or crying to the kids working the line. There is nothing they can do, it's a safety issue and you will have to meet your party at the top of the mountain.
Also, the last lane (most left handed) is for disabled people or people with strollers. It's kind of a d*ck move to go to that shorter line if you aren't one of these people or in a party with one. But karma hits hard and if you do try this little sneak, you'll probably end up waiting even longer because the special car it leads to has a small capacity and that line moves slow.
Other than that, this funicular is a nice ride up and down the mountain, with plenty of spectacular views and cute moments to see.