After much anticipation and excitement I finally got to ride Voletarium last week!
I'll get this out there straight away, I really do like this addition to the park. I admit that I am a biased fanboy but it fills a gap in the park's existing ride line-up so very well and is another ride, like Arthur, that the whole family can ride together and just enjoy. Sometimes there is nothing better than a ride that is quite simply enjoyable.
As has already been pointed out the quality of theming here is another step up for EP. Everything from the building (front end especially, you can tell the sides that face the park exterior have been done at a lower cost but that is fine), the queue and the new little area (the Voletarea) complete with food outlet and toilets is just sublime.
The queue line is a clear highlight here though. The details are so fine and it all builds up to the stunningly beautiful main hall at the end. The tapestries here are just something else. There is lots to look at in the queue as you discover how the Eulenstein's researched and developed their own flying machine, the Volatus II. It is however a pity that some of the desgins stuck onto the wall have started to be peeled off by inconsiderate guests.
The ride itself is just so pleasent and enjoyable; it is nothing to write home about but it was never going to be. I felt that on the whole the transitions between each scene worked well and the film was accompanied by a beautiful soundtrack (which will hopefully be released on CD sooner rather than later). The best parts of the film are as you swoop down towards various locations. Smells and mist add an extra dimension to the ride and I do like that you can see the Macks standing at the top of the Bell Rock lighthouse at the end! Plus the EP/Mack Media musical motif fits in perfectly at the very end as you retreat back to the loading bay.
A higher quality projected image would be nice and hopefully EP will look into upgrading the projectors in the near future. You can tell that it was all filmed in a higher quality than they are able to show off at the moment. Plus on one ride I had a problem where a quarter of the projection (the bottom triangle) was not working at all.
I suppose the biggest issue with Voletarium is operations. When they are good then all is fine, the queue moves quickly and it is what you expect from EP. However it is clear that many of the staff are still not used to the batching procuedure and overbatching into the bays was a common occurance. I am sure this will improve over time though. Also one morning only one of the theatres was in operation, when this happens the throughput is just dire and the timed ticket queue length increased substantially.
On the subject of timed tickets, generally speaking these worked very well. Getting the ticket is easy and the wait to board when you arrive in your slot is minimal (sometimes instant). As mentioned the only problem here was when one of the theatres was not in operation. The single rider queue also works well.
EP are still working on finishing some aspects of the ride's external theming. The workers move in after the park closes each night and seem to be there in the mornings also. It is also noticeable that, as we saw during our construction tour, one theatre is further ahead than the other. For example, one has a curtain to obsure the view of the screen before the ride starts whilst the other doesn't. And the ride structure's metal beams are themed in one theatre and not the other.
Top marks overall though, I was suitably impressed.
