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2019: General Discussion

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AT86 said:
However we all know the real reason for scrapping them was cost saving, nothing to do with ‘abuse’.
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And that way by charging a sensible price (providing M£rlin don't get too greedy on this) for a SRQ season pass would be a great compromise.
 
RoyJess said:
It like anything, everything works in moderation. But when it becomes overwhelm, then it don't work. The same with SRQ, it's great when it's being used by single riders. But when you get large groups of people using it, even though they are prepared to split up, then the single rider queue line wait can be as long (and I've witness many times) even longer as a family member decides to use the SRQ while the rest of the family use the normal queue line, the family members that have entered the main queue line ends up getting on quicker than the family member that thought the SRQ would have been quicker :tearsofjoy:

It's about making the SRQ workable.

For me, the SRQ was always workable in the mornings, by the afternoon, they become useless.

The RAP should never be referred to as a means to skip the queue lines, they are there to make ride more accessible. Even when using the RAP, you have a time card and some queuing is required.

There is also the parent Q swap pass.

As a carer for a wheelchair bound wife who can't go on rides due to medical reasons, I can't really leave Jess for long lengths of time unattended, there is nothing available for us apart for me to pay for FT which I disapprove of. A SRQ was very useful for us.

Take the rapids as an extreme example, surely it would be better to put me in with a group of people as oppose to send a boat around almost empty with me as a sole rider? The main queue line would also benefit from this.

At the end of the day, I don't like seeing empty seats on rides, especially when the queue lines are horrendous.



To say the SRQ was never abused, I did see it being abused on many occasions.

I wasn't judging people as part of a group because they talk to each other in the queue line, we all do that, it was more that I would see group of people enter the SRQ that were together, and then when they get to the dispatching, they would somehow blag their way onto the same train and sit next to each other, this used to happen a lot on the smiler, especially when the main queue line got held up at the bagging hold and there was no one to fill the trains, so they would then batch the whole SRQ onto the one train.
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Hmm I only used the SRQ at Alton Towers a few times. However in Florida and Universal Singapore the SRQs almost always save loads of time. Hopefully they will bring it back (no way should it be charged for though, as you say it's for filling seats that otherwise went empty). Sadly I'm often on my own so single rider pass is very useful!

OR we don't group people at all and just fill up every train in order. I would be happy with that :D

That's a shame there's not a suitable pass for you and Jess, as with other users on this forum's stories clearly shows the RAP system has some gaps. I'm not sure what the answer is!
 
Single rider queues should just be re-instated as they were, there is no need for complicating matters with special paid for passes with one per address and so on (which by the way will certainly be ‘abused’). It’s not just season pass holders that use SRQ, the vast majority of visitors are the once a season trippers.

The staff just need to manage the SRQ effectively just like they need to manage the RAP, fastrack and regular queues effectively.
 
I think what ever system you have in place, someone will always find a way to exploit it. It's about keeping that exploitation to a minimum.

I also agree that the SRQ should be free and manage properly, but this is M£rlin we are talking about, the SRQ are gone for good now.
 
Maybe some sort of camera system that will close the SRQ what it's too long? We're almost at self driving cars, an automated way to count people in a queue doesn't seem too far fetched :)
 
I don't think M3rlin will pay out for a camera system. However I did notice that they were using hand scanners to scan some of the fast tracks. Maybe these could flag up when several SRQ pass' are consistently being used together around the park. SRQ pass' can still be free and can be picked up from the Box office like you do with a parent swap Q pass.

I personally can't see the SRQ return, but I'm willing to pay a small fee for a SRQ season pass, but I won't pay the earth for one.
 
They don’t need to spend money on technology, just properly manage the queues.

For example, at DLP they keep an eye on the SRQ and close it when it comes the same length as the regular queue, then reopen once it has reduced.
 
Hang on, is it being suggested that groups of people using a single rider queue is 'abuse' of the system? I've done that many a time at parks in the UK and abroad, single rider queues are not just for people who are on their own.

To try and give this some relevance to 2019 discussion, I cannot imagine that they will be brought back next season.
 
I'm done paying for additional tickets, the only exception would be if I was on a super tight schedule in a foreign country visiting somewhere I wasn't likely to return to. Luckily, I seem to have managed to avoid Blackpool and Alton Towers at their busiest.

I doubt they will bring it back since I'm pretty sure it was about reducing the extra staff costs. Same with the bag drop unfortunately.

For 2019, are we anticipating anything new, barring the Dungeons?
 
Rob said:
Hang on, is it being suggested that groups of people using a single rider queue is 'abuse' of the system? I've done that many a time at parks in the UK and abroad, single rider queues are not just for people who are on their own.

To try and give this some relevance to 2019 discussion, I cannot imagine that they will be brought back next season.
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Indeed, it was advertised as such on the signage.

alton_towers_038.jpg
 
Why are groups of people using the SRQ consider abuse if they are willing to be separated? o_O

All it needs is the staff loading guests from it correctly, and I think they should close the SRQ when it exceeds the normal queue's waiting time.
 
:banghead:

Please can I retract my original statement of abuse of SRQ?

My original statement was about making it more manageable, the same goes for FT, this can be done by limiting the use of SRQ and sale of FT but at the same time increase the ride put through.

I didn't expect this to really blow out of proportion like it did :rolleyes:

As @Rob say's "To try and give this some relevance to 2019 discussion" time to move on from the SRQ subject :)
 
Ok here's what I would like to see the most this season: bag drop!

Also I have never tried Dungeons before, maybe I'll give it a shot next year?
 
I'll agree with @John from Monday about Enterprise. When me, him, @MattyH and Nicole rode it at Fireworks it needs scrapping, the horrid noises, the failure to stand upright. Awful.

I believe the park will have 2 medium flat rides by 2020. They live in Mutiny Bay. No thrill flats.
 
Other than better bag security, I'm not convince that the bag drops are of any use or increase ride put through, I find they are a hinder.

A majority of the rides on the park has manage without a bag drop for many years.

Thirteen was the first bag drop
The Smiler
NST
and now the Wickerman

I find that bag drops hold up the queue line as the staff can only manage one bag at a time, and the same goes for collecting the bag at the exit.

While you are queuing to drop off your bag, sometimes you lose your space, even if another family member goes ahead, some people won't let you back in again to where you were, others are kind enough to do so.

The Smiler was the worse for the bag drop hold ups, it was so bad that when in the SRQ (oh dear, I said don't mention the SRQ again, and look what I just did :rolleyes:) there was often no one in the main queue pass the bagging hold, that the ride dispatcher had no option, but to let a train full of SRQ on.

As for flats, we can't do with losing any more, the park is crying out for loads more flats. Come on M£rlin, you need to invest in more flats for the park.
 
RoyJess said:
Other than better bag security, I'm not convince that the bag drops are of any use or increase ride put through, I find they are a hinder.

A majority of the rides on the park has manage without a bag drop for many years.

Thirteen was the first bag drop
The Smiler
NST
and now the Wickerman

I find that bag drops hold up the queue line as the staff can only manage one bag at a time, and the same goes for collecting the bag at the exit.

While you are queuing to drop off your bag, sometimes you lose your space, even if another family member goes ahead, some people won't let you back in again to where you were, others are kind enough to do so.

The Smiler was the worse for the bag drop hold ups, it was so bad that when in the SRQ (oh dear, I said don't mention the SRQ again, and look what I just did :rolleyes:) there was often no one in the main queue pass the bagging hold, that the ride dispatcher had no option, but to let a train full of SRQ on.

As for flats, we can't do with losing any more, the park is crying out for loads more flats. Come on M£rlin, you need to invest in more flats for the park.
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If they are run correctly then they increase the ride's throughput.

:)
 
On the Smiler and Thirteen where the cars are tight, they make boarding a much more pleasureable experience since you're not clambering over each other. The staff were always fast enough in my experience (though again, I'm not a regular).
 
speedy said:
On the Smiler and Thirteen where the cars are tight, they make boarding a much more pleasureable experience since you're not clambering over each other. The staff were always fast enough in my experience (though again, I'm not a regular).
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I agree with this. On Oblivion for example, when people put bags on the rack they then have to remember which order they are seated in, which prolongs the dispatch.
 
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