• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

2020: General Discussion

Status
This topic has been locked. No further replies can be posted.
I thought the BLE system was meant to measure the progress of people through the queue, so it should still be accurate even with social distancing... either I've misunderstood how it works or it doesn't actually work.
 
rob666 said:
Ignore queuetimes forever!

On the park?
Look at the queue, oh, that looks too long...dont ride.
Off the park?
No need to look at queuetimes!
Click to expand...
Ye you can judge the queue time based on the actual size of the queue atm. I know now how long it will be from certain points in the queue
 
I only go like twice a year so judging how long the queue is from where it's at is not something I can really do as I don't go often enough to know.
 
Danscott22 said:
I only go like twice a year so judging how long the queue is from where it's at is not something I can really do as I don't go often enough to know.
Click to expand...
Ye when I went yesterday and wicker man was advertised 90 it was just coming out the entrance into the extension. I knew straight away it was wrong and a lot less
 
Alsty said:
I thought the BLE system was meant to measure the progress of people through the queue, so it should still be accurate even with social distancing... either I've misunderstood how it works or it doesn't actually work.
Click to expand...

Even without all the current Covid related unknowns, if it's Bluetooth activated that sort of tech can only ever be an estimate, since to be totally accurate it would require everyone on park to have the app downloaded with Bluetooth activated to do its counting.

But that would also entirely explain why the queue times are a little haywire at the moment, since it wouldn't require many guests to be in a queue without the app to completely throw the system
 
This might have already been answered somewhere, but would i be allowed on Spinball Whizzer on my own tomorrow? The person I'm going with will go on if she has to but won't if I'm able to go on by myself.
 
This policy still strikes me as very very odd.

Dragon's Fury was certainly dispatching with single riders on Tuesday. I'd be interested to know why Spinball is any different.
 
D4n said:
This policy still strikes me as very very odd.

Dragon's Fury was certainly dispatching with single riders on Tuesday. I'd be interested to know why Spinball is any different.
Click to expand...
It's not the ride itself but the park, they really do not like having one rider in a vehicle to themselfs.
 
imanautie said:
It's not the ride itself but the park, they really do not like having one rider in a vehicle to themselfs.
Click to expand...
It's an odd decision, especially on something like Spinball. Cost difference of 1 Vs 2 people has to be irrelevant, and it's not as if having 2 people makes a ride safer for the riders - you couldn't exactly administer first aid on your co-rider half way around it if something happened.
 
On the subject of single riders. I might be making my first visit to the park on Saturday.

My friend will now go on anything that goes upside down, but i really want to go on The Smiler and Nemesis. Lasy year it wasn't a problem as Nemesis has a short queue and the Smiler had the single rider queue.

I take it that the single rider queue is no longer in use on The Smiler and i'll have to join the main queue? That means i'll have to leave him for over an hour.....
 
Mikw said:
I take it that the single rider queue is no longer in use on The Smiler and i'll have to join the main queue? That means i'll have to leave him for over an hour.....
Click to expand...

You don't have to ride if you queue. You can just wait together in the queue and when you get to the front tell the op one of you has changed your mind and walk straight across to the exit. I've done that with people loads of times.
 
Mikw said:
On the subject of single riders. I might be making my first visit to the park on Saturday.

My friend will now go on anything that goes upside down, but i really want to go on The Smiler and Nemesis. Lasy year it wasn't a problem as Nemesis has a short queue and the Smiler had the single rider queue.

I take it that the single rider queue is no longer in use on The Smiler and i'll have to join the main queue? That means i'll have to leave him for over an hour.....
Click to expand...

Take your friend for an outdoor drink in the tavern, couple of drinks for some Dutch courage. Tipsy rollercoaster riding isn’t as bad as it sounds I’ve done it afew times (not intentionally) :D
 
I went with someone who was like that but they ended up going on everything and loving it. I admit I had a twinge of guilt seeing them crying a bit on Nemmy's lift hill but it was all good in the end. She didn't like Blivvy, but fair play for learning that the hard way.
 
Squiggs said:
Even without all the current Covid related unknowns, if it's Bluetooth activated that sort of tech can only ever be an estimate, since to be totally accurate it would require everyone on park to have the app downloaded with Bluetooth activated to do its counting.

But that would also entirely explain why the queue times are a little haywire at the moment, since it wouldn't require many guests to be in a queue without the app to completely throw the system
Click to expand...

I’m pretty sure it’s not designed for everyone to have the app. Prior to the BLE system the queues were manually updated every 30 mins IIRC. The BLE system only needs one person with the app to go through the queue to report the queue time. They have beacons constantly broadcasting at the start and end of the queue. The app on the phone will see the beacon ID and know where it is and send data to the central server to say the device is at the beacon. When the device hits the beacon at the entrance a timer starts and ends when the device hits the beacon at the end of the queue.

This should in theory still work even with the COVID restrictions but I know they had issues with accuracy before COVID. My only guess is it is people entering queues and changing their mind and coming back later or maybe the beacons need to be moved to ensure other guests aren’t accidentally activating them, for example RAP

I believe they also can update the queues on the ride iPad but these are overwritten the next time someone passes the end of the queue beacon. I’d imagine any manual updates are inaccurate ATM as staff can’t quickly glance at the queue and figure out the wait time


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Dan said:
I’m pretty sure it’s not designed for everyone to have the app. Prior to the BLE system the queues were manually updated every 30 mins IIRC. The BLE system only needs one person with the app to go through the queue to report the queue time. They have beacons constantly broadcasting at the start and end of the queue. The app on the phone will see the beacon ID and know where it is and send data to the central server to say the device is at the beacon. When the device hits the beacon at the entrance a timer starts and ends when the device hits the beacon at the end of the queue.

This should in theory still work even with the COVID restrictions but I know they had issues with accuracy before COVID. My only guess is it is people entering queues and changing their mind and coming back later or maybe the beacons need to be moved to ensure other guests aren’t accidentally activating them, for example RAP

I believe they also can update the queues on the ride iPad but these are overwritten the next time someone passes the end of the queue beacon. I’d imagine any manual updates are inaccurate ATM as staff can’t quickly glance at the queue and figure out the wait time


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...

They have additional beacons in the fastrack queue lines to exclude them as well as station entry and exit beacons so that shouldn't be an issue.
 
Swarm Chris said:
It's an odd decision, especially on something like Spinball. Cost difference of 1 Vs 2 people has to be irrelevant, and it's not as if having 2 people makes a ride safer for the riders - you couldn't exactly administer first aid on your co-rider half way around it if something happened.
Click to expand...

Yep it makes no sense, surely if it is a weight issue both Dragons Fury and Spinball would have the same issue, unless there is some issue with some of the brakes on Spinball?

The only ride I have been refused on as a single rider for safety was Peking Heights at Chessington and that did make sense, as someone who is determined to harm themselves could get up to something when the gondola is at height.
 
Status
This topic has been locked. No further replies can be posted.
Top