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2021: General Discussion

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Does anyone think they're likely to allow Hex's queue to return to normal from tomorrow queueing inside instead of trickling people in?
 
Danscott22 said:
Does anyone think they're likely to allow Hex's queue to return to normal from tomorrow queueing inside instead of trickling people in?
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tayspru said:
You’d have to assume so, at the very least though they should be filling the ride itself so even if the queue is held outside it shouldn’t take so long
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If so, could we see Wicker Man's preshow finally return as well? I've missed it so much lol
 
I think there will be a gradual return to normal, rather than big changes overnight. I'm not sure people would be comfortable with things changing instantly to how they were pre-Covid.
 
Danscott22 said:
I was thinking this, also wondering if the final few CBeebies attractions will open? One of them is like a ball shooting game or something isn't it?
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That's a good point, yeah that should finally be able to open as well. Towers might not re-open it straight away though.
 
I’m hopefully the wicker man pre show won’t return actually! It been nice going straight on to the ride in stead of waiting in there watching the show you’ve seen endless times!
 
GaryH said:
I’m hopefully the wicker man pre show won’t return actually! It been nice going straight on to the ride in stead of waiting in there watching the show you’ve seen endless times!
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As much as I loved Wicker Man’s pre-show from an immersion standpoint, I kind of agree. The pre-show had a bit of a one-time appeal for me, compared with the rerideability of the coaster itself.

The comparative ease of batching in the station now that it’s gone has also made for some epic throughputs!

Through a different lens, though, I guess keeping the pre-show is good for those who’ve never ridden before, to give them that spectacle for the first time and familiarise themselves with the ride.
 
The coolest thing Alton have put in for a decade or more and you want shut off or ripped out to get on a ride you've been on a ton of times slightly quicker o_O

*Bookmarks post for when SW9 doesn't have a pre-show and everyone is upset about that*
 
Rick said:
The coolest thing Alton have put in for a decade or more and you want shut off or ripped out to get on a ride you've been on a ton of times slightly quicker o_O

*Bookmarks post for when SW9 doesn't have a pre-show and everyone is upset about that*
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As I said, I think keeping it is good for those who’ve never experienced it before, as it allows them the chance to have the spectacle for the first time like we did when we first rode it, and it’s excellent at introducing guests to the storyline.

However, I’ve been astounded by the speed at which the queue has moved on recent visits, which I don’t think would be the case if the pre-show was bought back. Maybe it would be nice if they could find some compromise that keeps the pre-show in place, but doesn’t force you through it per se?
 
@Matt N What is the capacity difference? I didn't notice any, but wasn't stood there with a stopwatch.

To each their own, but the same people wanting immersion and then wanting rid of it when they've got it sums up (almost) everything that frustrates me about this community in one succinct scenario.
 
Rick said:
@Matt N What is the capacity difference? I didn't notice any, but wasn't stood there with a stopwatch.

To each their own, but the same people wanting immersion and then wanting rid of it when they've got it sums up (almost) everything that frustrates me about this community in one succinct scenario.
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I’m unsure if there was an actual capacity difference or not, but the line seems to have moved considerably quicker on my recent, preshow-less experiences on it. They seem to be able to batch much more easily and consistently without it.

I’m not saying that immersion should be removed once I’ve experienced it at all; everyone should get the chance to experience what I experienced the first time I rode it! However, I’m not personally sure the pre-show is as essential to the experience on Wicker Man as it is on something like Hex; my point was, as much as I liked WM’s pre-show (believe me, I did), I wouldn’t be too sad if it didn’t return. I actually think the flickering ram’s head and ambient lighting on their own create quite a striking build-up, personally!

I wouldn’t say I want Wicker Man’s pre-show to never return, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if it didn’t, for me.

I apologise if this comes across selfish; I don’t mean to, as I completely understand that many like the immersion of it, myself included. I’m just saying that I don’t think it would be the worst thing if it didn’t come back.
 
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It certainly feels a lot faster with the full trains vs the socially distanced ones but I can't honestly say I noticed the difference between full trains with and without the pre-show.
 
Burbs said:
I think the pre-show is great, and short enough to not be annoying when re-riding the coaster, unlike Hex in which the cinema room is just a bit of a slog. It'd be a shame for it to not come back.
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Although I said above that I wouldn’t mind if Wicker Man’s pre-show didn’t return, I’ll agree that I personally didn’t find it a hindrance by any means; it’s a very cool piece of theatre, and really seems to wow first-time riders!
MakoMania said:
I haven’t made any measurements, but I too am certain that the queue is moving notably faster now the pre show is gone.
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Admittedly, I never got throughput measurements while the pre-show was around, but on my 2021 visits, I timed it at 1,059pph in April and 1,048pph in June, so it now seems to be maintaining a throughput of approximately 1,050pph. When you take into account that the theoretical throughput is 952pph, I think that’s pretty staggering, personally, and I think it would be a shame to inhibit the team from hitting those throughputs.
 
I don't understand what that 952rph figure is. By definition, a theoretical capacity should be higher than the actual.

In the parks I have worked in, theoretical capacity is the number of possible dispatches* in an hour x by the number of seats per train, ignoring loading, unloading and anything guests do to slow down ops.

Do Alton use something different?

* Using all trains and factoring in cycle time.
 
Rick said:
I don't understand what that 952rph figure is. By definition, a theoretical capacity should be higher than the actual.

In the parks I have worked in, theoretical capacity is the number of possible dispatches* in an hour x by the number of seats per train, ignoring loading, unloading and anything guests do to slow down ops.

Do Alton use something different?

* Using all trains and factoring in cycle time.
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I think the theoretical is usually calculated by the manufacturer. GCI may just have made a somewhat conservative estimate compared to usual.

In terms of WM’s longest block section, it’s just over a minute long (station exit to top of first lift hill), so in theory, the maximum throughput of WM could be around 1,400pph if the ride was dispatched every time the train in front cleared the block section in front, but GCI clearly thinks that the process of loading and checking the trains takes longer than that, hence the 952pph theoretical figure.

I’ll admit it confused me as well, as on both visits I’ve had this year, it’s been consistently hitting around 1,050pph, which is a good 10% higher than its theoretical.

By comparison; Wodan at Europa, whose longest block section is similar in length to Wicker Man’s and whose ride duration is not much shorter, has a theoretical of 1,250pph. Confusing…
 
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