2021: General Discussion

[AstroDan]

Smiler was absolutely not 60-70 minutes yesterday! From the entrance to the second time the queue is parallel to the fasttrack line (way before the vending machines ) took us 90 minutes before we relented and left - this was despite trains constantly running with guests ! Shocking allocations for FT and RAP and no SD announcements

We waited 50 minutes from by the toilet block yesterday. On average, 60 to 70 is about right. Therefore, it could be less or could be more depending on the following factors which can massively affect the time waited:

- how well social distancing is being observed (if it's poor your wait will be longer or much longer)

- how much FT/RAP there is at any one moment.

- group sizes

RAP is flawed.

The queue time varies between

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[GaryH]

How are guests dealing with the Covid restrictions/social distancing this year?

 

[tayspru]

I’ve noticed queue estimates fall apart after the first few hours of the day. At one point there was 15 minutes where the queue didn’t move once, despite a constant cycle of trains. Benefit of the doubt it was the weekend staff’s first day of work but the blame can’t be solely put with guests not social distancing.

 

[bethpepper]

How are guests dealing with the Covid restrictions/social distancing this year?

I'll be honest, not amazingly.
The park have implemented social distancing chevrons, signage and hand sanitizer stations. People aren't using their common sense and aren't adhering to social distancing guidelines.
There's only so much staff can do though, people need to use their heads!

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[AstroDan]

I’ve noticed queue estimates fall apart after the first few hours of the day. At one point there was 15 minutes where the queue didn’t move once, despite a constant cycle of trains. Benefit of the doubt it was the weekend staff’s first day of work but the blame can’t be solely put with guests not social distancing.

I agree that estimates become flawed. I do think social distancing plays a huge role though.

If guests in Smiler's queue stood on chevrons, your wait would be fine. The thing is, the operator cant easily tell what percentage of folk are adequately distancing. If 1/2 aren't (and they're much closer), then the wait will be longer. Yesterday, the operator did a long message over the tannoy which had some short term impact. After the announcement, we stood still for 10 to 15 minutes while most then adjusted to the chevrons.

Dispatching intervals were largely fine across the park... obviously one group per row cuts capacity as does the dreadful situation on 13 which is made worse by poor engineering.

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[tayspru]

None of that explains why there were such long intervals with no movement at all though (including moving backwards to allow people to respace - there was one announcement in the 90minutes we were there)

 

[AstroDan]

None of that explains why there were such long intervals with no movement at all though (including moving backwards to allow people to respace - there was one announcement in the 90minutes we were there)

A sudden RAP/FT surge? Shop Faff? Hourly cleaning? Social distancing issue? Staff training?

Sadly, so many factors can influence what happens in queue lines. A lot of it just comes down to the chance and specific circumstances when you're in the queue.

Alton WAS busy yesterday, thankfully the 8pm ride close *should* have mitigated issues around how many rides guests managed during their day.

RAP is a major, major problem though. Bigger than FT now.

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[tayspru]

With all respect , most of the time we spent in the line we had a full view of the fasttrack / RAP lane and there were no sudden surges of people.

The ride stopped once for cleaning , as noted by each car being cycled empty and some stacking on the brake run .

I agree the culprit has been social distancing and staff training , but neither of these procedures are new for 2021 - last year it was very clear that many guests would not adhere to SD and nothing has been done to rectify this over the closed season . Perspex could be installed in cattlepens, clear information could be given by entry hosts before entering a queue, consistent automated announcements could be made. None of those things would cost a significant amount of money and you only have to look at parks like Efteling to see that SD does not need to affect throughput the way it does at Merlin attractions

Of course Merlin found the money and time to install queue screens to allow them to open fasttrack and make more cash

 

[AstroDan]

With all respect , most of the time we spent in the line we had a full view of the fasttrack / RAP lane and there were no sudden surges of people.

The ride stopped once for cleaning , as noted by each car being cycled empty and some stacking on the brake run .

I agree the culprit has been social distancing and staff training , but neither of these procedures are new for 2021 - last year it was very clear that many guests would not adhere to SD and nothing has been done to rectify this over the closed season . Perspex could be installed in cattlepens, clear information could be given by entry hosts before entering a queue, consistent automated announcements could be made. None of those things would cost a significant amount of money and you only have to look at parks like Efteling to see that SD does not need to affect throughput the way it does at Merlin attractions

I'm not trying to make excuses. I'm trying to find explanations. I was also on park all day yesterday.

I cannot explain, therefore, if dispatching seemed adequate and there weren't FT/RAP surges, why your queue line(s) failed to move.

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[tayspru]

It just isn’t good enough , and the majority of the guests will be so unfamiliar with the park and procedures that it goes completely unexplained - I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be for the general public, or those who don’t have the luxury of regular visits.

My perspective is that it’s for the large part stuff that should have been addressed in the closed season and just shows that Merlin really don’t care about guest experience any more

 

[AstroDan]

It just isn’t good enough , and the majority of the guests will be so unfamiliar with the park and procedures that it goes completely unexplained - I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be for the general public, or those who don’t have the luxury of regular visits.

My perspective is that it’s for the large part stuff that should have been addressed in the closed season and just shows that Merlin really don’t care about guest experience any more

This isn't the case. The park wouldn't be open till 8pm if there was no care at all.

Put your frustration in writing is all you can do if you really feel that strongly and stop visiting till this is over.

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[bethpepper]

I did notice the surges but thought nothing of them. We timed some queues to see how accurate the app was in regards to estimations and were quite happy with the results - we weren't made to wait much longer on a couple of the rides we queued for.
Could be various reasons, haven't thought into them.

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[tayspru]

This isn't the case. The park wouldn't be open till 8pm if there was no care at all.

Put your frustration in writing is all you can do if you really feel that strongly and stop visiting till this is over.

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My understanding is that the closes are something that were fought for by Towers staff more than anything . And really longer hours only go so far to fix the core issues, and actually amounts to well you have 3 more hours to spend in poorly managed queues

 

[Alsty]

With all respect , most of the time we spent in the line we had a full view of the fasttrack / RAP lane and there were no sudden surges of people.

What you're describing is logically flawed. If there's trains being dispatched with people on them and there's no groups of people in RAP or Fastrack then by deduction they must be coming from the main queue. Where else could they come from?

One thing I noticed is sometimes there were large groups not socially distanced, then after announcements or near to the station it would often resolve itself. People at the front would move forward but people behind wouldn't move as they started to wait on the chevrons. From the back of the queue, this gives the perception that the queue isn't moving when in fact it is. Maybe this is what you experienced.

 

[tayspru]

What I mean is that , while RAP and Fasttrack users were entering at a regular pace, there were no sudden surges of guests in that queue.

There were a real lack of announcements (one in 90 minutes) so the theory you have about groups doesn’t explain it either. It seems like RAP and FT were being heavily prioritised at the expense of the main queue

 

[air_head]

Merlin really don’t care about guest experience any more

Really do disagree with this. I was on park yesterday, and had a great day. It’s Easter half term, it’s the first week of opening and it was a weekend. Of course it’s going to be busy and queues are going to be long.

In terms of distancing, I didn’t feel that in the queues I stood in it was too bad. As far as I’m concerned, Towers have done all the can do, short of having a member of staff between each group with a stick. There’s chevrons on the floor, there’s regular announcements, signs all over the place. If people can’t adhere to the guidance, that’s on them, and the onus is on other people to call them out. I even heard an announcement from The Smilers op saying that they wouldn’t open the queue line until people congregating near the entrance had dispersed - surely that’s showing concern for guest welfare?

To say that Towers don’t care is a bit flippant. This closed season they put a new dividing barrier in at The FV sky ride station to allow guests to travel to Towers Street directly. They’ve relocated guest services to make it more accessible. They’ve refurbished the frog fountains, touched up other rides, retracked parts of Wicker Man, and put temporary covered seating around the park amongst other improvements. Saying that the lack of perspex in queues means they don’t care is a little over the top, imho.

 

[bethpepper]

There were a real lack of announcements (one in 90 minutes) so the theory you have about groups doesn’t explain it either. It seems like RAP and FT were being heavily prioritised at the expense of the main queue

I'm sorry, I disagree with this.
There were more frequent announcements than one in 90 minutes - yesterday at least.
Perhaps when you went they were minimized but yesterday the tannoys in nemesis had them frequently as did a few of the other rides we queued for.
Even outside woodcutters there were announcements in fountain Square.

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[AstroDan]

What I mean is that , while RAP and Fasttrack users were entering at a regular pace, there were no sudden surges of guests in that queue.

There were a real lack of announcements (one in 90 minutes) so the theory you have about groups doesn’t explain it either. It seems like RAP and FT were being heavily prioritised at the expense of the main queue

I agree announcements need to be better. There are pre recorded announcements but...

- Some rides are so loud you can't hear them
- Some rides AV systems aren't good enough
- They need topping up with proactive operators doing tannoy announcements
- The park's Covid Stewards (which are new this year) need to walk queue lines

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[Alsty]

At Europa-Park they have security patrolling the queue lines to make sure people are sticking to the rules. I don't think this is something a Covid Steward could do on their own as I imagine it will result in confrontation.

At the end of the day though, people have to take responsibility for their own actions. We shouldn't have to police everything all the time.

 

[Matt N]

Stemming from a discussion over in the queue times thread about the impact of social distancing on throughputs, I had a thought.

Would it be theoretically possible, ethical, or worth the park’s while, implementing COVID status certification once it comes into play a little more and everyone has been vaccinated? I was only thinking this because if COVID status certification was implemented, the park could perhaps loosen some of the restrictions somewhat (for example, they could stop social distancing on rides).