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General Queue Times Discussion 2023

I think the stated queue times are better described as inaccurate than overstated. Often, there was too long a gap between updating the queue times meaning that whenever I ride had a short wait time posted, crowds would continue flocking over to it and by the time they got round to changing it the wait time was massively, massively longer in reality.

This certainly happened with Oblivion and Rita and Gangster Granny at some point today.
 
There isn't much consistency to the published queue times. My experience is generally that when they're wrong, they're really wrong and you end up waiting twice as long as shown.

I've never personally had a queue significantly shorter than shown at the entrance.
 
They were pretty accurate on Friday I have to say. Advertised 45 mins for Rita and Wicker man, waited 40 for Rita and 50 for Wicker so I'll take that. Thirteen said 20 and was about 15 so thought they were somewhat accurate.
 
They seem to struggle with RM more than any other rides when I visit.

Always add an extra 30mins - 1hr on to whatever the app says.
 
It’s not that it’s over rated, it’s more that it’s got wider appeal to families with kids than the bigger coasters. If you’re not yet 1.4 your options for coasters are somewhat limited at towers. It’s that or Wickerman really. RMT is fun but not quite as thrilling, and Octonaughts is a kiddy coaster which most older kids aren’t interested in. The reduced capacity won’t be helping. They really need to get that third train running.
 
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RicketyCricket said:
I'm convinced you're on the wind up now :tearsofjoy:

CBA to screenshot but just had a look - Thirteen is currently on 70 minutes and The Smiler is on 50 minutes. Stone cold, conclusive evidence that Thirteen is a much better coaster than The Smiler.
Click to expand...
Why choose to join a 70 min queue for Thirteen when Smiler is only 50 I'll never know
 
Ethan said:
Why choose to join a 70 min queue for Thirteen when Smiler is only 50 I'll never know
Click to expand...
Well we could queue for smiler, but it would be an utter waste of time since 50% of our group isn’t tall enough to ride it!

Young adult coaster fanatics on a solo trip aren’t the only demographic on the park. Especially during the holidays there will be loads of families with short arse kids in tow.
 
Perhaps people want to join a 70 minute queue for Thirteen over 50 minutes for The Smiler because:
- they’re under 1.4m
- they don’t want to ride The Smiler
- and god forbid, they actually prefer Thirteen?
It’s really not that hard 😂
 
Personally, I prefer Thirteen to The Smiler! As someone who values a good, fun and thrilling ride that’s rerideable rather than something that’s out and out intense, Thirteen ticks my boxes a fair bit more than Smiler does. Of the currently operating Big 6 (would be Big 7 if Nemesis was open), I’d probably put Thirteen in 4th place (behind Wicker Man, Oblivion and Rita, in that order). Smiler sits in 5th place, but in my overall rankings, it is a fair bit behind Thirteen (for me, there’s quite a chasm between The Smiler/Galactica and the rest of Alton Towers’ thrill coaster selection; Runaway Mine Train actually sits between Thirteen and The Smiler, out of Alton’s overall crop of coasters).

I probably wouldn’t join an advertised 70 minute queue for it, in fairness, but if you’re a family with kids below 1.4m or someone who doesn’t like inverting coasters or overly intense coasters, what other choice do you have? Folk who don’t like overly intense coasters do exist, and for them, Thirteen is one of the few choices on park; on both occasions where my Nan has visited with us, Thirteen has been one of the biggest coasters she’s ridden. As she also rules out anything that spins, Wicker Man and Runaway Mine Train are her only other coaster options on park.
 
Why aren't they filling Galacticas queue. There's no way at 10:30 in the morning the whole queue is full and 'at capacity'. They must be doing what they did during covid where they only filled half the queue and shut it to keep the wait time down
 
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