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Hex: The Future

Bowser said:
- Agree with the comment above that the process is a bit tedious. We were in the first room for 3 cycles of the video (not that i could hear it on any of them).
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This absolutely should not happen. The ride is designed to run with enough space between groups that you can move straight through from one room to the next as soon as each finishes, maybe with just a few seconds wait before getting into the ride itself to ensure it runs as close to maximum capacity as possible. The video room is (was?) started manually so I've no idea why the show operator thought you needed to see it multiple times, even if there was a delay on the ride.
 
John said:
This absolutely should not happen. The ride is designed to run with enough space between groups that you can move straight through from one room to the next as soon as each finishes, maybe with just a few seconds wait before getting into the ride itself to ensure it runs as close to maximum capacity as possible. The video room is (was?) started manually so I've no idea why the show operator thought you needed to see it multiple times, even if there was a delay on the ride.
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Wonder if @Bowser is referring to the rolling footage in what used to be the indoor queue line, i.e. the excavation "documentary" on the overhead screens? It would be a bit odd to sit through three renditions of the preshow, anyway I'm pretty sure that's after batching.

Not been since the refurb though so maybe it's all changed.
 
NuttySquirrel said:
Wonder if @Bowser is referring to the rolling footage in what used to be the indoor queue line, i.e. the excavation "documentary" on the overhead screens? It would be a bit odd to sit through three renditions of the preshow, anyway I'm pretty sure that's after batching.

Not been since the refurb though so maybe it's all changed.
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Yes that's right, the first room of the building you enter with the zigzagging. The queue was pretty much back to the doors when we went in.
 
Due to a series of unfortunate events, I haven't ridden Hex since 2015; a combination of only getting to go once a year, and Hex's constant downtime over the years, has meant that the vault has remained sealed for me.

Would love to ride it again, I really would; would literally be like a brand new ride.

Will probably be 2026 at the earliest (11 years!), and it'll probably have broken again by then ...
 
Bowser said:
Yes that's right, the first room of the building you enter with the zigzagging. The queue was pretty much back to the doors when we went in.
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When it reopened they decided you wouldn’t use that room to queue (like it was before the refurb) though they’ve recently seemed to change that and batch in two or three groups so you now do queue inside.

Next year I imagine it’ll be back to pretty much always having a 5 min queue so you’ll rarely spend much time in there at all.
 
Last time I rode Hex was either 2013 or 2014 which means I've not had the chance to ride it for a whole decade and would missed out on it on my last 3 visits to the park honestly so it'll almost be a new ride when I do get the chance to go on it, hopefully next year give or take though knowing my luck, it would be closed just on the day I would be there.
 
AltonLover123 said:
When it reopened they decided you wouldn’t use that room to queue (like it was before the refurb) though they’ve recently seemed to change that and batch in two or three groups so you now do queue inside.

Next year I imagine it’ll be back to pretty much always having a 5 min queue so you’ll rarely spend much time in there at all.
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It makes no sense to me why you wouldn't use that space for the queue line. Quite apart from anything, if it's raining why force people to wait outside in the rain when they could be in the dry? Zero thought given over to guest experience.

I imagine it has something to do with the RAP/FT merge point although I'm surprised they couldn't find a way to accommodate that indoors during the long months of its closure.
 
They should have split the indoor queue into two: one side regular queue, and the other a FT/RAP combined queue.

I'm not a fan of the new batching outdoors. On off-peak/quieter days, I would guess they simply won't bother with the merge point at all. At the moment, it seems like more work with little benefit compared to the previous system. If it ain't broke...
 
James said:
They should have split the indoor queue into two: one side regular queue, and the other a FT/RAP combined queue.

I'm not a fan of the new batching outdoors. On off-peak/quieter days, I would guess they simply won't bother with the merge point at all. At the moment, it seems like more work with little benefit compared to the previous system. If it ain't broke...
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It was kind of broke though, as the step-free entrance couldn't cope with the volume of RAP, so does make sense to have ambulant RAP users come up the steps. But as others noted the queue should have been re-done with a new RAP and Fastrack lane and then smaller switchbacks for the standard queue.
 
That’s the thing about a madhouse though, it's basically a magic trick and once you've seen it and know how it's done, the appeal is gone imo, other than seeing others react to it.

The actual physical sensation of riding it isn’t particularly satisfying or fun either.

I can’t really think of another ride type like that. I suppose some dark rides might feel similar for others.
 
I think you're describing all rides tbh, or in fact all leisure activities. Some people will enjoy doing the same experience over multiple times, others will be satisfied with just the once. Moreover, others will never be interested in the experience in the first place.

It's a bit like when you're looking forward to seeing a film that everything suggests should be right up your street, but it just doesn't chime with you despite other people wanting to rewatch it multiple times.

In terms of rides, the way you've described Hex is similar to how I might describe Rita. Some rides just don't appeal to certain people, even if that goes against the grain.

Likewise, it is similar to the way my sister described Wicker Man. And that's fine, it was just an experience that wasn't for her, despite it being something that many others enjoy a great deal.
 
Sure but I find with most rides it’s the physical sensations that draw you back for repeat rides above all.

So in your example your sister presumably disliked the physical nature of the ride? I didn’t dislike Hex, I enjoyed it but having ridden several madhouses before it was purely to see the presentation.

A better example i think would be Thirteen, which has one very cool trick. But in this case, the ride is still very enjoyable once you know the trick because of the various physical sensations.

Someone suggested Hex will be back to 5 minute queues soon enough which to me indicates that the once and done philosophy is far more prevalent with this ride type.

I understand the subjectivity of what’s enjoyable, I just think this ride type more than any other is completely reliant on the surprise.
 
Bowser said:
That’s the thing about a madhouse though, it's basically a magic trick and once you've seen it and know how it's done, the appeal is gone imo, other than seeing others react to it.

The actual physical sensation of riding it isn’t particularly satisfying or fun either.

I can’t really think of another ride type like that. I suppose some dark rides might feel similar for others.
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You mean to say you don't really go upside down then???
Lifetime illusion shattered.
 
It has a pretty decent throughput which helps with queue times. The counter used to say 78 although now less so.

I would imagine they will scrap the outside merge and have main queue and ambulant RAP just enter, with non-ambulant RAP through the side door.
 
James said:
They should have split the indoor queue into two: one side regular queue, and the other a FT/RAP combined queue.

I'm not a fan of the new batching outdoors. On off-peak/quieter days, I would guess they simply won't bother with the merge point at all. At the moment, it seems like more work with little benefit compared to the previous system. If it ain't broke...
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I imagine this will be the case next year. The additional position went against thier operational cuts they’ve been plying on this year so as it won’t be “new” anymore I bet the pre show host will do the batching and the merge position willdisappear.

That said, I doubt they’d be allowed to fix any permanent fencing to the steps themselves so not sure how they’d deal with that if they indeed split the indoor cattle pen into 2.
 
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