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Inexpensive Improvements

micksalt said:
Urgh, motion seconded! I used to love the sneak preview you got of the park whilst riding the monorail.
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It was all part of the experience for me. Seeing the rides and getting hyped up about the day. Now its more like this:
r651155_4578174.jpg


I tend to walk these days :confused:
 
Another inexpensive improvement there @AliceHL91.
You know at DLP there are flat travelator things instead of walking.

But wait...
AliceHL91 said:
It was all part of the experience for me. Seeing the rides and getting hyped up about the day. Now its more like this:
r651155_4578174.jpg


I tend to walk these days :confused:
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No... I'd say this is more like the smiler queue (only bigger)​
 
bluesonichd said:
Im prob wrong, Im sure there was a time in Tussauds time where there were ticket machines near ride entrances where you got a ticket with a time to come back.. or was I dreaming o_O

::edit:: or is that not how Qbot works... Ive never been to legoland :p
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Oh yes there was that, the good old Fastrack system, it's what Disney use!

Not quite Q-Bot though - that is where you get a little handheld device like this:

qbot_p1040585_184.jpg


You can then select a ride you want to reserve and you wait the same legth as the queue, but can do other things in the park. It then notifies you when it is time for you to ride. If you pay extra then you can get upgraded ones whereby it cuts the queue length by a certain percentage or for the top level ones it will remove the queue time totally! You can only have one ride reserved at a time though.

I've used the system before at Six Flags Great Adventure - it works really well!

:)
 
Indeed, the Alton one was entirely paper based, I still have some tickets somewhere, I'll take a photo of one if I find one.

A few of the buildings are still knocking around, the Air one for sure.
 
Also, around 2001 Alton introduced the (paid) option for you get Virtual Queue via SMS. Flamingo Land were still using a similar system a couple of years back, not sure if they still are.
 
Rick said:
Also, around 2001 Alton introduced the (paid) option for you get Virtual Queue via SMS. Flamingo Land were still using a similar system a couple of years back, not sure if they still are.
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Legoland now offer the QBot system via a mobile, as well as the handheld device. I suspect that may be the future of QBot type systems - using mobiles rather than dedicated electronics or paper tickets. That certainly seems to be the route Disney are going with their fastpass system at WDW - relying more on people using their mobiles.

I've just noticed that Blackpool Pleasure Beach have their own QBot type system too. Obviously, standing in queues in theme parks is top of peoples most hated list, and there certainly seems to be a lot of effort going on in the industry to try to find solutions.

At WDW, I particularly liked what they have done on the Dumbo ride now. They give you a pager on entry, then the kids go and play in a great play area until the pager buzzes. trouble is, the play area is too good - I couldn't get my little brat out of it!
 
^ That is absolutely the future of virtual queuing, we'll see that a lot over the next decade or so, I think.

Pleasure Beach's Q-BOT system is painful. The infrastructure and the capacity just isn’t there to facilitate it. Plus, it requires another member of staff to be employed on each ride, so by the time they have been paid and the licensor has taken their cut, I can’t imagine there’s a ton of money in it, but who knows.
 
Rob said:
Oh yes there was that, the good old Fastrack system, it's what Disney use!
:)
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Yep Alton used to have the same system that Disney have in California and Paris and it is great.

DisneyWorld Florida has changed over to a sytem of pre-booking three fastpasses before you arrive at the park...
Also DisneyWorld hotel guests only advantage is they can book fastpasses at 60 days instead of 30 days and they have early entry and late closing (Extrs Magic Hours) of select parks.

Alton Towers hotels give similar perks to Disney hotels, its mainly about the location.
 
I think the nearest AT have to this virtual queuing system is the Disable rider access system, where you go on a ride then have to wait the time it would of taken to queue before going on another big ride.
It works great for guests with certain mental capacity issues.
 
You mean Parent Queue Share Pass

The parent queues as normal, get pass punched by ride staff, then the other parent get the pass and goes to the ride whist the first rider has the kid.
 
Isn't there a q-bot type system at thorpe. Reserve'n'ride i think it's called. Correct me if I'm wrong. It's only certain days I think. I remember looking on the website in the collosus queue.
 
Leah said:
Isn't there a q-bot type system at thorpe. Reserve'n'ride i think it's called. Correct me if I'm wrong. It's only certain days I think. I remember looking on the website in the collosus queue.
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They trialled it for a period last year, and I think they brought it back for some of this year... not 100% sure though.
 
Rob said:
Oh yes there was that, the good old Fastrack system, it's what Disney use!

Not quite Q-Bot though - that is where you get a little handheld device like this:

qbot_p1040585_184.jpg


You can then select a ride you want to reserve and you wait the same legth as the queue, but can do other things in the park. It then notifies you when it is time for you to ride. If you pay extra then you can get upgraded ones whereby it cuts the queue length by a certain percentage or for the top level ones it will remove the queue time totally! You can only have one ride reserved at a time though.

I've used the system before at Six Flags Great Adventure - it works really well!

:)
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Ahh I see :) so its basically just like paid fast-tracks, people pushing to the front of the queue :rolleyes:
 
Leah said:
Isn't there a q-bot type system at thorpe. Reserve'n'ride i think it's called. Correct me if I'm wrong. It's only certain days I think. I remember looking on the website in the collosus queue.
Click to expand...

https://www.thorpepark.com/tickets-passes/reserve-n-ride/overview/

"RESERVE N' RIDE will be returning to THORPE PARK Resort in 2015 on the following dates:

1. 8 to 19 June
2. 6 July –12 July
3. 3 to 16 August
4. 23 October to 1 November

RESERVE N' RIDE allows you to virtually queue using your smartphone on our top 5 rides: THE SWARM, Nemesis Inferno, Colossus, SAW – The Ride and Stealth. This means you are free to enjoy the rest of the park during your wait time, rather than standing in queue lines. We have now added Fastrack too! You can upgrade on your phone for a shorter wait."
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bluesonichd said:
Ahh I see :) so its basically just like paid fast-tracks, people pushing to the front of the queue :rolleyes:
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Not really - for the standard version, you still have to wait the same length of time as if you are stood in the queue, but you can go off and do something else whilst you are waiting. Means less waiting in queues.

There are versions, however, where you pay extra to reduce the length of the time you are 'queued' for. Not sure I agree with that - that really is pushing to the front of the queue for people who can afford it - not that it won't stop me from taking advantage of that for my trip to Legoland in a couple of weeks though (Mr. hypocritical!).

I can't see why a QBot type system, using a persons mobile phone, couldn't be made available to all guests as part of their park entry. It would make visiting a park so much more pleasant - at Legoland I used it, and whilst we were waiting for rides, we went browsing around the shops, looking at Miniland etc. which I am sure we wouldn't have had time to do if we had been queueing every time for a ride. It could even result in more income for Merlin - more chances that people might visit restaurants, shops etc. whilst waiting, rather than standing in queues where you can't spend any money.
 
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