Queuelines

[Harv]

What are your favourite and least favourite queuelines in theme parks around the world?

Personally, I really like the Nemesis queue, as it builds the suspense really well and the views from the bridges are awesome. It feels exposed above the pit and gives some great viewing angles.

I hate the queue for Mumbo Jumbo at Flamingo Land on a hot Summer's day. Eurgh. You end up packed in like sardines.

Over to you.

 

[Jonathan]

Favourite queue line? It has to be Wodan at Europa-Park. I mean, just look at the entrance gate!

And then there's BUSTy to consider in Wodan's queue as well.

Not to mention the air-conditioning, which in the summer is so amazing. <3

Least favourite queue line? Any boring cattlepen - the main example being Rita. Eurgh.

 

[Ted]

Least Favourite? Swarm or TH13TEENs, they're both horrible.

 

[Andrew]

Most favourite? Oblivion's due to it having an interesting layout and because you get some great views of the ride.

Least favourite? Shockwave as it's a horrible cattlepen straight away with construction fencing all around it to stop queue jumpers...

 

[Quetzal]

Favourite has to be De Vliegende Hollander's. It's nothing short of beautiful! I have a soft spot for SAW's as well, not too sure why.

My least favourite would definitely be Zufari's. What the hell were they thinking when they made that pile of tripe?

 

[Nick]

Expedition Everest is one of the finest, for sure. Other good one's are Rock and Roller Coaster and Incredible Hulk, but Expedition Everest was just sensational. You could not have been bored in that queue.

EDIT- here's a POV of the queue (I know). Ignore the commentary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCsMn9F13mI#ws

 

[Sam]

seXcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm has a vile queue.

Just look at that chain link fence cattlepen!

 

[Harv]

Pwahahaha, Sam! That actually looks like RCT3, appalling.

 

[Thomas]

This is an example of a bad queueline for me. It's very dense high fences, which although help to hinder queue jumping, they look hideous and on a hot day they trap you in like a badger in a sett.

Okay, Hex has nice things to look at, but when the queue is dead you still have to walk like a muppet back and forward in a Z shape. I understand that there's very little they could probably do otherwise, but even so. Just plain irritating.

Queuejumper's paradise this one. There's nothing to look at, no Lego models in sight just a long zig zag with nothing to stop you from jumping in.

Queue line stuff like this helps when it's really really busy, but it annoys you after a while to hear 'bounce' or 'wahey'. The other problem as well is that they tend to stop the queue while Little Jimmy has his 300th go. I much prefer a moving queueline.

Easy to queue jump, but it's the best queueline on park after Nemesis. Love the attention to detail, and the vending machines which disperse quickly and don't look awful when they're closed. Who doesn't love the Lord of Darkness?!

Possibly the worst because nobody listens to the screens, so nobody understands what the point of the ride is. Although it does have satellite theming, and an abandoned vehicle so everything isn't lost.

One of the best queues, bit of theming. Let down by awful batching and this weird obsession with this man? I think it's called Abdab and comes from an old ride they had there. Why he's having some less than 'family friendly' fun infront of a pot I don't understand.

Nice indoor section which makes you feel like you've had a couple to drink, although if the ride had queues they could use the outside queue as well

Ben 10 is a good example of an IP based queueline done well. Nice inside theming.

Can't find any pictures to show you, but it's high quality, decent theming on loads of different levels, some nice seaside humour and an anamatronic seagull.

The worst queueline ever. I admit this is an old picture, but at present it looks worse. I hate scaffolding. I hate pig pen queuelines. I hate days when Rita has a queue. It's a 20 second ride. I detest Rita's queue because it forces you to stand there and go, this is awful. There's paint peeling everywhere, there's no theming to be seen unless you count scaffolding (I don't think I need to start a thread about scaffolding being theming do I?) then there is nothing of worth to look at. There's the stupid batching policy which slows the queue down. There's the random trumpets from when the ride was first introduced which look awful painted in an awful shade of brown, still standing as if to say 'This ride's had two themes neither of them convincing'.

Then there's the fact that if you're in the Rita queueline you have to look at 'The Dark Forest' which is in effect one reasonably themed ride with another one on top of it and a weird forest market. All there is to look at in the Rita queueline is food stalls, not even well themed food stalls, just ones with deteriorating theming and overpriced non related tat. Oh and a locker bank, which takes up room and from what I've seen never gets used.

This kind of worked as an entrance back in 2005, but now it just looks messy. I understand what the theme is, and I understand this is the best compromise, and yes it doesn't have scaffolding on it. But it looks vile.

Finally there's no sense of movement as you're in a cattlepen looking at nothing other than dull grey blandness, being dictated when you can pass under a track. I don't dislike this queuline. I hate it. Maybe that's just me though?

Apologies, I have 'hotlinked' all these images. Credits to the photographers, I own none of these images. But I do own a Merlin Annual Pass which gives 12 months access to the UK's best attractions!

 

[Martin]

Any queue less than five minutes is good.

Any queue more than 20 minutes is bad.

 

[Alastair]

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey - by far the best themed queueline I've ever seen and probably the best themed in the world.

 

[CoasterCrazyChris]

In order to judge whether a queue line is good or bad, you should ask yourself whether or not standing in it enhances the ride experience or not.

On that basis...

Good: Nemesis, Oblivion, Hex, Duel, Rapids

Average: Flume, RMT, Sub-Terra, Charlie

Bad: Rita, Thirteen, Spinball, Air

 

[Ted]

For good queues I like Nemesis's queue (And also Inferno's), Oblivion's, Colossus, Vampire, and Space Mountain.

I hate Swarm's and TH13TEEN's as I mentioned before, but I also dislike Zufari's, Crush's Coaster's, and Dragon's Fury's. I also dislike Big Thunder Mountain's (Paris version) queue layout, but the themeing is really good so I'll spare it.

That's in terms of coasters. Can't exactly think of what queuelines for flats/water rides/other I like and dislike.

 

[Nick]

Dragon Challenge at IoA has a very long queue. When it was Duelling Dragons, it took about 15 minutes to walk through. The entrance was nice, and there were bits and pieces along the queue, but it was only really quality at the beginning and end. Wasn't sure if I liked or loathed it.

 

[Ian]

Black Mamba or Nemmy for me. Both offer incredible levels of rider interaction, and (Mamba especially) let you get up close to the ride in action. Mamba probably clinches the victory for it's added theming, whereas Nemesis tends to rely soley on its landscaping until you're nearing the station.

Least favourite is a strong tie between G-Force at Drayton, Sonic Spinball at Alton, Rita at Alton, X at Thorpe, or Winjas at Phantasialand (Ughh, horrid sweatbox in a greenhouse!)

 

[Scott]

Oh wow, someone just reminded me of the hell that is Big Thunder Mountain at DLRP. It's horrific.

 

[Jonathan]

Oh, thanks for reminding me about G-Force, Ian. I queued for an hour for that back in August '08, and it was horrific. Hot and sweaty, really uncomfortable, nothing in there worked, and coupled with the shockingly bad throughputs thanks to just one train, made it probably the most unpleasant queuing experience I've ever had.

 

[Spark]

What rides that off?

 

[Adam]

Shambhala queue was bloody awful, just a cattlepen in a building. Plus the building was boiling hot and the queue jumping problem at that park is unreal.

 

[electricBlll]

What rides that off?

The animatronic is AbDab from Terror Tomb (now Tomb Blaster). He was the main character who would try to kill off the riders to get his hands on the tomb's treasure, only to be humorously murdered by mummies at the end.

The queueline is Vampire. Why he is sitting there, looking totally fake and out of place, nobody will ever know. But he sure looks amusing.

The original Vampire queue was much shorter. It started at the tall entrance gates, went down steps underneath the brake run, then came back up into the 'crypt' area. They quickly built the path through the trees to cope with the excess crowds.