AT86
TS Member
Smiler is one of the most expensive rides for fastrack and has a SRQ. Not sure they have much material difference on fastrack sales.
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Ride Availability/Operations 2022-24
- Thread starter Ethan
- Start date
Smiler is one of the most expensive rides for fastrack and has a SRQ. Not sure they have much material difference on fastrack sales.
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
Smiler also appears to have pretty high Fastrack sales (it certainly looked to yesterday, anyway), so I’m not sure that SRQs necessarily reduce Fastrack sales by any stretch.
Josh
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
Regarding Galactica, what you've just suggested is exactly how the single rider queue used to work on there. All singles went down to station 2 and the merge host would only send odd groups to that station, all even groups being sent to station 1. Though there's no room to reuse the old SRQ now unfortunately, due to it currently being used for ambulant RAP.
Regarding the Smiler SRQ, the current issues surely revolve around a training issue with current hosts. When it used to operate that way pre the great single riders purge of 2018, they never seemed to have the issues they now have. It's likely no one currently working on the ride has worked there long enough to have hosted on it in it's early years.
flyingguitar
TS Member
I think they could do with adding single rider to spin ball and galactica
spinball mainly for wet opps when they have to sent 3 people per car, would be a bit difficult to add an extra queue
Galactica could really benefit from this, they often leave a large amount of seats empty and it would be relatively easy, if they merger the rap queues (although that could cause issues), and can aid when a seat is out meaning some rows are 3 max
spinball mainly for wet opps when they have to sent 3 people per car, would be a bit difficult to add an extra queue
Galactica could really benefit from this, they often leave a large amount of seats empty and it would be relatively easy, if they merger the rap queues (although that could cause issues), and can aid when a seat is out meaning some rows are 3 max
John
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
I think the main issue with Smiler merge is the bag store - they struggle to get people through it quick enough to be able to build up enough of a queue on the steps to be able to let SRQ through without then running off main queue before the gate is switched back. Realistically, the only way to improve things using the current layout would be an extra person in the bag room.
Spinball should have SRQ, the exit would be fine for this if they re-use using the space once used for FT. Theoretically they could also pave over some of the unused space if they really wanted to splash out.
The broken seats on Galactica makes re-adding the SRQ even more problematic than before. As Josh mentioned, the merge hosts used to try to send odd groups to the right-hand station but this system only made sense if all seats were working - when some of the rows only have 3 seats there's no benefit in sending all odd-numbered groups to one side (as the trains keep switching sides). As a result they'd either need a SRQ to both stations or just ignore the empty seats from one side - neither option really works well enough to justify the return of SRQ.
Spinball should have SRQ, the exit would be fine for this if they re-use using the space once used for FT. Theoretically they could also pave over some of the unused space if they really wanted to splash out.
The broken seats on Galactica makes re-adding the SRQ even more problematic than before. As Josh mentioned, the merge hosts used to try to send odd groups to the right-hand station but this system only made sense if all seats were working - when some of the rows only have 3 seats there's no benefit in sending all odd-numbered groups to one side (as the trains keep switching sides). As a result they'd either need a SRQ to both stations or just ignore the empty seats from one side - neither option really works well enough to justify the return of SRQ.
Perhaps they should implement a no bags rule on the single rider queue, for ease of use and efficiency.
I am sure I am not alone.
Many couples/groups have non thrill riders who don't like being left for long, single rider queues were great for that.
No single rider queues for the other rides, on my last busy day of visiting, sent me straight to fasttrack, sadly, as my wife is a non rider.
I am sure I am not alone.
Many couples/groups have non thrill riders who don't like being left for long, single rider queues were great for that.
Bowser
TS Member
The exit is already the RAP queue unless you mean something else?
John
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
There used to be separate FT & RAP queues at the exit, FT was on the other side in the space behind the bag cages on the platform. I think that would just be enough space for an SRQ but when it was used for FT there were times it was difficult to get out of the ride as there were queues both sides of the exit path
Dave
TS Founding Member
The SRQ’s mostly got turned into ambulant RAP which never really was ever a thing. I suspect that’s the primary reason they haven’t come back. Smiler was the 1st coaster with ambulant RAP available so it already had this all set out.
Nemesis could have had SRQ but it would have to be on exit side which tbf often slowed down ops as the singles couldn’t be batched.
AT86
TS Member
If the Oblivion station is to be rebuilt this winter as rumoured then it would be an ideal time to include the return of a SRQ.
The dual batching set up means there is always plenty of time between batching and loading for a the ride op to fill any empty spots long before the air gates open.
The dual batching set up means there is always plenty of time between batching and loading for a the ride op to fill any empty spots long before the air gates open.
NuttySquirrel
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Batman: Gotham City Escape
But they completely rebuilt and reorganised the Nemesis station and its approaches last year and chose not to add a SRQ.
I think we're all looking at single rider as some sort of holy grail, but if it doesn't increase efficiency of ops significantly there's no real reason for the park to introduce it (especially if they can sell more fast track). With good batching of odd numbered groups you're not really going to need a SRQ and the odd empty seat isn't really an issue if you are banging the trains out.
On Oblivion you have 8 seats to fill, lots of combinations of group size could fill 8 seats so with clever batching a SRQ would be a bit of a white elephant.
Dave
TS Founding Member
Due to the huge pit there was no way of getting a second queue into the station building on the on-load side (ambulatory RAP has to merge with the main queue further down, you can’t merge single rider into the main queue as then it’s not single rider).
The only option for single rider would be an exit side entry and that was a bit chaotic when they did that previously to be fair. I suspect that’s why they didn’t bother with single rider on Nemesis.
djtruefitt
TS Team
It’s already got a single rider queue that’s not used. It’s the middle door.
I see now reason why it couldn’t return, there is always a merge person outside now, so RAP and ft get sent the same way and that person scans the RAP/ft. So singles could go same line as FT and RAP and then at merge get sent to the middle queue for the station batcher to use.
I wonder the effective ness of the single rider queue, the station is currently quite cramped and when ever I go, with essentially 8 rows of 8 the staff assigning rows has to juggle that it gets difficut to know that A3 has 7 people.
To achieve a noticable improvment in throughput they should add a bag drop, I have don't have an Idea how they would fit it in (maybe extend the queue a bit under the lift and add a bag drom there? because it is the thing that takes the longest with that ride as people have to cross the quite long train (stopping for people to get into their seat if a frend took their bag a long the way), then make their way through the crowd of people getting off and placing their bag (it can get bad especially if there is an odd number of trains so the train on B station has to get thair bags on A station and vice versa) then they have to make their way back along the train to sit down, then the staff check the seat belts and its off, removing that bag step would dramatically cut down the dispach time.
was there always a bag cages because there is lockes and I don't know how they would have achieved a high throughput before with these cages?
Well they managed it without much issue for a number of years.
It was a facility, it was removed...and it was very effective for filling odd seats at the end of each queueline.
Dave
TS Founding Member
Oblivion needs the following:
1) Better baggage store and more exit platform staff to take bags off people to load.
2) Open the airgates the moment the ride parks again! If they are still worried about people falling off the exit platform when it’s busy then put some barriers across the bits of the platform the train doesn’t cover when parked.
3) If possible widen the gap between the wall and the airgates, it’s very tight and makes batching hard.
1) Better baggage store and more exit platform staff to take bags off people to load.
2) Open the airgates the moment the ride parks again! If they are still worried about people falling off the exit platform when it’s busy then put some barriers across the bits of the platform the train doesn’t cover when parked.
3) If possible widen the gap between the wall and the airgates, it’s very tight and makes batching hard.
AT86
TS Member
This was one of the reasons I suggested previously that SRQ could be reinstated if they are rebuilding the station.
The original SRQ was retro fitted and as you have pointed out the station wasn’t designed for guests moving between batching lanes, hence the lack of space and low ceiling/beams.
If they can reconfigure the whole thing it would improve not only the ability to operate a SRQ but improve batching/operations in general.
I think this could be the biggest differnce currently (without timing it) it feels like 50%-75% of the time is spent with people messing with their bags, if they were to some how remove the bag issue (didn't a european park use some other head conveyor to pass the bags over) they could dramatically improve the ops and reduce the queue time.
on oblivion that is a biger thing than you think, for nemesis and gal they have a similar number of people but spread out over like 8 rows, on oblivion it is similar number of people but with 4 rows, they can cause a big crowd as people are trying to find bags push past other people to get their bag, and if it is running with odd number of trains it makes it worse, as both trains now have to cross to get their bags. this crowd then causes people getting on the ride to be slowed down placing their bags.