Geauga Dog Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Oh gosh, Freeway was a nightmare. You were only allowed two stamps and you had to go to the kiosk by each ride offering it to get one. It sucked if you wanted the Raptor stamp and then had to go over to Millennium Force to get that stamp only to find out they were no longer giving stamps out for the day. And then the ink would be all over the queue rails. When i was at SFOG there were people using the Flash Pass system even though it wasn't needed as the lines were pretty much non-existent both days I was there. If someone is willing to shell out the money for it, let them. However, and not sure how plausible this might work at the CF parks, but they could always close off a row of seats or a car for Lo-Q riders only. That's what they did on SFOG's Batman. I'm not a huge fan of the system but I did try it once at SFGAdv back in 2005. It was my first time there and that Gold Pass was my best friend that day as it saved me a lot of time and I was able to get all the rides in with minimal wait since the park was quite busy. BTW, Darien Lake now has a Rapid Ride system for their rides and their lines are even shorter than Kings Island's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyMullins Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I don't think KI has anything, but CP still has the extra queue rails left over from their failed attempt at flash passes in the early 2000s. Kings Island has extra queues, leftover from the former Gold Pass Speed Pass, for: -Boo Blasters on Boo Hill -Race for Your Life Charlie Brown (log flume) -Drop Tower -Delirium -Backlot Stunt Coaster The Beast also had one, but the queue has been heavily modified since then and operating with a quick queue would no longer work. I imagine that queues could easily be established for a couple other rides too, like Diamondback (single rider line). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reon Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 As someone who was born and raised at KI (and now works there), I'm a bit mixed on having some form of Lo-Q there. From my experience, the only ride that will really benefit from that system is Firehawk. Aside from busier days for events or weekends, you can typically get on almost any ride (bar X Base) in half an hour or less. Its a nice money making opportunity, and I can see how other CF parks would benefit, but KI doesn't seem to be one of those... Can't wait to see what they plan on doing to SoB! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 ^Not to mention that people PAID to have the right to skip the line. If others don't like it, pony up. Some of us don't like waiting in lines to the point where we'll pay extra money to avoid doing it. But that gives the park the incentive to run the rides at lower capacity in an attempt to make the paid line jumping system seem more effective. One thing I'll never forgive six flags for doing with regards to their line jumping system is that during my last year as anSFA passholder the park went so far as to reserve one entire train on S:ROS for flashpassers only & if nobody showed up they would send that train out empty & this annoyed the crap out of those who were waiting in the station & had been waiting long enough to get on the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesdillaman Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 But that gives the park the incentive to run the rides at lower capacity in an attempt to make the paid line jumping system seem more effective. This. I just don't think rewarding the parks monetarily for slow operations is always the best idea. It all depends on how the system is implemented, though. If q-bots are only sold when the park reaches a certain capacity, then I'd be for it, but when I visited SFNE a couple years ago there was almost nobody there and they were frantically trying to sell me a gold q-bot at the front gate. If I hadn't been astute, I could have easily wasted money on an unnecessary convenience. Also, if I'm in park management and I know I get more sales if lines are longer, and it costs more in wear and tear to run two trains than one, why should I run two trains on every coaster on a weekday? It saves me maintenance costs and makes lines longer, leading to more q-bot sales to only run one train. Sounds good to the people who buy q-bots, huh? To those of us who barely have enough money to pay $10 to park and $50 to get in the front gate, let alone $3 for a drink and $10 for a hamburger, the added lines just don't seem worth it to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 One thing I'll never forgive six flags for doing with regards to their line jumping system is that during my last year as anSFA passholder the park went so far as to reserve one entire train on S:ROS for flashpassers only & if nobody showed up they would send that train out empty & this annoyed the crap out of those who were waiting in the station & had been waiting long enough to get on the ride. That just shows that there's a right and a wrong way to do it. I don't have very many good things to say about SFGAd, but when I was there in May, the park was VERY crowded, and my Gold Flash Pass got me several rides on everything. The Flash Pass just got me to the entrance of the station and I had to wait from there. They didn't reserve trains for anyone, they just let you bypass the switchbacks. That meant that when I got my Flash Pass scanned and I was let into the station, I could reserve another ride and it would be ready to go by the time I got off the ride. I rode El Toro three times in about 30 minutes while the wait was at least 45 minutes, and I know for a fact that I wasn't holding the line up by using the pass. In fact, there were very few people that were even using it. So unless an entire train of Flash Pass users gets in the station at the same time, the difference in wait for everyone else is going to be negligible. The way SFGAd does their Flass Pass system is flawless in my opinion. I can't give an opinion on SFA's because I've never used it there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermaniac Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 But that gives the park the incentive to run the rides at lower capacity in an attempt to make the paid line jumping system seem more effective. This. I just don't think rewarding the parks monetarily for slow operations is always the best idea. It all depends on how the system is implemented, though. If q-bots are only sold when the park reaches a certain capacity, then I'd be for it, but when I visited SFNE a couple years ago there was almost nobody there and they were frantically trying to sell me a gold q-bot at the front gate. If I hadn't been astute, I could have easily wasted money on an unnecessary convenience. Also, if I'm in park management and I know I get more sales if lines are longer, and it costs more in wear and tear to run two trains than one, why should I run two trains on every coaster on a weekday? It saves me maintenance costs and makes lines longer, leading to more q-bot sales to only run one train. Sounds good to the people who buy q-bots, huh? To those of us who barely have enough money to pay $10 to park and $50 to get in the front gate, let alone $3 for a drink and $10 for a hamburger, the added lines just don't seem worth it to me. I agree 100%. I don't have the extra money to spend for the q-bot after already paying for the more necessary things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 ^Guys, have you been to US Parks lately!??! I don't think operations could get much slower! (Note, obvious exclusions of Disney, Knoebels, some other ticket based parks, etc.) I really don't think it's some big conspiracy to slow down operations so you'll buy the skip the line system! It's just a nice option to have if you have limited time at a park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOGdude25 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 There's a part of me that wants Mr. Ouimet to consider renovating the Crypt. As Tomb Raider, it was a great and very memorable ride. I wonder if Mark, with his Disney experience, could pull a team of creative designers together to create a whole new story for the ride and the ride itself can be restored back to its original program. Sounds great on the surface, but I know the plausibility of this idea is very slim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KI Kidd Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Mechanically the ride isn't capable of running its original program for an entire season anymore. That's the reason it was changed to begin with. The maintenance costs and downtime were simply getting to be too much. As has been stated here and elsewhere before, there is a reason its the world's only giant top spin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOGdude25 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 That is true. The ride was closed more often then open back then. I was there a few weeks ago and I noticed that the entire front row was taken off the ride (to make it lighter I assume). Oh, nostalgia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermaniac Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 ^ Front row taken off? Like completely removed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I honestly believe out of all the parks I've been to, Kings Island is one of the most consistant parks with good operations. They've always been pretty good with maximum trains operating. But what do I know, I've just been going to the park multiple times for 15+ years now. KI would do fine with a LO-Q system in place. I'm way more interested in the 40th year anniversary installment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSum1_55 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 ^Not to mention that people PAID to have the right to skip the line. If others don't like it, pony up. Some of us don't like waiting in lines to the point where we'll pay extra money to avoid doing it. But that gives the park the incentive to run the rides at lower capacity in an attempt to make the paid line jumping system seem more effective. One thing I'll never forgive six flags for doing with regards to their line jumping system is that during my last year as anSFA passholder the park went so far as to reserve one entire train on S:ROS for flashpassers only & if nobody showed up they would send that train out empty & this annoyed the crap out of those who were waiting in the station & had been waiting long enough to get on the ride. Does SFA do everything wrong? at SFMM, pretty much every Flashpass ride cuts into the regular line at one point, like Disney's Fastpass system. The only exceptions (at least on coasters) were Ninja and Goldrusher, of which you simply went up to the station to take your seat. Even so, the ride ops did not go to measures as to reserve an entire train. SFDK, on the other hand, does that on pretty much every ride, yet they do not reserve an entire train either. However, recently I was waiting for the back of Scream at SFMM, when a handicapped kid came up. As it turned out, he wasn't tall enough, so all of the back seats went out empty. They let no one on since the train was already ready for dispatch. At least they were able to send it out without stacking (Medusa crew, are you reading this?) For KI's new big attraction, ill just throw out a B&M floorless or invert, since they just got a hyper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I honestly believe out of all the parks I've been to, Kings Island is one of the most consistant parks with good operations. They've always been pretty good with maximum trains operating. But what do I know, I've just been going to the park multiple times for 15+ years now. You must only go to terrible parks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOGdude25 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 ^ Front row taken off? Like completely removed? Yeah. Originally there were three rows of seats, and now there are only two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSum1_55 Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I honestly believe out of all the parks I've been to, Kings Island is one of the most consistant parks with good operations. They've always been pretty good with maximum trains operating. But what do I know, I've just been going to the park multiple times for 15+ years now. You must only go to terrible parks. Have you seen coasterforce's POV of Diamondback? (Can't link it be cause it might be illegal). Clearly, three trains were running. Sounds good, right? Well, once the train in the pov came to the block brake, it was a LONG wait on the block just to move up to the block before the station, so esentially they were consistantly managing to stack all three trains. Typically, if you do that, it does no improve capacity whatsoever over running two trains; although people think it does. On my last visit to SFDK, the queue was full, and dispatches were about four minutes apice, meaning the two trains were consistantly stacked. After I had waited about an hour, they announced that they would be adding a third train. (At 3:00 in the afternoon. Really?). However, during the next hour I waited, the dispatches were the same; four minutes to a train. Every time a train would leave, anouther would be there to take its place. This results in absolutly no improvement over running two trains. Daimondback may run three trains occationally, but as long as the dispatch interval is longer than the ride, it does not matter if the ride can run 3, 4, 5, 6, or 20 trains. The number of people on the actual ride will be higher, but the actual turnover rate will not change one bit over two trains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ejectorbater Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 QFT. Diamondback had the best operations I had ever seen. Almost every other ride was good except, FLight of Fear and Firehawk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 Just want everyone to know that Kings Island will be announcing their Fast Pass system on Monday. That's all I know, don't have any specifics yet. But if I don't get them before Monday, we'll all find out at the same time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geauga Dog Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 ^That's fast. Wonder if they'll try to implement it for the remainder of the year or if they'll wait until next year. BTW, Kings Island may run all trains on most coasters but they have a tendency to stack them. The last time I was there they were running all three on Diamondback and plenty of times in the morning you would have two trains on the final brakes before dispatching the one in the station. Vortex usually runs all three trains but they stack them bad. Not like the old days when a train would be on the lift as another would be hitting the mid-course, basically meeting up at the same point and you'd watch the train drop into the corkscrews. The biggest offender will always be the Beast. I don't know how they can stack a train when the ride is four minutes long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermaniac Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I honestly believe out of all the parks I've been to, Kings Island is one of the most consistant parks with good operations. They've always been pretty good with maximum trains operating. But what do I know, I've just been going to the park multiple times for 15+ years now. You must only go to terrible parks. He's got a point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesdillaman Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 The biggest offender will always be the Beast. I don't know how they can stack a train when the ride is four minutes long. Well, when they put seatbelts on it, it pretty much guarantees stacking trains, but still if you've been there when there are only two trains on the ride, you'll be waiting in an empty station. The way the blocking is now (Block 1: end of station to top of lift 1, Block 2: Top of lift 1 to top of lift 2, Block 3: Top of lift 2 to safety brakes, Block 4: Ready brakes, Block 5:Station) is the main culprit. Since the train can no longer be stopped in the brake shed in the woods (Where the magnetic trim is that everyone hates), they have to treat that as one large block. The first year I worked there (before the seatbelts), we would have a train ready to dispatch and one SLOWLY crawling up the lift as block 2 wasn't vacated yet. Then the train would stop at the top of lift 1. Once the other train went off of lift two, we'd restart lift 1, and you could then finally dispatch the train in the station. With a good crew this would happen all day. Constantly setting up a train on lift 1, restarting the lift and then dispatching a train from the station that's been ready for 20-30 seconds. Like I said above, though, if you've ever been there with 2-train operation on the Beast, you'll still notice a wait 90% of the time for a train to come in the station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I honestly believe out of all the parks I've been to, Kings Island is one of the most consistant parks with good operations. They've always been pretty good with maximum trains operating. But what do I know, I've just been going to the park multiple times for 15+ years now. You must only go to terrible parks. Can you go to any? How's the I-405? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geauga Dog Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 ^^James, thanks for clearing that up for me. I hope you didn't take my post as being a complaint since I do understand the added belts have added time in dispatching a train. I still love the Beast and looking forward to getting back down there for more rides this week. I actually like it when the train is creeping up the lift SLOWLY because the other train hasn't cleared the block yet. I just wish they'd take those speakers off of it. IMO they sort of ruin the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermaniac Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I like the slowly-ness of the lift as well. I'm indifferent about the speakers; I guess I'm just used to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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