shepp Posted May 30, 2009 Posted May 30, 2009 Well, it kind of depends. Are you talking about in line to get tickets or in line to get into the park? To get into the park. I personally don't object if someone ahead of me at the gates is joined by a friend or two who've been buying tickets or using the restroom (but not thirty of his schoolmates), though maybe that's because I do it myself. Things tend to be more fluid outside the gates - at SFMM, for instance, people already in queues will gather round to watch the opening "ceremonies," then return to the gates. And many parks hold people at a second spot inside the gates, anyway. But, though not everyone at the gates is headed the same place, joining a friend nearer the gate effectively means you'll get to ride X2 sooner, same as actual line-jumping. I'm kinda wondering about Disneyland, actually. Once my partner and I are at the rope at the end of Main Street, would it be cool for me to go to City Hall for my birthday button (and maybe Lily Belle tickets) and then return to where I started? Ah well, maybe I think too much. And anyway, it'll be my birthday.
ghost007jas Posted May 30, 2009 Posted May 30, 2009 ^ Well now you're looking at how you feel about that decision morally, since there are not any rules in place for lines that are not for some sort of attraction. So I agree with Robb in that it is a gray area, and you just have to do what you think is right. Personally, I wouldn't have a problem with that, but I'm also the kind of person that doesn't mind a seven year old coming back in line after going to the bathroom.
XII Posted May 30, 2009 Posted May 30, 2009 IMO they should sell tasers to queuing people to zap line jumpers. I don't think this could work as people could buy the tasers and start zapping random people in line or start playing taser tag in the middle of the midway or do some other stupid thing with the tasers.
NYTrojan Posted May 30, 2009 Posted May 30, 2009 I remember one day when I simply said to myself "No. Nobody is cutting in front of me today for any reason" I was threatened with violence twice in line for the first ride of the day. People run and run and run to get to the ride, leaving friends and family behind, and then try to get you to let the rest of their group pass you by. It got to the point where the confrontation was ruining my day more than the line cutting. ah well... It is what it is. For some reason SFMM is an absolute magnet for the dregs of LA. in an attempt to get this back to Terminator, what have the lines been like during the week, and especially today? I'm considering going by for my first ride tomorrow and am curious as to what the weekend terminator traffic is like now that Memorial Day is over
Manic Monte Posted May 30, 2009 Posted May 30, 2009 I usually will not mind if it's one or two people *once*. It's that group mentality that is the last straw for me. Streams of people joining a friend in front of me is a no-no. If you're a group, get in line as a group and stay in line as a group. On the other hand, if someone stops to buy a soda and loses their party because of it, not a big deal for me.
rawrtotheargh Posted May 30, 2009 Posted May 30, 2009 ^^ The lines haven't been bad at all during the weekdays. Tuesday I waited about 30 minutes to get on.
nightsgt Posted May 30, 2009 Posted May 30, 2009 Great ride, got two rides in for the first time this past Friday. I guess they've been reading the boards cause the volume is now too low. I don't know how loud it was before, but I hope they raise it because the sound of gun shots should be a bit more intense. Anyhow, the park really has a winner on its hands.
robbalvey Posted May 31, 2009 Author Posted May 31, 2009 I'll post some photos I took today a little later. It seems like the line between 11:30 - 12:30 today was about an hour to an hour and a half. The crew was CRANKING trains out! I was only taking pictures (not riding) but it seemed like one the train hit the brake run, another train went out. I saw them do this about 20 times in a row! GO TERMINATOR CREW!!! WAY TO TAKE THAT TUNNEL!!!! --Robb
cooksta77 Posted May 31, 2009 Posted May 31, 2009 ^ I think Terminator is going to be one of if not the fastest crew in the park. I was there on opening day and they were cranking out trains so I hope the Terminator crew keeps up the great work.
bhslhs Posted May 31, 2009 Posted May 31, 2009 On a scale of 1 to 10 what would guys rate the ride and what are the best and worst elements of the ride. I'm just curious because I'm going to be riding it in a little more than 3 weeks.
robbalvey Posted May 31, 2009 Author Posted May 31, 2009 ^ No offense, but have you skimmed through the last 20 or 30 pages of this thread? I think plenty of people have already posted exactly what you are asking for. Many people have even posted a rating on a scale of 1 to 10. --Robb
Bolliger&Mabillard Posted May 31, 2009 Posted May 31, 2009 ^^^I rode Tatsu in 2006 with full switchbacks...which at the time was a 20 minute wait. Needless to say, the line at that point in 2009 is not 20 minutes.
wrs28330 Posted May 31, 2009 Posted May 31, 2009 GO TERMINATOR CREW!!! WAY TO TAKE THAT TUNNEL!!!! --Robb Yay!
ebl Posted May 31, 2009 Posted May 31, 2009 On my second ride last weekend, we actually went under a train going up the lift hill on our way back into the station. Except for a period where something was wrong, trains passed frequently while we were in the switchbacks. I know that sometimes people have problems with the seatbelts on GhostRider at Knott's, usually because they sit on the belts before picking them up. On that ride, when my ride is over, I unbuckle the belt and put it over the side of the car. That makes it easy for the next person to reach. I did the same at Terminator, and hope it helps. Terminator uses one belt for both riders as opposed to one for each rider on other coasters, so I think that would make it easier and speed things up a bit. Eric
Corcoran Posted May 31, 2009 Posted May 31, 2009 ^ way to go i do the same thing, a little consideration for the next rider, usualy will speed things up for everyone, as for vandalism goes the restraint checkers should really visualy check each speaker as each car passes pulling in to the station, once every thing is visualy OK give the ride opp the signal to release the restraints, and bust the GP thats damaging the experiance for the rest of us, granted polk audio speakers are about $89 a pair, but they dont install them selves
CloneCaptain38 Posted May 31, 2009 Posted May 31, 2009 First Version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wccgoURt7k I uploaded my second version of Terminator: Salvation - The Ride using RCT3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIXBkWfk92s Third Version I'll post more info in a RCT3 thread, which I started here. http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=757214
CD Posted May 31, 2009 Posted May 31, 2009 I rode Terminator on Saturday. I had to wait in line for about two hours, which wasn't too bad considering most of the queue was shaded and had mist. The pre-show was pretty good but a little long. My only complaint with the ride is that with the multiple pre-shows going on, the station wasn't always full and therefore there would be empty rows on some of the trains. I heard a lot of people complaining about this while having to wait in line for two hours. After going through the pre-shows I was assigned to the first row. The ride itself was awesome and I was very impressed with the theming and overall experience of the coaster. It was very smooth, very fast, and had many pops of airtime. I wont bore you with anything else considering you've probably heard most of it already. Out of the four GCI's I have been on (Terminator, Roar, Thunderhead, and Renegade) Terminator Salvation is by far my favorite. It is an amazing roller coaster!
robbalvey Posted May 31, 2009 Author Posted May 31, 2009 My only complaint with the ride is that with the multiple pre-shows going on, the station wasn't always full and therefore there would be empty rows on some of the trains. I heard a lot of people complaining about this while having to wait in line for two hours. This is really a huge problem that I hope gets fixed. I'm all for the pre-show being awesome and everything, and I'm sure people do not mind watching the pre-show as "something to do while they wait in line" but if a pre-show a keeping them from riding the coaster and they have to wait in line a second longer due to watching the pre-show, that is unaccetpable. On a positive note, when I was there on Saturday the crew was dispatching a train as soon as one his the brakes, which is awesome, but I too did notice a few empty rows during my visit. --Robb
Bolliger&Mabillard Posted May 31, 2009 Posted May 31, 2009 The issue with the pre show is that the two shows take longer than two trains to be loaded. Several options could correct that. Option A: Allow more than one train load in per showing Pro: Doubles capacity per room Con: Tight fit, unable/more difficult for staff to watch props Option B: Slow down dispatch times to accomadate show Pro: Ensures every train would be full Con: Lowers capacity Option C: Install fencing to seperate props/monitors from guests, and design it into the shape of a hallway, creating a queue, then loop the videos. Pro: Evens the dispatch intervals with show time Con: Kills intended experience
Jew Posted May 31, 2009 Posted May 31, 2009 My only complaint with the ride is that with the multiple pre-shows going on, the station wasn't always full and therefore there would be empty rows on some of the trains. I heard a lot of people complaining about this while having to wait in line for two hours. This is really a huge problem that I hope gets fixed. I'm all for the pre-show being awesome and everything, and I'm sure people do not mind watching the pre-show as "something to do while they wait in line" but if a pre-show a keeping them from riding the coaster and they have to wait in line a second longer due to watching the pre-show, that is unaccetpable. On a positive note, when I was there on Saturday the crew was dispatching a train as soon as one his the brakes, which is awesome, but I too did notice a few empty rows during my visit. --Robb 100% agreed. The experience is by far the best thing Magic Mountain has ever done, but I still wonder how many guests actually care about the "experience" part (getting involved with the story) vs. "oh, this is cool...now bring on the ride!" I hope they will continue to tweak until they find the perfect balance, since I personally believe the majority of SFMM's clientele care much more about the ride than the experience.
CD Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 My only complaint with the ride is that with the multiple pre-shows going on, the station wasn't always full and therefore there would be empty rows on some of the trains. I heard a lot of people complaining about this while having to wait in line for two hours. This is really a huge problem that I hope gets fixed. I'm all for the pre-show being awesome and everything, and I'm sure people do not mind watching the pre-show as "something to do while they wait in line" but if a pre-show a keeping them from riding the coaster and they have to wait in line a second longer due to watching the pre-show, that is unaccetpable. On a positive note, when I was there on Saturday the crew was dispatching a train as soon as one his the brakes, which is awesome, but I too did notice a few empty rows during my visit. --Robb 100% agreed. The experience is by far the best thing Magic Mountain has ever done, but I still wonder how many guests actually care about the "experience" part (getting involved with the story) vs. "oh, this is cool...now bring on the ride!" I hope they will continue to tweak until they find the perfect balance, since I personally believe the majority of SFMM's clientele care much more about the ride than the experience. I am sure that a majority of SFMM customers care more about the ride than the experience. Most of the group I was with didn't even pay attention to the pre-show and they had no idea what was happening. I think once SFMM opens more rides with pre-shows, the rider's interests will change. But, as for now, the ride experience doesn't really fit in with the rest of the ride options (hopefully that will be different one day). I think the park has a real winner on their hands and if they continue in the is direction they will have a bright future.
Mechanic Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 How would it work to have the stairs after the 3rd pre-show room be kept somewhat full so that there is a pool of riders waiting there? The way I see it, you could then have the grouper calling out, "Group of 2?" or "Group of 3?", etc. as necessary, making sure that the empty seats are kept to a minimum. Is there a reason that's not apparent as to why that wouldn't be feasible?
ebl Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 ^ Where is the "third" pre-show room? I've only seen two pre-shows. Eric
nitrofan Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 ^ Where is the "third" pre-show room? I've only seen two pre-shows. Eric There are 2 pre-show rooms and one pre-show is in the hallway between the two.
ebl Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 ^ Thanks for clarifying that. Next time I ride Terminator, I'll have to watch for that. I actually gave some thought to going out there today, but decided to just wait till Termination Day on June 28. Eric
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