Can't choose seat on BA?

I believe that as far as BORG is concerned it depends on who is working the station. Many of these kids love having the authority to say NO! They've never been in a position to dictate and they get a rush out of it.

I've ridden BORG a lot this year and sometimes they let me wait for a particualr seat, sometimes they don't.

Also, when Vortex first opened at Carowinds in 1992 they had assigned "standing". Now, no one hardly rides the darn thing and of course they did away with assigning seats very soon. I am sure they will do away with it on BORG eventually.

Word, in 2000, you COULD NOT wait for ANY row, but they still had the longer chutes. The only reason we got to ride front row, was they called for 2, and by the time we got there, the gates were shut, so we simply moved to the front row queue :-)

I had forgotten about Vortex's assigned standing in opening year, Harry. Thats true, I can remember being told what row to get in their as well.

Like I said, their park their rules....

I'm not a big fan of these types of procedures either. Usually I don't care. I just keep riding it until I get the seat I want. But sometimes you don't have time for that or you are traveling from far away and are not local so understandably would like the option of picking where you sit.

True, it's their park and their rules, but they wouldn't have a park to run at all without their customers. It's the customers that have paid their money and waited in line. It's all about customer service (or should be). Why shouldn't a guest be able to chose where they sit? Would you want to be assigned a seat in a movie theatre?

That being said, Pete I don't think you should have got even more angry the second time around. After all you knew what to expect by then! :)

Coasterbuf said:
That being said, Pete I don't think you should have got even more angry the second time around. After all you knew what to expect by then! :)

True, but the first time around I thought it was just a fluke and not worth getting upset about since it was my first ride on the coaster. But after the second time, I started to realize they were serious and decided to voice my opinion to the person manning the guest relations window, who didn't really seem interested. That upset me even more.

Pete McCole

HarryTraver said:
Also, when Vortex first opened at Carowinds in 1992 they had assigned "standing". Now, no one hardly rides the darn thing and of course they did away with assigning seats very soon. I am sure they will do away with it on BORG eventually.

I guess no one rides Vortex much anymore because Vortex is constantly breaking down. During my last visit to PC, the Vortex broke down with a train on the lift hill. The riders on the train had to be brought back down the stairs that run alongside the lift hill and back to the station. I saw this happening while waiting in line for BA. The Carolina Cyclone broke down a few minutes later, also with a train on the lift hill. The only coaster I've never heard having problems or experienced problems myself is Top Gun. My only complaint about TG is it's much too short compared to say Raptor at CP or Montu at BGT.

Pete

Sadly enough... seats on Vortex were being assigned yesterday with only about 20 people in line.... /idiots. When she told us a middle seat we just went to the front and she didn't say anything so it was stupid.

Leaving the line because you didn't get the seat you wanted? Talk about [not] handling the situation like an adult. (or at least a civilized person, anyway,.) Seriously, I understand that it sucks to have to ride somewhere you don't want to, but hey - it's a ride on a coaster you like right?
So, you take a lap in the middle and then go around again and try/ask for the row you really want.

"It's not worth my time" is just the most elitist comment, and it's pretty ridiculous.

Grouping/assigning rows, if done well, is quite helpful to capacity.

http://cse.umich.edu/

While not exactly assigned seating, Kennywood Jack Rabbit only allows one trainload of guests on the platform at a time. Seating is first come first serve. This can be a real bummer if you are looking forward to an insane "double down" airtime ride in the back seat. The ride ops there on my visits have never allowed you to even stand aside at the turnstyle and allow others to pass.

I can understand this policy, since the platform is so small and has no gates, but it really sucks when visiting with someone who has never ridden Jack Rabbit before. I love the look of panic on a first timers face when the train hits that "pop" of air.

- R.A

There's really not enough room in the Borg station to allow people to group up in the prefered seats. Also they have to strip riders of any loose articles before they enter the loading area. Nothing but your body is allowed on the ride(hats,keys, glasses,ect)