Coaster with highest theoretical capacity - what is it?

If you're willing to count both sides as one *coaster*, then Gemini or DD would probably take it....hard to beat six trains operating at once.

Of course, that IS theoretical capacity. Dragons ACTUAL capacity probably averages out to *slightly* higher than Raptor...tourists! ;)

Here's a few: Dominator (when it ran a 2-3 train op), Mantis, Raptor or even the Cedar Point Mine ride when it ran four trains.

The guys on Rock 'n Rollercoaster tell me that they can run all 5 trains (assuming they are all in service) theoretically but the reality is that it wouldn't be done without stacking.

If they could run all 5 the capacity there would be pretty high as they have extra long trains.

I thought Dueling Dragons only had 4 trains (2 each side). Maybe it was just on the day that I went since they started on one train each side, then went to two.

Dueling Dragons was built for six trains.

There is, however, a problem. Gemini had (and now has again) the same problem, though on Gemini they were able to correct the problem via queue and platform renovation.

My own research suggests that people moving at a comfortable speed through a single-file queue and turnstile can move at about 2,400 PPH. Once the ride exceeds this rate, there is a problem of getting people onto the platform fast enough to load the train. For Gemini, Cedar Point went with a double-wide entrance with two turnstiles and split into two queues, one for the front of the train and one for the rear. That gave the queue a capacity approaching 4,800 PPH (not quite that high) and allowed the necessary 3,400 PPH to reach the boarding platform. I've personally clocked Gemini at 3,400 PPH or higher (making the "all seats full" assumption, which is why my numbers are typically higher than the turnstile counts). Ron Toomer himself told me that in 1979 they were able to move 4,000 PPH, but I find that hard to believe unless the ride was shorter back then.

At Islands of Adventure, getting Dueling Dragons to run at full capacity is rather difficult because of the 1.5-mile-long queue which includes narrow passages, stairs and ramps going both up and down, and a whole lot of stuff to look at. Essentially, Universal messed up...they gave Dueling Dragons the kind of queue that Hulk needs, while giving Hulk a queue better suited to Dueling Dragons. Their response was to remove two trains from the ride and run with four, which should allow them to run consistently at about 2,400 PPH...which should result in walk-on conditions even when the ride is busy.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Universal had no clue what they had in terms of a capacity MONSTER in Dragons....evidence abounds in the castle.

The worst part? Wasting the *incredibly elaborate theming* in Blizzrock's (Ice Dragon) room...guests walk RIGHT thru there without even stopping. Fire Dragon's room is the same way, guests miss out on ALL of the theming....and the extra trains on DD are stored right there, and are swapped out regularly for routine maintenance.

The *issue* with Hulk is that there's ONE employee trying to handle rows 2-8 loading AND take care of on-site visitors AND handle the single-rider line. Typically, that means guests load themselves into all but the front row, and MANY trains go out with empty rows when people stop and wait for instructions from the one overburdened grouper/loader person who's BUSY handling the enormous number of on-site people...

If Universal would have been smart, they'd have switched DD and Hulk, as Hulk always gets the longer lines, since I guess its close to the entrance of the park.

I've seen IOA switch on 3 trains on both sides of DD, for pretty much NO apparent reason! There was NO line, just a wait in the gates. After they had three trains running on both sides, not even the front row had a wait! They were operating extremely efficiently as well. One train was always on the lift while the other was still completing the course. However, 1/3 empty trains may have had something to do with that!

*** Edited 10/4/2005 4:29:07 PM UTC by Cameraman***

Absimilliard, Hulk has a longer line because it can move 1,900 people per hour, while Dueling Dragons can move 2,400 people per hour. 500 people per hour makes a significant difference in both the percieved length of the line and additional time spent waiting.

When i was at IOA last October for the ADA meeting. Dueling Dragons, was running all 6 trains, but there was no line what so ever, then spend half an hour switching to 2 train operation at about noon. Then the crowd would start to form and there would be atleast a 30 minute wait. But I was a hotel guest so I had my Unlimited Fastlane pass. And they would always run 3 trains on Hulk the three days I visited. But they stopped the train multiple times on the MCBR.

You mean Gwazi doesn't make the list? :-)

With two trains and two tracks and the load/unload set-up, Gwazi probably DOES have really high *theoretical capacity* for a wooden coaster... :)

;)

I know...I've never understood how they could take such theoretical capacity and load it as slow as the basic Ferris Wheel...

Yeah... it only takes them about 15 minutes to cycle a train!

I can't see where anybody mentioned it yet, so I will throw this out there:

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (WDW)
When the ride is running both sides (pretty much any time that isn't dead), it eats up the crowd like nothing I have ever seen before. Before FastPass, you could walk through a full queue without ever stopping. Each of the trains (6?) has something like 15 rows and each row can hold up to 3 people. There are no seatbelts or dividers to slow you down and up to a few years ago there was also no airgate. The ride has a split station that allows them to load/unload trains at a time and three lifthills nicely seperate the ride into several blocks.

Plus, it is probably the only coaster with that high of a theoretical capacity that actually hits it. *** Edited 10/5/2005 2:06:27 PM UTC by coasterfanatic***

I would love to see a station setup like Kingda Ka's but with longer trains. That ride, when it's running well, can really keep its trains moving. Of course, it requires tremendous staff and has a lot more expensive hardware, but having 4 stations is just too sexy.