Diamondbacks SRL-stay or go?

What began as a great idea has slowly begun turning into a nightmare for KI. People have started to treat Diamondback's SRL like it is Fastpass. There are groups of people who use this same line. Possibly by mistake (can't read) but more often than not it is people who think their wait will be shorter than the regular line.

KI gives out "tickets" to utilize the SRL-this is to deter line jumpers (you can jump over the regular line into the SRL) and now guests are beginning to whine about those too. Unfortunitely the tickets are all given out at one point, (groups breaking off into singles=more people=less tickets) causing a line in the SRL, till a platform op can get the tiks back to the entrance op. I have already written about some of the "winners" I encountered this past weekend on this line-you can see my TR from RWW-so I wont repeat those stories.

On KI sites there are people saying they saw no big deal with groups splitting up to ride and other comments and opinions that make no sense. I want to hear the thoughts of park enthusiasts who have been to other parks, (not just KI) about any SRL.

I feel that this is only going to get worse once the "real" season begins. There is an platform op assigning seats and enough odd# of groups where a single rider is easily found. Ever see an empty seat on MF? Rarely (if ever) because a ride op assigns seats to insure every row is full.

I admit to using the SRL-when I am SOLO! I seriously would like to see KI eliminate it all together. But thats jmho! Am I the only one who feels this way???

Jo
Diamondback rides: 82 (sorry Raptor! ;))

There are rarely any empty seats on The Voyage on busy days. There is not a seat assigner there nor is there a single rider line.

As long as they are only putting people from the single rider line in single empty seats who cares if groups of people are using it? Sounds to me like it's single riders who expect to get on the ride faster because they are a single rider who are doing the complaining.

Would it kill you to define "SRL" so non-dorks know what the hell you're talking about?

After reading on I figured it out but I was scratching my head at first.

I didn't know it meant "Single Rider Line" at first glance.

I admit to using the SRL's with a friend or two, but not with a huge group. I have seen large groups of people try to enter those lines. That's a little unnecessary and rude. I don't think they should do away with single rider lines but they need to be more organized and have SOME restrictions.

If I am by myself I always use them. :)

The one thing that confused me on Diamondback (at least on opening day) is it seemed like a lot of trains had empty seats, even though the SRL had quite a few people to fill those seats.

What's up with that? I don't know if it's like that now.

-Tina

This site is 100% coaster nerds, which is why I come!

My take: If you are willing to ride alone, I don't care if you came with other people---you are welcome to use the line, just like anyone else. The only requirement for me is that you be willing to sit wherever the Grouper puts you to fill in odd seats, without complaint.

You can enter the SRL with friends, chat with them while you wait, and still be fine - as long as you go to your assigned row and ride where you're told. Asking for seats, or trying to ride with friends, is NOT permitted if you're using the single-riders line.

I noticed one op on D-Back that allowed people to ride together after using the SRL, but at least three that patiently explained the option of the standby line for riding as a group. Signage beyond the "we may not be able to accommodate seat requests" that sits right outside the station might be helpful.

You use a SRL line in my park, you stand NO chance of convincing an op to let you ride together, or wait for a specific seat assignment - it sets a horrible precedent. Signage out front MUST be clear (or have an attendant explain it like they do at Mummy - still not 100% effective).

I'm okay with single rider lines being used so long as the ride seats more than two across. I don't care how big of a group uses it.

Like gator, I think there just needs to be signs at both the entrance and within the queue that say:

SINGLE RIDER LINE

Individuals who wait in this line must take the first available seat offered. All groups will be separated. No accommodations will be made.

I have yet to see a SRL work like it is supposed to. Seems like just calling for single riders is easier in the long run. That's a shame because they're just trying to increase operations and keep everyone happy.

DanLinden said:
This site is 100% coaster nerds, which is why I come!

No. No, it's not. FYI.

Since capacity has come up recently (mostly in regards to Buccaneer Battle) - the way KI runs D-Back's SRL means that the "theoretical capacity" of the ride is pretty-darn close to the actual throughput of the ride. Last Saturday that line was long in terms of customers, but short in terms of wait-times. Kudos to KI for implementing it well and keeping the people moving. Not all capacity numbers are pipe-dreams... ;)

It seems to me if the single line really means only individuals get seated when the need arises, and large groups insist on using the line, the problem will be self-correcting once kids find out they have to wait at the exit (and hopefully wait and wait) until all their buddies get their turn.

The single rider line only works when the attendants are assigning seats.

Assigning seats only works if the attendants can assign seats faster than the train can take the people away. Otherwise, while it eliminates the long lines for the front and back seats, it also means the odds of a train going out with empty seats actually increases due to the delays in getting the seat queues filled.

Because the line dumps into the middle of a fairly large station, I think Kings Island is going to discover that assigning seats doesn't really help matters much. The seat assignment person will become more of a 'traffic light' to keep the station from getting too packed full of people, and the whole idea of a single rider line will become kind of useless. And because of the way Diamondback moves people, most people won't even care.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Brian Noble said:
My take: If you are willing to ride alone, I don't care if you came with other people---you are welcome to use the line, just like anyone else. The only requirement for me is that you be willing to sit wherever the Grouper puts you to fill in odd seats, without complaint.

Ageed. Really, this sums it up.

I think Dave's right on here. B&M's have a quick and easy restraint and a massive train and usually have a train waiting in the brake run while loading. I would bet it's easier and faster to dispatch the train with an empty or two and bring in a fresh one than to take even a few seconds per dispatch to make sure every single seat is filled. This also depends on how quickly and accurately the seat assigner can do his/her job (or if they got more than 1 - Hey, I can dream, right?).

That said, on anything that loads slowly (or doesn't have a train waiting in the brakes - like a shuttle) or anything where the train has a small capacity (H:XLC ahem) filling the train is going to be a priority for good capacity.

On S:ToP down here at SFoT, each row seats 3, so the single riders line moves very quickly (I would guess an average of 2.5 singles per 12 passenger car). There are occassionally (not all that often) people who want to sit with their friends which the op will usually disallow. There are also people who want to ride at the same time as their friends, but don't care if they're next to each other. They will usually just let someone ahead of them to make it work.

The real thing that makes it work well on S:ToP is that the staging area is large and it has the colored lines so everyone knows where they're going. That way the op can count out the correct number of people for each row and each ride, long before they get up to the airgate so it never delays the dispatch.

I get to disagree with Dave and Andy at the same time - yay me!

Seriously though, as long as the attendant is counting out people and sending SRs into the lines one train AHEAD of loading, then there's never a slow-down in dispatches by having the SRL. I saw only a couple seats go unfilled during normal operating hours, and those seemed to be due to people unable to ride or those who waited in line with their friends, got counted into seats, then simply walked across the platform to the exit.

While not a huge plus to capacity, I like the organized station, it's easy to make sure you're riding WITH your party, and the SRs get accommodated quickly without ANY strain on the process....it works just like Everest as far as I'm concerned, and I'm ALL for its continuation.

Pagoda Gift Shop said:
I have yet to see a SRL work like it is supposed to.

Disney rocks it in quite a few instances. I rave about the one for Cali Screamin' every chance I get.

Perhaps I misunderstood Diamondback's. On Borg (what is it now? Flighthawk?) they would wait for everyone to sit and then once people had taken their seats, fill in the car with single riders (who would have to cross, drop their stuff, come back and strap in). Is this not what's happening on DB?