Gatekeeper anticappointment

You can ask for the back seat and they will let you if there is no one there yet.

It may depend on the ride host. The first time I rode it no one even tried to direct us where to go. The next time the guy was trying to assign seats, but I was allowed to go to the front or back if I asked. One time the host was so slow that half the train on my side was empty.

They were assigning seats on Flight Of Fear at KI yesterday. Is this normal?

For the record, I did not volley with the ride op.

If it's pretty dead they'll let you sit almost anywhere, but it has to be almost walkon conditions. I've only seen it on a Sunday, and late in the year on a Friday evening before Scarowinds started. Talking about Intimidator, of course.

They were assigning seats on FoF at KI when I was there on the 14th. It was also the longest line in the park though. (20 or so min)

Why even ask the attendant, as soon as your in the station just go to the row you want thats what i do.

I guess you missed the "why ask for water if you're just going to take coke" conversation?

Well at Carowinds they will ask you to get I the right row. They only allow enough in the station for the next train.

Lord Gonchar said:
They were assigning seats on Flight Of Fear at KI yesterday. Is this normal?

For the record, I did not volley with the ride op.

You should've volleyed.

When we went last week there was a short line for the front seat and a couple waiting for the back. They weren't exactly assigning seats, but were allowing only so many guests to enter the platform. But If someone went to the front they'd go to the queue and get two more and suggest they take the empty slot. It seemed to be working.

I think this change has to do with the invention of FastLane and this particular ride's merge point, which is in the little room at the top or the stairs. While there weren't many FastLaners that day I think they let them go first then use standby. An op goes back and forth between there and the platform.

What I thought was funny was they are still using that old ass movie in the queue. The one about accidentally letting the GP onto the ship. Too bad the actors aren't getting residuals for that one.

Yep, I can confirm that FoF's change was due to Fast Lane. It was awesome both times I did Fast Lane @ KI, but it seemed too generous to me. Not only are they holding the line for you, but you're getting the front seat if you wish.

Fortunately, KI had very low crowds when we went 5/14/13, so there were hardly any FLers. When I got to the FoF platform from the regular line, I asked the employee if we could have the front seat, and he said, "Sure you can, but you'll have to wait an extra train." No problem!

Oh, and I agree with Vater that GateKeeper's seat selection will likely only be this way for the first year or two, but it still doesn't make too much sense. Another thing I don't get is the waste of an employee at the Left/Right side split. He/she have been forcing sides to balance the line on each side.

The employee should be replaced with a sign that says "<-- Left side of train this way/ Right side of train this way -->." It will work itself out. The line doesn't need to be perfectly balanced at all times -- if it starts getting short on one side, people will be attracted to it.

Seemed interesting to me because yesterday at the park was stupid dead. None of the switchbacks were being used and the line still wasn't long enough to be outside the building. It was a 10 minute wait - and probably the longest coaster wait in the park - but they were still stopping people, asking how many and directing riders to rows. (of which I gladly obliged because...well, because there's no reason not to - the best row on any coaster is the one that gets me on the quickest)

I just wondered what the motivation might have been. There was certainly no one using Fast Lane anywhere given the crowd levels.

The funny thing is we bitch if they aren't perfectly efficient with ride capacity and then we bitch when they take measures to improve and be as efficient as possible with ride capacity.

Jeph - they had an attendant at the split and at the station for dragster when it was new.

LG - why must you taunt me with such stories! Stomach flu cancelled my trip there yesterday! Lines won't be that short again until the last days of August. :-(

Yes I'm crying about it because my KI 14th, CP 21st "foolproof" plan made a fool out of me. Why couldn't I have gotten sick a week later? :-/

Lord Gonchar said: The funny thing is we bitch if they aren't perfectly efficient with ride capacity and then we bitch when they take measures to improve and be as efficient as possible with ride capacity.

A half way decent crew can fill a train and let you pick where you sit.

Edit - and get trains out on time.

I still like the crowd control position, though. I hate stations that are masses of people where you barely have room to walk around. It just creates mass confusion. I find the crowd control positions to be good for the Customer experience in general as well as capacity.

^I totally agree. It used to be standard at many parks. I'm pretty sure CP still does that - as well as an attendant at the start of the queue (with the "Candycane"!)

GayCoasterGuy said:
A half way decent crew can fill a train and let you pick where you sit.

Absolutely.

But if I had to base things on the forum posts - that crew does not exist.

It was more commentary on coaster nerds that park operations.

sirloindude said:

I still like the crowd control position, though. I hate stations that are masses of people where you barely have room to walk around. It just creates mass confusion. I find the crowd control positions to be good for the Customer experience in general as well as capacity.

Makes sense.

I'm ok with it either way. I'm not fretting over lost capacity if the station is a mess and a couple of empty seats go out and I'm not worried about which seat I can ride in if they pointing riders to rows.

It's pretty easy being me and the beauty part is that it's win/win. The last thing I go to the parks for is to get angry over dumb stuff.

It's pretty easy being me and the beauty part is that it's win/win. The last thing I go to the parks for is to get angry over dumb stuff.

I think being able to be relaxed about those things may have something to do with frequency of visits/access to the rides.

I agree that it's not fun to go to a park and get angry, however, you seem to be able to visit the parks much more often than someone like myself who lives in Canada. We are a five hour drive away from Cedar Point, and only get to visit max twice a year. As such, being told multiple times on one day that we were not allowed to experience the front seat after waiting for an hour was very frustrating, particularly since we were so polite when asking, and when told no the other times. I'm not suggesting that ride ops bend the rules for people who live further away, but I am suggesting that the decision should be made to just let people choose where they want to sit on their own. I don't think it really effects efficiency, especially since Gatekeeper was leaving the station with multiple empty seats, and a lineup of 45 minutes below.

Seat selection can totally make or break a ride. Guests should be able to choose where they sit and get the ride experience that they desire.

I have visited many of the Cedar Fair parks, and I personally think they do a great job overall. Trains are usually filled, you get to choose your seat, and there is crowd control where necessary.

When there is crowd control, I think an ideal scenario is to have 2-3 trains queued for all rows, and plenty of extra queuing for the front and back rows. This works very well, and it seems to be about the norm on most popular Cedar Fair coasters.

GateKeeper breaks this mold for no good reason. As mentioned, Cedar Fair often does this for their newly-introduced rides, but why? They're not really helping capacity or making things go more smoothly...they're just frustrating guests by forcing choices.

If there are 100 people waiting for the left side and 120 people waiting for the right side, then both sides of the train will still be filled to capacity without forcing any choices. And 2 people assigned to each row or 2-3 trains worth of people that choose will naturally fill all rows.

Anyway, there is no need to worry about this long term. I'm sure GK will go to the normal formula next season or maybe within this season. The park is just trying to help the coaster launch smoothly I think, but their logic doesn't completely make sense.

I miss the crowd control attendant on rides like Dragster and Millennium Force. Why do people insist on pushing themselves into an already crowded station just to be in the station. I've literally stopped the line until I saw less than 4 trains of people for the middle rows, just so I could comfortably move through the station. Only then to watch the place overfill behind me like vacuum sealed produce. I just don't understand the allure to being in a crowd where you cannot move comfortably, or to be packed into a station where it's impossible to judge how many riders are in a particular row. Mob mentality escapes me.

At one point on media day we were told there was no waiting allowed for any particular row. An hour later, after the crew rotated, the person working the "crowd" position was allowing the front seat line to extend literally to the bottom of the stairs outside of the station. I suspect that they're probably still playing around with policies to find which works best. Alternately, perhaps there is no policy and each crew member is making up their own rules when they're in that position. Either way, I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually.