No loose articles in Top Thrill 2's queue (and no free lockers either)

I just saw this post about safety on Top Thrill 2.

Listen, I'm fine with safety. I'll even endure having to actually talk to my friends when I go to the park. But forcing people to purchase a locker to ride is BS. I don't know what could be discovered late in the process that they didn't know before that would require them to have all loose items stored before entering the queue, but I don't think that expense should come out of my pocket. I imagine we'll see lockers like Steel Vengeance for 2025, but looks like it's pay to ride for 2024.

They tried this **** with Steel Vengeance and the negative reception led to them installing the lockers right before the station. Why the heck did they think it was going to get a better reception on TT2? On top of that, people wearing sandals or loose-fitting shoes won't be able to ride at all. As much as I think people are dumb for wearing flip-flops to amusement parks, the number of guests who do is substantial. This is going to be a disaster and I feel so bad for the employees who have to work the front of the line.

So if you wear sandals you aren't allowed past the entrance with them, but also aren't allowed in line barefoot. Seems the old reliable loose article bin in the station would work well for this.

Also, loose articles means just that. Loose. A wallet in a zippered pocket has never flown out in the history of roller coasters.

From pics/videos they have shown of the ride, the station is pretty cramped. Don't think there would be room for bins in the station. Plus riders exit the trains at a different place from when they enter them.

Agree its odd they did not anticipate the issue and plan for it. Would have required some reworking of the lines though to have lockers that people would pass one one side entering the ride and the other exiting it.

I assumed it would have a locker bank.

GoBucks89:

Agree its odd they did not anticipate the issue and plan for it.

It's hard to make great park-based decisions from 562.3 miles away (via I-77).

At least we know how they're paying for part of the lawsuit.

More proof that Carrie the GM really has been dead for at least 2 seasons.

OK, I don't mind putting keys, phone, wallet, etc... in the locker for the last 15 minutes or so of the line. I like it even more if it helps keep the line moving. However, I don't like needing to put my phone wallet and keys in a locker, and spend $5 (SWAG on what they will charge) to be able to ride the coaster, PLUS be without said item for a 2 hour wait. People can navigate the park without large loose articles. However, very few people can navigate the park without at least one person in the group having a wallet or keys. Agreed, this feels like they didn't plan for it at all. Didn't they completely tear up the entire queue section for Top Thrill before putting in the new queue covers? How is this not something that occurred to anyone designing the ride? I wonder if some insurance attorney changed their mind at the last minute.

Recently, there was a weekend where the free lockers in Steel Vengeance went down, so they made everyone put their stuff in the paid lockers. Now, I don't mind doing that on a rare occasion when there were technical difficulties. However, they ran out of the paid lockers at Steel Vengeance, and the nearest lockers that were available were by Skyhawk.

All lockers should be free. Only a wrathful God would create a universe with paid lockers.

The same wrathful God who beaned a guest in the head with a flag plate?

People gotta store.

I don't think line lockers would be too difficult, at least for standby. I have an idea that's kind of hard about explain without diagrams on how it could work, but I don't think cedar point would do it.

Working with the manufacturer’s recommendations, Top Thrill 2’s rider safety guidelines were revised after initial testing, resulting in our strict policy of loose articles not being permitted past the ride’s entrance.

Particularly galling is that they are blaming Zamperla rather than taking ownership of a totally-foreseeable outcome.

kpjb:

Also, loose articles means just that. Loose. A wallet in a zippered pocket has never flown out in the history of roller coasters.

You come from a country where "smoke-free" means designated smoking areas exist.

I agree, mind – requiring paid lockers is a real cash grab, and it's hard to see this as anything other than deliberate.

I'm glad that this metal detector nonsense hasn't become a thing in Europe, at least thus far.

Yukon Striker demonstrates a way to solve this issue without lockers. I don't understand why the park didn't have a 'no loose articles' method designed into this ride from the start.

^ I thought the exact same thing. That is such a cool system they use at Yukon Striker. I'm surprised that no other ride (that I know of anyways) has something similar. For TT2, there's probably a way to loop the conveyor around so the loose items would be on the other side of the wall as you were exiting. I'm no engineer, but it's fun to dream (even if we aren't supposed to do that. You know... "parks are a business and are in it to make money"... surprised no one has said this here yet lol)

Honestly y’all are so very predictable. Is this great? Nope. Would it have been reasonable to plan this from the start? Yes. Do I like the idea of spending an extra $5 to ride? Of course not.

Is it the Worst Thing Ever? Not by a long shot.

Maybe I’m just An Old but I can imagine being without my phone for an hour, and I wouldn’t get in a line longer than that even with it.

Steel Vengeance has used a variety of different schemes before the current one. I expect Son Of Dragster to do the same and will be surprised if there is not some form of in-queue storage by the next season or two.

This isn’t just about phones, though. I saw someone commenting that they have to carry a rescue inhaler in case of an asthma attack, and that’s a valid concern for them.

Also, I’ve seen concerns voiced that if the line reaches multiple hours, people may find themselves needing water, but without a wallet, you can’t buy from a machine.

It’s not the worst thing ever, but people do have genuine concerns that are well within the boundaries of reasonable.

Edit: For the record, I am fine with lockers, and usually throw my phone, keys, sunglasses and wallet (if I don’t have a zippered back or jacket pocket) in a locker when I ride because I’m no fan of losing things, but I understand people’s other concerns

I'll admit I didn't read all the way to the bottom of the post (and it seems like most other people didn't either), because we all missed this gem:

Working with the manufacturer’s recommendations, Top Thrill 2’s rider safety guidelines were revised after initial testing, resulting in our strict policy of loose articles not being permitted past the ride’s entrance.

Due to the later revision, the integration of lockers into the queue, similar to those at Steel Vengeance, was not possible. We encourage riders to leave any loose articles with a non-rider. If you wish to rent a locker, they will be near the entrance for a nominal fee.

(I blame the fact they chose to hide it under the "Lockers" header.)

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt here and assume they're being 100% truthful for a moment. In that case, I'd love to know what transpired that suddenly made them realize that loose articles are no bueno. I've been on Pantheon, which is the best analog to the ride we have so far, and loose articles don't seem to be a major issue. Sure, it looks like you get yeeted over the tophat on TT2, but it can't be any worse than the ejector airtime on Maverick, right?

Brian Noble:

Honestly y’all are so very predictable.

We can't be critical of a bad decision?

I eye rolled the press release but now that I think about it more it points to a larger issue with the direction of the park. They're spending $25 million on a refresh of a roller coaster and can't bite the bullet and invest in a free bank of lockers.

Meanwhile there's no locker policy for Iron Gwazi, the closest analogue to SV, either.

I too can't figure why this wasn't planned from the start. Quite simply, all parties involved should have planned this better, knowing it would become a possibility.

And once again it's the poor line workers who bear the brunt of this. I've seen the line staff at SV take so much abuse from people RE the lockers and metal detectors. I genuinely feel sorry for those people.