Old Queue Lines

I'd rather see a full queue than a cramped station. Which brings on the ever-eluding question- why do Magnum & Dragster's stations get loaded up with people to the point of confusion, while Force still only has enough peeps for the next train? All of the stations usually have an attendant at the station entrance...

Have you seen USF's Jaws queue? Seriously its scarier than the ride itself. It just goes on and on, but never gets that full. As a matter of fact most of Universal's attractions in Florida and California seem to have queues that are really large for the crowds that visit.

WDW's Space Mountain is a long queue that really irritates me. Due to Fastpass, they never use more than a single switchback of the loading area queue...yet the line usually spills out of the entrance.

Actually... they redid the Space Mountain indoor queue in 2003 (WDW). Now, those without FP make it there and then fills up a switchback. Those with FP make it right away in a switchback right to load. They mix those without FP with them and so, it works better now then before.

I remember the old days in the 80's and 90's and when we went during july... the lines for Space Mountain spilled on the walkway and the 6-7 switchbacks behind each stations filled too! But, they pump so many people through per hour they said it was an hour wait only if you had to wait from the door of the attraction to sitting in a rocket.

I miss going all the way thru Top Gun's queue at PKI :(.

Top gun at pki has a crazy, long queue line.

Yes, it does... but there's plenty under the station, too.

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Junior said:
Mean Streak, which some may say has a ridiculously large queue, was also pretty filled the same day.

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I was wondering about that. Amazing. I have never seen the line go past the last stretch right before you get to the stairs.

Beast's queue still gets filled up very quickly during the busiest days in the summer, but it still seems the wait still isn't as long as it used to be.

-Tina

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Absimilliard said:
Actually... they redid the Space Mountain indoor queue in 2003 (WDW). Now, those without FP make it there and then fills up a switchback.

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Yes, they have done lots of changes over the past couple of years, but none of them seem to stick. When I was down there last summer they still did not use the full interior queue. They did, for a short time, designate the whole right side of the attraction for FP only...filling that side with standby only when empty. They tried different positioning for the turnstiles. They even had a single rider pass for a short time! *** Edited 11/1/2005 7:40:15 PM UTC by haiderodes***

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coasterqueenTRN said:

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Junior said:
Mean Streak, which some may say has a ridiculously large queue, was also pretty filled the same day.

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I was wondering about that. Amazing. I have never seen the line go past the last stretch right before you get to the stairs.

Beast's queue still gets filled up very quickly during the busiest days in the summer, but it still seems the wait still isn't as long as it used to be.

-Tina

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If Cedar Point had placed that queue a little better, they could have fit a real nice flat inside. It's a shame.

Lets think the other way now, I personally HATE what they have done to Indiana Jone's que at Disneyland! By having the Fastpass & Regular lines intersect before entering the temple all the great themeing is missed as the huddled masses stampeed to get on the ride before Tour Plan Stop #23. I'd give the guy who decidedes to abandon this and reroute the Fastpass closer into the attraction a big hug and an ice cream

SLFAKE: I believe those marks on the midway by Comet are for temporary rails when the line starts to spill onto the midway (which, as you said, is very congested in that area). I haven't seen a long line for Comet in quite a few years but it makes sense- when I started going to Hershey in 1991, they had three coasters- now they have ten. It makes sense that all of the lines are going to get shorter at some point.

RGB: I have never seen Lightning Racer's line extend into that overflow section either. It always looks pristine, as if it was never used. Maybe the park anticipated needing it but soon realized that it was overkill?

I remember the days when sooperdooperlooper needed every bit of queing area it had, and then some. Ah, the memories...

*** Edited 11/4/2005 3:12:20 PM UTC by Rob Ascough***

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Rob Ascough said:
RGB: I have never seen Lightning Racer's line extend into that overflow section either. It always looks pristine, as if it was never used. Maybe the park anticipated needing it but soon realized that it was overkill?

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Much like DD @ IoA...*capacity monsters*, even when popular, keep the lines MOVING quickly enough so they tend not to get TOO long...

Nature of the beast, new rides draw attention, they get longer lines, then the "next big thing" comes along and all the queue for last season's addition is no longer needed. Of course, you COULD do what CP is doing (apparently?) and keep new rides close together (WWL) so that you could re-use the spillover queue NEXT year... ;)

:)

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Rob Ascough said:
SLFAKE: I believe those marks on the midway by Comet are for temporary rails when the line starts to spill onto the midway (which, as you said, is very congested in that area). I haven't seen a long line for Comet in quite a few years but it makes sense- when I started going to Hershey in 1991, they had three coasters- now they have ten. It makes sense that all of the lines are going to get shorter at some point.

RGB: I have never seen Lightning Racer's line extend into that overflow section either. It always looks pristine, as if it was never used. Maybe the park anticipated needing it but soon realized that it was overkill?

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They were using the temporary rails for the Comet line during the last Friday in August. The line was out of the regular queue. I was surprised to see it especially since it was a weekday.

The only time I ever saw that overflow section of Lightning Racer used was in 2000 on a weekend in September. I'm not sure if it was just crowded because it was a new ride or if they were only running 1 train on each side or what the reason the line was for being so long but I didn't wait to find out and skipped it that trip.

I did not get to HP this year, but last year I did drive past it twice in late August, deciding not to stop in when I saw how insane the crowd looked. Over the past few years, even a weekday in August can easily mean big crowds.

My biggest beef is when queues are improperly managed. I was at CP closing weekend and had to walk through (what seemed like) endless empty switchbacks. Not cool.

I just wish they would have given maXair a slightly bigger que!

Doesn't Six Flags use their old queing areas for new attractions as well as Cedar Fair?

How about the queue for Kingda Ka, I was there the last saturday and there was a 6 hour wait but the wooden fence that blocks off the line to go under the ride and wait a while in the middle was still up. If they can handle 6 hour lines without that, why was is built. It could easily double the wait time by going under the ride but is it really possible for a 12 hour wait for kinda ka. Good thing i have a knee injury, I only waited 10 mins and rode it 3 times before the exit guys sent me away.

IMO, part of the problem with Comet is that it takes so damn long to load and dispatch a train anymore. You've got the seat dividers, the seat belts that are almost impossible to connect because the latch end is so short it barely protrudes past the seat (which invariably means it's under your buttcheek), and finally the lap bars.

I've seen and experienced for myself a returning train sitting in the brake run for 2-3 minutes until the next train is dispatched. So that means a good 4.5-5 minutes between trains. No wonder they need to put temporary queues up on certain days.

Rob and Yoshi, the furthest I've seen the LR line extend is just past the first switchback when you're under the station. I still think the overflow queue area would make a great location for a flat ride with a roof-- especially since they have little room to expand. Too bad they already have a Whip and Musik Express. Bring back the Coal Shaker?

I keep hearing rumors that the Coal Shaker will eventually make a return. Given the fact that Hershey seems to be bringing back old rides that were tossed into storage, I tend to believe them.

How about putting Coal Shaker in the Whip building and putting a used (original) Whip somewhere else in the park?