15th April

[A-Kid]

Right yeah, the day started with me comming down ill. So after doping up on drugs we got going.

Got to Thorpe and it wasn't looking good. It was far more busy than I expected.

The ride count will sum it up:

Saw x6
N.Ferno x2
Colossus x1 (front)
Stealth x2
Rush x1

12 rides isn't really good enough. But better than most paying guests that only got about 3 rides in all day!

Colossus/Inferno/Stealth = 2 hour queues

Saw = 3 1/2 - 4 hour queue

Stealth/Saw SRQ = 45 - 60 mins.

Reliability was actually very good. Only Saw and Colossus messed about. Saw was down 3 times while we were at it. First time a car stopped on the 3rd block before the mini drop. They got to ride with the lights on. Second was daily checks. 3rd was someone leaning on the gates which caused it to shutdown.

Lol at Slammer being stuck flat upside-down!

They extended the ride close to 7pm except Saw. No fastrack during this time running.

But here is one thing that bugs me....

Colossus FULL queue with fastrack running is 2 hours.

Colossus FULL queue without fastrack running was 33 minuets!!

Thats just one example. Inferno was much the same idea. I was ****ing shocked. So if Merlin thought about the guests experince over their pocket by abolishing fastrack we would always have short/fast queues!!

 

[marc]

I have always thought this fast track thing causes longer queues as people can just turn up when they want.

I have always thought it as a money making scheme and get anoyed when people use it when there is only a tiny queue.

Disney, Universal and IoA are the only places I have seen these types of systems work. yes the system as IoA and Universal lets you turn up when you want but they just seem to cope better, well when I was there is seemed that way anway.

 

[Ben]

I'm not sure it would be THAT much of a difference, but, I agree, Fasttrack doesn't work at Thorpe since it manages to go against everything put into place to make them fair.


Should invest in Q-Bots. Should REALLY invest in Q-Bots. Charge a fair amount for them, and they'll work as sexually as they do at Six Flags.

 

[Screaming Coasters]

Q-Bots FAIL at Legoland.

 

[marc]

But thats Merlin though Erol, other places can run these systems with no problem.

 

[Jake]

I don't see why you're that fussed about not getting loads of rides in? You go to Thorpe so much it shouldn't matter... jeez.

 

[Beans]

Jake we might go there a lot but that is our choice, why not it is what the Annual Pass is for, why buy one and only use it once.
Leigh was only saying what we noticed, and majority of GP were saying much the same as well, the ones we spoke to. Not just our opinion. quote "Bloody Fastrack makes the queues longer" was said to us more than once.

 

[Rob]

Hello again..

Well after my day on Ultimate Fastrack I got 53 rides. 44 of which were Rush, but to be honest I much prefer spending a little and getting onto rides quicker, especially as a single rider on Rush, with fastrack I can immediately fill any singles, whereas without, I would have to wait 1 hour while all the single seats go unfilled. It really is worth it.

Aslo, Rush was taking 8 fastrack riders per sequence, meaning it would only reduce the queue by 25%, making a 60 minute queue 45 minutes, not really that much difference....

 

[Ollie]

You went on Rush 44 times in a day?
I start to feel ill after riding it twice in a row.

And you actually paid £50 for the Ultimate Fastrack as well? :shock:

 

[nealbie]

^ Yeah, mum bought a few for me and my mates today, they are soooooooooo worth it cool)

 

[Rush]

There really shouldn't be a need to have to pay £50 to get on more than 3 rides.

Aslo, Rush was taking 8 fastrack riders per sequence, meaning it would only reduce the queue by 25%, making a 60 minute queue 45 minutes, not really that much difference....

EIGHT RIDERS PER SEQUENCE?!

It's all very well they've paid the money but that's taking the piss. You make it sound like people don't care about waiting 25% longer. If Saw was running like that on its 4 hour queue, then I'd have to wait an hour longer, but that's okay, it's only 25%.

Thorpe should learn how to run fastrack before selling it.

Oh and to be honest, I'd be really happy if I got 12 rides when all rides had over an hour queue. :roll:

 

[Tony]

I love Fast track/Q-bot systems. I usually always buy them if they are available. I don't get to parks much so when I do I want to make the most of my time and it's worth it IMO. Although Thorpes is quite expensive with the Sterling being weak against the Euro the £50 Ultimate fast track looks very appealing if I visit Thorpe in this summer.

 

[marc]

£50 omg I did not even know they were that much. I can understand why people would get them, I just feel and have always felt they hold the queue up.

8 people a time on Rush is not that bad seeing the cycle they now run, but on a good cycle it would add quite a bit of time on thats for sure.

It works on some rides but not others. It gets to me on Inferno when they let 20 people or more through at a time.

Disney when busy had one station for fast pass and one station normal queue, then when the fast pass one was empty they moved people over. This worked well from what we saw, this was in Paris. But if fast pass was was not there a 120 minute queue would only be an hour.

 

[nealbie]

I think fastpasses are in the park and that they should be kept.

But I'm sure I'm not the only one that would think along the lines of... "they should ALL be ridiculously expensive to generate exclusivity." Because, let's face it, the costs of normal fastracks at Thorpe are actually worth it to beat the ridiculous queue times.

Having them below a tenner for a selection of rides is very much worth it, even for those without tonnes of cash to burn.

Whereas, at £50 not many people can get them or will choose to get them, so there's not that many. But believe you me when I say it is totally worth it and makes the day much more enjoyable.


So to put it bluntly:-

Having fastracks at a park? Yes!
At the costs they are at now? No! :lol:

 

[marc]

Or do a better system like Disney, they are free and you have time slots. In fact this system was used before and it worked but yet again people get greedy and work out money can be made.

What people are saying Neal is if the system was better, or not there, the queue times would not be as bad.

 

[nealbie]

Yeah, I get the points that a few people were making in the thread... I was just answering the original question from my opinion :wink:

 

[Ben]

Q-Bots don't increase queue time (like Disney's system doesn't either)


Thorpe should get them. Still.

 

[Rob]

Fastrack is fine. It doesn't hold up queues that much, and you have to remember that if we didnt buy fastrack, lots of people would be in the normal queue. It wouldn't increase the queue as much as fastrack does, but it would still increse the queue, lets take Rush again. Without fastrack, the queue would theoretically be 45 mins, but then remember the people who are no longer in the fastrack queue, making it about 50 minutes.

The other thing to remember is peoples enjoyment. You get far more pleasure out of being able to go on rides over and over than having to queue, or even to be able to skip 4 queues when all the other queues are huge. Personally, I much prefer parting with a some cash to make my day very enjoyable, than not doing at all and reducing queue times on the ride I go on most by 10 minutes.

And just a point, Fastrack won't go, as long as people keep buying it as much as they do, it isnt going anywhere.

 

[Mark]

Personally, I think that they should just do away with all of it. Simply put, if you want to ride, queue like everyone else. Simple as that! No priority, no exclusivity. It would stop the argument about it then. Especially when they are flaunting the system to essentially charge you the park entry again.

 

[marc]

Rush is a bad example though as they limit the numbers, Inferno is a better example as sometimes they let about 2 train loads of people through at one time. So you stand in the normal queue and not move, then they do the same thing again. So before you know it you have added 30 mins to the queue.

I can see the good and the bad side of these, hey I even bought one in IoA as I was single riding and the queues were over 2 hours. They work when they are controlled better, Rush and Slammer they are but for the coasters they are not from what I have seen. GF was a good example I remember standing in the queue for Collosus not going anywhere for ages whatching loads of people fast passing the ride. Then the group got split up as a result and a few people said something to the ride op.