Return of Reserve N Ride?

[TPJames]

Hi all,

I was just having a look at the thorpe website and I've noticed a feature on it.

https://www.thorpepark.com/tickets-passes/ticket-information/

When you click on tickets the options come up, RESERVE N RIDE, is the last on the list however risk still there. However, when you click on it, it comes up with an error message! My question is mainly aimed at thorpe however it takes a while to do a direct message to them so I was wondering if anyone knew if they had plans to bring back the system?

Many thanks.

[Marc]

Yep - It wont make it any harder to do the rides, just use Ride and Reserve to virtually queue for the coasters and make the most of the other rides. If a coaster has a small queue then you have that option to queue too.

[Project LC]

RnR has great potential to make it harder to do all the rides if its only virtual queuing, although if its a physical queue then what happens there. So you have the physical queue in the queueline, the fastrack people in the fastrack line so where do the RnR people go. Even by their tone I would be surprised if a physical queue existed.

My bad looking at their comments on the post it seem to say there is physical and virtual. It seems to me that the virtual queue goes up the exit, and so anyone with disablities ia stuffed as there is no longer a queue for them.

[adam_sparks1]

It seems like it is going to take alot of effort to get on many rides... Even if we use RnR there is nothing else to really do in the park as the flats queues will be massive as a result.

[Project LC]

It seems like it is going to take alot of effort to get on many rides... Even if we use RnR there is nothing else to really do in the park as the flats queues will be massive as a result.

Their facebook acknowledges that problem but has no answers at all, apart from make all the rides on this system. That initself is scary and something I dont really want to think about.

Other parks used similar systems in the past but no longer do. Surely that should be a warning sign to thorpe. They all failed for one reason or another and I doubt thorpe has managed to adress all of these.

[adam_sparks1]

I personally have a Merlin pass and I doesn't bother me as much if I don't get on as much but as I'm going to be visiting with no pass people they will want to get on as much as possible. As long as we are able to get all 5 major coasters done with one or two flats or water we will be happy... It will be interesting trying to use RnR. No chance on Rush and Vortex probably as they will have massive queues.. Hopefully slammer will be alright along with water.

[Project LC]

Although it is depending on if it crashs again. They may have increased server capacity but will it be enough. There will be many more people there than monday so you never know it may be normal queueing for everyone.

[darkadder312]

However having Normal Queue - Fastrack - Single Rider works great

[Project LC]

However I highly doubt fastrack, normal, reserve and ride, dissabilty work too well together where there is only 2 queuelines to start with.

[Marc]

RnR has great potential to make it harder to do all the rides if its only virtual queuing, although if its a physical queue then what happens there. So you have the physical queue in the queueline, the fastrack people in the fastrack line so where do the RnR people go. Even by their tone I would be surprised if a physical queue existed.

Out of interest what makes you think RnR will make it harder to do rides? If you go to Thorpe today and want to ride Swarm you will stand in a physical 1 hour queue and get on your ride, if you go on an RnR day, you will in theory queue in a virtual 1 hour queue. I understand reservations about the system in some ways but dont understand why you think this will make it harder to do rides?

[Benin]

Probs more towards the usual support rides, as that hour queue has to go elsewhere in the park...

[Mark9]

Thorpe actually listen to feedback, not make it compulsary and people still feel they are making bad decisions. It is a trial remember, the idea is to see if it has the potential to work and at least Thorpe are taking on feedback and adapting it for the weekend.

[JoshC.]

Some fears will probably be about 'What happens if a ride gets a 4 hour booked queue?' as well. I doubt that will happen though.

I still think it's worth giving the system a chance. I certainly had reservations over it when I went last year and it was on Swarm. However, on a rather busy August day, I got 3 rides on Swarm, when I otherwise would have only gotten 1. Give it a chance and a try, and it may grow on you!

[pluk]

This sounds much more like a good idea! Surely, if there is going to be close to no queue the r&r returners they can simply join the fastrack queue?

As long as the r&r and fastrack combined is less than the throughput for the ride the physical queue shold find its own length naturally.

Look forward to seeing how this incarnation turns out.

[Coaster]

Wait so you can queue in the main queue if you want to? This is a big improvement, and how it should have been all along!

[Project LC]

Out of interest what makes you think RnR will make it harder to do rides? If you go to Thorpe today and want to ride Swarm you will stand in a physical 1 hour queue and get on your ride, if you go on an RnR day, you will in theory queue in a virtual 1 hour queue. I understand reservations about the system in some ways but dont understand why you think this will make it harder to do rides?

Because I don't queue an hour for the swarm I wait until its quite times when it drops to anywhere from walk on to 20 minutes. Reserve and ride will mean its at a constant queue time through out the day.

THORPE PARK Official It is not compulsory, but priority will be given to those who have registered for Reserve N' Ride

That sounds worrying to anyone in the normal queue. This system is going to need a lot of attention to get it to work correctly. Also I'm still failing to see where the queues are going, the only place they can go is towards other queues. However at least now you can wait for stealth while queuing virtually for swarm. I guess the system also allows you to queue for the swarm while waiting virtually for the swarm.

[Mitchada04]

Of course they're going to give priority to the Reserve'n'Ride people. If you don't want to use it then you have to wait for those who are willing to give it a go instead of completely writing it off. They are trying to promote it and make it the done thing. It's a trial. Let them trial it, if it doesn't work they'll have a look at it again and try a different approach. If places never try new things we just end up in a monotonous cycle. Yes it's worrying that Disney spends over $1 billion and struggle to get it work to begin with, but technology that enhances peoples days are the way forward. It's only trials, for all we know they may not plan to completely roll it out across the whole park for a few years in which time they can improve the entertainment provided outside of rides and so on. Everywhere has a goal, sometimes they can wrapped up in trying to achieve it, but if it's going to fail they'll find out. They are doing this to try and benefit guests, not spite them. After all, they want happy guests that will come back and spend money and tell their friends to go. Not angry guests.

[Project LC]

Very true but at the moment all they are doing for me is turning me into an angry guest which was somewhat happy with the old system. I would say as a nation the British are very good with queuing and am quite sure that the queues can be solved in the conventional way instead of this new system which as you said Disney failed at. For example the silent disco which they run is always quite enjoyable and makes the wait time feel much less. I'm quite sure that you can source most complaints of long queue times from storm surge. That is always a massive queue which is definitely a let down. I imagine the next high source of complaints would be saw. If they are playing the long game then investing in some high through put rides would be the best way. I know its not everyone's tatse but the new topspins have a through put of 950 and would off a different type of attraction which Thorpe don't already have.

[Benin]

*ticks "Thorpe should get a TopSpin" square on his TPM bingo card*

[Project LC]

^Ha, but seriously if they are playing the long game high throughput rides should be the way forward. Doesn't have to be a topspin but vortex is coming near the end of its life with in the next few years as is slammer so logically it would be wise to replace them with higher throughput rides if their main complaint is long queues.

[Mark9]

Because I don't queue an hour for the swarm I wait until its quite times when it drops to anywhere from walk on to 20 minutes. Reserve and ride will mean its at a constant queue time through out the day.

Who says you'll have to wait an hour now? If the queue really is an hour for Swarm, register for RNR, go queue for Stealth then come back and walk onto Swarm. Seems pretty straight forward to me.

^Ha, but seriously if they are playing the long game high throughput rides should be the way forward. Doesn't have to be a topspin but vortex is coming near the end of its life with in the next few years as is slammer so logically it would be wise to replace them with higher throughput rides if their main complaint is long queues.

Oh I agree. The only problem in the past with throughput is that the higher the throughput the more fastrack you are able to sell meaning more people are getting on a ride but the stand by queue doesn't necessarily benefit from the added capacity.

[pluk]

Oh I agree. The only problem in the past with throughput is that the higher the throughput the more fastrack you are able to sell meaning more people are getting on a ride but the stand by queue doesn't necessarily benefit from the added capacity.

This has been the big problem. That's what makes me question their motives with the new system, if it is purely an attempt at improving satisfaction through queue times then there's much much simpler ways to achieve that by tightly controlling fastrack - something that doesn't seem to have concerned them in the slightest before now. So why all of a sudden do something so radical? Very odd.

I wonder what the percentage that they allocate to r&r and fastrack combined will be? Hope they start somewhere sensible so the 'standby' queue is given a healthy chance, and then increase it later if it is working out OK. Another potential hurdle could be calculating and displaying an accurate 'standby' queue time, something I think it is fair to say has never been a strength of theirs.

[OldFarmerDean]

I'm going tomorrow and will be taking advantage of RnR as it seems I can queue physically for a rollercoaster as well as being in a virtual queue for one which is great... And I reckon RnR will be using the fast track entrance as fast tracks are in theory the same thing, just more instant and a few time you want!

[Project LC]

Admittedly they may now have it at a point where the system can work with out huge side effects but I imagine that fastrack satisfaction and sales will decrease. They may not care about some enthusiasts wanting to ride 1 ride over and over however I imagine they will care about a drop in fastrack sales.

[th13teen]

At the end of the day...the next coaster Thorpe build why not just have a giant zigzag queue inside a mega merchandise store, and we can have the best of both worlds! haha

But as I said, at the moment...who cares...unless you have complete proof its a flop or a success, we should just really wait and see what happens!

[jmgpannal]

Isn't