August 16, 201213 yr Author comment_140016 That happened a few years ago with the likes of Inferno, Colossus and probably a couple of others that I can't remember. It created an awful amount of congestion and did not really work. With Swarm, it would be even worse, as there's no where safe for guests to wait and for staff to be made aware of single riders - it would be logistically speaking, near-on impossible. I don't think a SRQ would work for Swarm's station design anyway. Would probably end up like the front row queue, being given a pass, expect you'd have to wait inside the station by the batcher to get on.. The front row system will probably end up obsolete soon too; confusing and not that necessary really..
August 16, 201213 yr comment_140024 For a brand new ride the organisation is very poor. Stealth had a very good queue line, but they removed the single rider queue for some reason. I am all in favour in SRQ if it gets those empty seats filled. That is if those seats can be used in the first place as the Swarm is seems to be having more problems with seats as on Sunday there were some seats that were not able to be used which happened a lot at the beginning of the season.
August 16, 201213 yr comment_140025 With SRQ's- I kinda see why Thorpe removed them. From an operational standpoint, removing them makes things run more smoothly. You say it would fill empty seats BBJ- but surely that's only of any good when it actually comes from the stand-by queueline as it increases the rides actual throughput. Having a SRQ can increase queue-times and create more faff all for the sake of filling a seat which probably would have been quicker and easier to just send empty. It was a nice bonus for people who loved re-riding but that's as far as I can say really. I'd also scrap swarm's front row queue as well. Just let people go where they want to go but if one side is running low, direct people to that side. I think people over-complicate things (not on purpose of course) thinking that it will increase throughputs and make things easier but sometimes, for some occasional things, it's better to leave the guests to sort it out for themselves.
August 17, 201213 yr comment_140028 I dont think single rider could ever work on Swarm for the same reason which front row queue dont, unless you were batched to rows from the bag room point but that would get even more confusing.
August 17, 201213 yr comment_140056 The only way it would work is if they basically did Raptor and send 14 people each side per train... It's the bag drop, it messes up any sensible loading procedure the park would otherwise have...
August 18, 201213 yr comment_140072 Not particularly - even if they had no bag drop, you'd still need multiple lanes per side to have a properly working front row and singles queue. If they didn't have front row queue, and position the bag drop just slightly better, it'dve been perfect.
August 18, 201213 yr comment_140073 If they desperately wanted a front row queue then there's probs just about enough space to split the two sides queues... But that wasn't what I meant really, Raptor has no bag drop (or front row queue, but it does have single rider), but because they only batch 14 people per side each time, it alleviates any issue of empty sides (which is quite common on Swarm) and due to the position of the bag 'cupboard' being at the front of the platform (where you end up passing it before getting on AND getting off the ride)... Basically, Swarm's station, in comparison with Raptor's especially, is exceptionally poorly planned and as a result causes problems with both getting on and off the ride...
August 26, 201213 yr Author comment_140389 I'll assume many have seen this on TPM's Facebook page, but more theming has been added to Swarm - a telephone box! Looks quite nice, even if it feels like it's been pushed out of the ground with the rubble on top! Great to see more theming being added to the area. Just requires a bit more theming at the end of the course (near the brake run / final turn, which hopefully will turn up when Island A is in use) and it's perfect. No doubt some people are beginning to think 'Why can't they do this for the other coasters?' - but I'd ask the question, what small-scale theming pieces would you add to the likes of Colossus, Inferno and Stealth (in particular), and where could you put them? (Saw is the exception, as there's no doubt they could add more, and have the space to do so)
August 26, 201213 yr comment_140390 I just realised it's meant to look like it has been torn out of the ground and flipped over. I guess the swarm didn't get great service whoever it called. Anyway, its great to see some theming being added after some months of the coasters opening. But I do agree that the final turn should have some theming there. When the island will be in use for the 2015 coaster, in no doubt will plenty of theming be seen.
August 26, 201213 yr Author comment_140392 I just realised it's meant to look like it has been torn out of the ground and flipped over. I didn't realise that! I guess that makes the rubble on top make a bit more sense now, but still seems a bit overkill. Still, great to see such attention to detail!
August 26, 201213 yr comment_140393 Why isn't it red? [/pedantic] Tis good really, dunno what else they could add in future... Indeed, I doubt we'll see any major stuff until the island is used... As for the other rides, they don't need any extra theming (aside from Inferno getting the backside of the volcano), rather a repaint and spruce up...
August 26, 201213 yr comment_140396 What I think is really cool is that the rubble is shaped like the bricks. The attention to detail is really cool.I'm impressed.
August 26, 201213 yr comment_140398 Why isn't it red? [/pedantic] I think it was once red, but like a lot of stuff that's been mishandled by The Swarm, it's covered in black ash/rubble/debris. I would've liked to see more of the original apple red colour though, as it'd make it stand out more and would just look better with more than a single colour to it.
August 26, 201213 yr comment_140399 Another great bit of extra theming for The Swarm! Although I think it would have looked better the right way up without the rock if you know what I mean - still tilted but not upside-down. Still, well done again Thorpe
August 26, 201213 yr comment_140404 I dont think any more theming is required, they just need to get the water and fire working correctly, the ride working reliably and most people will be happy.
August 27, 201213 yr comment_140410 The problem I see with the fire is that it's not catching everytime... Once that's sorted it'll be fine... The water jets weren't even on last time...
August 27, 201213 yr comment_140414 That is pretty cool. Makes a change from all those upturned vehicles. It may just be the lighting but I think I see a bit of the original red on the box, though I too would have preferred if the red was more noticeable/dominant. I also thought it was black because it had been burned/scorched, though I suppose if it had been, the glass would have exploded. Sort out those reliability issues with the effects and this will be truly amazing. (like it isn't already)
August 27, 201213 yr comment_140415 I know that water has been switched back on now and seems to work fine, I'm not sure if they've fixed the problem with the fire lighting yet
August 28, 201213 yr comment_140432 They cant really fix the fire not lighting. It presume its to do with the quality of the propane or the ignition flame not working. (I had similar problems on my Halloween event including the large fire burst putting out the ignition flame)
August 28, 201213 yr comment_140458 Quick notes from today: *Telephone box is excellent! Has its own speaker and makes broken ringing noises etc. There is a lot more red colour on the 'rear' side which you can't see in the photo. *Fire set to go off every 7 or so trains - shame as looking down on the massive fireball from the inversion is the best feeling, lot's of trains will be denied this viewpoint. Assuming it was just too expensive to set off for every train. Spent quite a bit of time on the Swarm island today and only saw a successful fireball twice... It basically fails to ignite every time. Sad times. *Helicopter turnaround had the tiniest of water splashes, fire engine splash was turned off completely. *LEDs should look great for Fright Nights. Just hope they can get the last few ones working. Still not a fan of seeing staff members sit on the station track and have a chit chat while people are boarding. Which reminds me, putting Swarm to one side, I don't think I've ever seen the majority of Thorpe Park staff look as miserable as they did today. Seriously guys, a smile costs nothing!
August 30, 201212 yr comment_140580 Went today - no fire, barley any water and the helicopter blades were not spinning
August 30, 201212 yr comment_140581 Went yesterday - Fire triggered once from what I saw, then got the smell of gas for a bit, then nothing! Water was coming out of fire engine and only coming out slightly when the train passed the helicopter. No sound effects were played and oddly tvs and music turned off around 6pm. To be fair though didnt get to Swarm until about 4pm so can't comment on what worked before that point in time.
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