What IS the deal with single rider?!

General discussion regarding the UK's No.1 Theme Park. Talk about anything and everything Alton Towers here.
Post Reply
User avatar
Fantasmic
Member
Member
Posts: 151
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 4:27 pm
Location: Wirral

So today was busy at AT (thank god for Annual Passes eh)

Considering the busy-ness, my OH and I decided to take the single rider line, we walked up and the queue was held, just before the bag drop... and it was held, and held, and held... then eventually a "batch" of single riders was let through... what is the deal with this?!
It was the same for Air, held at the top and then only letting 10 singles through at a time...

In my experience, this is not how single rider lines work! Surely it makes more sense to let all the singles go down to the load area and be filtered onto the ride when spaces are available rather that keep back batches to send at random intervals?

Aside from the management of single rider lines, we experienced people leaving and returning to the queue ( :evil:) and groups of 6-7 people using the SR queue, totally defeats the purpose IMHO!!

Anyone care to shed some light on Alton's awful (IMO) queue management!
User avatar
Coke
Member
Member
Posts: 824
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2007 5:16 pm
Location: UK

It is not bad queue management, you are simply waiting in another place and you are certainly not waiting longer. They don't want to overcrowd the station areas so they hold people back, and when they are down to just a few single riders in the station, the station phones the merge point to send more single riders through.

Although I disagree with it like you, it is a groups decision to use the SR line - they are just as welcome to as you.
Image

Are you thirsty?
User avatar
Marcus
Member
Member
Posts: 392
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2012 11:59 pm
Location: London

When I went to alton towers in mid august I went in single riders queue due to the fact that the main queue was quite long (no surprise there :roll:) there was no one else in the single riders queue line and my brother and I both got on the next train.
User avatar
jackgcse
Member
Member
Posts: 319
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2011 5:46 pm
Location: Silverstone

Its a great system at Alton Towers, especially for Rita and Air...although it still can feel like an eternity...however it is usually much quicker than the main queue! The idea of batching you through in about 10 people at a time is, look at the batching area just before the station...it would just be a scrum and single rider queue jumpers!
User avatar
tallicay2k
Member
Member
Posts: 443
Joined: Sun Nov 16, 2008 12:22 am
Location: Great Yarmouth...Norfolk

I havent really had a problem or had to wait long on the SR queue line tbh...i tend to use them often especially Rita as my other half hates that ride but i always have to go on because its an awesome ride...Ive been unlucky this year as i havent been able to go due to saving for a wedding next year but surely things havent changed 
Image
SEEK...AND...DESTROY
User avatar
Fantasmic
Member
Member
Posts: 151
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 4:27 pm
Location: Wirral

It's just run in a completely different style to Disney/Universal and it doesn't seem to make sense to me  :|

I think, on 13 yesterday I waited as long as the normal queue...

The thing is... I need to stop going on a weekend and arriving late!!  :)
User avatar
NemmyJunkie
Member
Member
Posts: 104
Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2011 1:53 pm
Location: Staffordshire

They have actually closed the single rider que for Rita when I last visited a couple of weeks ago, which is annoying as somebody waits for me while I go on the rides and it's not fair when the normal que is really long...
Post Reply