Way to Increase Capacity

Moving back to the original post: I'm pretty sure inspiring fear in guests is not the way to reach capacity. Many guests do not realize that you will not in fact send the train if they are not ready. I've seen it happen when platform hosts announce something as simple as "gates are closing" or "Raptor is ready". There are better ways to get the job done than convincing people their safety is in jeopardy if they can't move fast enough.

I don't think "inspiring fear" is what is really happening. They are stressing to people that they are operating the ride as efficiently as possible. Of course there are going to be times when a train cannot be ready in the desired time window.

People have been standing around in line for an hour or more, I don't think it's asking a lot that they be ready to get on the ride quickly when it is their turn.

3snoH un=l said:
I would think after the debut season, they will lighten up on Banshee's seating preferences.

I agree. I think it will be the same thing as what happened on I-305. It was assigned seating for the first year, and then every year after that, you have been allowed to pick your own row. I think they do this for the first year to make sure they get the highest capacity possible for the first year to make the ride look good capacity wise, and then after that first year, they don't care.

Kevinj said:
Can you wait for a front row seat?

We're headed there in July, and I'm just curious.

I don't appreciate being treated like a 3rd grader with assigned seats on a coaster at all.

Who comes up with this crap?

It's just the marketing team trying to make the ride capacity look good for the first year. Makes the brand new ride sound amazing. Then, the next year, when all the hype for this new ride is gone, then they don't care anymore and then they give you more freedom and let you pick your own row.

The marketing team? Do you have a clue what they actually do? I'd put platform activity, like seat assignments, on Operations. Capacity is capacity and the same number of people ride every time the train launches no matter how many people are standing on the platform or where. While capacity is an often publicized figure when announcements are made, I'm pretty sure there's no marketing team standing by figuring out how to make a first season look spectacular only to dust their hands off and move on. I think assigning seats is more for the convenience of the ops.

On Diamondback's first season, for instance, they had a ride op at the top of the stairs assigning oncoming riders to a row. That policy relaxed a bit and while that person was still there, they would just open up periodically and let people stream in, maybe keeping a quick count of sorts. Then he or she would have to stop the flow, turn around and see if there were any jam ups or any empty stalls and encourage people to move or let more in. I see where that policy has tightened up a little more this season and last, and I would guess its at least partially due to the increased popularity of FastLane, at least where the merge point is at the platform, like Diamondback, Banshee, Mean Streak, or Maverick. Those people move onto the platform first, are likely given first dibs, then the standby line follows. I think it's easier for the op to keep track of who goes where and what's left if they are in a little bit more control. Plus, the ride op has better visual contact with riders, trains, and other ops if there's less of a crowd.

Personally, I don't mind it. I'm always a little disheartened when I finally hit a ride platform and see 16 people waiting for each row. Then all of a sudden my wait turns into 8 or more trains worth of waiting, which can be especially bad if there's one train op that day. I'd rather just walk right to my row and be on the next train. My group can also ride all together on the same train without having to do a lot of begging and jockeying with other riders. And anyway, I can count on one hand where I've ever been denied my polite request for a certain row. I can see on some rides where front row is not a guarantee, everyone wants it, and they set limits as to how many people they can have safely jammed in there. But for most other rows? No problem, and crews really try to be accommodating. Every once in a while I encounter a seat nazi, but not often.

But I really think seat assignments has little to do with actual end of the day capacity figures, but if anything, makes it a little better. A little. How ride ops and customers perceive line movement in more the focus.