COVID-19’s Impacts on BGW

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Every time I was at Nessie there were plenty of rows empty and they still tried to assign random people to sit in the first 3 rows.

I don't see why they cant block off every other row like on Invadr and still run at practically the same capacity.


I don't understand the green dots on the floor at Nessie either. Every row has a dot, but they are moved back slightly on every other row. Not enough to stay the 2m apart though.
 
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Brambo said:
The weirdest part about loch ness yesterday was they clearly did not need to pack everyone in front to back. Invadr and griffon had slight lines for very short periods, but other than that were complete walk ons (I got like 8 rides on griffon in a 1 hour span). Loch ness was even more sparse then the other two coasters. They could have easily given one group per car, front row, with the last row open in the last car as most other 2x2 cars seem to be doing.
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This keeps bothering me, as well. My hope is that this is a legitimate case of the ride ops leaning a new loading process.

Thinking exclusively about early in the evening, when the lines were the longest, we saw wildly disparate approached to loading.
- At Nessie, they were filling every row starting from the front. As someone who feels that LNM needs to be ridden in the back (the front feels like a golf cart, especially on the drops), this was especially galling. The issues with the specifics of their approach have been beaten to death, so I won't reiterate them here.
- At Griffon, they nominally required at least two seats between parties, but we saw a train dispatch with only one person in the entire middle row, while there were still people waiting throughout the queue. My impression was that this was somewhat driven by the grouper's attempts to let people pick their own rows, combined with the complications of getting people in the larger seats and spacing parties of varying sizes. The Griffin staff were doing a great job of spieling and enforcing mask and distancing policies, which was comforting.
- At InvadR, they had every other row blocked off and were filling the remaining rows back to front. For whatever reason InvadR was the only coaster only running with one train, which slowed things down dramatically. While this ride had the best loading operations, they had a problem with enforcement, I think. I saw a group with their masks under their noses, standing right next to a ride op for several minutes. (PSA: you look like an idiot with your nose sticking out like Pinocchio.) So, while these people will flagrantly violating both mask and social distancing policies right in the station, no one did anything about it.

I think BGW needs to tweak their spacing in the queues, as well. The dots did not provide enough space for groups to stay six feet apart. Moreover, there didn't seem to be any thought given to spacing on either side, only front and back.
 
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The only thing I can think of for Kevin's rational that the high backs on Nessie provide protection is he or someone at the park must have had someone do a fluid dynamics analysis of the air flow around the seats, or knows a lot about it, to be able to claim what he has.
 
Alf33 said:
The only thing I can think of for Kevin's rational that the high backs on Nessie provide protection is he or someone at the park must have had someone do a fluid dynamics analysis of the air flow around the seats, or knows a lot about it, to be able to claim what he has.
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Actually to be fair it sounded like there was some studying done from how he was talking with me. I still not comfortable with it and imagine that many others will feel the same in my opinion from just a optics point of view they either need to release their data on it to let people review it and make up their own mind or change the procedure. I am not totally convinced that they are wrong but I am more convinced that they are wrong then I am that they are right.
 
I can confirm Invadr had restraint issues, it was right before i got on.

As for LNM, it's bizarre logic to be sure, but skipping rows does nothing to change an airborne pathogen. You're still going through the same air. Side by side in different groups seems like a mistake. But at the end of the day if you go you know you're putting yourself at risk. I thought the park did a really good job. Staff was the nicest I've seen in YEARS! Mostly everyone was following the rules. I was quite pleased. I hope the general public is just as good, that will be the test.
 
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tursiops said:
As for LNM, it's bizarre logic to be sure, but skipping rows does nothing to change an airborne pathogen. You're still going through the same air. Side by side in different groups seems like a mistake. But at the end of the day if you go you know you're putting yourself at risk.
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Two things. First, the reality is that at rollercoaster speeds, outdoors, with masks on, I'm not really concerned so much about "going through the same air" when it comes to coaster seating. The chances of spread in that context is fairly low. For me it's about two other questions:

1) What would happen if the ride would break down, for example, and I'm stuck in close proximity to these people for an extended period?

2) Is loading full trains (I honestly doubt they ever HAD a full train last night, but maybe over the weekend) worth the anxiety it creates to know that you're more physically close to someone—when loading, when on the ride, when departing—than messaging tells us we're supposed to be?

So much of what the park is doing is so-called "hygiene theater," working to convince us that we're safe by constantly bombarding us with announcements, signage, sanitizer stations, etc. The reality is that you can't walk 50 feet in the park and not see some reminder of the fact that physical distancing is important, and so it's then deeply confusing and anxiety-inducing to have a rollercoaster break those principles suddenly. It's like the station house of Loch Ness is a lawless, rogue hamlet, governed by an entirely different understanding of the virus than 250 feet away where they're keeping you six feet away from each other to watch the Clydesdales.

There's two solutions to this. Either load every other row and be consistent with the rest of the park, or post signage in front of the ride indicating the science that says they can load every row. But given the walk-on nature of the ride, I don't see why they would be prioritizing capacity when it risks puncturing the bubble they're trying to build for guests.
 
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Even if we believe for a second that LMN’s headrests have some magical COVID-shielding properties, that doesn’t solve loading and unloading. The park insists everyone should maintain social distancing throughout the park but then puts you into a situation where it’s legitimately impossible—and we’re not talking about like a bit of an encroachment into your 6 foot bubble—these people are a foot or two away—often standing right over you or side-by-side during load and unload. It’s pure hypocrisy from the park.
 
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Memles said:
Two things. First, the reality is that at rollercoaster speeds, outdoors, with masks on, I'm not really concerned so much about "going through the same air" when it comes to coaster seating. The chances of spread in that context is fairly low. For me it's about two other questions:

1) What would happen if the ride would break down, for example, and I'm stuck in close proximity to these people for an extended period?

2) Is loading full trains (I honestly doubt they ever HAD a full train last night, but maybe over the weekend) worth the anxiety it creates to know that you're more physically close to someone—when loading, when on the ride, when departing—than messaging tells us we're supposed to be?

So much of what the park is doing is so-called "hygiene theater," working to convince us that we're safe by constantly bombarding us with announcements, signage, sanitizer stations, etc. The reality is that you can't walk 50 feet in the park and not see some reminder of the fact that physical distancing is important, and so it's then deeply confusing and anxiety-inducing to have a rollercoaster break those principles suddenly. It's like the station house of Loch Ness is a lawless, rogue hamlet, governed by an entirely different understanding of the virus than 250 feet away where they're keeping you six feet away from each other to watch the Clydesdales.

There's two solutions to this. Either load every other row and be consistent with the rest of the park, or post signage in front of the ride indicating the science that says they can load every row. But given the walk-on nature of the ride, I don't see why they would be prioritizing capacity when it risks puncturing the bubble they're trying to build for guests.
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I will say, I haven’t seen anyone talk about the tunnel. I doubt that it’s well ventilated and your inside a tight ‘building’ with people directly behind you and/or directly in front of you.
 
I think there is another piece to this. There isn't just a question of common standards within the park. There is something to be said for consistency across the industry right now. Everyone is trying demonstrate to themselves, the public, and the authorities that amusement parks can open safely. Sticking to common practices at least among major parks seems like a good way to address everyone's anxieties. Additionally, the more those procedures are tested across the country, the more confidence the parks themselves can place in them.
 
I agree it's strange to not skip any rows on there. I think they should do so, if for nothing other than consistency and optics. Personally I felt very safe there last night. I still believe they are doing more than is reasonably required by going above CDC guidelines.
 
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A major consideration on going every other row is how much that increases the size and wait time in the queue (though not as big an issue for LNM). If I recall queueing theory correctly, the wait time is squared based on changes in throughput, so filling half the train can make the queue four times as long, which could be a more dangerous situation in terms of shared air space and people tiring of wearing masks than guests being close together on the ride for 2-3 mins.

I believe Hershey has made this calculation in determining which rides to skip rows on as popular rides such as Fahrenheit and Skyrush fill every row while less popular rides are going every other row. My guess is this is to keep from having 1-2 hour lines that could be higher risk from a spread event.

Right now with 1000 guests this isn't an issue for BGW, but if they get to re-open the park to 50% capacity, having 10-20k guests could be problematic on rides where throughput is constrained a lot.
 
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jedijunky said:
Are ride ops doing any sanitizing of the seats after riders exit and before the new riders board?
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Not after each ride but periodically depending on the crowds. I think they are shooting for every 30 minutes but saying at least every hour.
 
horsesboy said:
Not after each ride but periodically depending on the crowds. I think they are shooting for every 30 minutes but saying at least every hour.
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Hmmm...interesting. I understand from a logistical standpoint that it’s really not feasible to sanitize every time, but I feel it should at least be done more often. People touching other surfaces, their masks, not properly wearing masks, or properly hand washing after the restroom. There’s too much of an unknown variable with the general public (I’m looking at you Karen) that being über cautious isn’t a bad thing. I honestly don’t know if we will go this year and I hate that....I have faith in BGW just not gen pop.
 
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Every 30 minutes is like wearing your mask below your nose. What does it really accomplish? How many have touched in that 30 minute time span? If it's not logistical for them, then maybe they should not be open.
 
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jedijunky said:
Hmmm...interesting. I understand from a logistical standpoint that it’s really not feasible to sanitize every time, but I feel it should at least be done more often. People touching other surfaces, their masks, not properly wearing masks, or properly hand washing after the restroom. There’s too much of an unknown variable with the general public (I’m looking at you Karen) that being über cautious isn’t a bad thing. I honestly don’t know if we will go this year and I hate that....I have faith in BGW just not gen pop.
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The flip side of that is sanitizing takes several minutes to be done correctly which means more line back up and potentially less social distancing the risk of transfer from the surface is lower then the risk from close proximity so would feel better with finding that happy medium which every half an hour to hour seems reasonable.
 
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I believe the hand sanitizer is supposed to mitigate the threat. If everyone uses it before they get on the ride, it reduces the likelihood that they will leave germs behind. I think that is why Uni stations ops before the ride platforms with hand sanitizer.
 
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