Project 2017: InvadR
- Thread starter Sky
- Start date
Perhaps unpopular, but I'm here to gripe. After getting to the stairs, it was easy to see why the line takes over an hour. A different scenario entirely, but opening night Fury325 had a line out to the arboretum, down the side service road fence, back into the plaza and then into the normal entrance. It took only an hour to get on through ALL of that. They gave you 10 seconds to load and counted it down. Invadr teams were literally standing around doing absolutely nothing several times before dispatching. Other time was spent making QQ people change seats or to yell "Are you ready to ride?" until everyone yelled back. Yes, I am ready. This is why I waited over an hour. More than 5 minutes to load this tiny ride is ridiculous. This was beyond a learning curve. This was just incompetence and poor planning.
More infuriating was every time we rode, QQ from the off ramp was causing chaos and a huge delay. They even let a whole train of QQ load at one time. We, and others trying to ride together, were bumped several times. Another time, they loaded QQ and never even opened the load side gates sending a half empty train. They never sold QQ for Tempesto, why are they doing it for this one? Even the QQ holders where visibly frustrated.
Our grouper experience. Once a grouper at the top told us where to sit, which I don't love. But, would accept if it was for speed's sake. Not the case here. Another time, the guy at the top wasn't directing anyone. The front row line was backed down the stairs and making others wait since it blocked the line and no one knew to go past them. Similar once in the station. The platform is so small that one can not get to the empty back seats since the way is blocked by people waiting for forward seats. We never had a grouper at the bottom of the stairs.
Ditto on the kids and parents who monopolize the sample seat out front. Worse yet, a large and tall friend of ours fit in the sample seat out front, but could not fit on the actual train. A wasted hour in the line for him. The overflow line was also better down Le Scoot's path. What genius thought of making a line where a new ride, a train, a flat ride and a bathroom all intersect? We were met with "huffy" uniformed guards several times just trying to go to the bathroom or the train while the next Invadr batch crossed the path. What? Were we going to get arrested for trying to jump in the line? I finally told the guard when walking thought the last time I had no interest in that pieces of shit, I wanted to get to the real ride - the train.
And lastly, my daughter had her phone and ID taken away and tossed on the platform by a loader. It was barely visible and attached under her arm in a very small purse. They told her to get a locker in the future. Meanwhile, the person in the seat in front of us had a cup AND backpack not even attached to them and that same loader never said a word to those riders.
We timed 20 minutes to get from the line at the front corner of the ride building to the back curve near the train. Coming through the line back to the front was similar. But 20 minutes from the steps is ludicrous. Quite frankly, until they iron tons of issues out, it is not worth the wait nor hassle. Like Tempesto, if I can't walk on I'm not interested. We will likely just avoid that corner of the park entirely. But we are glad it will be keeping people there for so long so our Griffon lines can be smaller.
I look forward to your letters.
More infuriating was every time we rode, QQ from the off ramp was causing chaos and a huge delay. They even let a whole train of QQ load at one time. We, and others trying to ride together, were bumped several times. Another time, they loaded QQ and never even opened the load side gates sending a half empty train. They never sold QQ for Tempesto, why are they doing it for this one? Even the QQ holders where visibly frustrated.
Our grouper experience. Once a grouper at the top told us where to sit, which I don't love. But, would accept if it was for speed's sake. Not the case here. Another time, the guy at the top wasn't directing anyone. The front row line was backed down the stairs and making others wait since it blocked the line and no one knew to go past them. Similar once in the station. The platform is so small that one can not get to the empty back seats since the way is blocked by people waiting for forward seats. We never had a grouper at the bottom of the stairs.
Ditto on the kids and parents who monopolize the sample seat out front. Worse yet, a large and tall friend of ours fit in the sample seat out front, but could not fit on the actual train. A wasted hour in the line for him. The overflow line was also better down Le Scoot's path. What genius thought of making a line where a new ride, a train, a flat ride and a bathroom all intersect? We were met with "huffy" uniformed guards several times just trying to go to the bathroom or the train while the next Invadr batch crossed the path. What? Were we going to get arrested for trying to jump in the line? I finally told the guard when walking thought the last time I had no interest in that pieces of shit, I wanted to get to the real ride - the train.
And lastly, my daughter had her phone and ID taken away and tossed on the platform by a loader. It was barely visible and attached under her arm in a very small purse. They told her to get a locker in the future. Meanwhile, the person in the seat in front of us had a cup AND backpack not even attached to them and that same loader never said a word to those riders.
We timed 20 minutes to get from the line at the front corner of the ride building to the back curve near the train. Coming through the line back to the front was similar. But 20 minutes from the steps is ludicrous. Quite frankly, until they iron tons of issues out, it is not worth the wait nor hassle. Like Tempesto, if I can't walk on I'm not interested. We will likely just avoid that corner of the park entirely. But we are glad it will be keeping people there for so long so our Griffon lines can be smaller.
I look forward to your letters.
A honest and well written critique with some good examples. I am hoping some of these are just growing pains for the new coaster. It is one of the busiest times of the year with most schools out on break. Part of me thinks most of this is just the excitement over a new ride. I remember when Tempesto first opened 2 years ago. The wait was so long and that was on a slow day. Now, lines are half the size of what they used to be or shorter. Give it a half a season or a year and I bet it looses a lot of the chaos.
I'm sad to hear the problems I saw at the soft opening are an even larger issue now. InvadR's capacity is not great (to say the least) and the slow dispatches I observed during the soft opening were definitely not helping things at all. All of this is exasperated by no QQ/RAP structure and the worst station design in the park.
I don't want to complain about InvadR because it is a great little coaster and an excellent addition overall. That said, the downtime, dispatches, and station are all valid criticisms that have a huge impact on guest experience. It is so incredibly frustrating to see BGW screw up something as simple as station design after doing it right since the Loch Ness Monster.
Also, I want to add one last thing in regards to dispatches. From what I observed, a lot of the issue there isn't on BGW. Even cycling empty trains, InvadR is VERY slow through the station area. In fact, it seems far slower than any GCI I've been on previously.
I don't want to complain about InvadR because it is a great little coaster and an excellent addition overall. That said, the downtime, dispatches, and station are all valid criticisms that have a huge impact on guest experience. It is so incredibly frustrating to see BGW screw up something as simple as station design after doing it right since the Loch Ness Monster.
Also, I want to add one last thing in regards to dispatches. From what I observed, a lot of the issue there isn't on BGW. Even cycling empty trains, InvadR is VERY slow through the station area. In fact, it seems far slower than any GCI I've been on previously.
I have to play devil's advocate regarding the video issue. It sounds like it was filmed by the park's camera, correct? I assume park personnel were operating the camera (pressing the record button)? Then the park personnel edited and distributed the video? Even if it was your idea, legally the video belongs to the park.
Was what happened in bad taste? Yes. Should they have given the video to you first? Yes. Should they have given you credit for the idea? Probably.
However, I don't think you have much ground to stand on legally. Also, I'd caution against making too big of an issue of it. Now that you've built a good relationship with the park, I'd hate to see that jeopardized. In the end, that hurts your viewers more than not getting credit for a video would.
Was what happened in bad taste? Yes. Should they have given the video to you first? Yes. Should they have given you credit for the idea? Probably.
However, I don't think you have much ground to stand on legally. Also, I'd caution against making too big of an issue of it. Now that you've built a good relationship with the park, I'd hate to see that jeopardized. In the end, that hurts your viewers more than not getting credit for a video would.
We fully believe it was a mistake... Just a really big one... And one we still don't have a response regarding.
Also, we are intentionally not saying a lot here. Our negative experience on Friday goes far beyond just that video. Because of mistakes, miscommunications, and misinformation from the park, we were precluded from a number of different things other outlets were given.
We're trying to be very understanding. Part of that has been not asking the park to contact the Daily Press. That said, this all amounts to a big issue and one we can't ignore.
Also, we are intentionally not saying a lot here. Our negative experience on Friday goes far beyond just that video. Because of mistakes, miscommunications, and misinformation from the park, we were precluded from a number of different things other outlets were given.
We're trying to be very understanding. Part of that has been not asking the park to contact the Daily Press. That said, this all amounts to a big issue and one we can't ignore.
We are not making any legal arguments. We are pointing out the basic problem with giving our video to a different media outlet, which presumably had their own video. No one is making any intellectual property rights claims.
To be clear, however, it isn't just that they gave our video to the Daily Press first. They have never given us our video at all. So, a different media site apparently has the only copy of our POV.
I would argue, however, that what they did would be an ethical issue, if it were intentional. Furthermore, as we are a mechanism they now choose to use to market their attractions, it is not good business to alienate us. The relationship goes both ways.
As Zachary said, there are many things we have chosen not to share yet, because we are professional and are hoping to receive professional courtesy from the park in return.
All of that said, we will never agree to ignore our interests or lie about our experiences just to maintain a positive relationship with the park. We have strict reporting and ethical standards.
To be clear, however, it isn't just that they gave our video to the Daily Press first. They have never given us our video at all. So, a different media site apparently has the only copy of our POV.
I would argue, however, that what they did would be an ethical issue, if it were intentional. Furthermore, as we are a mechanism they now choose to use to market their attractions, it is not good business to alienate us. The relationship goes both ways.
As Zachary said, there are many things we have chosen not to share yet, because we are professional and are hoping to receive professional courtesy from the park in return.
All of that said, we will never agree to ignore our interests or lie about our experiences just to maintain a positive relationship with the park. We have strict reporting and ethical standards.
Zachary said:
This is based on my observation and may be wrong. But it looks like there are only two blocks on Invadr the station to the top of the lift and the release from the lift to the final brake run. Some of the slowest seems to he that they don't release a train from the station till the previous train is in the brakes by the maintenance area. It appeared to me in watching operation today that some of the slowness was just stalling till the train previous train completed its run and it was time to release the next one.
Just to update everyone: Dan Dipiazzo emailed us this evening regarding the situation on Friday.
He reports that BGW has contacted the Daily Press and has asked them to remove the video. We specifically said the park didn't need to do this, but we appreciate them going through the trouble regardless. Additionally, he sent us a copy of the original recording from our ride.
We have replied to his message and look forward to continuing the current dialog about Friday's events.
Lastly, I want to re-emphasize: From the start we have believed the issues we encountered to all be mistakes and we still firmly hold that belief. They were sizable mistakes that negatively impacted our ability to cover InvadR's opening, but they were still honest mistakes.
Anyway, back to the coaster.
This matches my observations perfectly and I worry that it's a sign that things can't actually get much better when it comes to dispatch speeds.
He reports that BGW has contacted the Daily Press and has asked them to remove the video. We specifically said the park didn't need to do this, but we appreciate them going through the trouble regardless. Additionally, he sent us a copy of the original recording from our ride.
We have replied to his message and look forward to continuing the current dialog about Friday's events.
Lastly, I want to re-emphasize: From the start we have believed the issues we encountered to all be mistakes and we still firmly hold that belief. They were sizable mistakes that negatively impacted our ability to cover InvadR's opening, but they were still honest mistakes.
Anyway, back to the coaster.
horsesboy said:
This matches my observations perfectly and I worry that it's a sign that things can't actually get much better when it comes to dispatch speeds.
Just checked the link to the Daily Press website and they replaced it with a different reverse POV. The ironic part about it is this one doesn't seem to have their logo in the bottom right corner like last time. Glad everything seems to be straightened out!
On a side note, did anyone else find it odd that the chain speed slows down in the middle of the lift for no apparent reason? I noticed it both times I rode on Friday.
On a side note, did anyone else find it odd that the chain speed slows down in the middle of the lift for no apparent reason? I noticed it both times I rode on Friday.
Does Invadr actually have QQ already? Bolt and Pesto didn't open with QQ to help with lines. Bolt didn't get QQ until halfway though the season and Pesto isn't even included on the QQ program at all (at least as of May last year it wasn't). Why are they doing this now?
Zachary said:
That is terrific! I am really glad the park made this terrible mistake right!
netdvn said:
Give our other experiences with this ride, I do not think it is a good idea to assume anything based off of the parks previous approaches. It seems to me that the park threw out the rule book on this one and is trying to do everything different.
Frankly I think this is great!
netdvn said:
Technically, yes, there are QQs for InvadR already.
1. We were able to sign up for a drawing on PMPD to get single-use QQs for InvadR. (Not sure if those winners were announced?)
2. The new $555 Ultimate Thrills Quick Queue Unlimited includes InvadR. (Description in the attachment below)
None of the normal QQs cover it, however.
Attachments
Just got to the park.
England lot is almost full.
England lot is almost full.
Is there a wait time sign like Griffon's? After moving down to Florida and calling the Magic Kingdom my home park, I guess I've become spoiled with precise wait times.