Peculiar Train Loading System

I went to SFOT last night and the first ride I headed for was Texas Giant. When I made it into the station I saw that they were testing out a new way to load the ride.

When a train came into the station, it didn't stop. It just slowed down to maybe about 1 mph or so. As each car crossed a certain line in the station, the lapbars would open and people would get off the ride. As this was happening, people were getting into the seats through only one open gate (somewhere between row 8 and 10) which was controlled by a ride host, whose job was to get people into these seats as they became available. Keep in mind that the train is moving the whole time. There were mesh zipper pouches bolted to the seatbacks in front of each row to place small items like cell phones and wallets, and near the end of the station, there were ride hosts on each side of the train checking each row of restraints as the train slowly creeped past.

There was no choice of seats whatsoever. You got whatever row opened up for you. This also seems very unsafe because the train always moves (albeit slow, but still) and the gate the guests passed through to board was never actually closed. It was just guarded by a ride host with a stick to measure rider height. Amusement parks also argue that you shouldn't bring loose articles on the ride with you because of safety reasons but now you're practically forced to. This sounds like a stupid system to me and it seemed that it hardly moved faster than the original.

Has anyone seen this before? Am I simply missing the obvious genius in this plan? Is this a good idea in your opinion? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

The wild mouse coaster at Hershey Park has that same creeping system. I have had some experince with this system before. Coal Cracker has a slow always moving turntable that moves the logs while the people load and unload. The Cholclate Factory dark ride also has a very slow continusly moving platform like the other two rides that I mentioned.

That just sounds unsafe to me (on a roller coaster at least). The rafts on the Mammoth water coaster are moving from the get-go also (I think) but I don't think the probability of injury is nearly as high there.
Kings Island's White Water Canyon also has a similar turntable system mentioned by cool5. That's moving slow enough to have time to make sure everyone's buckled in, and there's no need for station gates.

Rip Ride Rock It also doesn't stop in station. But it has a conveyor so the loading is faster, and the rows doesn't really matter as much as on NTG. I wonder if it's really efficient in the case of a coaster with a long train...

It just seems to me that when you have 14 rows to fill, and the riders have no say in which one they sit in, it's a bad idea.

Seems like a roller coaster adapted load/unload system of the "log-flume method."

I don't see any major safety concerns here. It's unsafe just as it is unsafe for anybody to trip and fall on things about the station or the train in a normal load/unload system. But what is the advantage? Lol.

Its okay to do this on wild mice and similar rides but I think its a bad idea on something like the Texas Giant.

For short trains, this is good. H:RRR works well with this as do log flumes and Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey dark ride. I don't see the safety concern really... if a train still has restraints open by the time it reaches the end the train stops. I've seen it happen on H:RRR (videos) and the train occasionally just stops while employees finish restraint checking. I assume it's automatic (just like how you can't dispatch a train with restraints open), otherwise that system would be deemed unsafe I would imagine.

However for Texas Giant, there is no use for this. There really isn't. The reason small train'ed rides use them I think is because on those stations train dispatch time intervals really matter because there are a lot of block sections and lots of small broken-up trains. But with big train'ed rides... I don't see the point. The block sections are large on big train'ed rides because they hold so much each. So what does a moving station accomplish? Maybe it just makes the guests subconsciously (or consciously, in GP logic, thinking the train will go off without them properly seated lol) get in quicker.

Other than small trains though I don't see the point. It just complicates things and cuts out seat choice. And Texas Giant doesn't have a moving platform either? I feel like that would add some danger to it too lol. Oh well.

It seems sufficiently safe to me, but incredibly inefficient. And particularly unfair to those wanting to select a seat.

I think it sounds dumb to use that on a long train and six flags should feel bad

[jayman]

ok lets say that i drive ALL the way to texas and then i decide to wait in line for texas giant , and then i'm told by a power tripping texan that i cant choose my seat.... that DOES sound dangerous , the next words out of my life could cost my life.. they'd most certainly involve the individual, family members and farm animals.

did they really spend money to change it? I've seen pictures of it that show gates for each row...

They took out the swinging gate they load the train from and added a couple wooden walls to direct everyone to that gate. They also put some permanent/official-looking signs in the queue saying they were "trying out" this system. I really hope they don't keep it or spread it to other rides.

Here's a video of the system. There's now pouches for loose articles too.

[youtube]iEqdFwti348[/youtube]

It forces them to meet a certain dispatch time, that's why it's good. If they are running 3 trains, it will probably be much more efficient.

And boohoo about not choosing your row, get over it. Don't ride it.

Actually, more often than not, they stop the train halfway out of the station because they (either ops or riders) are moving too slowly and still need time to check restraints, and I haven't seen Texas Giant running three trains once this season.

Originally posted by Jakizle

And boohoo about not choosing your row, get over it. Don't ride it.

To me, that's like saying I should cut my foot off just because it itches.

Sounds to me like just another reason to never go to Texas.

Clearly a roller coaster load/unload policy is a reason to avoid a whole state.

^These people are all idiots and the reason why Americans suck. Get over it. The numbers must be in favor with this new system or they wouldn't be doing it.

Originally posted by NoLimitzki

Originally posted by Jakizle

And boohoo about not choosing your row, get over it. Don't ride it.

To me, that's like saying I should cut my foot off just because it itches.

That is the worst analogy I have ever heard in my life. Congratulations.

^ someones become a bit of a cranky pants, to put it nicely.

On topic, I think this could be effective if the crew works faster. It works for H:RRR, and it certainly better than skyrush's loading methods idk about when it first opened for as long as I was riding it, you couldn't choose your seat on the laser @ dorney, it was simply fist people in line got the front, then the second row, and so on.

Wankers!

Originally posted by Jakizle

^These people are all idiots and the reason why Americans suck. Get over it.

I fail to see why you're raging and insulting people here when everyone else is just discussing the topic. I might understand some anger if the thread was titled something ignorant like, "NEW NTAG TRAIN SYSTEM TOTALLY SUX AND I'LL NEVER RIDE IT AGAIN."

All I see here is a group of people expressing their opinions and discussing the pro's and con's of a loading system I truthfully have never seen before on a larger ride like this. There isn't any heated discussion or terribly ignorant remarks, so I don't see what warrants your irritation.

And my analogy makes sense. If you don't understand it, I can explain it. If you do understand it, then it isn't a bad analogy.

Originally posted by Jakizle

^These people are all idiots and the reason why Americans suck. Get over it.

Originally posted by Jakizle
That is the worst analogy I have ever heard in my life. Congratulations.

time of month

[Coasterkidmwm]

Originally posted by Freddie

Clearly a roller coaster load/unload policy is a reason to avoid a whole state.

I refuse to drive through or stop at states with a GCI in them cause they're teh suxorz.