Kraken Unleashed

[Alicia]

Throughput seems to be pretty horrible so far:

Around 11am:


3:30:

The media preview last night had to cut the line off fast because it reached 75 minutes... with only the last room of queue before load filled. Barely anybody at the preview got to ride and we were warned we'd miss the Ignite show if we choose to wait for the ride.

I at least got to see the finished queue. Looks much better with the posters and stuff written on the wall than it did blank on Tuesday.

 

[Scott W.]

Throughput seems to be pretty horrible so far:

Around 11am:


3:30:

Who would have thought a year ago that SeaWorld would have the longest wait times less than a month after Avatar opened?

 

[WAJAS]

But guys you aren't actually waiting in that 270 minute line. You are actually...

Wait a second. This sounds familiar.

 

[bob albert]

Lol Full Sail. Did Sea World figure out a way to get students to play them to program the ride?

 

[Nick]

So I went to the park for the fireworks tonight (certainly not expecting to ride Kraken). 510 min wait as of 5 mins ago... they were doing virtual queue only though and it has long since filled up for the day.

 

[MattA]

Gotta love that virtual queuing

 

[Tobias]

Looking at the videos, the VR looks fine (Even though it does end on a odd note with the Kraken jumping back up and grabbing you again.).

Though operations/dispatches are pretty much screwed due to how they're handling it. Since they're going the route which will always have longer dispatches then other VR attractions.

For the other VR attractions I've seen, the headsets arn't connected to the trains, so they hand them out to guests at the station so they can put on/adjust the straps before they get on. An' after the ride they hand them off to be cleaned outside the station gates. That way for load/dispatch all they have to do is load, check restraints, calibrate the headsets and send them off.

SW on the other hand, has the VR headsets attached to the restraints. (Probably so they can incorperate audio). The issue with that is because they can't remove the headsets from the trains, both the cleaning aspect -and- the adjusting of the straps has to be done during the load process, easily lengthening the dispatch times. With this format they honestly needed a dual loading station put in for this to have any decent operations, but they didn't so ops are screwed.

An' due to wonky ops, there's no way the line is going to be under the 20 minute limit for standby to remain open.

 

[cwgator]

Here is what they should have done (and why I think it's not going to be permanent or too long running):

If they were so set on keeping the headsets attached, then they should have had work done to add an additional platform on the break run (block before station) like that in the station thus creating a separate exit for departing (think Dueling Dragons er..Dragon Challenge). That way they could clean the headsets while the train in front is loading. This of course would only work with 2 train operations anyway...pretty much the most they could ever do now anyway.

 

[anihilnation]

But guys you aren't actually waiting in that 270 minute line. You are actually...

Wait a second. This sounds familiar.

VQ for the VR
The advantage though, is that you have the rest of the park to enjoy as you wish, since Kraken is the only ride to use VQ. I also have to say that this was a very smart move of Seaworld. I mean, without the VQ this would be a nightmare, as they would have used the entire area in front of Kraken as a queue, fill it up with switchbacks etc., so they were smart enough the really grasp the fact that wait times were going to be through the roof due to the bad capacity.

 

[UNIrd]

VQ for the VR
The advantage though, is that you have the rest of the park to enjoy as you wish, since Kraken is the only ride to use VQ. I also have to say that this was a very smart move of Seaworld. I mean, without the VQ this would be a nightmare, as they would have used the entire area in front of Kraken as a queue, fill it up with switchbacks etc., so they were smart enough the really grasp the fact that wait times were going to be through the roof due to the bad capacity.

Agreed. And it should be explored as an option for any lower capacity attractions moving forward or even for parks who need to be more space-conscious and don't want to build a queue that can hold thousands of guests.

 

[MakoMania]

Kraken is using the same system as Galactica does. Trust me, it will improve. Galactica was getting 200pph through when it opened, it can now easily reach over 900pph.

In other news, the Kraken Unleashed queue time monitor now reads 625 minutes, or 10.4 hours

 

[Scott W.]

VQ for the VR
The advantage though, is that you have the rest of the park to enjoy as you wish, since Kraken is the only ride to use VQ. I also have to say that this was a very smart move of Seaworld. I mean, without the VQ this would be a nightmare, as they would have used the entire area in front of Kraken as a queue, fill it up with switchbacks etc., so they were smart enough the really grasp the fact that wait times were going to be through the roof due to the bad capacity.

I think this is probably the best use of virtual queuing. I think the people at Universal have seen the potential and went way overboard with it at Volcano Bay but it's still a wait and see to see if it will really work.

 

[cwgator]

I'll be at the park tomorrow to see all this fiasco for myself....lol I'm probably skipping Kraken however since I don't plan on wearing the VR and or wait it out with Spot Saver either. I plan on catching the night time shows and use my free (pass member) Mako Quick Queue and show seating for Shamu's Celebration: Light Up The Night.

 

[Alicia]

I'll be at the park tomorrow to see all this fiasco for myself....lol I'm probably skipping Kraken however since I don't plan on wearing the VR and or wait it out with Spot Saver either. I plan on catching the night time shows and use my free (pass member) Mako Quick Queue and show seating for Shamu's Celebration: Light Up The Night.

Sad thing is I ended up not even needing my Mako Quick Queue because it's always a 5 min wait. Not good for a new coaster, but good for me now that my walk on Kraken coaster is gone.

 

[Nick]

Sad thing is I ended up not even needing my Mako Quick Queue because it's always a 5 min wait. Not good for a new coaster, but good for me now that my walk on Kraken coaster is gone.

Both Mako and Manta are fairly high capacity however... even on a busy day the lines never get too out of hand.

Of course, SeaWorld rarely has too many overly busy days now.

 

[cwgator]

Both Mako and Manta are fairly high capacity however... even on a busy day the lines never get too out of hand.

Of course, SeaWorld rarely has too many overly busy days now.

Well...I've been on a Saturday and Mako had an hour wait with 3 train operations. Also every time I go, Manta has at least a 30 minute wait. Of course every day can be different, and it may have just been the time frame I arrived at each coaster. At least tomorrow is Monday so I probably won't need my quick queue. If the line is more than 15 minutes I may use it...it was free after all...lol

 

[Alicia]

Well...I've been on a Saturday and Mako had an hour wait with 3 train operations. Also every time I go, Manta has at least a 30 minute wait. Of course every day can be different, and it may have just been the time frame I arrived at each coaster. At least tomorrow is Monday so I probably won't need my quick queue. If the line is more than 15 minutes I may use it...it was free after all...lol

Just don't forget to take your printout to self ticketing Zone A to get your actual Quick Queue pass. I always forget and end up having to walk back to guest services.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Not surprising, seems like SeaWorld decimated capacity then got an influx of guests for the new offerings. The wait times will come back down but I think we're stuck with hour long waits for Kraken now.

 

[Nick]

Fwiw, I walked on Mako twice yesterday, waited 10 mins for Antarctica and 5 for Manta. Maybe it was a fluke, but I rarely ever see long lines when I go.

 

[bob albert]

Sea world can see huge variances in lines depending on show schedules in general.