7 replies to this topic

[TexasCyclone]

Now I recently got my winter copy of Orlando Attractions Magazine (don't know if any of y'all read it or not, it's pretty cool) and their top 10 section was comparing ride queues. Which I think is a pretty interesting topic because queues for coasters and rides in general differ so much.

You have your basic queues (something like Raptor's at Cedar Point) but then you have queues like Expedition Everest's where the queue is used to tell a story or interest the guest. So I just thought I'd open it up to y'all and ask what some of your favorite queues are.

My favorite (and also the magazine's) is without a doubt the queue for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The queue literally is like a tour of the castle and makes waiting in line for a ride not nearly as dreadful.

[biZarRo]

My favorite queue is Tower of Terror down in Orlando. It really immerses you in the theme of an abandoned hotel.

[Vater]

I can only speak of Universal back in 2000 and Disney much, much earlier than that, but Dueling Dragons had probably the most elaborate queue I've seen. It was kind of a waste, though, since the ride never had much more than a station wait. And marathoning the ride was out of the question since, if I remember correctly, the exit path ended nowhere near the entrance.

[Tori Finlay]

I can't really say I've been to many places where there is significant themeing, but I really enjoyed Terminator: Salvation's queue line, as well as Dark Knight's (although I don't enjoy the ride as much). When I first rode Volcano, I could not get over the level of themeing it had, considering I had only been to Dorney, Hershey, and SFGAdv.

[Ryan Shrout]

Pretty much everything at a Disney Park is gonna be top notch and Universal is definitely getting better in that regards. Going back to some of the "classics" that did theming way before everyone seemed to jump on that bandwagon, I think of Loch Ness Monster's queue line. A bit more recent, but still kinda old actually, is Batman the Rid, particularly the original. Its still probably my favorite non-Disney/Universal queue I've experienced.

[Vater]

When I first rode Volcano, I could not get over the level of themeing it had, considering I had only been to Dorney, Hershey, and SFGAdv.

Funny you mention Volcano; just about all the theming was already there before the ride existed...and is the only reason it's so well-themed. In other words, had the mountain not already been there, I strongly doubt Kings Dominion would have a Volcano-themed coaster...in fact I'd go as far as to guarantee it.

The mountain itself was shortened a bit to widen the opening, and it was painted a more reddish hue. Other than that, all the other changes (theme-wise) were decorative, mostly within the queue. Everything--including the "lake"in front of/next to the station, the queue house (the large thatch-roofed building above the gift shop/station exit), even the bits of old steel track protruding from parts of the mountainside--was reused from the previous attractions.

Don't get me wrong, the theming is awesome. But growing up with the park and the three (well, four I guess, if you count Mt. Kilaminjaro) separate rides that occupied the mountain (in fact, I actually remember seeing the mountain under construction in 1978), I thought they could have done more with it. Specifically, I thought something could have been done with the claustrophobic corridor leading down to the station once inside the mountain...and definitely the station itself.

Volcano is an example of a ride that's exceptionally themed--if you're observing, not riding.

[Tori Finlay]

Haha, I knew that the mountain was there, as well as the lagoon, I was more impressed with the fact that they actually bothered to paint and almost stucco that walls on the last ramp down into the station where there's some naked I-beams. The fact that they got those details was the final straw in an already impressive feat to me.

[steel-Rock]

1.Manta
2. Expedition Everest
3. Space Moutain
4. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
5. Splash Mountain (may not be a "coaster")

Although there is nothing really to them, I like queues that go through much of the ride so you can see it
(Raptor, Nighthawk, Superman-UF, soon to be X-Flight).


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Edited by steel-Rock, 20 January 2012 - 06:02 AM.