Raffi Kaprelyan declined to disclose an exact number but confirmed that the ride cost around $15 million.
[...]
Problems with mechanics, capacity, and theme specificity may impede the ride's becoming a classic.
The basic storyline is that an army of steampunk sea creatures led by the "Kraken Queen" have taken over Knott's, eating roller coasters to sate their appetite for steel. The vehicles on "Voyage to the Iron Reef" are supposed to be submarines; passengers shoot and kill sea creatures in attempt to forestall the park's destruction.
Knott's plays up the originality of the ride's back-story and theme, as opposed to being franchised or off-the-shelf.
However, the back-story is superficial and opaque; the average rider is unlikely to grasp it without having read auxiliary information beforehand. More could have been done with façade or queue design to convey the back-story to riders before embarking. Once on the ride, there is little in the way of plot development. Creatures get larger from scene to scene until a final encounter with the Kraken Queen; but suspense seems to build up from start to finish merely because it's supposed to; it isn't tied in to a compelling narrative.
The ride would have benefited from designer Daniel Miller's expertise in quick and efficient storytelling in Haunt mazes like "Tooth Fairy." Miller played only a miniscule role in the ride creation, sitting in on meetings and doing a few concept drawings.
[...]
I played 12 times and was disappointed each time the ride ended. The game is addicting, making its low capacity all the more unfortunate. The stated capacity is 800 riders per hour. By all appearances, this is an overestimate. Research shows that actual capacity is probably about 50% of that.
For a while on opening day, malfunctions reduced the capacity of many cars from four to two. Ride attendants said that there were problems with weight--more than two people precluded cars from spinning correctly. This happened once when I rode; and the experience was severely diminished: the car didn't turn around at the appropriate time, so we faced away from the screens and were unable to shoot. Several mechanics worked on fixing problems; and the ride appeared to be fully functional towards the end of the day.
Still, lines were long and slow moving. In addition to press, season pass-holders previewed the ride on the 13th. Many were disappointed when the queue was prematurely closed 45 minutes before park closing.
Even with front-of-the line passes, media rarely waited less than 30 minutes throughout the day. This prefigures lengthy waits after the new ride opens to the public, especially on weekends and during the summer.
The loading area was not designed for maximum efficiency. Only two cars are loaded and unloaded at a time; others back up behind them. Another loading area would almost certainly be needed in order to achieve the stated capacity of 800. There should have been enough room for four cars to be loaded and unloaded at a time.
"Just like anything else, we'll fine tune things to get it to the perfect spot," Kaprelyan said.
Hopefully, changes will be made to improve capacity. Perhaps a reservation system similar to the one for "Infected" will be implemented to shorten lines.
Despite its flaws, "Voyage to the Iron Reef" is an enjoyable ride. The fact that I spent most of the day riding 12 times speaks for itself. It will be interesting to follow the evolution of this unique addition to Knott's armamentarium.
Read the rest at HuffingtonPost
Problems with mechanics, capacity, and theme specificity may impede the ride's becoming a classic.
The basic storyline is that an army of steampunk sea creatures led by the "Kraken Queen" have taken over Knott's, eating roller coasters to sate their appetite for steel. The vehicles on "Voyage to the Iron Reef" are supposed to be submarines; passengers shoot and kill sea creatures in attempt to forestall the park's destruction.
Knott's plays up the originality of the ride's back-story and theme, as opposed to being franchised or off-the-shelf.
However, the back-story is superficial and opaque; the average rider is unlikely to grasp it without having read auxiliary information beforehand. More could have been done with façade or queue design to convey the back-story to riders before embarking. Once on the ride, there is little in the way of plot development. Creatures get larger from scene to scene until a final encounter with the Kraken Queen; but suspense seems to build up from start to finish merely because it's supposed to; it isn't tied in to a compelling narrative.
The ride would have benefited from designer Daniel Miller's expertise in quick and efficient storytelling in Haunt mazes like "Tooth Fairy." Miller played only a miniscule role in the ride creation, sitting in on meetings and doing a few concept drawings.
[...]
I played 12 times and was disappointed each time the ride ended. The game is addicting, making its low capacity all the more unfortunate. The stated capacity is 800 riders per hour. By all appearances, this is an overestimate. Research shows that actual capacity is probably about 50% of that.
For a while on opening day, malfunctions reduced the capacity of many cars from four to two. Ride attendants said that there were problems with weight--more than two people precluded cars from spinning correctly. This happened once when I rode; and the experience was severely diminished: the car didn't turn around at the appropriate time, so we faced away from the screens and were unable to shoot. Several mechanics worked on fixing problems; and the ride appeared to be fully functional towards the end of the day.
Still, lines were long and slow moving. In addition to press, season pass-holders previewed the ride on the 13th. Many were disappointed when the queue was prematurely closed 45 minutes before park closing.
Even with front-of-the line passes, media rarely waited less than 30 minutes throughout the day. This prefigures lengthy waits after the new ride opens to the public, especially on weekends and during the summer.
The loading area was not designed for maximum efficiency. Only two cars are loaded and unloaded at a time; others back up behind them. Another loading area would almost certainly be needed in order to achieve the stated capacity of 800. There should have been enough room for four cars to be loaded and unloaded at a time.
"Just like anything else, we'll fine tune things to get it to the perfect spot," Kaprelyan said.
Hopefully, changes will be made to improve capacity. Perhaps a reservation system similar to the one for "Infected" will be implemented to shorten lines.
Despite its flaws, "Voyage to the Iron Reef" is an enjoyable ride. The fact that I spent most of the day riding 12 times speaks for itself. It will be interesting to follow the evolution of this unique addition to Knott's armamentarium.
Read the rest at HuffingtonPost
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