Signage / website mistakes

[pushbutton]

Just noticed this sign at the front monorail station at Sea World. 

Obviously it should say "maximum wait time", not minimum! 

Anyone spotted any others? 

 

If someone unfamiliar with the ride took it literally, it could very well put them off using the monorail. 

I assume that's not the intention. 

Edited December 5, 2017 by pushbutton

[New display name]

8 minutes ago, pushbutton said:

Just noticed this sign at the front monorail station at Sea World. 

Obviously it should say "maximum wait time", not minimum! 

Anyone spotted any others? 

 

If someone unfamiliar with the ride took it literally, it could very well put them off using the monorail. 

I assume that's not the intention. 

Are you saying no matter how busy it gets at SW you will never wait longer than 20min?  How long does it take for the Monorail to do a lap?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I wouldn't necessarily agree it is a mistake.

Given the heavily reduced speed of the train, the single operator, the need to manually open and close gates, 20 minutes doesn't seem like an unrealistic figure of the minimum wait.

Of course, on any given day, it's impossible to say what the maximum wait time is, as not all people get off at each stop, and long queues tend to form around mid-afternoon, meaning you might have to wait several cycles before you get on...

[New display name]

It's not a mistake @AlexB   

It's obvious a sign for busy times.

 

1 hour ago, pushbutton said:

I am embarrassed to think what senior management of the parks think when they see some of the comments on this forum.

I am embarrassed to think what senior management of the parks think when people keep getting things wrong.

[T-bone]

I agree with Alexb, the sign isn’t a mistake.

In the context of the meaning of the sign, It’s bad enough that the attraction has such limited capacity as it is. But honestly a minimum 20 minute wait for an attraction that should be a people soaker is just ridiculous. It wasn’t long ago that they used to run 2 monorails in tandem. Boy have times changed.

[pushbutton]

1 hour ago, T-bone said:

I agree with Alexb, the sign isn’t a mistake.

In the context of the meaning of the sign, It’s bad enough that the attraction has such limited capacity as it is. But honestly a minimum 20 minute wait for an attraction that should be a people soaker is just ridiculous. It wasn’t long ago that they used to run 2 monorails in tandem. Boy have times changed.

3 when it was busy.

[rappa]

Well given the changes to the monorail were an insane knee jerk reaction from a questionable former management team following a completely not relatable accident at Disney World perhaps we could see some sanity in Monorail operations return at some point?

[pushbutton]

I sincerely hope so. Also I'm now thinking the sign probably was meant to say what it says,  in which case it's not a mistake, but it is a terrible sign which seems designed to put you off going on the monorail. 

Almost like going to a restaurant to be greeted by a sign saying "We will keep you waiting at least an hour for your order"!

I'd love to see them invest in new monorail trains. It's Australias first monorail system, and it's now the last too! Given the broadbeach one was newer, and said to be approaching the end of its expected life when they demolished it, I worry the Sea World system can't last much longer without such investment. 

In the meantime, they should at least have both the remaining monorails operating at all times the park is open. 

For the length of the track two is the absolute minimum, and they should have 3 going when it's busy  (like they had until a few years ago).

Edited December 5, 2017 by pushbutton

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

9 hours ago, pushbutton said:

3 when it was busy.

I think you'll find (if i recall from previous discussions here) that the third train was cannibalised in order to keep the other two functioning.

1 hour ago, pushbutton said:

Almost like going to a restaurant to be greeted by a sign saying "We will keep you waiting at least an hour for your order"!

I'd love to see them invest in new monorail trains. It's Australias first monorail system, and it's now the last too! Given the broadbeach one was newer, and said to be approaching the end of its expected life when they demolished it, I worry the Sea World system can't last much longer without such investment. 

In the meantime, they should at least have both the remaining monorails operating at all times the park is open.

But when a restaurant is busy, or only has a few seats, isn't it only fair for the wait staff to advise you when you arrive that there is going to be a substantial wait? I'd prefer the park be upfront about the length of time you'd be waiting for it. Social media is littered with complaints from people who don't read maps, showtimes, or understand that they aren't the only person in the park, complaining about how their day was ruined because they had to stand in a queue and nobody told them how long it was going to be.

If the cycle time of the monorail is going to be 20 minutes, I think the honest up front statement from the park is not just appropriate, it's required.

Sea World's monorail opened with only 2 trains from memory, with a third train being relocated to the park after the World Expo in 88... Like most other multi-train rides in the parks, they rarely run more than one train, so that the other can be in overhaul \ maintenance. As you say - since they're likely approaching end of life, it would be silly to run two trains just to reduce the wait time - you'd end up burning out your fleet twice as fast.

[Original]

Then they should be investing in new trains so capacity is kept the same, not diminished to save a buck. 

It’s not like this happened all of a sudden and they have to find space in the budget, the trains have been in this state for some time and they would have known their life span was coming to an end. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I don't disagree with you, but at the same time, we've seen transport rides at all of our parks cut back or removed entirely when they reached end of life, rather than updating \ replacing.

Skylink, Dreamworld Steam Trains, Sea World Trains, Sea World Skyway... given many other places are removing their monorail systems (sydney, jupiters), it'd be more likely the park scraps the attraction when it is no longer viable.

I would like to see them invest in new fleet - and preferably buy 3 of them when the time comes so it is restored to the days of old (and as Rappa said earlier - bring them back to full speed too), but i'm reasonable enough to see how much money they've just blown elsewhere on property that it probably isn't going to happen in the next year or so - and in the meantime they need to 'life support' what they have as best as they can.

ETA: If they've got the budget (which they probably don't), I'd like to see them install an 'exit only' station in the carpark too. It would help to empty the park whilst clearing the queue line, and could be 'reversed' to permit entry to after-hours events for reasonably small groups, to prevent guests from walking through areas of the park that aren't necessary - permitting construction or maintenance work to commence even when there is an event on.

[Original]

^ Agreed and while we’re at it a station over by Jet Rescue to stop at the rides, especially since the land mass is bigger there now. 

[joz]

So is the point now that there's a queue at the station to insure those who get there first actually get on?  Good fix until the ride gets fixed and 2 trains return to being the norm.

[pushbutton]

I'd have thought one of the fundamentals of managing pretty much any kind of infrastructure (including rides in a theme park) is that when something is purchased, it's realistic expected lifespan is usually known (as recommended by the manufacturer).

Obviously it's never precise and is subject to several variances, but it should at least serve as a rough guide. Budgets should be prepared well in advance to replace parts / the whole thing as needed as the end date approaches.

Then if it's found to last a bit longer, that's a bonus and maybe some of the money can be spend on something else that year, as long as it's still put aside the next year and the next until it actually does need to be spent.

As I said, this seems basic to me.

[MaxxTheMonster]

On 05/12/2017 at 4:03 PM, pushbutton said:

Just noticed this sign at the front monorail station at Sea World. 

Obviously it should say "maximum wait time", not minimum! 

Anyone spotted any others? 

 

If someone unfamiliar with the ride took it literally, it could very well put them off using the monorail. 

I assume that's not the intention. 

 

On 05/12/2017 at 4:14 PM, Skeeta said:

Are you saying no matter how busy it gets at SW you will never wait longer than 20min?  How long does it take for the Monorail to do a lap?

Umm...  One lap takes 20 minutes...  Minimum...  So this signage is correct...  If there are delays with guests or issues at a stop then it will take longer...  Guess that makes this thread a moot point doesn't it?

Edited December 6, 2017 by MaxxTheMonster

[strop]

^ No, it is still poorly worded. It should say trains arrive every 20 minutes, or average time between trains is 20 minutes. This is not the minimum amount of time you’ll have to wait. The train could be 30 seconds away.

[MaxxTheMonster]

Righto...  I see what you mean there...

However...  Given this has only just appeared before school holidays and we know how bust these parks are usually during this time there is an very high chance there is going to be a queue most of the time...  If you happen to turn up and there isn't then hooray...  But majority of the time there will be and you will have the minimum 20 minute wait...

[RossL]

Should say it is not worth waiting for. 

My real hope is @pushbutton gets to visit Japan and ride some monorails that are actually useful!  Here's a show just about Japanese monorails for you:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m25RgamOpe4