Single Rider Lines

[Cholula]

Love, love, love Matterhorn SR. For some reason it doesn't seem to be used as often as the others. There were times when I was the only person in the SR line.

 

[figment_jii]

Matterhorn...On this ride it always seems the SR line is ridiculously short - as in less than five minutes.

I've done this one a lot too and have had much more mixed results. I've been there when they closed the line due to length (if the line reaches the turnstile, they'll shut it down until it clear out a bit). In general it's faster than the standby line, but I've waited anywhere form 2 minutes to 30 minutes. It's also not always a function of how many folks are in front of you. As others have said, it all depends on the CM, how hard they're going to look in the standby line and the distribution of the standby line.

 

[SMD]

I've done this one a lot too and have had much more mixed results. I've been there when they closed the line due to length (if the line reaches the turnstile, they'll shut it down until it clear out a bit). In general it's faster than the standby line, but I've waited anywhere form 2 minutes to 30 minutes. It's also not always a function of how many folks are in front of you. As others have said, it all depends on the CM, how hard they're going to look in the standby line and the distribution of the standby line.

It does seem to rely heavily on CM discretion as to how often they pull from SR, especially on Matterhorn. I waited about 20 min last week while a kid behind me whined that there were too many parties of 2 and 4, but it was still barely over 20 minutes, standing in the shade, so I had no complaints. Aside from the time my friend and I were thrown on together, I've never seen an SR ride anywhere but the back row. I suppose a guest who's never wedged in there might ask to switch, but not likely.

On Matterhorn I think SR makes a lot of sense, since you're not sitting next to the person anyway. On Goofy's it can be a little awkward because the seats are so close. When TSMM briefly had it, it was awkward. Bench seating and you're playing sort of against easy other and sort of cooperatively. I would put everything else sort of in the middle, but I can see how a family of 4 would get off Splash and say, "Hey, who's that stranger in our ride photo?" It's not HM, yet they suddenly have a hitch hiking ghost.

I wish they had SR for Star Tours. They always tell me they love parties of 1 and 3 when I go through there.

 

[HydroGuy]

Well, yes that does make sense. I humbly stand corrected.

 

[figment_jii]

Aside from the time my friend and I were thrown on together, I've never seen an SR ride anywhere but the back row. I suppose a guest who's never wedged in there might ask to switch, but not likely.

I've been sent to row 3 occasionally for the Matterhorn. But I do think you're more likely to end up in the back of either of two cars than the front or middle (unless someone asked to be in a specific row and they're slotting you in).

My weirdest SR story was on RSR. It didn't happen to me, but there was a group of four in the party ahead of me. The CM told them to go to "two to row 5 and two to row 6" (I don't remember the actual row numbers). The mother asked if they could ride 3 and 1 so the three teenagers could ride together in the front row. The CM said no because they were adding two single riders to their car. So they lined up as told (two in row 5 and two in row 6), but they must have talked with the SRs because when they got into the cars they re-distributed (3 in the front and the 1 plus the 2 single rides in the back). That seemed so weird to me that the CM wouldn't allow the group to distribute themselves how they wanted.

I wish they had SR for Star Tours. They always tell me they love parties of 1 and 3 when I go through there.

I agree as well. Seems like a natural ride to have one (although perhaps figuring out how to get folks up to the loading area is the problem) because of the ride seating. It's not a bench or even a car where a stranger next to you might be a bit weird.

I wonder what they would do if someone asked to not have a single rider with them...I suppose they would honor it (at least I hope they would). I can imagine on TSMM where it wouldn't go very well. I've done single rider thrill ride where you share a car with someone, but they've always had distinct seats and safety gear. It does feel a little awkward, I'll admit. I suspect that's why things like Big Thunder won't have a SRL...bench seating and a shared safety bar. Yikes!

 

[HydroGuy]

On Indy the CMs will actually point out that the single ride slip says you will be separated. The loading system there is terrible, the cars often leave with empty seats because the CMs can't slot people in as fast as the ride loads. (It may also be a weight distribution thing on the empty seats, but since the cars pull forward before half the riders have seat belts on, I tend to think it's speed.) Then in the rush the far side platform almost never pulls from the SR holding area, and can be so many SRs waiting they'll suspending handing out passes. Forget fixing the eyes of Mara or the fires, they need to fix the way the ride loads. Anyway, I've been an SR on that ride with an empty seat next to me while other SRs wait, but I've rarely seen 2 be allowed in the same car.

On Matterhorn, I did end up with a friend once in the same car, but basically a party of 10 from a tour barreled through the exit, pushed aside a the GAC party waiting with a wheelchair and immediately started hassling the CM, so the CM cleared out the SR queue to have somewhere to put them. Another time my sister and I were split, then the kid behind me ended up in the other car paired with mine. But for the 2 times that's happened, I'd say there's been 4 times where I've gotten off the ride to the person behind me still waiting to ride.

On Splash I have never seen 2 SRs ride together.

On Goofy's it's pretty unlikely because there would have to be 2 single riders that went through the line together for there to be 2 empty seats in to vehicle.

On Screamin you might be on the same train, but like Indy and Matterhorn the CMs would rather pull a party of 2 from the middle of the line than go to the SR line to fill spots.

I haven't done Soarin enough to know your chances, it's a horrible ride for SR. They hold you around the corner where the ride loaders can't see you, and by the time they call you over the ride may be loaded and you have to go back. I didn't feel like it saved any time the times I've done it, so I stopped. And I've never done GRR, so no advice there.

RSR is probably the best chance that 2 SRs have to ride together, though it's just as likely to be the stranger in front of you instead of your friend behind you. At the very least there are usually 2-3 SRs in each batch of 4 cars, so you're at least likely to be on the ride at the same time or in quick succession.

I agree Soarin is hardly ever worth doing as SR. When I have gone with one of my kids on the Splash SR we seem to have been assigned to the same log several times. I agree it really depends on how hard the CM wants to work to find a party of two. The Splash loading zone is a bit congested and with FP riders coming in as well sometimes it is faster for the C to just grab two SRs.

 

[SMD]

My weirdest SR story was on RSR. It didn't happen to me, but there was a group of four in the party ahead of me. The CM told them to go to "two to row 5 and two to row 6" (I don't remember the actual row numbers). The mother asked if they could ride 3 and 1 so the three teenagers could ride together in the front row. The CM said no because they were adding two single riders to their car. So they lined up as told (two in row 5 and two in row 6), but they must have talked with the SRs because when they got into the cars they re-distributed (3 in the front and the 1 plus the 2 single rides in the back). That seemed so weird to me that the CM wouldn't allow the group to distribute themselves how they wanted.

Something similar happened to me, except it was a mom who freaked out about her kids in a row with strangers. We just got in the back with her husband and gestured for her to join the kids. I was with an elementary school teacher who was probably happy to sit with adults and not someone else's kids in their day off.

I agree as well. Seems like a natural ride to have one (although perhaps figuring out how to get folks up to the loading area is the problem) because of the ride seating. It's not a bench or even a car where a stranger next to you might be a bit weird.

I wonder what they would do if someone asked to not have a single rider with them...I suppose they would honor it (at least I hope they would). I can imagine on TSMM where it wouldn't go very well. I've done single rider thrill ride where you share a car with someone, but they've always had distinct seats and safety gear. It does feel a little awkward, I'll admit. I suspect that's why things like Big Thunder won't have a SRL...bench seating and a shared safety bar. Yikes!

There is actually a hallway at the point where the outside line becomes inaccessible for wheelchairs that they will pull you out. They could hand out SR passes and you'd have to cross traffic as people enter the inside queue, so not ideal. Also, it would only be for one set of vehicles, because the area is too far to pull from quickly for the other set. It might cause more problems than it solves.

I think if you request no SR as the CM is sorting it might be accommodated. If you wait until an SR is standing behind you on the platform, I don't think the CM is going to pull that person back. The logistics could become overwhelming if that happens even a few times.

 

[rydersmommy]

We used the SR line for Matterhorn and Splash Mountain. The wait for Matterhorn was about 50 minutes in the regular line. My DH and I decided to do SR line since we did not care if we rode together or not. My mom took my 2 1/2 year old to do other rides in Fantasyland since she does not ride roller coasters. If we did SR the first person done could go and relieve my mom from single person duty with a toddler! I literally walked right onto Matterhorn. There was no one in front of me in the SR line and there was an empty spot in the sled which was loading as I walked up. No wait at all. As soon as I was done I joined my mom and DS in Fantasyland. My husband had a very short wait for the next SR spot. He may have waited 5 minutes max. Later that night we decided to do SR again for Splash Mountain. My DH got in the SR line first. I helped my mom take my son to the restroom and then got them all set to get in line to ride Winnie the Pooh. I then went to the SR line. By the time I got to Splash Mountain, my husband was all ready on the ride. There was a short line ahead of me when I got to the SR line. I think my wait was around 10 minutes. When my husband exited he met my mom at the Winnie the Pooh exit and then I met them at the Splash Mountain exit when I was done. The posted wait for the ride was 100 minutes. There were still Fastpasses available but the return time was too late for us with a toddler. The SR lines worked out great in those two instances. My mom was there and able to help with my DS but I did not want to give her complete responsibility of him for super long stretches of time. We used the Fastpass and Rider Switch option for all the other rides all 3 adults wanted to ride and that worked great in those instances.

 

[hyperminimalism]

I personally would not be one of the people who gets in the single rider line with a friend or family and request to be sat with them. I understand the use of the SRL, and do not in any way expect to to ride with my friends/family even if I just ask. However, I do know that there are plenty of people who would and will do this--I'm just not one of them.

You guys have given me a lot of good info, though, and it seems I've sparked a bit of a discussion about making the object of the single rider line a little more clear, especially about which rides provide them, how they work, and what the odds of being paired with a friend/family member might be. Of course I don't want to encourage people to do use the SRL just to bypass a longer wait in standby in hopes they'll get paired (like in a bigger party, for instance). In fact, my typical plan is using FP and just going on rides with a 30 min. wait or less and waiting in standby. I was just curious as to which rides people have had experience with actually being paired.

Though it would be interesting and informational to know more about things like the number of seats in a given ride that offers SR, how they load it, and what the probability of being paired with a friend/family member is.