Mandrill Mayhem To Be Accessible By Virtual Queue Only From Opening Day, But Should This Be The Case?
Mandrill Mayhem – Chessington’s world’s first Jumanji roller coaster is set to be virtual queue only from opening day next Monday 15th May 2023.
The resort announced last week that in order to experience their fantastic looking new thrill ride, guests to the park will have to queue virtually as opposed to just entering the queue line.
The decision has sparked controversy among those planning to visit The World of Jumanji’s opening day with some supporting the decision and a vast majority condemning it.
Virtual queues are widely used and very popular at large theme parks across the pond such as Universal Studios and Walt Disney World as well as a hand full of parks in Europe, but is virtual queuing really a necessity here in the UK?
The idea behind virtual queuing is that you secure your spot in the queue for the ride without having to stand around for hours on end waiting in line.
In reality though this isn’t always the case and this can be seen by how Thorpe Park utilised the exact same method for attractions such as Black Mirror Labyrinth, Derren Brown’s Ghost Train (yes we know it’s gone) and even Walking Dead: The Ride in the past.
In these cases even after queuing virtually, those entering the queue line still had to endure an even longer wait before they could experience the attractions in question.
So, is utilising virtual queuing for Mandrill Mayhem really necessary?
As popular as the ride will very likely be on the day, running Mandrill Mayhem on virtual queue only seems a very bad decision.
By doing this those visiting the park have been advised they will be limited to JUST ONE ride on the park’s new headline roller coaster during their visit.
Restricting RAP Pass Holders
A similar system has also recently been imposed on those holding a RAP Pass (Ride Access Pass).
As a result, those holding such a pass are now limited to just one ride per major attraction during their visit, per pass holder.
Now, as it goes we feel this is incredibly unfair as those holding a RAP pass system may wish to experience the same major attraction more than once per visit.
Those with a RAP pass usually require additional assistance however meaning queuing in the standard queue just isn’t possible.
At present though, any RAP holder wishing to experience any major ride or attraction more than once would have to queue in a standard queue in order to do so.
Now while we can see the benefits of having a virtual queuing system, (especially for those requiring additional assistance), restricting how many times they ride their favourite ride just isn’t the done thing in our opinion.
RAP holders will however be able to utilise their own virtual queue during their visit in order to experience Mandrill Mayhem during it’s opening day.
Is Virtual Queuing Neceassry?
Ultimately, we don’t think it is no.
Given how busy the ride’s opening day will likely be, and yes it WILL be busy, there’s no real reason why those visiting should be limited to just one rider per person, per visit.
Those accessing the virtual queue can however secure a spot for up to a total of 6 riders per time, therefore in reality you will infact be able to access Mandrill Mayhem more than once if visiting in a group.
This ultimately makes the virtual queue system redundant and infact seems to single out & restrict those who may in fact be visiting on their own (which a lot of people will).
For this reason we think the proposed virtual queue system is highly unfair and very unnecessary in the grand scheme of things.
Whether or not Chessington will choose to implement this queuing method beyond the ride’s opening day however remains to be seen.
Personally, we hope to see Chessington choose to operate Mandrill Mayhem on a standard, more physical queuing system moving forwards.
