ok so when a roller coaster station is in mid air what to i build to allow peeps to get to it?

You can use the paths as stairs. When placing the path piece where you want it hold the left mouse button and drag it up to make stairs or a sloped path. You can make flat sections at the top of stairs or slopes to turn corners.

If starting at the high station it is the same thing but you drag the path down.

Thanks for the stair tip, but they still dont reach ive tried playing around with the land to help the stairs but till run into problems.

You can spiral or zig zag the stairs if you don't have room to make straight stairs. It keeps them going over the top of themselves. You can also build part of the stairs under the coaster station or on the other side of the station until you get to the top.



If you make really long straight stairs it can cause domino peeps when one at the top falls it takes every one else down that is on the stairs.

Or if you prefer you could build an elevator to the ride entrance and from the ride exit.

Or if you prefer you could build an elevator to the ride entrance and from the ride exit.

That is an interesting idea. So sort of like this?

Ride Station
-------------------------->
Ex En
En Ex
---------
^Elevator

The first thing to remember is that the elevator will need its own entrance and exit station in addition to at least one path tile adjoining its entrance. In an arrangement like this where elevators adjoin coaster station I recommend one path tile for each elevator exit as well.

The second thing that needs to be remembered is that this also goes for the ride/coaster entrance which after exiting the elevator will need at least one path tile adjoining the coaster station entrance.

Because each elevator can only have one entrance and one exit then one elevator will be needed each for the ride/coaster entrance and also for the ride/coaster exit.

For convenience in the illustration I’ve used one path tile for each of the elevator’s entrance & exits, and one path tile for the coaster’s entrance and exit. The wood path is to show an example of how one might choose to join it to the park’s main path system. Also for clarity I’ve left the queue signs so that they show, and have used the spooky queue for entrances and the metal path for exits.

The guests should be able to walk as follows:

from the main path into the entrance of the elevator (blue elevator in front)
through the exit of the blue elevator into the entrance of the coaster
through the exit of the coaster into the entrance of a second elevator (red elevator in rear)
through the exit of the red elevator back onto the main path system

Because each elevator car carries 10 guests at a time a single path tile square is sufficient for the elevator entrance tile although you could use more path tiles if your design needs call for it. Because of this the timings for the elevator should be set so there is just enough time for ten guests to get into the elevator car. This is important for two reasons:

Firstly, if the elevator is going to take the time to lift the guests 500 feet to your coaster station then the guests don’t need to be waiting in the car for a full minute or two before the elevator car closes and the lift begins, the lift or descent will be long enough.

Secondly, if your coaster has long trains with long waiting times you want the guests to get up to the coaster (which by elevator is at a rate of 10 guests at a time) without unnecessary waits in between car trips. You want this so there are enough guests accumulated and waiting to embark on the next train that arrives at the station.

Of course it’s possible, for example, to have an elevator servicing only the ride entrance with the guests using stairs for the exit. You could also choose to have a short stairway leading to either elevator’s entrance or exit. It’s also possible to have, e.g., the entrance elevator access on ground level and the exit elevator exiting underground to another area of your park. For obvious reasons it’s not possible for one elevator to service both the ride/coaster entrance and exit.

Also you may find when building your elevator that it doesn’t quite line up with the level of the coaster station. In the park in my illustration I had to build the elevator to a height that was close, save the elevator, delete the elevator and then load the saved elevator and raise it 1m before placing it back in the same spot.

Spooky queues, metal paths, raised wood walkways; they’re all a matter of choice. I always use the invisible stations and invisible paths covered with my own structures and custom paths/fences – looks much more polished.

You can actually use two entrances and two exits on elevators by selecting the entrance or exit icon in the elevator control panel then mousing over and clicking near the position you want it. It lets the elevator be used bidirectionally.

This shows the elevator between the coasters entrance and exit. To get by the height difference I just put the elevator on the ground and use a sloped path in and out of the top entrance and exit before leveling out the path.


This shows the elevator under the coaster station.


If you have to use an elevator to a ride make it a free elevator ride. You can also crank up the speed of the elevator from 8.95 mph to 11.18 mph for a quicker ride time. The David Braben cheat won't work on elevators.

I have never tried this. It looks funky, but a cool idea, I may try it when I have a chance.

Oh, wow! I have used elevators with multiple entrances and exits but I had no idea there could be bi-directional elevator stations. I just tried it. More possibilities for parks in RCT3!

And one elevator up to a coaster station looks neater than two.

I’ve always wanted the elevator lift speeds to go faster than 11 mph. I can remember in RCT1 there was a patch to get the white water rapids ride to go faster up lift hills. Too bad we don’t have the same sort of patch for transport rides in RCT3.