Apart from rides, the theme park experience is often notorious for one thing - queues.
It’s pretty crushing to walk up to your favourite attraction to see the words 60 minute wait plastered outside.
As much as we all get frustrated by this, often theme parks are working their hardest
to keep these queues as short as possible.
Though it might not feel that way when all of the major attractions at a park have wait
times in excess of 60 minutes, it certainly is the case.
Shorter queues mean happier guests, which lead to better experiences and more visitors
returning in the future.
As a result, over time, theme parks have evolved their ability to get as many guests as possible
on the rides, in a safe and timely manner.
In this video, we’ll explore how theme parks keep wait times as low as possible; through
concepts like fastpasses, boarding procedures and even ride design.
One of the best and perhaps most familiar ways of reducing wait times is through a fast pass system.
Despite its many different names, it always serves the same purpose; to allow guests to
skip a ride’s queue in some shape or form, drastically reducing the time they have to wait.
Even though the fast pass system can be found at a huge number of theme parks around the
world, it’s nearly always an optional paid extra.
Nevertheless, parks usually integrate their own system slightly differently to each other.
You might be familar with the fast-pass system at Disney theme parks.
Guests can collect free fast-pass tickets which have been assigned a time.
This dictates the time at which visitors will get to ride their desired attraction.
When their time slot has arrived, guests enter the rides ‘fast pass entrance’ - a dedicated
queue line for the fast pass system.
Often this queue-line takes guests straight to the attraction’s loading station, or
to a merge-point in the normal queue line near the front of the line.
In both cases, visitors with fast-pass skip most, if not all, of the normal queue.
Other theme parks, such as Alton Towers, utilise a similar system.
Instead of free tickets, visitors can purchase a single use fastrack, with an assigned time,
to board the ride faster via a similar fastrack only queue line.
Other parks don’t assign a time to their fast-passes.
Cedar Fair amusement parks, such as Cedar Point, have a fast lane which takes guests
to the front, or near to the front, of the traditional queue.
Except, unlike the previous method, visitors that pay for the fast lane can use it at any
point during the day as many times as they like.
While finally, there’s the virtual fast pass system, like Six Flags Flash Pass program.
Upon purchasing the flash pass guests are given a device which tracks queue times across the park.
Visitors select which attraction they want to ride and then have to virtually wait the
length of the queue.
This means that they are free to roam the park, eat food or watch shows.
When guests have waited the appropriate time they then enter the ride via the specific
flash pass queue and board the attraction.
This system often features multiple tiers which reduce the wait time.
For example, Flash Pass gold reduces the queue times by 50%, while Six Flags Flash Pass Platinum
reduces the wait by 90%!
Naturally, many of the world’s theme parks have adopted a mixture of all three methods.
Often guests can choose from a tiered price system which as they pay more, reduces wait
times, or increases the number of attractions they can fast pass.
Though it might seem mundane, the way you board a ride can help to reduce queue too. times
One of the things that slows guests down the most is their loose articles, stuff like bags,
hats, phones and wallets.
Sometimes visitors don’t know where to put their items while on the ride, which can cause a delay.
At many theme parks, the solution to this problem is bins - storage facilities located
on the ride’s station platform in which guests can place their loose articles.
Though, this system often causes further confusion.
Riders usually have to step across the train, to place their items in the bins, just to
reboard the train from the other side.
All while they do this, the previous guests on the train have to collect their items in
the bins and leave the station.
The bins often clog up with people, slowing everything down.
To avoid this, theme parks have come up with an innovative solution, take loose articles
from guests before they ride.
This means that when they board the attraction there’s no distractions.
Visitors sit down, they have their restraint checked, and begin their ride.
Lockers have become a common way of achieving this.
Universal theme parks feature lockers outside, or near their attractions, in which guests
can store their items for free.
Other parks have dedicated baggage storage areas before visitors board the attractions.
Often this involves handing over your loose articles and in return you get a wristband or ticket.
After you’ve ridden the attraction, you head back to the booth and redeem your items
using the ticket.
Again this eliminates bags from the station platform, which helps to speed up dispatches,
and reduces queue times.
Disney parks on the other hand don’t do either of these.
On most large scale Disney attractions, visitors are required to take their loose articles
on board with them, often storing them at their feet.
This method is faster than getting guests to place their items in bins, but isn’t
as hassle free as no bags at all.
Though perhaps it’s easier to do this than accommodate the baggage of thousands of visitors per hour.
Parks have also come up with other methods to speed up the boarding process too.
Moving platforms, combined with trains that slowly crawl through the station, give guests
a sense of urgency and help to speed up dispatch times.
Together, these mean that new vehicles are constantly moving through the station, accommodating
a steady flow of riders.
The number of staff on the ride’s station platform can also help things along too.
The more ride operators available to check guests' restraints, the sooner the trains
can leave the station, which in turn can also reduce queue times.
Disney parks have taken this a step further, getting riders to check their own restraints
to ensure they’re securely locked in place.
As multiple people can do this simultaneously the trains are often ready to leave the station
quicker, helping to reduce boarding times.
But it’s not only restraint checks which can affect the time it takes guests to board the ride.
The type of restraint used on the attraction can also speed up or slow down dispatch times.
Often the simpler the restraint design, the quicker they are to pull into place and check.
Rides that feature easily accessible lap bars often fare the best, as all guests have to
do is pull the bar towards them.
Attractions with more complex restraints, such as those found on flying roller coasters,
like Tatsu at Six Flags Magic Mountain, take longer to put on.
These restraints feature multiple parts that hold the rider in, each of which must be checked prior to dispatch.
Because of this, flying coasters are slower to load.
Though, arguably the single worst restraint for impacting operations is the seat belt.
Many roller coasters feature a normal restraint and a seat belt, meaning both have to be checked
prior to guests leaving the station.
However, the seat belt is often cumbersome to attach, and sometimes forgotten completely by the rider.
Specific attractions have made this process worse by staggering the restraint checks.
Guests are instructed to do up their seat belt first, which is then checked by operators;
only after this are riders allowed to pull down their main restraint, which is once again
checked by operators.
This staggered approach has an extremely negative effect on throughput, increasing queue times.
Arguably the most effective way to reduce wait times for everyone is to design an attraction
that can accommodate a large number of guests.
The way to do this is to increase a rides throughput, also known as it’s capacity,
which is often measured in riders per hour.
The more riders that get to experience the attraction each hour, the faster the queue
moves, and the shorter it will be.
The theoretical maximum throughput of a ride can be increased through two means, the size
of the trains that guests board, and the number of trains available for guests to board.
For example, the Incredible Hulk roller coaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure features
large 32 rider trains.
This means that every train sent racing through the layout can accommodate 32 riders from
the queue line.
Compare this to the sister park’s Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit’ attraction, which features
small 12 person trains.
If both rides featured the same number of trains on the circuit at once, the Incredible
Hulk would have a capacity three times greater, and a queue that moved three times quicker.
Fortunately for those waiting for Rip Ride Rockit that’s not the case.
The Incredible Hulk features three trains which navigate the layout at any one point
in time, while Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit has seven.
To increase its capacity, Rip Ride Rockit dispatches new trains from the station more
frequently than the Hulk - nearly three times as fast.
By doing this both rides have a similar capacity.
The Incredible Hulk can theoretically accommodate 1920 riders per hour, while Hollywood Rip
Ride Rockit can board 1850 riders per hour.
Though this analogy specifically describes roller coasters, it extends to most attractions
at theme parks too.
Rides that can accommodate a larger number of guests per cycle, that’s each time the
ride actually runs, will naturally have a high throughput.
While dark rides with small trains that seat only a handful of guests have many navigating
the course at the same time to increase its capacity.
However, on roller coasters there’s a by-product of having more trains on the track at any
one time - brake runs.
To ensure the multiple trains of a roller coaster never come into contact with each
other, the ride’s circuit is broken up into individual discrete sections.
These segments of track are known as block sections.
At the end of each section there’s a brake, known as a block brake.
This brake serves as the barrier between each block section, and has the ability to stop
the train completely.
To keep the ride vehicles apart, only a single train can occupy a singular block section
at any one point in time.
If the block section ahead is occupied, the train in the previous block section will be
held at the end of that segment by the block brake.
As a result of this, a ride must feature more block sections than there are trains on the track.
For context, The Incredible Hulk features 5 block sections to accommodate its 3 trains;
while Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit has about 10 block sections for its 7 trains.
Because it has more block sections, Rip Ride Rockit must also have more block brakes.
If you’ve ridden it, you might notice that the cars traverse through straight sections
of track multiple times during the course.
Each one of these features a block brake and has the ability to hold a train.
They also split up the track into a higher number of block sections, meaning the ride
can run more trains.
To sum it up, roller coasters are split up into discrete sections and only one train
can occupy a single section at any one point in time.
To increase the number of sections, and therefore the number trains that can be run at once,
ride designers must increase the number of brake runs.
Therefore Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit has many, many more brake runs compared to the Incredible
Hulk, meaning it can run more trains, to increase the frequency at which the vehicles leave
the station, and in turn raise the number of guests that can ride each hour.
I appreciate that might have been a bit confusing.
The concept of block sections isn’t an easy one to understand quickly.
We’ve dedicated a whole video to the topic, with a more detailed discussion of their origin
and how they work to keep guests safe.
So if you do want to know more, click the i icon in the top right hand corner of the
screen, learn about block sections, and come back with a new appreciation for roller coasters!
Otherwise, we’ve determined that theme parks reduce waiting times by increasing the capacity
of their attractions.
Often, large scale parks, such as the various Disney and Universal theme parks, construct
their rides with thousands of guests in mind.
They’ll design new roller coasters with a larger number of block sections to accommodate
more trains, ultimately improving the capacity.
Disney often takes this a step further, creating two separate loading stations to send trains
out at a quicker rate.
These stations are located in parallel and run independently, allowing two trains to
be loaded at once.
Switch tracks, pieces of track which move position, are then used to guide the trains
from either station into the rides main layout.
Other attractions utilise two stations in series, one in front of the other, both of
which serve different functions.
One station will be used to load guests, while the other behind it is used to unload guests.
This means that at the end of their ride, visitors leave the train, which means an empty
vehicle can move forwards into the loading station.
This reduces the time taken for guests to board the roller coaster, and therefore the
time it takes for each train dispatch from the station; ultimately increasing the capacity.
All of these measures help to reduce the amount of time we spend waiting in queues, but what
if parks just removed the queue line all together?
Though the concept of waiting for your favourite attraction won’t be going anytime soon,
some theme parks have been using technology to minimise waiting times and improve the guest experience.
The Race Through New York ride at the Universal Orlando Resort exclusively uses a virtual queue system.
Guests interact with a kiosk at the entrance of the attraction which gives them a time
to return and board the ride.
While they wait visitors are free to roam the park and experience other attractions.
They then enter the queue line once it’s their time to ride.
Volcano Bay, the Universal Orlando Resort’s large water park, took this one step further.
The entire park features no queue lines.
Instead, each guest is given a wristband which allows them to virtually wait for the larger
rides and attractions.
This means that they can experience the park’s pools while they wait, and aren’t stuck
standing around in a queue.
While this technology is currently only being used at Volcano Bay, it’s possible to see
aspects of the system migrate to traditional amusement parks too.
Perhaps this transition will only be accelerated with the heightened sense of hygiene caused by recent events.
By queueing virtually, guests aren’t subjected to tight, dense queue lines; which can only
improve the experience for everyone.
So next time you’re at a theme park, look out for these different measures.
Find a fast pass queue line, think about how your favourite ride deals with loose articles,
or compare the number of guests that can fit in each train of the various roller coasters
at your local theme park.
Regardless though, remember that most theme parks are doing their best to reduce queue times.
Thank you for watching, and, we’ll see you all next time.
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