Innovation over the past generation has led to amazing latest experiences at Disneyland and leading theme parks world wide. From ride systems to audio-animatronics to projection show effects, technological innovations have helped create experiences that feel more immersive and interesting than ever before.
But on a business and operational level, I'm much less excited concerning the innovations that theme park fans have brought. Can we please return to old-fashioned queuing?
Disney has announced that the Tiana's Bayou Adventure will use a virtual queue when the Splash Mountain substitute opens next month at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. Visitors who don't win a spot in Disney's virtual queue can attempt to get on the brand new ride by making a purchase order the Disney Genie Plus upgrade after which attempt to book a return flight time Disney's Lightning Lane queue.
Virtual queues are great when you're considered one of the lucky individuals who gets a spot there. But the way in which Disney has implemented virtual queues too often makes them a game of likelihood, like a lottery. At Walt Disney World, guests can attempt to get in line at 7 a.m. – before the park opens – using the resort's official app. Entry costs no money or time, so anyone who can reply to an alarm at that hour goes for it, crowding the virtual queue with more guests than can possibly take the ride that day.
That's not fair to essentially the most loyal fans, who could be willing to attend in an hour-long line for the chance to ride a highly anticipated latest attraction. If someone is willing to sacrifice six hours of their day on the park for a ride, why should they miss out because another fans who don't care got lucky with a virtual queue task?
Good old-fashioned physical queues remain the fairest and best method to allocate seats at high-demand attractions. Do you actually need to go for a ride? Arrive early and wait your turn.
Having worked in park operations, I can guarantee that no response team would need to cope with a queue longer than six hours. But the higher innovations to avoid are designing rides for prime hourly capability, extensive testing so the rides can run at full capability from day one, and diverse preview days for annual passholders to cut back people's demand , who’re more than likely to need to wait all day for a ride.
If parks have to generate revenue from upsells like Genie Plus, they need to set prices high enough in order that only a tiny fraction of park guests will buy in, making them a minimal detriment to standby queue wait times. (The higher price may offset the lower sales volume.) But Disney sells Genie Plus at the bottom price within the industry. This floods the Lightning Lanes, making the plan less favorable for individuals who buy and increasing wait times for individuals who don't.
Parks should change over time. You have to. But modern changes should improve – not diminish – the standard of the guest experience.
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