by Nancy Patterson, OpenAire
Nothing gets under the skin of a water park guest like the sight or experience of long queues for a ride. The heat, sun, and hot feet from outdoor guests, as well as the boredom, annoyance, and view of other less busy attractions from indoor guests, result in one thing: complaints. We don’t want them, especially in this era of social media tattle-telling.
So how do we turn those frowns upside down?
During peak seasons or times, we know you are already maxed out. We know you’ve already focused on the first and most obvious solution: optimized staffing. By adjusting staff volume and ensuring staff at peak times are highly trained to ensure ride operations (loading and unloading) is quick and efficient. We know you’ve already crossed this off the list while maintaining your regular ride safety protocols. You’re smarter than that.
You’ve also got long-term capital plans for expanding on and enhancing ride capacities. Whether that’s adding more attractions or changing out those that no longer meet the need of your audience base.
While this idea is fun and highly marketable, it is also expensive and takes time. Regular upgrades to any park are necessary, but rides can’t be changed at a whim, although I know some friendly slide sales folks who will tell you otherwise.
The reality is that these water park upgrades will help but won’t fix the queues if you have the problem today. I’m not sure telling guests to come back in three years is the answer they want to hear!
So what tricks and tips can we steal from our entertainment and theme park friends who are doing this well? We can’t eliminate complaints for “those guests” who will complain just because they can, but we can certainly help the rest.
Lessons from theme parks
Technology, in this instance, is a fabulous addition to parks that can help take some of the headaches out of queue management. Whether it’s RFID wearable devices, virtual queuing, live tracking using cameras, or diversion through applications, there are lots of options.
It is possible to have guests virtually queue in line using their devices or in-park kiosks. It is also possible to have guests pre-book timeslots to ride. Both of these are fabulous ideas, applicable using wearable technology and again not inexpensive, but certainly will eliminate or reduce lines for those eager guests who jump on board the technology bandwagon.
It seems clear that advance planning might also be beneficial whereby guests might be pre-advised of (off-peak) times to use certain rides and instead guided to other activities based on age and interest.
Alternatively, for a bigger investment, live updates might be sent to guests already in the park. We all know there is a mobile device amongst the pile of towels or actively documenting every visitor.
A preplanning or live update information sharing model has additional sales benefits to operators. Coupons and other in-park upsells as thanks for taking advantage of these alternate activity options both reduce queues and help guests feel like they have won a little something special!
Expanding upon peak hours is another approach to consider; offering early entry, off-peak day promotions, night time access, and more can help balance the guest loads, but won’t work for every guest.
See also: Water park design for 2025: a sneak peek
What other creative ideas might we consider for water park queues?
Theme parks use queue design to ensure guests remain “entertained” (aka distracted) while waiting for a ride. It’s all about the perception of time; anything that makes it “seem” faster, more comfortable or more enjoyable will make it seem faster.
Of course, we need the basics to make queues comfortable. Shade and possibly misting, depending on your physical environment. A bench or three won’t hurt. If you’ve got beautiful natural vistas, showcase them, and make them memorable moments. Teach us something about your culture or venue, print a sign, or turn on a speaker. Tell your guests something amazing about your fabulous park, town, city, country, or brand!
If you are indoors, let’s lose the concrete and steel rusty boxes and decorate those platforms.
In this age of “instant access to everything”, the ability for folks to entertain themselves without a device seems to be getting shorter and shorter. We know it is happening, so how can we add a little something to queues to make it hurt a little less?
Theme parks have wonderfully thematic entrances to queues, consisting of both themed elements and often a timer showing approximate wait times. There are pros and cons to using a clock; it might deter some guests, but in general, the idea is that enhancing the entry can provide perceived excitement and “value” to the ride, lessening the impact of the long lines or the wait time shown.
We’ve seen water guns along queues, which is fun for the folks in line (when they are operating properly) and annoying for those in the firing zone!
Thinking outside the box
But let’s go further. What about a quick dance stop in the queue? What do you need other than music and some flashy lights with perhaps a unique floor finish? It certainly might bring a smile to some faces for a few minutes and won’t break the bank.
Now, how do we monetize it? Social media “moments” are ours for the making! Add a backdrop or themed railing, throw in a camera and let guests strike a pose!
The reality is that queues won’t go away, but we can be creative about how we view them. I’ve always loved those silly funhouse mirrors. Wouldn’t one with a selfie opportunity along a queue line be fun… and possibly profitable?
How about some low-tech carnival-type games? How about getting your park mascot up there for some photos? I realize there are safety considerations around spacing and crowds, but those tower landings and long winding outdoor paths are prime for a bit of an upgrade.
It is time to think outside of the box, and often, the simplest ideas are the best ones. Let’s stop building ugly, rusty steel towers and use those giant footprints in our parks to continue our theme, story, show and entertainment.
We won’t let water park queues be the end of us. Let’s fix this!
Nancy Patterson will speak at this year’s edition of greenloop, the original sustainability conference focused on the global visitor attractions industry.
