Wholesale virtual queueing; what are your thoughts?

[Matt N]

Hi guys. Queues are a fact of life at theme parks; the attractions only have a finite throughput, and demand can often outstrip supply at a given moment. Therefore, queues formed on a first-come-first-served basis are a necessity to ensure order within theme parks and to ensure that everyone is treated fairly when trying to experience an attraction.

One increasing school of thought within the theme park industry is to incorporate virtual queueing instead of a physical queue, where guests can go off and do other things, such as eating, drinking, shopping and watching shows, whilst “queueing” for an attraction. Many theme parks have incorporated this principle into queue jumping options like Fastrack/FastPass/FastLane, as well as into disabled accessible alternative queueing methods such as the Ride Access Pass.

A smaller number of theme parks and attractions, however, have gone past this, and attempted to go completely queue-less, embracing wholesale virtual queueing as the norm. This idea gained considerable traction in a number of parks following the COVID-19 pandemic, and even before COVID, the idea of queue-less theme parks and attractions did start to enter the conversation. With us living in a digital age, virtual queueing is arguably easier to facilitate than ever, and it could be argued as a way to make queueing more accessible and fairer. With this in mind, I’d be keen to know; what are your thoughts on wholesale virtual queueing for all, and the idea of the “queue-less” theme park? Do you think that universal virtual queueing is the long-term solution to parks’ queueing woes, and the future of theme parks? Or do you think that it’s a passing trend, and merely a short-term fix rather than a true long-term solution?

Personally, I’m a little bit torn, but I am somewhat sceptical about the prospect of an entirely queue-less theme park.

On the one hand, I can definitely see the benefits of going queue-less all round. If implemented well, a queue-less theme park could drive up guest feedback by making waits seem shorter than they actually are; psychologists have proven that people perceive waits to be shorter and are happier when they are occupied, which a virtual queue is certainly better suited to facilitate than a physical queue. It could also drive up spend per capita by encouraging guests to spend in food outlets and shops during their virtual wait rather than forcing them into physical queues where they can’t spend any money. Furthermore, it would make queueing more accessible and fairer; if nobody queues physically, then that negates the need for alternative queueing provisions such as Ride Access Pass, which is a win-win because disabled guests don’t have to apply for anything and the park don’t have to spend administrative costs implementing it. Wholesale virtual queueing would solve the perceived RAP implementation issues that some parks are currently facing because if no one queues physically, then RAP isn’t really needed in the first place.

On the other hand, however, I have my doubts about the viability of an entirely queue-less theme park as a long-term solution. This is due to various real-world attempts at going entirely queue-less. From what I can gather about past attempts at wholesale virtual queueing for all, the concept of the “queue-less” theme park and universal virtual queueing is an idea that sounds terrific on paper, but doesn’t really work in practice, particularly in theme parks not originally designed for virtual queueing. For example, Thorpe Park’s brief experiment with Reserve’n’Ride a few years back did not go particularly well, from what I gather, and was very quickly reversed. I’ve also heard that Walibi Holland’s attempt at a queue-less theme park during the height of COVID was not very well received. On an individual attraction level, Disney’s “boarding pass” virtual queuing system, used on its recent new attractions such as Rise of the Resistance, has generated considerable controversy. Even Universal’s Volcano Bay, a water park designed with universal virtual queueing in mind, has had considerable teething problems with the implementation of a “queue-less” park, from what I can tell.

Overall, I don’t deny that virtual queueing has its merits as an idea, and in fairness, I’m sure that it could work if a park was properly designed with it in mind and some radical ideas to spread crowds were implemented. However, I am overall sceptical about it as a long term solution simply because if you’re going to take people out of queues, you need to find somewhere else to put them. That is easier said than done, particularly in theme parks not designed with wholesale virtual queueing in mind.

But what are your thoughts on wholesale virtual queueing for all, and the concept of the queue-less theme park? I’d be really keen to know your thoughts!

 

[Christian]

I had this discussion with Liseberg management earlier this year on an behind the scenes study visit regarding visitor logistics.

Liseberg has for over 10 years had a free fast pass option when booking tickets online in advance. Every ticket bought online included two fast passes that had to be booked at the time of buying the ticket. After their covid opening they scrapped that system and instead allowed everyone to virtually queue on the app. Using the infrastructure and already built queue lines of the previous system. Two popular attractions (Underlanded and Atmosfear) have been converted to virtual queue only.

This has been a massive success for Liseberg. Liseberg is a very spending heavy park. They have countless candy lotteries, games, restaurants of all categories, etc. You will rarely be more than 10 meters away from somewhere to spend money. Since introducing their virtual queues, Liseberg has seen an increases in spending per person. Instead of queueing for 1 hour people will buy things to eat and drink, buy souvenirs or gamble for candy.

As you said, this has caused issues with physically needing space for the guests to be. That's partly why Luna Park is being built, in order to use the previously pretty disused mountain to spread out crowds from the central midways.

Personally, I am all for virtual queue. In 2021, I didn't like it at all because it caused the physical lines to not move at all. Due to the sheer number of virtual queue guests, the the physical lines barely moved. This turned the whole theme park experience into a constant phone scrolling to try to get virtual queue tickets, instead of enjoying the park. Everybody would walk around looking at their phones instead of looking at the beautiful park. Nowadays, they have balanced the two queues better and the physical queue moves at a respectable rate. The virtual queue also has a massive advantage for single riders which is great in my opinion. Overall, I am a huge fan of Liseberg's approach to virtual queuing.

 

[Gazza]

The problem with a full virtual queue is that a physical queue naturally limits demand.
If its too long, people elect not to ride.
If someone is eager to ride regardless, they can wait it out.

But with a virtual queue, there's no disincentive to adding yourself to the queue, so rides can book out within minutes for the day and you're completely locked out, and potentially forced to ride B tier attractions you're not really interested in.

Liseberg works ok, you have both options.

I still prefer the Europa park approach... efficient operations so you can enjoy and discover the park at your own pace, not be rushing to "appointments"

 

[Christian]

I still prefer the Europa park approach... efficient operations so you can enjoy and discover the park at your own pace, not be rushing to "appointments"

Europe Park also has a Liseberg style system, although it doesn't take as many bookings as Liseberg's. In my opinion EP virtual queue system is a worse one. While at Liseberg you can usually not book more than 2 hours away, at EP you can. Therefore it always fills up and secondly you will need to schedule your day around bookings.

 

[TilenB]

Europe Park also has a Liseberg style system, although it doesn't take as many bookings as Liseberg's. In my opinion EP virtual queue system is a worse one. While at Liseberg you can usually not book more than 2 hours away, at EP you can. Therefore it always fills up and secondly you will need to schedule your day around bookings.

Yeah, I agree with this. EP's approach to the virtual queues is not the best, as the park is huge and the time windows to get to your allocated slot are relatively short, so if you want to use the virtual queue, you have to plan your day around it, which kind of takes the fun away from what EP is all about. I sincerely hope that single rider queues return in 2023 now that the covid restrictions are finally gone for good.

I did enjoy our use of Liseberg's virtual queue, though I do also feel its implementation gives a bigger group a bit of an unfair advantage over a solo visitor, considering a group of 4 can queue for 4 rides at the same time, while a single rider can only queue for 1 ride at a time.

And yeah, I wasn't a huge fan of how the virtual queues worked in Walibi Holland last year, as it appeared that the throughput of some rides was miscalculated, which resulted in rides either cycling around with half empty trains or having up to an hour of standby queue on top of the 2+ hours long virtual queue. Also the midways were often too crowded with people to even effectively move around through the crowd. On the plus side, it did give us ample time to sit down on a bench for a relaxed lunch or check out some of the lesser rides that didn't require a virtual queue.

But all in all, I do feel that the virtual queues take away some of the excitement and add a lot of unnecessary planning around, especially in a park you're not terribly familiar with or is too big to effectively walk across it in less than 15 minutes.

 

[cookie]

And yeah, I wasn't a huge fan of how the virtual queues worked in Walibi Holland last year, as it appeared that the throughput of some rides was miscalculated, which resulted in rides either cycling around with half empty trains or having up to an hour of standby queue on top of the 2+ hours long virtual queue. Also the midways were often too crowded with people to even effectively move around through the crowd. On the plus side, it did give us ample time to sit down on a bench for a relaxed lunch or check out some of the lesser rides that didn't require a virtual queue.

Walibi’s virtual queue is probably gone for good due to staffing issues (it wasn’t active at all this past summer), and good riddance, for that whole system was utterly nonsensical. Why wait hours on the sidelines just to be forced to stand in crowded lines anyway?

 

[Nicky Borrill]

Walibi’s virtual queue is probably gone for good due to staffing issues (it wasn’t active at all this past summer), and good riddance, for that whole system was utterly nonsensical. Why wait hours on the sidelines just to be forced to stand in crowded lines anyway?

Does this mean that the full fast pass experience is back? Where fast lane was actually worthwhile?

 

[Jamesss]

I hate having to learn new systems when visiting parks.

I just want a straightforward day out, minus any technology, pre-planning or learning curves.

Queuing may be more burdensome, but it's easy to do and everyone understands it.

I think parks should focus on well-themed/interesting queue lines and efficient operations.

 

[Nitefly]

Volcano Bay’s queuing system, without ‘express passes’, is maddening on a busy day - because you have to walk all the way to the attraction to join the virtual queue and then can’t go on any other slides in the meantime (at all).

Swipe onto the water coaster, wait 1-3 hours and no other slides for you in the meantime… rubbish.

I’d probably say it’s the worst system I’ve experienced. So many other guests were clearly annoyed by it (many overheard conversations). With a few tweaks, such as being able to join the queue from any location, it could be OK. On a quieter day, maybe not so bad.

 

[cookie]

Does this mean that the full fast pass experience is back? Where fast lane was actually worthwhile?

Fast Lane works as normal, at least when I went. The mandatory virtual queue required a staff member to be stationed at the ride’s queue entrance at all times, whereas Fast Lane can easily be handled by the people working at the station platform. I think it was around May-ish they stopped using the mandatory virtual queue altogether (the constant complaints they received over how broken the system was probably helped their decision to not bring it back after peak season).

 

[spicy]

I recently used the Disney Boarding pass system for Guardians at Epcot and have to say it worked really well, had no issues getting boarding passes for the 5 in our group, they initially release boarding passes at 7am and then another load at 1pm everyday so you get 2 chances and always seemed to be able to get one when I tried.

The only other experience of virtual queueing I’ve had was the system at Dreamworld in Gold coast.

You were given this simple device which lists all the rides on it and times and you simply booked your time.

I think you could book 3 at a time and when the first one had expired you could book your next.
Was a simple system and again worked pretty well.

I see no reason why more parks can’t implement such a system, as long as you operate it along side the normal queue then if the times sell out you still have the option to enter the normal queue whilst virtually queueing for the others on the device.

As has been said, completely closing off the normal queue and going fully virtual you always risk the possibility of people missing out on the attractions if the times sell out.

Which is why the 7am and 1pm staggered approach Disney takes is pretty good as gives people a second chance if they missed out first time.
This system also eliminates any re-rides though, as it’s only 1 boarding pass per person, per day.

So yeah I think the virtual queueing system definitely has a place but it’s down to the parks to implement it correctly which isn’t easy.

Especially when paid fast passes are so simple and make a load of money, it’s easy to see why parks such as Thorpe etc don’t bother with the virtual system.

 

[Y. Kim]

so rides can book out within minutes for the day and you're completely locked out, and potentially forced to ride B tier attractions you're not really interested in.

Everland has implemented Smart Queueing system since COVID. Rides such as Lost Valley(grass-eating animal safari), Safari World and Panda World are only Virtual Queue.
Pros: Prevents unnecessary open-running. When the park opens, Koreans tend to run to the popular rides, which is dangerous. And these animal rides are for families, so it's much more hazardous for them to run. Instead, these people can reserve a ride with app, so no more running.
But for cons: when the ride is only virtual queueing, there's no chance to ride when I fail to reserve. On busy days, these animal rides are fully reserved within 5 min after park opening.
For alternative, parks should divide the virtual queue time, and standby queue period. Ex When T Express was in virtual queue list, virtual queue slot was until 2PM; and after 2PM, anyone can ride.

 

[Tonkso]

I'm torn, it worked very well for us at Volcano Bay, but I'm aware of the fact we were there in much quieter days and on busier days it would prevent you from getting in anything as it's virtual queues only for everything bar the rapids, wave pool and lazy river. If you've got a 3 hour wait on your Tapu Tapu band, then you're **** out of luck.

Guardians I didn't like, because not only did I have the added stress of having to book at 7am, that was your lot*. Either pay $17 pp (and even that option is gone by 10) or come back another day.

I really wanted to ride the ride again, but couldn't, and I don't like that the decision was taken from me.

*Of course there's the 1pm option of you're unsuccessful.

 

[Sandman]

I hate having to learn new systems when visiting parks.

I just want a straightforward day out, minus any technology, pre-planning or learning curves.

Queuing may be more burdensome, but it's easy to do and everyone understands it.

I think parks should focus on well-themed/interesting queue lines and efficient operations.

This.

A queue in a high-quality theme park should be considered part of the experience. The start of the narrative, if you will.

I don't mind a nicely themed queue, but surely we can go one further and incorporate the queue into the actual ride experience. I don't mean just screens with a few C-grade actors blandly telling you that it is up to you to save the day, and all that corny nonsense. I'm thinking of fantastic audio which builds through the queue, varying rooms (scenes) and big set pieces which gradually lead you to the climactic finish of said narrative - the ride itself.

Basically, all the delights of a dark ride, but in queue form to really tantalise you before the ride.

 

[cocoa]

its been said above already, but I don't think any solution really solves the fundamental problem---a physical queue naturally inhibits demand. with good theme parks spending increasingly more days every year at high capacity, I just don't think there's a way to make virtual queues work (unless you particularly enjoy refreshing apps at 7am to see if you can ride your favorite rides...)

the only thing I can possibly imagine is more like a return to the old days---admission to the park gives you a 'ticket book' (maybe timed already, maybe not) which allows you onto attractions. The park should know roughly each rides capacity and the parks attendance predictions on a given day and scale the number of tickets given out for each ride accordingly. you may still need to wait in lines if you time yourself poorly with crowd flow, but a good app is decent at spreading out people to shorter lines naturally.

 

[rob666]

Yup, bring back tickets, or even pay per ride.
POP has meant massive queues from the very start at all my local parks.
With cash and tickets, queues are at least 50% shorter, in my personal experience.