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. If you enjoyed this video, consider subscribing and pressing the bell icon below!
