We have long known how to remove lines in parks. However, Disney keeps them for a very specific reason

GVTech News We have long known how to remove lines in parks. However, Disney keeps them for a very specific reason

Solutions but no miracles

Park queues are one of the biggest scourges of our modern society. Hours and hours of very slow queues to enjoy the three-minute attraction (If you're lucky). If the duration of the attraction is so short, why aren't the lines faster? Is it possible that at this stage in the history of our civilization nothing has been invented to overcome it? Well, it's been invented…but it's not yet fully implemented. We have always been experimenting with ways to reduce wait times. FastPass, for example: Visitors pay a little extra to avoid lines and move through shorter lines much faster. This is a type of “premium” pass that does not eliminate the hassle of standing in line one hundred percent, but significantly reduces waiting time.

In the United States, there are university degrees that design more attractive queues for park visitors. These are experts who draw conclusions that have been applied for decades : For example, winding queues give the impression that there are fewer people than in a long queue, but in a straight line. The same applies to queues that move through narrow spaces and allow fewer people in them. : They give the impression that the queue is moving faster. But this is just smoke and mirrors: is there really a way to reduce queues?

Disney: Waiting Expert

Thanks to the massive influx of visitors to its parks, Disney has developed techniques to reduce, or even eliminate, waiting lines at its attractions. Fifty years ago, park visitors paid an entrance fee at the main gate and a small fee for each attraction, but the latter has been abandoned in favor of ticket books, which allowed visitors to enter attractions in order of priority. Eventually, these too were abandoned in favor of a single ticket allowing access to any attraction.

The advent of technology has also helped ease waiting lists. The most common method is virtual queuing, known at Disney parks as Special entry permit (Ultimate and One), which allows you to reserve a specific time to reach a tourist attraction through an application. There are restrictions on premium passes, such as needing to be physically present in the park at the time of reservation, but it allows you to avoid waiting. Therefore, participants only have to wait at the foot of the attraction with the rest of the visitors in this temporary band.

But if these passes are so effective, why are there still lines at Disney parks? This is often a practical question: Disney wants their attractions to always be full According to some experts, people don't always arrive on time, forcing them to start the attraction without all the seats being occupied, resulting in wasted rides (and possibly silver losses).

Image source: Jose Garcia

But there is also a psychological component. As we saw, Queue management is an art. Disney has invested a lot of time and money into making sure that those three hours spent in lines for the attraction often become an attraction in and of themselves, with entertainment for guests, convenience stores, and extras associated with the attraction itself (pre-show). Additionally, for the park to feel full, there must be guests excited to get to the next attraction, and without a waiting list, that message won't get across.. Disney's approach follows a certain business logic. So we understand why, although theme parks can reduce lines significantly, they don't always choose to do so.