Optimizing Tourist Experience in Queuing Areas
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When planning a water park or theme park project, numerous factors must be taken into account. Queuing areas are essential for amusement, performances, popular attractions, and interactive events within each park. These areas serve as the current waiting and warm-up zones for each activity. While they may not be the most exciting part of the park, they are filled with important details.
The well-designed queuing area is akin to a “preparation area” before a rehearsal hall, allowing visitors to “hear the sound before seeing the person.” During queuing, tourists can grasp the theme and safety instructions of the attraction. Additionally, the queuing area includes details that often go unnoticed but contribute to the comfort and safety of visitors. Let’s explore the design of queuing areas from the perspectives of technology control, application, and theme creation.
Technical Control of Queuing Areas
1. Orderly Guidance
The primary aim of establishing a queuing area is to organise tourists to enter various venues or amusement zones in an orderly fashion, ensuring they enjoy the recreational activities safely and smoothly, rather than rushing in. This is similar to the queuing area in front of other public service facilities. Consequently, the width of the standing line is typically sufficient for a single person to pass through, with no sudden changes in width to prevent queue jumping.
Moreover, important information such as height requirements and health restrictions should be clearly displayed at the entrance of the queue area to prevent any issues when the queue is halted at the entrance of the attraction.
2. Evacuation of Tourists
Long queuing times can sometimes lead to unexpected situations, such as the need for a temporary emergency exit, children needing the toilet, or even special disasters requiring all staff to evacuate. In such cases, exiting and returning via the original route can cause disputes among tourists. During an emergency evacuation, tourists can easily form a crowd at the front, blocking those behind and potentially causing stampede accidents. For instance, at Lanchao Discovery Kingdom, emergency evacuation doors are installed in the queuing area of the samba balloon project, leading to an external activity site. The exit channel is positioned between the queuing area and the greening area, parallel to the outermost part of the queuing channel, facilitating the rapid evacuation of tourists and effectively guiding the flow of people under special circumstances.
3. Coping with Large Passenger Flow
During holidays, the park’s visitor numbers often peak, and the length of the queuing area is usually determined by the passenger flow during regular periods. To prevent overflow during peak times, the planning and layout of a temporary queuing area should be considered from the outset of the park’s design. If you’re planning to build a water park, this aspect should be considered as well.
At Lanchao Discovery Kingdom, for example, the large pendulum project is highly popular. Its temporary queuing area is set up on the hard ground near the venue. This semi-open area provides shade and rain protection without obstructing the large flow of people. The hard ground is pre-drilled, and temporary guardrails are inserted into the holes as needed to define the queuing space. On off-peak days, the temporary queuing area is removed, and the boreholes are covered with metal caps, ensuring no obstacles are left to trip tourists.
4. Preview Area Setting
Many 4D/5D or medium and large stage theatres, as well as some theme amusement equipment, guide tourists to a preview hall before queuing for admission. This space acts like the introduction of a novel, aiming to focus the attention of tourists about to enter the main venue and stimulate their interest.
In some theatres, the rehearsal hall is placed before the queuing area, allowing tourists to queue in batches according to specific rules. The size of the rehearsal hall depends on the number of tourists the theatre or amusement equipment can accommodate in the next batch, providing enough space for most tourists to stand comfortably. Rehearsal time should be brief, clearly explaining the play’s background and viewing precautions.
5. Seat Setting
During the Shanghai World Expo, the Saudi Pavilion was immensely popular. During peak times, with an 8-hour queuing period, a portable folding stool became a necessity. In high-intensity queuing areas, tourists often sit against the railings, prompting theme park owners to reflect. Now, some domestic theme parks have started to install simple wooden stools along the railings. Although only 20-30cm wide, they provide enough space for tourists to rest their packages and sit comfortably. When tourists are at ease, unprincipled behaviours like pushing, shoving, and riding railings naturally diminish.
6. Fast Track
To allow some tourists to experience attractions more quickly, many theme parks have introduced fast lanes and single channels alongside the regular queuing areas, offering convenience by exchanging money for time. On peak days, more tourists are embracing this method to experience various attractions more comprehensively. Therefore, the fast track can be seen as a strategy to enhance and streamline the tourist experience. If you’re planning to build a water park, this should be considered as well.
The entrance to the express channel is often adjacent to the regular channel, with a similar packaging style but a shorter path. Of course, the fast track requires two to three times the outdoor queuing area, so it should be selectively set for specific projects. Performance and exhibition venues can eliminate the need for a fast track by setting up a guest area.
