Theme Park Queuing Systems : Guest Satisfaction, A Comparative Study

Sammanfattning: The attendance in theme parks fluctuates during a year. High annual attendance provides the justification for opening a new attraction. However, in short term, theme parks must work within existing constraints. The theme parks seek to admit as many guests as possible, but the wait times cannot become so onerous that guests do not receive an acceptable return on their investment. An appropriate level of guest satisfaction not only generates good reviews, but also motivates guests to visit the park again. This paper evaluates three queuing systems. The authors model and evaluate normal, virtual, and an innovative push queuing system. The models are applied to a generic theme park that comprises nine rides based on specifications of existing theme park rides. The results of simulations are used to evaluate guest satisfaction as measured by specific metrics. While there is room for further improvement, the innovative push queuing system performs the best. The authors note that models can be refined further with data collected by the park operators.