Removal of virtual queue at VRTP?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

An overnight update of the VRTP theme parks app states in the version history for version 1.238.5:

Quote

"All references to virtual queue removed from app and replaced with fast track..."

Not sure if this means virtual queue has been completely eliminated from the park, or if it is simply a rebrand to refer to VQ as FT?

Ironically the update may have removed all references to VQ from the app, but the App store listing still mentions it in several places, including an app update only 2 months ago where they enhanced the VQ system...

Pictures to come...

[Park Addict 93]

Can confirm in park today that physical signage has been altered and have confirmed with Guest Services that it has been discontinued. References have been scrubbed from ThemeParks

The fact is it was a ticket entitlement and an advertised inclusion, my basic understanding of consumer law would be pass holders would be entitled to refunds if so inclined.

Edited August 30, 2023 by Park Addict 93

[Ogre]

Geeze. How are they going to spin this?

[Park Addict 93]

14 minutes ago, Ogre said:

Geeze. How are they going to spin this?

Already heard a variation of “due to guest feedback”. 

People hate not having to wait in physical ride ques.

Edited August 30, 2023 by Park Addict 93

[Guest 239]

9 minutes ago, Ogre said:

Geeze. How are they going to spin this?

They likely wont. Their comms are used almost exclusively for progressive change and the rest is relegated to a footnote on the website or an a-frame near the park entrance. (See Scooby, Arkham closure, Doomsday downgrade, Atlantis delays, etc.)

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

^you forgot as a reply to a comment on an unrelated social media post when asked by a follower

[Dean Barnett]

Feb 23

 

Today

 

 

[MaxxTheMonster]

Add it to the Village Key to get more sales...  Or instead offer it only to tik tok subscribers

[Vidgamer]

This is such a poor decision, it was initially advertised as part of the purchasing process. Movieworld is kicking a lot of own goals lately. It doesn’t make the park overly welcoming to families. 

[TBoy]

Just heard about this now.

Can't say I am shocked. Village most likely removed it to force people to pay for fast pass so they can get more money and blame it on "guest feedback".

Just another example of how Village is slowly becoming worse and worse under the investment company, who just cares about the money.

Edited August 30, 2023 by TBoy

[franky]

I know that while I was VQ'ing for a ride, I wasn't buying anything, I was waiting in another ride queue. I wonder if someone has actually ran the numbers on the backend after it's implementation and realised that VQ didn't translate into additional spend in the park.

2 hours ago, TBoy said:

Village most likely removed it to force people to pay for fast pass so they can get more money and blame it on "guest feedback".

This is most likely the answer.

Edited August 30, 2023 by franky

[STRAWS]

This is just poor another reason why DreamWorld is going to be the better park movie world almost want people to stop going.

[Baconjack]

6 hours ago, TBoy said:

Can't say I am shocked. Village most likely removed it to force people to pay for fast pass so they can get more money and blame it on "guest feedback".

Just another example of how Village is slowly becoming worse and worse under the investment company, who just cares about the money.

I think this is correct. It's all about money. Why bother implementing something that's free for people that pay north of $100 to be there when they could pay $80 for the same thing (provided VQ was used properly) when the people that visit won't return for a few years anyhow?

It's a terrible decision for guests ahead of the summer peak when every major in their parks will have upwards of a 1.5hr line because Village haven't cared about their customers for years by *checks notes* running single train ops on Rivals & Superman (and presumably Leviathan during the next peak too) as well as making 5 minute dispatches the norm because managers aren't properly training their staff.

Edited August 30, 2023 by Baconjack

[Guest 239]

Virtual queue being gone is a bummer but it's only exaggerating Movie World's existing capacity problem. I'd love to see the statistics of how many people were actually using it because it was a technical nightmare even for somebody who knew the tricks, but its loss will be felt by those who used it to make the park more bearable in peak periods. 

10 hours ago, STRAWS said:

This is just poor another reason why DreamWorld is going to be the better park movie world almost want people to stop going.

MW will always have the IP advantage which will attract more families, but Dreamworld are in a prime position to retake market share based off MWs shortcomings. The park's popularity is currently its biggest detriment as it can't support the amount of people wanting to visit. Not only that but MW is expensive. Dreamworld is cheaper, has a decent attraction lineup, and has the capacity to support decent crowds. It'll be interesting to see how the next 5 years play out with Dreamworld and MWs expansions. 

[aaronm]

Does removal of VQ reduce the standby (I hate this term) wait time though? I doubt the removal of VQ is going to push up fast lane sales as it was mostly used by locals and those "in the know".

Presumably there will be fewer people using the priority lane now which should make the regular queue move more quickly. At least that was my takeaway from the Defunctland FastPass documentary.

Edit: to be clear, I am not defending the quiet removal of a feature which was clearly an advertised benefit of tickets and passes, just speculating about its impact on queue times.

Edited August 31, 2023 by aaronm

[Guest 239]

16 minutes ago, aaronm said:

Does removal of VQ reduce the standby (I hate this term) wait time though?

Theoretically, yes. Queues don't add capacity. Reducing the number of people in a priority queue means that standby has less resistance and can flow more freely. 

The problem is that we can almost guarantee there is something in the works to replace VQ in a paid capacity because parks like Movie World are self-cannibalizing their revenue streams by reducing wait times. As waits drop, the incentive to purchase paid priority lowers. They need to make up that lost revenue somewhere. 

[New display name]

Many Theme Parks priorities have moved from creating a great experience, so you want to spend your money to fleecing you at the gate to make a profit.

[Guest 239]

2 hours ago, New display name said:

Many Theme Parks priorities have moved from creating a great experience, so you want to spend your money to fleecing you at the gate to make a profit.

This is mostly a problem with market leaders. Many are cashing in their position at the expense of guest experience to ensure short term profits despite potential long term attendance problem because shareholders only care for the dollars that they can see now and not in the future.

[aaronm]

2 hours ago, Guest 239 said:

The problem is that we can almost guarantee there is something in the works to replace VQ in a paid capacity

Isn't that Fast Track? I can maybe see them adopting a demand-based pricing model so it's better value off-peak, but this only works when most of the rides are actually open which is a problem unless it's school holidays. Maybe they'll start pushing the one-shot fast tracks more...

[Guest 239]

1 minute ago, aaronm said:

Isn't that Fast Track?

Not quite. Fast Track and VQ are different. Fast Track gives you immediate access to a ride whilst VQ you still needed to wait a set amount of time.

I have no idea whether they've ever been implemented but in their backend there is a tiered system that reduces a virtual queue wait time based on your tier. For example, if you pay $99 you get 50% off the current wait time, but if you pay $199 you get 90% off the current time, etc. This is what I imagine we will see implemented soon. 

[themagician]

Another update today refining the description of Fast Track and theyve also removed all references to the VQ in the App Store 

[joz]

VQ is an interesting one, because if you offer it free to everyone, does anyone really benifit?

Often times VQ was shorter than the standby. On paper it seems like a loss, but really adding to the regular line for a feature clearly not many people were using is lose lose. As much as it feels like a decline, fuck it off and keep pay to cut expensive af seems like a winner to me. I think  a  generic Village hate has clouded people's judgement here.

[Ogre]

On 31/08/2023 at 10:25 PM, joz said:

VQ is an interesting one, because if you offer it free to everyone, does anyone really benifit?

Often times VQ was shorter than the standby. On paper it seems like a loss, but really adding to the regular line for a feature clearly not many people were using is lose lose. As much as it feels like a decline, fuck it off and keep pay to cut expensive af seems like a winner to me. I think  a  generic Village hate has clouded people's judgement here.

Disagree. It was easy to benefit from Fastpass at Disney when it was "free". and how is it a lose-lose if one party gets to bypass a significantly longer queue than the other if they know how to use the app?

[joz]

It doesn't create any extra capacity and makes the queues longer, so what is the benefit?

[Vidgamer]

We were coming up to renew our passes and have decided to hold off, i thought I would give an idea of how the VQ has helped me and my family, especially during movieworld

With VQ:

Arrive at 9:45am, line up at kids area and we have 5 passes so 3 of the VQ are used to queue for Hypercoaster, 2 are used for Superman. As the kids area opens we do the Driving School, the Looney Tunes Coaster and the Carousel.

At this point our queues are normally ready and we move to Hypercoaster and Superman, when we're finished with those rides we'll VQ for Green Lantern and Road Runner. During this time we'll stop for a snack and wait for the queues to be ready.

When the queues are ready my eldest and my wife goes to GL, i do Road Runner with my youngest and generally the queues are pretty long VQ wise from there, we then do some of the other rides, look at the shops and have lunch. 

At this point we've left Movieworld and everyone has had a go.

Without VQ we need to split up and wait in lengthy queues for who knows how long, less rides, less enjoyment and less likely to stay for lunch. It will fundamentally change our trip to Movieworld, so much so that we are not likely to renew for a while yet.

Hypercoaster is great, as is Superman, but Dreamworld is a much more enjoyable 'theme park' day without the VQ option at VIllage.