Ride capacity and station design

[Gazza]

I am going to have to say that I like the way that Cyclone works. It is similar to Superman Escape because you really don't know what to expect when you are about to load. It makes things more interesting.

I dont necessarily think that is a good way of doing things, ill quote something from a roller coaster design lecture by John Wardley:

I always try to ensure that on all my rides wherever possible the queue enters the station at a slightly elevated level, so that the arriving visitors look down on the loading platform and immediately become orientated and acquainted with what is expected of them in the next few minutes. That is why the stations of the Alton Towers' Nemesis and Chessington's Vampire (and the Bubbleworks, and Dragon River etc. etc.!) all have slightly elevated ramps at the entrance.

[Richard]

Awesome quote Gazza. I think it sums up perfectly my entire viewpoint when it comes to ride capacity and overall design. Two train operation and a course of around a minute ensures a capacity of about 1,000pph. This coaster will all but certainly be the park's highest capacity thrill ride. As for how often they run two trains, we'll have to wait and see six months from now. The park has improved their operations greatly in the past few years but this is the first time they've had to decide between one train and two train operation, which they haven't had to since Thunderbolt (even then I never once saw it run both trains). It'll without a doubt become the most popular ride in the park, simply by virtue of its central location, so I'd like to think it'll run two the bulk of the time, but even Superman Escape. I can't see how anyone would suggest that anything about Cyclone's station configuration and overall setup is even a tiny bit practical. As far as not knowing what to expect until you board, if our parks want to go down that route then they'll need to fork out the budget for the appropriate theming and staffing to make it have a point and. Everyone knows what they're getting on with Cyclone (and Superman Escape); there is no point to creating delays and creating confusion by withholding information. Australia's best station is by far Lethal Weapon. Use its station as a template but it needs, as Gazza said, longer queues for each row (especially the front). You want people to be able to see what riders before them do, and also know exactly what to do when it's their turn. It's got nothing to do with theming; the best themed coasters in the world use this same queue style. There should be absolutely minimal attendant interaction required (such as assigning rows, e.g. Superman Escape, or greeters). One staff member counting out groups and measuring heights is all that's needed in the queue. No loose items policies are good, but lockers should be either free for a set time or charged per opening (a dollar every time the locker is opened, regardless of how long it was in use for). Properly secured items such as wallets etc. should be permitted. It's an insurance/comfort/capacity thing, not an avenue for raising revenue. No park anywhere should be forcing riders to pay on a per-hour basis for locker space in order to ride something they've already paid for with their entrance fee. Forget these electronic systems with centralised terminals as they create bottlenecks and make everyone frustrated. A simple coin system (found on the locking mechanism of each and every locker) is all that's needed. Go simple and make it a key-based system or keep it digital and print out a barcode or pin number or something. At any rate, there are very few electronic locker systems I've ever seen that are even remotely logical. I think that's about it for now in terms of ride capacity.

[Gazza]

Personally, I dont think there is a problem with electronic systems as long as they are fast to use and have plenty of terminals. They can create a bottleneck, but when it comes down to it, any delays in the locker room just end up delaying the inevitable brick wall you hit when you join the main queue so it's not that much of a problem. On Revenge of the mummy at USH you dont have to muck around putting in your DOB and picking a colour like you do on those Compusafe lockers Aussie parks use, instead you just put your finger on the pad, it gets scanned, then you put your finger on a second pad, it gets scanned again and then you are done with it, so there are some good systems out there.

[Richard]

Well I've not once seen an electronic system with terminals cope in peak crowds. Superman Escape for instance I've seen with longer queues for lockers than the actual ride. You want to remove as many bottlenecks as possible for the purposes of overall customer satisfaction. People shouldn't have to jump through hoops to get to what they've paid for by way of performing redundant and arduous tasks such as having to queue multiple times before riding an attraction. It's logical that you move riders through as quickly as possible, and limit queuing to an absolute minimum. If they have to queue at all, make it only in the main ride queue and nowhere else. The fingerprint system Universal use is getting there in terms of efficiency, and it's definitely among the easiest to use out there; definitely the only way to go if offering free lockers. That said though I've seen it grind to a halt at Islands of Adventure on Hulk and Dueling Dragon. The only locker system I have seen that actually works effectively in very crowded situations was mechanical systems where each individual locker operates itself. The only thing better is letting riders take items with them, which Disney have shown can be done very effectively on a large scale. I've just read an academic article that links in-park spending patterns to customer satisfaction and visitor flow patterns by way of the attraction's capacity. In short the results were that satisfied riders spend more in associated shops and that the management of the queuing process is very important. The park used in the study incidently was Universal Studios Hollywood.

[Chaos-Maniac]

I actually quite like the 'lockers' that Dreamworld uses for The Claw. I thought it was a rather good idea with how they used them.

[Gazza]

Thats another decent idea, but you need space for that. How it could work would be you would pre group riders, let a trainload of riders through to a baggage area where they can put their stuff in, then they would move through to the gates and then the next group would be let through to the baggage room . you would need extra staff to make this work and good communication to ensure people were getting through each area at the correct time. The storage units would need to work a bit differently as you would need more than 2 units as on the claw and WO. There would need to enough secure units for the number of groups that would be needing to use them (the ones loading, the ones on the ride, the ones at the gates and the ones in the room actually putting in their items) Perhaps instead of using sliding doors there could be vertical roller doors that run up and over each unit enabling one side to be open and the other closed. Another variation of this method is to just have a manned cloakroom just before the station, like on Stealth at Thorpe Park. And just on the keyed approach Richo Suggested, I think someone should develop a locker system that shares a similar mechanism to the trolleys at Aldi. Im sure people are familar with the process of putting a coin in the holder and sliding across. Attached to the sliding part however would be lock bar that prevents the door being opened. When the door is locked a unique key is released. To get your stuff back you put the key in, and the lock slides back, giving you your $2 back.

If they have to queue at all, make it only in the main ride queue and nowhere else.

I can see your point, but if people are being held up in a locker line, then that would make the main ride queue shorter anyway because people would not be able to enter. You would end up waiting the same amount of time. Edited July 18, 2007 by Gazza

[dreamworld_rulz]

When i was on the Claw in Feb. They got us to put our stuff in the locker while the ride was operating. I found this great coz it meant that you didn't have to rush to get a seat.

[Churros]

^ I can't believe you have compared Cyclone in any way, shape or form to Superman Escape lol

Yeah, I know. I'm sure you know as well as I do that once those doors open, the best part of the Cyclone is over.

I dont necessarily think that is a good way of doing things, ill quote something from a roller coaster design lecture by John Wardley:

Yeah, I've known some people who give lectures about stuff too lol. Just kidding around. I'll admit, the dude makes a good point, but that doesn't mean that is the only way of doing things. I will still have to say that if you are having a geniunely well themed ride where the whole story is apart of what you are becoming engrossed in then I'd rather walk into the dispatch platform without much of a clue with regards to what to expect next. I know Mr Wardley is an intelligent bloke, but I'm sure there are a whole bunch of other people that can come up with a system that allows you to be informed how to hop into the train as a part of the story, and have two other trains already moving through the track so capacity doesn't dwindle. Consider it making the first part of the coaster similar to Superman in that it holds riders and gives them something to do while a train is on the track. Or even better design it so the blocking system caters for different stages of the story. Admittedly, Dreamworld isn't going to do this, but I thought I would make that statement. That being said, I would rather step toward good theming, rather than just considering it is hopeless. I know we are probably making some comparisons now to the way that Superman Escape works, but I think we all know that the quicker that train dispatches the quicker it is going to stop and pause until the other train makes it back to the station. If you really wanted it to increase capacity, they should just launch it from the station or directly after the station and scrap the dark ride section. The Cyclone is a capacity minefield. I think we will go with what MickeyD is suggesting and not even give it the oppurtunity to be apart of this discussion.

Everyone knows what they're getting on with Cyclone (and Superman Escape); there is no point to creating delays and creating confusion by withholding information.

That isn't entirely true. People love the doors on Superman Escape. First time riders know its a roller coaster, yeah, but when you can only see a little bit through those doors, for many it is the anticipation which really gets them in the mood. The number of times I've seen kids or adults asking what is in there and then having the surprise of walking in there is greater than you might anticipate. And while I know we follow the construction and development of these things pretty closely, the first time I went on Superman Escape I knew nothing about the ride, and that made it every bit more exciting.

No park anywhere should be forcing riders to pay on a per-hour basis for locker space in order to ride something they've already paid for with their entrance fee.

Well, Movieworld isn't actually forcing you to do anything. They do clearly state "please ensure all loose items are secured in the lockers provided or with a friend that doesn't wish to ride the MRT." I went with a group of thirty people one day. Two people didn't want to go on it, so we left all of our bags with them. Cost us nothing. And even if I go in a group of four that all want to ride, we split the cost. 25cents each for an hour. It's Movieworld so you go on it about 6 times in that hour and away you go. It isn't that much to pay considering that you pay rediculous markups for food and beverage anyway. If you are going to a themepark expecting value for money you are in the wrong place. After all, I don't think WnW or WhiteWaterWorld include the 7 or 8 buck locker hire in their entrance fee, but more than likely you choose to fork out to for somewhere to keep your stuff. As for the functionality of it all, the lockers themselves do nothing to deminish capacity, in fact they do make it better. Rather than waiting for riders to put all of their stuff in a box as they load, you just walk straight in and hop on. At the end, no waiting for riders to grab all their stuff, just walk off. Let their be a bottleneck at the lockers, it isn't really that big a deal. EDIT: I put a couple of extra statements in here or there. When I read it some of my statements sounded a bit harsh-esk, which wasn't my intention. Edited July 18, 2007 by Churros

[Richard]

That isn't entirely true. People love the doors on Superman Escape. First time riders know its a roller coaster, yeah, but when you can only see a little bit through those doors, for many it is the anticipation which really gets them in the mood.

That may be true, but I don't think you can say with any certainty that the exact same mood wouldn't be set with an open plan station where queuers can look onto the load area. As far as suspending disbelief in creating an illusion that people aren't getting on a roller coaster, to get to where they are people have walked under a 40m steel arch with trains racing past every minute or so at 100km/hr. The nature of the loading procedure is totally inconsequential to the ride experience. If open queues/stations are perfectly fine for some of the best themed thrill rides in the world (Islands of Adventure's arsenal of coasters comes to mind), I don't see why it's somehow settling for less at our humble parks.

Well, Movieworld isn't actually forcing you to do anything. They do clearly state "please ensure all loose items are secured in the lockers provided or with a friend that doesn't wish to ride the MRT."

We've been over this many times in the Movie World forums. The amount of money is petty, that's not an issue. Yes there are alternatives. I could run out to my car and ditch my things every time I wanted to ride if it came to it. The issue bubbles down to the simple fact that it's a system born out of revenue raising, not one done out of genuine concern for capacity or safety etc. This can be easily demonstrated by the strictness of attendants in regards to loose items and the fact that safely secured items are still not permitted (e.g. a wallet in a back pocket with a button), nor are items that could cause absolutely no injury to other riders or onlookers (coins for instance), meanwhile to satisfy their own workplace health and safety requirements thongs and other loose footware can be worn which, certainly with some women's footware, would cause significantly more damage to another person than a wallet or mobile phone. This isn't really directed at anyone in particular, but it always strikes me as really odd when people defend the sometimes archaic or even backwards practices some of our parks use, against other methods or systems that parks overseas with easily five or ten times the attendance use again and again because they're economic and highly functional. I'll probably split this conversation off into a new topic in the next day or so.

[dreamworld_rulz]

The issue bubbles down to the simple fact that it's a system born out of revenue raising, not one done out of genuine concern for capacity or safety etc. This can be easily demonstrated by the strictness of attendants in regards to loose items and the fact that safely secured items are still not permitted (e.g. a wallet in a back pocket with a button), nor are items that could cause absolutely no injury to other riders or onlookers (coins for instance), meanwhile to satisfy their own workplace health and safety requirements thongs and other loose footware can be worn which, certainly with some women's footware, would cause significantly more damage to another person than a wallet or mobile phone.

I agree about the revenue raising. I don't know about tall people but when i go on SE the harness always covers my pockets. So there's no way in hell that an item can fall out. Also if you have a zipper or buttons then you should be able to take the item/s on the ride. As Darryn Hinch would say "Shame Shame Shame"

[Gazza]

Yeah, I've known some people who give lectures about stuff too lol. Just kidding around. I'll admit, the dude makes a good point, but that doesn't mean that is the only way of doing things.

Just thought I'd clarify for those who mightn't know, John Wardley is a fairly famous ride designer with a long history in the Amusment industry, and was behind many rides such as Nemesis, Oblivion, Air, Stampida, Colossus, Dragon Khan. He is a bit of an authority on ride design.

I'm sure there are a whole bunch of other people that can come up with a system that allows you to be informed how to hop into the train as a part of the story, and have two other trains already moving through the track so capacity doesn't dwindle. Consider it making the first part of the coaster similar to Superman in that it holds riders and gives them something to do while a train is on the track. Or even better design it so the blocking system caters for different stages of the story

Well, Disney does a lot of rides like this in terms of story progression.

I will still have to say that if you are having a geniunely well themed ride where the whole story is apart of what you are becoming engrossed in then I'd rather walk into the dispatch platform without much of a clue with regards to what to expect next.

But thats the problem, if people are off in lal a land all engrossed and have no idea what do do in terms of where to put items, how to correctly fasten restraints etc, they wont be paying attention and this will slow down loading. Its not the loading process you would want to hide, but rather the ride itself.

That may be true, but I don't think you can say with any certainty that the exact same mood wouldn't be set with an open plan station where queuers can look onto the load area...... The nature of the loading procedure is totally inconsequential to the ride experience.

Exactly! Space mountain at Disneyland is an excellent example of this. The station is a huge chamber and you enter in on the second level. You walk down a ramp that wraps around the outside of the chamber and the whole time you can see this controlled chaos of trains pulling in and zipping out of the station, you get a birds eye view of the loading station and what is going on. Then you get down to ground level and you know your going to be getting on soon. The whole time you have this anticipation you speak of. I don't see what's so special about hiding the loading process anyway, its a pretty dull part of the ride, especially since half the time you are just sitting and waiting for an op to check you. IMO the gains in excitement a few kiddies get is not worth it against the overall lower efficiency. IMO it's the opposite effect, when you can clearly see other people jumping in and buckling up, it makes you more eager to do it yourself, so when the gates open people will hastily take their seats to get on with the ride. Now, to relate this to what DW is doing, I imagine that this ride will have restraints unlike any other ride in Australia and probably more complex, therefore it is a good idea to ensure people have a good idea of how it works before boarding. Thats why hiding the station is such a terrible idea.

the first time I went on Superman Escape I knew nothing about the ride, and that made it every bit more exciting.

But were you excited about the ride, or excited about the loading process?

[Swanny]

I'd just like to point ou the fact that SE has a very in-depth video loop playing every 2 minutes or so which is very specific in terms of loading procedures.

[Gazza]

^Yeah, that is a known fact which works well for Se. But LOL the whole thing started when people were talking about Cyclone, and that has nothing that makes loading more efficient such as videos, pre item storage etc.

[ads086]

And just on the keyed approach Richo Suggested, I think someone should develop a locker system that shares a similar mechanism to the trolleys at Aldi. Im sure people are familar with the process of putting a coin in the holder and sliding across. Attached to the sliding part however would be lock bar that prevents the door being opened. When the door is locked a unique key is released. To get your stuff back you put the key in, and the lock slides back, giving you your $2 back. Each key has a large safety pin attached, so you can pin it to your clothing. I can see your point, but if people are being held up in a locker line, then that would make the main ride queue shorter anyway because people would not be able to enter. You would end up waiting the same amount of time.

Such lockers do exist. I'm a member of Fitness First gyms, and the locker rooms all contain lockers that have a coin-slot in the back of the door. You place a $2 coin in the top. The lock on the outside will not close without the money in it. You place your stuff in the locker, close the door and turn the key. You take the key with you, and your stuff is secure. When you return and turn the key to open the locker again, the $2 falls down out of the lock into a small coin-return. I was reading in the original forum this thread started in, that somebody felt that Lethal Weapon was the ideal situation for a station. I would agree with this, although to couple the clear view of the station with the ability to unload belongings into lockers/boxes prior to being allowed into the station platform would make things perhaps a little more efficient. If you take Lethal Weapon as an example, have the locker system in the movie theatre preshow building, and have a second entrance to said area from the exit path. With regards to Superman Escape's line-up safety instructions, I think this is a great idea. Although, if you're in a 30 minute queue with it playing every 2-3 minutes, it gets really old really fast. The idea of having the queue line raised above the station platform would actually make a lot of sense with this ride, considering it is said to be based in a subway, which are known to be beneath street level, yet you walk up the ramp....

[Churros]

Just thought I'd clarify for those who mightn't know, John Wardley is a fairly famous ride designer with a long history in the Amusment industry, and was behind many rides such as Nemesis, Oblivion, Air, Stampida, Colossus, Dragon Khan. He is a bit of an authority on ride design.

Yeah, I know who he is. I wasn't questioning his authority or his idea. In fact I have a lot of respect for what he does. It was intended to be a bit of light humour. What I was meaning to say after that is that different systems exist and as you mention further in your post many of these systems are used in great effect in different places. With regards to which ones work best locally or which should be employed, I was merely hoping to pose the question, would you rather Dreamworld, Movieworld or others create rides that have great capacity but little or no theming or make an attempt to tell a story, but potentially deminish capacity? I guess the answer could lend itself to the teachings of the great Mr Miyagi: "Walk on road, hm? Walk left side, safe. Walk right side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later... get squished like grape." Perhaps, if they are going to do it, do it right, or leave it be.

But thats the problem, if people are off in lal a land all engrossed and have no idea what do do in terms of where to put items, how to correctly fasten restraints etc, they wont be paying attention and this will slow down loading. Its not the loading process you would want to hide, but rather the ride itself.

Yeah, and feel free to comment on this statement if you wish, but why should an element of a ride be differentiated between a pre-show, loading and then the 'ride' itself. Ideally, wouldn't you prefer the ride to exist as a whole, so once you enter the queue you are already apart of the ride and the idea of waiting in a queue is eleminated. It extends the duration of the experience also, and would give you less of a reason to be focussing on the capacity of the ride. Many rides use these ideas to reduce the issues of extensive queues.

Exactly! Space mountain at Disneyland is an excellent example of this. The station is a huge chamber and you enter in on the second level. You walk down a ramp that wraps around the outside of the chamber and the whole time you can see this controlled chaos of trains pulling in and zipping out of the station, you get a birds eye view of the loading station and what is going on. Then you get down to ground level and you know your going to be getting on soon. The whole time you have this anticipation you speak of.

Well if the way you are describing it is true, then it sounds exactly like what I was talking about. The actual loading into the train is an element of the story, rather than being the next thing that you have to do before the ride begins.

I don't see what's so special about hiding the loading process anyway, its a pretty dull part of the ride, especially since half the time you are just sitting and waiting for an op to check you. IMO the gains in excitement a few kiddies get is not worth it against the overall lower efficiency. IMO it's the opposite effect, when you can clearly see other people jumping in and buckling up, it makes you more eager to do it yourself, so when the gates open people will hastily take their seats to get on with the ride.

Ok. First, I don't think that at any point people are not eager to get in and have a go. I don't think I have ever seen someone stand there and go, "Oh, I'm not too interested in this, so I'll take my merry time with hopping into the train." lol. Second, I know its your opinion, so I respect it, but for many of those kids, such moments could be the greatest moments in their lives. And I am not just talking about kids. There are a lot of people out there that rarely get to attend parks and ride attractions such as the ones we discuss here on a regular basis. For those people every little part of the experience makes it.

But were you excited about the ride, or excited about the loading process?

Everything. Half of the experience is mentally losing yourself in the idea that you are hopping into a subway carriage. By not seeing the other trains leave you genuinely believe that the train you have waited for is about to leave. If you don't believe that element, then you are never going to believe that you are in perril, and you will never believe that Superman is actually saving you. I liked the speed, yeah, it was great, but in that moment you had to let yourself believe that Superman was saving you. It was the ride. The technology was good, and all the dips turns and whatnot were great, but believe me as a Superman fan, nothing compared to the story component. I think if you were continuously watching those trains dispatch, it would have lost a degree of that magic.

[Gazza]

I was merely hoping to pose the question, would you rather Dreamworld, Movieworld or others create rides that have great capacity but little or no theming or make an attempt to tell a story, but potentially deminish capacity?

By all means, theme the ride to their hearts content, there is no reason theming would reduce capacity.

but why should an element of a ride be differentiated between a pre-show, loading and then the 'ride' itself. Ideally, wouldn't you prefer the ride to exist as a whole, so once you enter the queue you are already apart of the ride and the idea of waiting in a queue is eleminated. It extends the duration of the experience also, and would give you less of a reason to be focussing on the capacity of the ride. Many rides use these ideas to reduce the issues of extensive queues.

Well for me, merely theming the station in the same style as the rest of the rides features such as preshows/queues etc is sufficient.

By not seeing the other trains leave you genuinely believe that the train you have waited for is about to leave.

I think if you were continuously watching those trains dispatch, it would have lost a degree of that magic.

But you can see the trains leaving Personally, I would have made the gates in the station look like the ticket barriers you see at train station entrances, but that's a whole other topic.... But we need to get back to how this whole branch of discussion started, Cyclone was brought up as an example of how people would like to see the station done. Cyclone is a poor set-up since people have no knowledge of the loading process, and the ride has no proper theming where doing this has an advantage. SEs setup works well since they have the video. LW also works since you can see into the loading area. But it shouldn't be that you cant see anything.

[rappa]

The key problem with Superman's design is that the plot is given away. The station should have been set up as an 'open air' train station with little seperation between the que and the loading platform. However, the trains should have dispatched 'as normal' and the earthquake should have happened around the corner. It makes no sense why the train would be leaving the station if there is an earthquake???? It's also dumb that they went to the effort to make the doors cover the superman on the back of the train but then you can clearly see it through the doors as the train is dispatched anyway. The perfect example of a themed station design is Space Mountain is Disneyland. As you enter you spiral down towards the loading platform all the while inside a highly themed space port. You know exactly what is going on before you board and I don't think I've ever been so impressed with the hub of activity and picture of efficiency that is that station. I mean hell, look at the disable boarding track and you know things are being done properly. The whole idea is the ride experience starts AFTER you leave the station, not AS you leave it.

[Gazza]

^Im glad somebody feels the same way, it was even cool seeing those transfer tracks that can pull a train out of the way to help with efficiency. It was crazy, It was easily the best station I have ever seen. You are right about SE also, the ride hits its crisis point straight away, that big long straight after the turn from the station been a normal subway trip, but then about halfway along you could trigger a bunch of effects at once signalling the start of the earthquake. It wouldn't have cost any more actually since you are putting all the effects for that section in one spot rather than spaced out. And the superman on the back of the train is something debatable, it looks good to bystanders while the ride is doing its thing, but it looks ridiculous in the station. And the funny thing about the doors that hide superman is that they weren't there when the ride opened, sometimes I wonder if it was because of Richos comments in his official review of the ride:

It's a shame though to see Superman in full view as you board the train, with no attempt made to hide it with so much as a curtain or some lighting. It really kills the idea of going for a peaceful subway commute.

Edited July 20, 2007 by Gazza

[BNErider]

Yeah, I agree. like U-Studios in Hollywood. How the train station goes "boom" But, I don't think they could really move the train alot, like they do with the tour bus in U-studios. So, It wouldn't feel like there was a big earthquake.

[Churros]

I thought that they put the black curtain thing in when they started running with two trains. As for the discussion about Cyclone. I honestly don't think its design should be admired in any way. The only comment I was making is that going into those rooms, etc is a little more exciting then nothing. End of discussion. If you are creating a discussion around the deminished capacity of Cyclone, well. The actual doors etc are not the main problem. I honestly don't think that being able to see how to hop on and hop off would increase capacity that much. Don't get me wrong, it would help, but not as much as other alterations that could be made. Something that would be better investigated is running with two or more trains so that while one train is loading (whether it be efficiently or otherwise), the other is completing the curcuit. Because let's face it, it won't be able to dispatch until the second train is safely beyond the final break run. I think the second element of the Cyclone is that it really isn't worth the wait.

[Gazza]

This is where we were talking about lockers and the like wasn't it? SFMM have started installing lockers on its major rides that use barcode scanners: To me, this finally seems like the best way of doing things. However, I think there could be other ways a barcode scanning system could be implemented. Everybody would be carrying a park ticket or a season pass, and this could be the key to locker usage. Since the barcode on each one is unique, there is a means for the system to identify users in a way (Not who they are of course, just that they are carrying a particular ticket) Hence, they have a way of regulating usage. One of the reasons stated for Superman's locker policies is that making them free could lead to people over using them. Perhaps then each park ticket, per day, could have a certain number of complementary locker uses tied to it (That way, they cant be accused of making you pay extra to ride rides). When you scan, that ticket number goes into the system at that rides set of lockers and establishes a count, and each use knocks one of the count, and when you hit zero you have to start paying. Of course, other options are avaliable in how they regulate it, and what rules they want to apply. Using your park ticket would also speed up the delays of people entering pins and using an slow touch screen interface. Instead you just scan, and the system knows what to open. No brains needed.

[ads086]

They could potentially have a system where you would pay to purchase a wrist band. This wrist band would feature an RFID chip, which you simply need to wave near a reader and the locker would be opened. Generally, you would only need one wrist band per "group" of people, and if you charge the all-day locker hire fee ($8 at Movieworld last time I was there), then you could make it unlimited use of lockers throughout the park for the whole day. You could carry your things around with you, and use the lockers closest to your particular ride. I hope that makes sense...

[Gazza]

Yeah, it does, but I dont see the need for an RFID system, which would be more complex and expensive, not to mention the environmental impacts and wastefulness of people disposing of them after just a day. It makes sense for things like Go Cards, since they need to be durable, and have to be able to be able to call up data at odd locations without relying on a connection to a central network, as well as having a rewritable memory to keep track of the credit you have on it. Also, I'd personally not want to pay $8 for what should be a free or low cost service, hence each barcode being entitled to a set number of free uses, so at least people get a fair go. The advantage of using park tickets is that guests already carry them, and they already have an identifier on them in a barcode, and don't need to have a rewritable memory. Disney have already demonstrated the way they can be used as a tool with their fastpass system, and of course WnW with their splash cash system.