Dreamworld to get virtual queuing in two weeks time

[glennborthwick]

Lo-q, the world leaders in virtual queuing have announced dreamworld as their latest park starting 15th december. qbots are pagers you can rent which buzz you when you can ride saving you having to physically queue www.lo-q.com

[cerberus584]

so are they removing conventional queues? It sounds like a way for them to make some more money by renting out the Q-bots, but then what happens to those who are happy enough to just wait in line for 15 minutes. Will they constantly have people just turning up and getting on before them? I'm against the idea of people paying extra to 'queue jump' when they've already spent so much money to get in the park.

Edited December 1, 2008 by cerberus584

[sonic123488]

This might be step in the right direction.

[tom]

No they won't be removing conventional queues. Q-Bots work in a way where they save your place in line virtually... so it would be the same waiting time as if that person was waiting one space a head of you. And 15 mins? I know that a lot of Dreamworld rides in busy season get quite extensive queue times, so the Q-Bot system will be good for people who want to make the most out of their day. I would be guessing they will only be placing the system on the major rides of the park. Major theme parks in the USA (including Six Flags Magic Mountain, who has/is recently going to put the system in) love the idea of it, and it is a highly popular among guests and are highly sort after on a day to day basis. I know at Six Flags Great Adventure they have the system and they only sell a limited amount each day, whether or not Dreamworld is going to take on this system, I'm not sure. I do agree with the fact that it sounds like a way to make more money. However, it's a choice people can make and it's not necessary for people to buy if they want to ride every ride, because we all know it's possible without this Q-Bot system.

[joz]

New up charge attraction that if you don't go on doesn't effect your day in the slightest: Bad! Step in the wrong direction! Boycott Dreamworld! Offering an upcharge service that screws anyone not using it: Step in the right direction! It's official, I no longer understand the way people on this site think. This will make most people in the park wait longer to get on rides, or be forced to spend money to avoid the increased wait, and its being welcomed? If this line jumping service applies to GD or Cyclone then I pity the poor people stuck in the regular line.

[Spotty]

If you don't mind me asking, which page does it have the info about Dreamworld? I can't seem to find it on the Lo-Q Site.

[cerberus584]

No they won't be removing conventional queues. Q-Bots work in a way where they save your place in line virtually... so it would be the same waiting time as if that person was waiting one space a head of you.

I understand that, but from what I can see on the website, you can reserve a place in the line for every single ride in the park all at once, and be told when you can ride. So, say person A, pays extra for this privilege, they go and line up for another ride while person B, who can't afford any extra after paying $350 to give his family a day out (4 people, plus lunch, and maybe a souvenir), has to stand in line and doesn't have the luxury of doing anything else. It might be the same waiting time but the point is you don't actually have to be in the queue. It's a line jumping charge and I for one don't like it. Either everyone should get one when they enter and be able to decide what rides they want to go on, or they should have to line up like everyone else. Sounds suspiciously like the rich getting better treatment than your average Joe (the Plumber).

[New display name]

I understand that, but from what I can see on the website, you can reserve a place in the line for every single ride in the park all at once, and be told when you can ride. So, say person A, pays extra for this privilege, they go and line up for another ride while person B, who can't afford any extra after paying $350 to give his family a day out (4 people, plus lunch, and maybe a souvenir), has to stand in line and doesn't have the luxury of doing anything else. It might be the same waiting time but the point is you don't actually have to be in the queue. It's a line jumping charge and I for one don't like it. Either everyone should get one when they enter and be able to decide what rides they want to go on, or they should have to line up like everyone else. Sounds suspiciously like the rich getting better treatment than your average Joe (the Plumber).

Don't know where you get your figures from but plumbers get good money.

[Dylaan]

I guess this is a good thing for peak times and all but surely a majority of the rides aren't running at maximum capacity? If it isn't too expensive then why not, otherwise I can't say this will have a positive impact on my day.

[Gazza]

New up charge attraction that if you don't go on doesn't effect your day in the slightest: Bad! Step in the wrong direction! Boycott Dreamworld! Offering an upcharge service that screws anyone not using it: Step in the right direction!

Hahaha, got it in one Joz. I think it must be the aura that surrounds a system that the 'big boys' use. The thing that concerns me is that systems like this allow parks to profit from inefficiency...Hey, lets not fix capacity issues on our rides, instead lets just charge people to skip a long queue that is our fault in the first place. What will make this a joke is that you can bet these will be for sale on the days when GD has one side going, MDMC has one train, Cyclone has one op etc. But then again, if its a choice between spending money to put adequate stuff numbers on, and making money by not doing so, of course it is going to be the latter. Now, I know that parks are businesses and need to make money, but it seems DW are taking that 'nickel and diming' approach....You pay $70 to get in, but then its another $15 in total if you want to experience two of the parks newest attractions, and then another $15 for food, and then $30 or so to get a Q-Bot, and all these little extras end up totalling nearly as much as the initial admission charge, and whilst you can spin this is the guest getting extra experiences, I think frequently being presented with extras to fork out for just ends up leaving a sour taste in their mouth. How long till DW introduce a parking charge for instance? I don't really like any of these queue systems, and that includes Disney's fastpass, because they only benefit a small proportion of people, and cause wait times to be longer for people in standby lines. IMO the Busch approach is best, just build rides with really high capacity and operate them with motivated staff.

If you don't mind me asking, which page does it have the info about Dreamworld? I can't seem to find it on the Lo-Q Site.

http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&...earch&meta=

[cerberus584]

Don't know where you get your figures from but plumbers get good money.

skeetafly, if that's the only part of that post that has you concerned then that's a sad state of affairs. it was a simple, obviously redundant joke about joe the plumber. if he's making good money then good on him! Perhaps he can afford to rent a queue jumper after he's spent $350+, but it'll make him very disliked. Imagine anyone who gets one of these devices and then when it buzzes they have to walk past the staring frustrated faces of all the people who have to wait in the line.

[S.W24]

As much as i hate these types of jump the Que systems i would much rather prefer see a copy of Disney's fasspast system in our parks than this stupid pager. But then again it will be very interesting to see how well it does after its one year trial. Also think of the cost involved for a paying guest say $30 for the use of the system on top of that say a $50 deposit families are not going to get this for everyone that is with them. I think its a rip.

[New display name]

skeetafly, if that's the only part of that post that has you concerned then that's a sad state of affairs. it was a simple, obviously redundant joke about joe the plumber. if he's making good money then good on him! Perhaps he can afford to rent a queue jumper after he's spent $350+, but it'll make him very disliked. Imagine anyone who gets one of these devices and then when it buzzes they have to walk past the staring frustrated faces of all the people who have to wait in the line.

I had to talk about something. I have given up on Dreamworld and sick of wasting my time bagging out Dreamworld so I just didn’t renew my passes.

[joz]

I think they're going to have to be expensive. If they sell them too cheap so that everyone has them then they won't be all that effective and just piss everyone off. DW doesn't have the capacity for many people to use the system the without it having a major negative affect on other guest, so IMHO they should go nuts making it as expensive as they can get away with while keeping the numbers very low. That way it impacts less on people who don't buy it, and is a better perk to those that do. I think they're going to have to be expensive. If they sell them too cheap so that everyone has them then they won't be all that effective and just piss everyone off. DW doesn't have the capacity for many people to use the system the without it having a major negative affect on other guest, so IMHO they should go nuts making it as expensive as they can get away with while keeping the numbers very low. That way it impacts less on people who don't buy it, and is a better perk to those that do.

[pin142]

Is it me or is there an echo in here? One question is with the added income from this would it result in more money being spent on better staffing or is it another blatant cash grab for a problem that shouldn't exist?

[mickey_079]

Imagine anyone who gets one of these devices and then when it buzzes they have to walk past the staring frustrated faces of all the people who have to wait in the line.

Its what happens at the disney parks. However I personally think the fast pass system is a much more fair system. Only a certain amount will be printed per day, and you can only obtain one pass within a certain amount of time, making sure nearly everyone gets a fair go. Edited December 2, 2008 by mickey_079

[T-bone]

And atleast Disney's Fast Pass is Free, meaning everyone has the opportunity to take it up, as opposed to only those who can afford it. Does anyone really care though? I gave up caring about the place about 6 months ago.

[Gazza]

Does anyone really care though? I gave up caring about the place about 6 months ago.

You know, I think that sums it up pretty well. I mean, when they eventually go and build something worthwhile then everyone here will gladly go back and ride it, and all would be forgiven. But in the meantime I guess there is not much point caring....these days new attractions open more consistently throughout the coast so you can just visit them, and you can take comfort in the fact that WWW can't really go the same route as DW (eg you cant do Q-Bots or car simulators in a water park)

[con]

Found this little article on Sharecast... LONDON (SHARECAST) - Theme park queue system specialist Lo-Q has agreed a one year trial of its VQ2020 system with the Australian Theme Park, Dreamworld. Dreamworld is located in Coomera, Queensland. The Park will be running the system from 15 December 2008 and it will allow virtual queuing on the park's major attractions. Lo-Q's systems are currently deployed in 8 Six Flags Parks throughout the USA, Dollywood in Tennessee, USA and Legoland Windsor. "Dreamworld is an important step for Lo-Q. It illustrates that our system is truly international and can be deployed anywhere in the world quickly and efficiently," Lo-Q's Sales Director, Colin Robertson commented:

[rappa]

THAT IS NOT! the way the Disney system works... The Disney system is available to all park guests, free of charge. It does not discriminate against those that can't afford to use it. It also only lets you hold a place in line at one ride at a time AND is only used on their bigger draw/lower capacity attractions. And you're talking a park where 20 000 people is a dead day, even with attractions that can pump 2000 people per hour through. Even Disney has admitted the system doesn't always work and in some cases can create longer waits. In the case of Pirates at DLR they removed fast pass and the waits dissapeared... Dreamworld can fix its entire wait times problem by a)adding more staff to run attractions properly and b)having higher capacity attractions and running the ones they already have to their full potential. AUSTRALIAN PARKS ARE NOT BIG ENOUGH IN TERMS OF ATTENDANCE TO WARRANT VIRTUAL QUEING! And let me just say, I've known about this for nearly a week now and I'm still as angry about it as I was when I first heard.

[Gazza]

THAT IS NOT! the way the Disney system works.

Who said otherwise One thing though, did anyone else sort of have it in the back of their mind that DW would be the first park to go down the virtual queuing route? Edited December 2, 2008 by Gazza

[DonjaiInLA]

Is this just a few steps away from introducing a front of line pass like Universal? Although bad for people who can't afford it, I would pay for that if I was willing to pay to go to Dreamworld. This beeper system just seems a bit strange, particularly when lines really arent that long..

[glennborthwick]

I imagine dreamworld are going to employ it more like dollywood than six flags. At dollywood the price is extremely reasonable , ten US dollars plus 5 extra per person, so a group of 4 it costs about US $30. Its a godsend for families. It also fair , you wait the same length of time and you can only block one ride at a time, but you can go to a restaurant, go on another ride which doesnt have queues. You are all going through the process that US patrons did two or three years ago. People said there wasnt much of a need for it, they didnt like the idea of it, but however down the line there is universal praise for the dollywood system. There are some gripes about six flags based purely on costs, and the gold package which cuts wait times by 75%, but those that use it say what a fabuloius system it is. In the UK at legoland, there has also been excellent feedback, and customer staisfaction.

[Original]

I don't think it matter's about getting more ride operators. I think the main thing is that management need to teach the operators how to work effiecently. Every time I go to the park the staff on rides just sit there and talk to each other forever while the ride is empty even when the lines are long and as customers get really annoyed they do not load the ride or hurry and get the ride going until they have finished their conversation.

Edited December 3, 2008 by Original

[cadboy]

LONDON (SHARECAST) - Theme park queue system specialist Lo-Q has agreed a one year trial of its VQ2020 system with the Australian Theme Park, Dreamworld.

Well it is good to see that this is only a trial, if it is a flop then guaranteed it will go after the year trial is out.

I mean, when they eventually go and build something worthwhile then everyone here will gladly go back and ride it, and all would be forgiven.

Absolutely, WVTP seem to be adding new major attractions to all their parks regularly, whereas Dreamworld hasn't bothered for years unless you count MDMC as a major attraction. I personally think Dreamworld rely too heavily on the reputation they built up for themselves over the first 2 decades as being the best and most favored park in Australia. People are starting to head over WVTP as an alternative to DW because their parks have more unique, enjoyable attractions and heres the big one, are continually updated. Now back on topic, I wonder how effective it will really be and if many guests will use it. I guess only time will tell until until djrappa's statement is confirmed or dismissed

AUSTRALIAN PARKS ARE NOT BIG ENOUGH IN TERMS OF ATTENDANCE TO WARRANT VIRTUAL QUEING!

Edited December 3, 2008 by cadboy