Dreamworld to get virtual queuing in two weeks time

[Dylaan]

If Disney had a system like Lo-Q's then you can bet that through the sheer numbers passing through the gates that there'd be people working very hard at hacking the system too.

I think I've just found a source of entertainment for this holiday period. The annual pass needs a bit of a work out...

If you want the full quota of rides a gold version would be needed and from what you say it probably isn't ready for it until operations are improved.

In my opinion Dreamworld doesn't have enough rides to even warrant a 'gold' Q-bot. Compared to many of the Six Flags parks, (and I'm too slack to look into the physical size of either park) Dreamworld could be seen as half the fun for the same price. (Minus the parking) And just out of curiosity, aren't the parks in the US open later than say 5pm?

[dexter]

Glenn and Richard - thanks so much for the debate and some interesting points from both parties. I was just looking at the other option on the Lo-Q website an they have Text-Q system where a guest can use their mobile phones to reserve a spot. When you compare Q-bot hiring fees and the charges to send a single SMS (or four) to book a spot, why would DW have chosen Q-bot over TextQ. Are the SMS charges to use the system higher than a standard SMS rate? I do not deny that every industry is trying to increase per cap spending and theme parks are no exception to this. I feel it will be interesting to see how the rest of the public respond to q-bot at DW and the new V8 simulator. DW are taking risks and trying out various options, it is up to the customers to now make a call as to whether they use it.

[glennborthwick]

Text q tends to work best at one line attractions. It has worked extremely well at madame tussauds london dungeon. It tends to cost about £1.50 a text of which half might well go to a phone company. There are several reasons in my opinion why qbots are better for theme parks. Not everyone has a phone, and there may well be several blank spot at a theme parks. Secondly time delays in receiving texts could cause chaos. Also overseas visitors tend to be charged a fortune due to roaming fees.

Glenn and Richard - thanks so much for the debate and some interesting points from both parties. I was just looking at the other option on the Lo-Q website an they have Text-Q system where a guest can use their mobile phones to reserve a spot. When you compare Q-bot hiring fees and the charges to send a single SMS (or four) to book a spot, why would DW have chosen Q-bot over TextQ. Are the SMS charges to use the system higher than a standard SMS rate? I do not deny that every industry is trying to increase per cap spending and theme parks are no exception to this. I feel it will be interesting to see how the rest of the public respond to q-bot at DW and the new V8 simulator. DW are taking risks and trying out various options, it is up to the customers to now make a call as to whether they use it.

Also lo-q are about to announce a waterpark solution. Basically not only access to rides, if there is a wait but also a wristband that can beloaded up with cash via credit card on entry which comes with locker access where you can store your valuable for the day yet use the wristband at the bars, burger joints restaurants.

[DonjaiInLA]

I swear ive heard of that technology before..... like at every majour water park on earth A real industry leader in SplashCash initiatives

[cadboy]

Yeah thanks for that debate guys, very interesting to read

Also lo-q are about to announce a water park solution. Basically not only access to rides,

How would the wristband system work in jumping queues and offering a solution to the lines. Wouldn't they have to go with something similar to FastPass as there is no electrical component in the wristband to alert people.

Basically not only access to rides, if there is a wait but also a wristband that can beloaded up with cash via credit card on entry which comes with locker access where you can store your valuable for the day yet use the wristband at the bars, burger joints restaurants.

At Wet'n'wild, just down the road from Dreamworld they already use a system very similar if not the same to this "new" solution, it is know as Splash Cash. Although I have never used it, I do think that this system works quite effectively and IMO would be great to be incorporated in a dry park such as Dreamworld. If lo-Q come up with a way to use wristbands in water parks to jump queues and buy food, lockers and drinks then it would make sense to place it in dry parks as well because it would be alot simpler then the Q-bot system.

Overview Splash Cash is the most convenient'n'clever way to carry your cash...without actually carrying your cash! You simply credit a waterproof wristband with whatever amount you choose. You can slide'n'swim while wearing your wristband and then come time to buy lunch or a souvenir you just swipe your wristband to pay. The money is automatically deducted from the wristband just like your bank account. That means you don't have to keep returning to your locker to grab some cash which means more time on the awesome attractions. And at the end of the day you download the remaining cash back into your pocket. It's that easy! Splash Cash is so innovative that it also recognises you when our Ride Photography takes your pic. You can swipe your wristband at the Photo Centre and it will bring up all of your photos from throughout the day. How cool is that! You'd be crazy not to splash out on some Splash Cash.

http://wetnwild.myfun.com.au/Park-Info/Splash-Cash.htm

[Spotty]

Dreamworld also has a similar Wristband System and has for almost a year now I think. The System works at all outlets that has the Micros Register system as far as i'm aware.

[rappa]

The fundamental problem here is the Australian psyche. I can safely say that any Dreamworld visitor that rents a qbot is going to be expecting to ride as many rides as they want all day, as many times as they want. Regardless of what it says on the sign, brochure, ad, etc, theme park mentality (ie leave your brain at the gate) dictates that's what park guests will be expecting.

[Lotl_90]

Dreamworld also has a similar Wristband System and has for almost a year now I think. The System works at all outlets that has the Micros Register system as far as i'm aware.

The SplashCash system at DW/WWW has been in use since about 3 weeks after the park opened, so yeah its been a while. A little more on the Q-bots.. There will be 130 units available daily, and the system will be in use on 8 rides. The system should be completely set up by friday this week, while staff training is happening, ready for a soft run on the 15th and a launch on the 16th.

[Richard]

Yeah I don't know what world you live in where the average guest visits a theme park with the intention of riding maybe 3-4 major rides in that day. Considering that aside from the eight rides mentioned to include the system, Dreamworld only has about half a dozen other rides (including transport rides but excluding the smaller children's rides), there's simply no way this device would ever be marketed as a good way to ride only half the rides in the park that are worth riding. Now, the biggest argument pro Q-bot it seems to be that it doesn't allow for queue jumping but allows people to queue outside of the confines of the normal queue. Consider this situation: two attractions with a one hour queue. Q-bot holder reserves his place in the queue for Ride A, and then goes off the normal queue for Ride B. After one hour he rides Ride B and then gets his notification to head back to Ride A. He goes straight to the ride and hops right on. He has waited only one hour whereas any other person has had to wait two hours for the same experience. Really fair. Assuming an average of four people per device with 130 sold, I guess that'd make my 1,000 per day estimate off by a tad. So instead of 50% of the capacity going to Q-bot we have 25%. Still a ridiculous level of allocation for a premium product at a park that needs everything it can get thanks to its dreadful ride capacities.

[glennborthwick]

Dreamworld also has a similar Wristband System and has for almost a year now I think. The System works at all outlets that has the Micros Register system as far as i'm aware.

there are loads of wristband systems although lo-qs will include several unique aspects. They are working on it with an us/indian company bartronics. Points below edited from interviw with ceo first is an RFID wristband. We are the only company in the world that makes a secure RFID wristband; and that has some strategic advantages for the market. One is we want to link people’s credit and cash to a wristband, as well as their access privileges. The wristband itself is just an ID device and can't do anything on its own without our software system solutions. It integrates into RFID point of sale (POS) devices and even the electronic cash register. If they already have a normal POS platforms, it is a simple matter of adding an RFID reader, a little bit of software and they are off and running with access to the system. There is then Smart Tender, a system so venues who don’t have IT departments can simply have an internet connection to the server. They get web based management. They can completely look at all their revenues in real time; manage all that activity; and get authorizations for the credit cards. They have a patent that basically extends the antenna of the RFID device all the way around the wristband. The whole wristband becomes a flexible circuit that is an antenna in itself. If it is cut anywhere or ripped, the wristband permanently disables. If somebody rips your wristband off, they are not going to get your money. The hosted solution allows users web based access to their business from anywhere in the world: their home, their office, on the beach. We have the ability to set up owners of businesses who may have multiple venues and multiple E&L centers. They can configure employees. They can manage the patrons. For example, in one of the early uses at International Speedway, NASCAR saw that one guy spent $4 a minute for every minute he was there. Wouldn’t you like to invite him back?! With MasterCard Pay Pass, for example, all the information goes to MasterCard. We enable the venue to do customer relationship management by understanding where they are every time they do a transaction; how much they are spending; what kind of beer they like to drink. Do they like hot dogs? You can collect all that stuff. Do you see customers using the wristbands taking advantage of purchasing trend information? CARNEY: In every pilot we have seen a per-cap increase of 10% to 60% of park venues, which is absolutely phenomenal. We call this impulse spending. I will use this example: you go to a park and bring cash. When you want to buy something, you pull out your wallet and you have $50. You say, "You know what, I'm going to spend $25 now, and save $25 in case the kids want to stop and get a drink on the way home. So you don’t spend all your cash. The credit card industry has found if you use your credit card, you will spend 10-15% more than cash. We believe we've found a real psychological phenomenon that if you move that further from the wallet, scan your wristband and somebody hands you something, you feel, "Wow, that is free. Give me another one." So we see impulse spending increases. We also eliminate cash. Now they don’t need a cash counting department. It is all handled up front. Edited December 9, 2008 by glennborthwick

[glennborthwick]

ao we are saying 130 units x 4 people so say 5% of a good solid day. Thats not going to impact anyone else negatively. Even if every single qbot gets 2 more rides (cant see it) we are talking 1000 more rides across 8 high profile rides or 125 rides per ride. I think youre missing the typical demographic buyer which is a more affluent family, which may put 4 people on it but realistically mum and dad only ride a couple of rides whlst the kids ride say 6. I still reckon the average over all will be lower than you think . Season ticket holders, teenage regular enthusiaists just arent the target market. I reckon an average will be 20 rides per qbot per day i.e 3 people riding 6 rides as an average - sometimes 2 people riding 6 rides then 4 people riding a couple of rides. At 18 rides per qbot even on days when its sold out we are only taking 18 x 130 = 2340 rides of which probably only 500 rides are extra squeezed in whilst people are waiting. Share this across your main 8 rides its about 60 extra riders over a whole day. It wont affect anyone else at all.

[Richard]

Your numbers are bogus. You're assuming that, despite the fact that this is a product marketed exclusively at people who intend to ride a lot of rides in their day but don't want to be caught up in queues, these people will not be likely to want to use it to the fullest extent. I don't know what you think the average visitor to Dreamworld will be doing for the 6-odd hours you estimate they won't be spending "virtual queuing", but I can assure you they're not going to be flocking to the handful of non-Q-bot rides that remain, most of which are dated carnival rides, toddler rides or transport rides. There's about an hour's entertainment in the various animal exhibits and that's pretty much Dreamworld. I gather that you are under the impression that everyone here is just season pass holders or enthusiasts complaining because they feel it threatens their visiting habbits. I can't speak for anyone else, but I will say is that I'm neither. The only reason I'm against this idea because I have never come across a park anywhere in the world which runs rides as poorly as Dreamworld. And here they feel that they can use their dreadful operations as an excuse to charge people extra if they don't want to spend 90% of their day queuing.

[jjuttp]

Richard i completely agree. the animals can give you a fraction of the days entertainment and the non-flocked rides which are probably the bot rides will be almost walk-on's although i dont really agree with"your numbers are bogus" considering that I CANT EVEN READ THEM (understand them)

[T-bone]

Some more info will come in soon, however the system will be called "Q4U".

Get more action into your day with Q4U, the all NEW virtual queuing system that lets you queue while you enjoy the park. Simply rent a Q4U from Dreamworld's KODAK Express Shop, book your ride time, and gain entry to The Tower of Terror, the Mick Doohan Moto-Coaster and more. Queue virtually. Ride 4 real. Get your Q4U at the gate.

[Original]

Yayy. Moto coaster and TOT their promoting two of the worst run rides in the park. These rides could be better run if staff would just stop talking to each other I went their the other day and seriously nothing has changed. These Q-Bots will be worse if the staff don't learn about customer experience work mate chatting. There are some excellent staff there, yes. I'm sure the people on here who work at Dreamworld are great. But to some its a job, who cares what the public think, its not my business or money. DW need to pick up operation before even thinking about this system or it will be a dismal failure. Easiest way to fix this, tell the staff to stop talking and run the ride. I'm sorry, I know I'm ranting but I'm just sick of it, especially in this heat.

Edited December 11, 2008 by Original

[glennborthwick]

q4u - webpage updated. $10 plus $5 per extra person. Typical 4 person rent works out at $7.50 each. Full explanation - no excuses for not knowing what you are buying

[Richard]

True that they've done a reasonable job of explaining it on the website. And I will say that the pricing is actually surprisingly reasonable for Dreamworld. I've never been against the concept, and as I've said I'm not adverse to paying more if it means a better experience. Hell, if I were to have a judgement lapse and somehow end up spending a day at Dreamworld I'd probably sign up for Q4U. My gripe (again) is that it's totally unsuited to a park like Dreamworld where rides just don't have the capacity. The only problem is that they are justifying it to non-buyers using a totally false premise. They claim that other guests do not queue longer. Only if the buyer queues for absolutely nothing while they are virtually queuing for something -- be that another ride or a meal -- is this actually true. The fact is that at a theme park the chance that someone would lock in a ride with the Lo-Q device and not do anything else the park has on offer is pretty low. And every time they enter such a queue they are effectively jumping the queue; whether you see it as them linejumping at the Lo-Q ride or at the second ride they're queuing for doesn't matter, but there's no question that they are taking away from other guests.

[glennborthwick]

I don see a problem with them going on rides which are virtually walk ons. Either way I really hope this goes hand in hand with in park improvements. Certainly the last two years at Six flags can show how a higher standard demanded by managers can effect improvements in load times, all done hand in hand with technology improvements. I am very interested in users feedback of the system etc.

[Gazza]

I'm a nerd, can someone take some pics of how they have integrated it into the park....I imagine they have just put new signs everywhere, and the claw would have its old SRQ converted to Q4U.

[Spotty]

The Claw had a Single Rider Line? I'll get a look around while I'm down there on monday and try and snap some pics.

[cadboy]

Has any construction been going on. I mean have they built any new queues to accomodate the system? I wonder how it will be incorperated on Wipeout hmmmmm and TOT for that matter.

[Spotty]

Being incorporated into the Tower of Terror would be easy. For the whole queue except the first flight of stairs in the skull there is a barrier that splits the path in half. 1 For Q4U and 1 for Normal Riders. Also the rides Included in the Q4U System are as follows as far as i'm aware.: Tower of Terror The Claw Wipeout Cyclone Mick Doohan's Motocoaster Rugrats Runaway Reptar Thunder River Rapids Rocky Hollow Log Ride

[BNErider]

I think Giant Drop would also be included.

[Lotl_90]

No, Giant Drop Will not be included. The Lo-Q hardware systems were (and always would be if installed) too adversely affected by the presence of the drops magnets. Instead Reptar has been included in the list. The devices will be allowed to stay on guests as a 'loose item'. In saying this, each Q-bot comes with a hook to clip on to your belt, and a piece of fabric that will allow it to reach a pocket. Most of the Q4U entrances are now complete. The Claw has had an access gate put in the opposite side to the normal queue, right beside the number 2 operator. The wipeout has had a wooden fence put up around the edge of the queue line near the entry door, and the queue line has been altered to allow a second access. Cyclone, Reptar, Rapids and Log Ride will all use the ride exits as a Q4U entry point. EDIT: Also, must apologise for my earlier remarks about the system being a pay per ride. Obviously misunderstood what i was being told. Pay per rider is what was actually being said. Sorry for the slip up!

Edited December 13, 2008 by Lotl_90

[Spotty]

I'd been wondering what that fence and new gate was for the Claw and Wipeout. Now I know! I wonder if this means the Cyclone Queue might go back into the building like it used to!