How Disney Imagineers Shortened Lines

In an era where everything needs be to now, the imagineers at Disney World are using technology to reduce the time spent waiting in line.

At an underground bunker located beneath Cinderella Castle, technicians watch rows of monitors that display queues for rides, in green, yellow, or red, indicated how long they have been waiting.  In this “nerve center” called the Disney Operational Command Center, technicians employ video cameras, computer programs, digital park maps and other tech to recognize congestion before it happens and respond to it in real time.

For example if lines at the Pirates of Caribbean ride suddenly changes from green to yellow, the control center might respond by sending more boats to pick-up more riders. Something else that they could do is sending a character such as Captain Jack Sparrow to the queues to entertain those in line. They’ve also installed video games along areas where lines form. For example at Space Mountain there are short 90 second video games to entertain those in line. Another scenario is if one part of the park is busier than the other, the center can call in a mini-parade to attract guests to the less populate area. In addition, other technicians manage restaurants, watching to see if there needs to be more registers or servers.

“These moments add up until they collectively help the entire park,” says Phil Holmes, vice president of the Magic Kingdom.

The command center is working too. In a recent study conducted by Disney, the average visitor only had time for nine rides out of the 40 available to them due the amount of time spent in lines. However, since the use of the center, Disney has been able to change that to 10.

This isn’t the only way Disney is using technology to shorten lines. Many things that seem to happen with “magic” are ran by behind-the-scenes systems. Staff analyze flight and hotel reservations to anticipate how many rides are going to be needed for the day. They check how many people came last year to prepare for the same number as well.

Disney has also attempted to integrate smartphones as well. An app called Mobile Magic, allows people to find characters and rides just by typing in a name and follow the GPS directions.

Another idea that Disney is looking at is wristbands that would have your name, credit card information, and other helpful info. This way, a visitor could quickly pay for a souvenir with a swipe of the wristband or interact with other attractions in the same way.

Bruce Vaughn, chief creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, imagines something similar. “Picture a day where there is memory built into these characters — they will know that they’ve seen you four or five times before and that your name is Bobby. Those are the kinds of limits that are dissolving so quickly that we can see being able to implement them in the meaningfully near future.”

[Via Gizmodo]