Digital signage in theme parks: Bridging the experiential gap

I had the pleasure of hearing every detail of my niece’s recent theme park tour in sunny, and unseasonably hot, Southern California. Hearing this twelve-year-old talk about what she found amusing and troubling was not just exhausting, but it was also informative. Through the eyes of a pre-teen, I heard a lot of what would make the experience better for her and her parents.

Her story started with the long, hot line that she had to wait in, at a couple of the parks, just to get admission tickets. Not one of the places she visited had anything that would entertain her while she waited in line. She thought it would have been fun to have something she could interact with – digital displays with cartoons, touch displays she could engage with, or even some sort of digital display running video of the rides she might enjoy. Her perception of time is probably not keen, but she told me that it took her “like, 2 hours” to get tickets at one park … even though her Dad said it was inside of 30 minutes.

Interestingly, her Dad had another perspective on the admission line experience. “It was probably 30 minutes but it felt like we spent the whole morning in line.” He went on to tell me that they should have had something that entertained them and passed the time. Dad’s comment was “what kind of theme park doesn’t even show you the score of the USC game?” The same was true while they stood in lines at roller coasters, water rides, and even concession areas.  He’s right – people go to amusement parks to be amused, not bored out of their minds.  It needs to be exciting. And making the whole trip, from ticketing to exiting, needs to be a memorable experience. How does a theme park operator do that? CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF STORY.

Source: Allure, A Christie Company

Category: Member News