Immersion is a key aspect for any theme park and designers frequently go to great lengths to ensure that the atmosphere and anticipation grows as visitors get closer and closer to the attractions themselves. A key part of building up this anticipation is through the use of themed queue lines, the queue line is the foundation of the guest journey into the experience, which guests frequently spend a sizable amount of time but isn’t always utilised correctly. For more popular rides, it’s pretty common to spend more time queueing than actually being on the ride and the last you thing you want is to kill your visitors’ buzz. Below are a series of tips for creating a well themed queue line.
Storytelling
If you’ve got the space to do so, why not incorporate storytelling into your queue line? It’s important to keep in mind that some visitors will have skip passes and not have the opportunity to properly experience these, or during off-times visitors may simply walk through the relevant rooms to get straight to the ride not really having the opportunity to take in the storyline. In an ideal world, you would want for your queue line to build enough context for your attraction to engage visitors and build atmosphere, but not enough whereby missing it would hinder their overall experience.
Organisation
At the end of the day, the purpose of the queue line is to efficiently manage visitors as they wait for the attraction; no matter how well told the storyline may be or how unique the theming is, visitors won’t get a chance to enjoy it if they’re uncomfortable. Proper ventilation is key in any queueing area and you’re always going to want to take precautions with social distancing in order to ensure that visitors aren’t feeling cramped.
Longer queues – if not well designed – can also frequently give the illusion of not actually moving, this is the last thing you want since visitors are likely to get frustrated if they feel they’re just wasting time. Many modern queue lines look to funnel visitors through mazy corridors to prevent them from being able to see just how long the line might be.
Accessibility
Something that can serve as a bit of an issue with some queue lines is accessibility for visitors with special needs. Quality theming is focused around immersion which can culminate in unnatural flooring or items scattered across the space; this can become a major inconvenience for visitors in wheelchairs or those who struggle to walk. It’s important to keep visitors of different types in mind when designing a queue line to ensure that your attraction is easily accessible.
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For theme park design solutions bound to deliver unbridled joy to visitors of all ages, get in touch with our team at Scruffy Dog Creative Group today. Click here to fill out our ‘Contact Us’ form, give us a call at 02034684220, or drop us an email at info@scruffydogltd.com.