People love amusement parks. In 2019, amusement and theme parks generated a total revenue of over 22 billion dollars in the United States alone. Yet despite the joy these parks produce, they are haunted by something that’s not amusing at all: endless lines.
Time is money, even when people are trying to enjoy themselves. To put it simply, no rides, no matter how wonderful they may be, are worth a two hour wait. A drawback of the long lines in amusement parks is that they affect visitors’ overall perception of the experience. Though they may receive excellent service and have the best rides of their life, visitors will view long lines negatively, perhaps even detracting from their positive perceptions. Of course, this will determine whether visitors will return to an amusement park.
Amusement parks have tried different tactics fix this problem. Some fill their lines with TVs to show video clips that distract visitors. Some make employees dress up in costumes and interact with visitors. Yet there is another way for amusement parks to make the wait more enjoyable that doubles as a business boost: placing self-ordering kiosks along the lines.
Give visitors something to expect along the way
When people do long-distance running, they set small destinations along the way to ease the dread of having too much uncompleted distance ahead. Lines in amusement parks operate in a similar way. If self-service kiosks are placed along the line in the right positions, they can act like mini destinations that cut the long line into several, more bearable parts. Visitors in lines will think in terms of how many kiosks away they are from the gate, which is a lot more fun than an aimless wait. And since we like to look at text and pictures when we have nothing to do, the colorful displays on kiosks’ screens can serve as great distractions.
Increase revenue
People may ask why self-ordering kiosks are better distractions than TVs. Self-service kiosks placed along the line don’t just distract visitors — they interact with them directly. Instead of passively receiving information as with TVs, visitors have more control over what they want to see on a kiosk. More importantly, kiosks connected with food venues in an amusement park generate more revenue, something TVs cannot do. When people are bored, they are more likely to make impulse purchases. Some self-ordering kiosks also allow visitors to make timed orders, so they will get their food at the right time and not worry about it while on the ride.
A better way to social distance
As amusement parks plan to reopen in the post COVID-19 world, they must address visitors’ safety concerns. Placed at certain intervals along the waiting line, self-ordering kiosks can help break up crowds and maintain social distancing. Since companies like GRUBBRR make self-ordering kiosks that are customized and can be easily rolled around, it’s very easy to preserve distance between kiosks and demonstrate that visitors’ health is on the administration’s mind. Through these simple steps, arguably the worst part of amusement parks becomes a bit more bearable, and a lot safer for all visitors.