How Queue Design and Operations Affect Wait Times at the Magic Kingdom

Description
Waiting in line for attractions is an unavoidable part of every theme park visit. Many theme park designers have tried ways to make these waits shorter and more enjoyable. Such techniques include offering a separate ‘fast lane’ for certain Guests

Waiting in line for attractions is an unavoidable part of every theme park visit. Many theme park designers have tried ways to make these waits shorter and more enjoyable. Such techniques include offering a separate ‘fast lane’ for certain Guests or creating additional load platforms for higher Guest throughput. Both the queues themselves as well as the attraction’s operation have an enormous effect on how many Guests can experience it in a day, and relatedly, how long they will have to wait for that experience. This paper will utilize both queueing theory and personal work experience to analyze the queues and operations of two attractions at the Magic Kingdom Park: the Tomorrowland Speedway and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover. I use my own personal experience working at these attractions as well as queueing data I recorded to show areas for improvement in queue design and operations, as well as potential solutions to increase efficiency and lower operational costs.
Date Created
2023-12
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