Why can't parks have some way of displaying live park info?

[jjune4991]

I've seen at IOA and USF where they have those signs telling you the wait times are for the rides, but those are at the front of the park, so kinda useless once you've walked around a little.

[larrygator]

There is no security issue in releasing attendance figures. Anyone with a little knowledge can tell how busy a park is by examining the parking lot.

 

As Joey said, it is proprietary info and the parks release info on a need to know basis. Knowing the specific attendance at a park would not beneift the public, however releasing ride wait times is beneficial.

[RCFreak]

Actually they are. I have talked with the Park President of SFGAM Mr. Salemi and he said that it encourages people to buy flash passes. And they even has the add for the flash passes on the sign that says _____ minutes from this point. Consider buying a flash pass blah blah blah

 

-Jeremie

 

These signs have been there for years, long time before flashpass was even introduced

[89James89]

Thorpe Park has a display board outside the entrance to Nemisis Inferno that gives you ride times for all the rides int he park and lets you know if any are down which was handy when we were choosing which rides to reride last time I was there.

 

Talking about wait times though the time before that I was at Thorpe Park I waited 3 and a half horus to ride Stealth only for it to close down. We were given fast passes for another ride though (which we used on Collosuss) so it wasnt too bad. I just found it funny that people who had left the line 5 or 10 minutes before the ride closed weren't allowed the fast passes and were getting all annoyed. Bet customer services had a lot to handle that day.

 

Still if your willing and stupid enough to wait that long for a ride that it was pretty obvious wasn't going to open (it was the last coaster for us in the park which was our reasoning) and the announcer had told you it probable wouldnt open then you have no right to complain.

 

Cheers (and sorry if I got a little off topic)

 

89James89

[tatertot3710]

iPhone app aims to cut theme-park wait times:

 

Now an iPhone can do more than just help you kill time while waiting in theme-park lines: it can help you avoid them altogether.

 

Jacksonville father of four Brent Pope, 44, released a series of applications called Wait Watchers, which shows wait times for Disney and Universal theme-park attractions -- and costs 99 cents per theme park.

 

First came the app for Disney's Magic Kingdom, released two weeks ago. This week, he released versions for Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Epcot, as well as Universal's Islands of Adventure. He also has created an app for Disneyland, Disney's California Adventure and Universal Studios Hollywood. One for Universal Studios Orlando is on its way.

 

The applications depend on parkgoers to keep the information up to date. Using Global Positioning System technology, the application allows users to submit a wait-time update only if they are in the theme park.

 

Think you can shoo away crowds by greatly exaggerating a ride's wait time? Think it would be funny to say the hardly ever crowded Carousel of Progress has a 110-minute wait? Pope's prepared for that and will block an iPhone ID if a user gets flagged multiple times for sending totally wrong times.

 

''They say necessity is the mother of invention, and in my case, recession was the mother of invention,'' said Pope, who was laid off three months ago from his job as a creative director at an advertising firm.

 

But losing his job didn't stop a spring-break family trip to Walt Disney World. He often wished he could know a line was going to be long before having to trek across an entire park with four kids in tow. It wasn't until he returned from his trip that the idea sparked. He hired programmers from a company called Phodder to build and manage the app.

 

Disney has been working on it's own mobile magic with Verizon Wireless for several months to create a richer application that would allow Verizon customers to get updated information on attraction wait times, as well as locate shows, restaurants and Disney characters in the parks. It also will let guests play mobile games and get messages from Disney characters.

 

The application will be released sometime in 2009, according to Disney. And there will be some mobile features available for park guests without Verizon.

 

Disney fanatics have been creating books, online guides, podcasts and forums centered on a love for the Mouse for years. Social communities that share information -- what Pope's app depends on -- are no exception.

 

Pope said his app will be useful if at least 12 people in each park contribute data to it throughout the day. His next update will include a countdown for showtimes.

 

''It's definitely a gamble being completely dependent on a community of people to create content,'' said Forrester analyst Vidya L. Drego. ``It all depends if you end up targeting a group of people that feel it is worth their time.''

 

Other theme-park apps already are available in the iTunes store, including ones for park maps, Disney trivia and guides to finding Hidden Mickeys -- images of The Big Cheese throughout the parks.

 

''It shows the strength of our brand,'' said Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger.

 

Disney's partnership with Verizon is currently available in an Epcot park attraction, the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure, where guests go on a scavenger hunt around the park and are given Verizon devices to interact with clues.

 

Pope said this is just the first wave of theme-park apps he plans on creating. But don't count on him for any apps for Disney's water parks. ''I don't even like my iPhone being next to a glass a water!'' he said.

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/business/breaking-news/story/1116590.html

[Raven Maven]

We do post when we expect to be "exceptionally busy" ... on our homepage and the park hours page, and a few others. Doesn't make sense to us not to warn people that if they have flexibility in their schedule they might want to visit another day. We've found it works -- those days end up not being quite as busy.

 

Of course, then I have to answer about a million emails saying "I see you're going to be exceptionally busy -- why is that?" I guess they're worried they might miss something...

 

I couldn't ever see posting an actual number -- especially at the gate. It's almost like a "ha-ha you picked a really bad day to visit" sort of rub-it-in statement, imo. Plus, unless you're a park geek, will the number really mean anything? I've had people say, "Wow! I bet you have 3,000 people here today" when we have 12,000." Telling them would make them feel worse, wouldn't it? Just like if someone thinks it's 95 degrees out, what's the point in telling them it's 105 heat index?" It's one of those "choose your attitude" things, I guess.

 

We posted on our homepage, blog, Facebook, twitter and e-newsletter on Friday that we have planned down-time for Pilgrims Plunge on Tuesday so we can add two more boats to the system. Sure hope enough folks see the notice that we don't get clobbered. They're going to work all night Monday on it and hope it'll be up at least a few hours before close on Tuesday...but as you know it's impossible to predict.

 

We'll see...

 

Paula