Hildebrandt tweets - 2012 additions cont

IOA/Universal also have digital wait time displays throughout the park. I really like them, more parks should use them.

How about a sign at the ride something like this:

RAPTOR - Current wait time: 75 minutes

May we suggest...
Corkscrew: No wait!
Mean Streak: 5 minutes
Wicked Twister: 10 minutes
Magnum XL-200: 20 minutes
Millennium Force: 30 minutes
Mantis: 60 minutes

And of course later in the day...

MILLENNIUM FORCE - Current wait time: 45 minutes

May we suggest...
Blue Streak: No Wait!
Raptor: 5 minutes
Cedar Creek Mine Ride: 10 minutes
Corkscrew: 20 minutes
Iron Dragon: 15 minutes

You get the idea. Current digital sign technology would make it easy, and the listings on the signs could be dynamic, even with arrows pointing the direction to the alternative ride...

Actually, I have often thought that such a system would work best in a park like Kings Island, where the midways run in such a way that the walk between rides is somewhat minimized, at least compared to Cedar Point.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Universal's were very useful.
http://orlandoparksnews.blogspot.com/2011/02/islands-of-adventure-d...efurb.html

This works well at all the Disney Parks. There not all electric at their parks such as Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom but even if there not electric, (though it would make a lot easier to update) they would help a lot. There's no worse feeling than sprinting to Maverick for early entry and seeing it is closed and having to go back to the front where the lines are long now. Not necessary for Dragster though , you can see it from anywhere in the park and hear it from half the park :)

Wait times posted with park maps would be nice.

The idea of getting a free locker for the amount that is 10 minutes longer than what the wait time is, makes alot of sense to me.

I've always thought lockers are a good idea, but hate how parks overprice and charge for ridiculous and stupidly small items.

It should be free if you are having to wait an hour .....

After that, then you would have to pay. I wonder how this will work out with the bins, too?

I reckon they should just leave them there.

If Quimet mentioned being able to check ride wait times on your smartphones, excellent. That's a first step I pushed for long ago.

Eventually, I think digital signage in the park is an excellent way to disperse crowds and improve the quest experience. I had a similar vision as RideMan. I really think this could benefit forgotten rides on crowded days, like the excellent Flight Deck at Kings Island. Secondly, it could change the herding sheep effect, which causes the issue of guests experiencing peak wait times the whole day as they progress through the park.

The downside...enthusiasts lose an edge. :) But if it helps the park long term, I'm all for it.

Kings Island's GM has recently posted a tweet about new uniforms coming in rides and foods.

Universal's Lockers are only free for attractions that require you to use a locker. Any ride that it is not a rule you can pay to use (ex water rides, JP, Duddly & Popeye) Universal is very nice when it comes to the lock times too. There has been many times when the time given gave me plenty of time for a re-ride or too. The locker attendants are also helpful when there is a breakdown and wont hassle you to pay, they just open it with no problem.

SSL488 said:
http://albums.mouseplanet.com/WDWEpcotFutureWorldProcessed/EP_FW_ne...newsom.jpg

This would mainly benefit the people without smart phones.

I like this idea. For some people like me that don't have smart phones, this idea would come in handy! :)

John Hildebrandt @CPGMJohn
Three great rides getting new paint for 2012: Blue Streak, Giant Wheel, Millennium Force (started MF spring of 2011-- it's a BIG coaster).

Giant Wheel's getting a lot of TLC this off-season. New paint and new lights. Looking forward to making a trip to see all the improvements.

The park is going to look amazing compared to the past years.

Maybe they will return the Blue Streak to it original brown color.

I love when the Blue Streak is freshly painted blue. It looks so nice

Blue streak was brown due to the lack of paint. So, if they are giving it a paint job, I doubt it will be brown.

Your mom is to fat to ride TTD. said:
The park is going to look amazing compared to the past years.

Just the Giant Wheel alone is going to make a HUGE difference. Maybe we can see the Power Tower lights coming back in the near future?

This is all highly encouraging stuff. Keep it up, Mr. Ouimet. :)

Am I mistaken, but I thought Mantis was being painted?

Parts of Mantis' station was repainted at the beginning of the off season. I believe that Mantis had a paint job less than 10 years ago. So it would be pretty unlikely to see a reapaint.

The one thing I have about these wait time signs is that they are incredibly inaccurate, at least from my experience with them working during the volunteer days. The front person would basically eyeball the crowd and guess.

I don't doubt that the want is there. I think it could only help.

My Pros:

Wouldn't have to awkwardly walk past the line to see the sign.
Would add some much needed modernization to the park.

My Cons:

Current queue signs a heavily inexact science, accuracy would be an issue.
Who's going to update it - ride ops or management?