Talking Queues at EAS 2008

IAAPA Chair Bob Masterson cut the ribbon this morning on EAS 2008-Munich, allowing attendees to start heading into the trade show floor. I spent most of my time today, though, up in a series of excellent educational sessions, so I'll be posting about those as I finish writing them up, starting with …

The last educational seminar of the day examined queue lines and methods for managing them. Presenters included Leonard Sim, founder of digital queuing system Lo-Q, and David Wilson of Walt Disney Imagineering for Euro Disney.

Sim’s Lo-Q system is in place at several amusement parks including Six Flags and Dollywood. It allows customers to use a Q-Bot to reserve places in line digitally without having to actually visit the ride or wait in its line. When their time is up, they go to a special entrance and get on the ride.

Sim said managing queues is essential to running a successful park, because the technique walks a razor-thin line: full lines mean a park is having a successful day in both attraction demand and overall attendance, but overflowing queues can detract from the guest experience. He believes as our culture gets more and more comfortable with personal digital technology, guests will fully expect to reserve all their rides electronically in the future.

“We’re in a changing industry, and we’re going to have to embrace technology,” he said. “Queuing technology is one of those areas.”

Wilson spoke primarily about how Disney uses queues to its advantage to help enhance the company’s storytelling within each attraction. Referencing such classic rides as “Expedition Everest” and “The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror,” he said: “The story doesn’t just start with the attraction. It starts with the entrance and exit sequences. … We look at queue lines as an asset. We entertain our guests and walk them through the narratives of our stories.”

More than that, though, Wilson said Disney queues are designed to increase capacity. They allow guests to preview the on- and offload procedures so they know exactly what to do when arriving at the loading platform.

Disney also utilizes several other tools to help manage the flow of guests and keep wait times down, including: Fast Pass; tip boards that show wait and show times from one central location; Bluetooth applications that allow guests to receive queue info on their mobile units; and Extra Magic Hours, where parks open early or stay open late for select guests.

Auf Wiedersehen! Summer Meeting

Munich-based ride manufacturer Maurer Soehne—of X-Car fame—closed the 2008 IAAPA Summer Meeting tonight by transforming its 100-year-old warehouse (above) into a slick lounge bar, capping the three-day event with music and a laser light show.

The night was a Maurer showcase, opening with a trip through the company’s factory that would make any coaster fan drool. Scattered throughout the coaster builder’s complex were pieces and parts of what will in March become “Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit” at Universal Orlando. This is the biggest coaster MS has built in North America, said Jorg Beutler, the company’s managing director, and it involves an element the manufacturer has never tried before.

I didn’t catch the “official” name, but essentially it’s a non-inverting loop. Beutler said Universal didn’t want the ride to have loops because inversions to ensure it’s a ride the entire family will want to ride together. So what the MS designers drew up is a twisted element where the car starts to rise like it’s going into a loop but then twists back to right-side up as it crests the “loop,” then twists downward again to complete the motion and continue on the journey. It’s a little hard to describe, I know, so you’ll just have to see it to believe it. You might not even think it possible, even then.

As we wandered through the complex, there were various pieces of track in various stages of completion on display. Here are a few shots:


Maurer Soehne also had representatives of two of its biggest clients, Disney and Universal (OK, they really don’t come any bigger than that), give presentations. David Wilson, project director for Walt Disney Imagineering at Euro Disneyland, gave his five rules for creating a successful attraction. They are:

1. Storytelling—“Our parks are known for creating an environment where guests can escape from the real world into a world of fantasy and imagination—and we do that through storytelling.”
2. Make sure you respond to the needs of the park.
3. Add some magic—something unexpected for the guests.
4. Make sure it’s reliable and has a high capacity. “You spend a lot of time, effort, and money to build these wonderful attractions and people come to see them. If they can’t get on because it doesn’t have a high enough capacity or it breaks down in the middle of the day, that’s disappointing.”
5. Safety—The rule that’s so fundamental, “it’s an implicit rule,” woven into the fabric of everything Disney does.

Universal’s Steve Blum then gave a blow-by-blow account of his company’s creation of “Hollywood Dream—The Ride,” which debuted last year at Universal Japan. Blum’s presentation was jaw-dropping in its account of how many obstacles the project team of 20 employees had to overcome to create the instant-classic roller coaster. Whether it was having to build support structure in the midst of existing attractions, dealing with government regulations, or retrofitting pieces of steel once they arrived on site, Blum said the key to the entire endeavor was a flexible, quick-on-their-feet staff.

Finally, the night ended in Maurer Soehne’s No. 1 warehouse to the rhythmic beats of Power! Percussion and a laser light show that sent IAAPA Summer Meeting out on an eye-dazzling note.

Now, bring on EAS 2008 …

Hallowed Ground

Today I visited two of the most revered icons in Munich: The BMW headquarters, and Allianz Arena, where the city’s football (soccer, for you Americans out there) plays.

More specifically, we checked out undoubtedly the coolest car dealership I’ve ever seen. BMW Welt is across the street from the automaker’s headquarters. Here’s a picture of the latter, with the newly refurbished BMW Museum to the right, followed by a pic of the Welt:




People come from all over the world to BMW Welt so they can pick out and buy their German-made automobiles in person, right from the source. Inside, there are 20 rotating platforms where potential buyers can check out their own car; people (like me) actually watch other people buy cars, that’s how cool this place is. Here's a shot:


And here's people looking under the hood, getting ready to close a deal, I assume:


You can get right up close to all the BMW models, as well, and the company is such a big deal here, the Welt has a mini-interactive exhibit of its own, where you can “test drive” a car, and play educational hands-on games that will teach you about what goes into making one of these machines. There’s even a kids’ area where they can become “junior” engineers. Like I said, essentially this is what we’d call in the States a car dealership showroom, but that is definitely doesn’t describe all that’s going on here. No other dealership I’ve been to actually chauffeurs its clients to the door in black BMWs—straight from the airport, I’m assuming. Here’s another look inside the huge facility:


So if there’s anything that can equal the fervor in Munich for BMW, then I guess it would be the city’s football team. On the second half of our tour today we got an inside look at the team’s Allianz Arena, which opened in 2005. The stadium is unique in that it’s covered with a type of hard plastic shell on the outside that allows it to be lit in different colors depending on which teams are playing on a given night. It’s unlike any stadium I’ve seen, certainly. Here’s a photo:


The arena holds nearly 70,000 people. Here’s a look from the upper and lower decks—seems to me there’s not a bad seat in the house:


We then were taken into the bowels of the arena to see the Munich team’s locker room and the tunnel where they enter the field, gladiator-style. Our guide said this is considered nearly hallowed ground. Here’s a look:


Well, that does it for now. I’m hoping to post more later tonight after an evening at the Maurer Soehne plant. Otherwise, more tomorrow, as EAS 2008 begins …

King Ludwig’s Castle

OK, first off: Unfortunately I’m not going to make it to Oktoberfest tonight, so yesterday's promise for reporting from one of the world's biggest parties will have to wait a few more days.

But, that’s not to say I don’t have anything to write about this beautiful Bavarian evening. Quite the contrary.

Today I loaded a bus with several other Summer Meeting attendees and drove about an hour and a half into the rolling hills of the Bavarian countryside on a quest to tour one of the most famous castles in the world, Neuschwanstein of King Ludwig II. Besides the fact that it’s a popular historical destination, this trip was especially appropriate for our group, as King Ludwig’s gorgeous structure on a hill is said to be the inspiration for one of our industry’s most well-known and beloved landmarks: Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland. Compare the photos below—the first is Disney’s castle, the second two are photos I shot this afternoon. The towers are especially alike.


But that’s not all. “Mad” King Ludwig serves not just as inspiration, but takes a starring role in Busch Gardens Europe’s “Curse of DarKastle” mega-dark ride in Williamsburg, Virginia. Here’s a photo of the castle the Busch folks built in his … honor:


During the half-hour tour we traveled all through the castle, going up and down literally hundreds of spiraling steps. Though it was under construction for 17 years, Ludwig’s fourth palace was never finished because construction ended upon his untimely—and controversial—death in 1886. But what was completed is spectacular, most notably the opera house that takes up most of the third floor; Ludwig was a celebrant of Wagner (the castle is dedicated entirely to the legendary composer), and the idea was to play Wagner’s music in that chamber. Unfortunately, Ludwig never got that chance, as he died two days after it was built; his legacy lives on, however, as concerts are held regularly in the hall today.

Unlike some tours of historic structures (I’m lookin’ right at you, White House), I really felt like I got to see and experience all of the major elements you’d wouldn’t want to miss in a program like this: We stood in Ludwig’s throne room (with its mosaic floor made of 2 million tiles), his bedroom, dressing room, living room (he’s also a big fan of swans, as they are all over this room), as well as several other ancillary spaces (his secretary’s office has one of Europe’s first telephones). Rather than just looking in on these rooms, guests walk right through them, as if we were real visitors of the king.

And what a place to live! I can see why Ludwig would want his castle built there. Though you’re not allowed to take pictures of anything inside the castle, several windows were open at various points, so I took some photos of what Ludwig saw when he looked out upon his land. Here are a couple:


Finally, after the tour I made a brisk, challenging uphill climb to a nearby canyon spanned by a small bridge affording tremendous views of Ludwig’s home. Here’s one (apologies for the scaffolding—the castle is being refurbished):


So, there you have it. Everyone came back a little tired (it was quite a trek up a long, winding road to reach the castle), but it was well worth the forthcoming sore legs.

More tomorrow …

2008 IAAPA Summer Meeting Underway in Munich

Yes, it’s official: The very last IAAPA Summer Meeting got off to a high-class start tonight in the beautiful multilevel ballroom of Munich’s downtown Bayerischer Hof Hotel.

Tonight executives from all over the world gathered for the event’s Welcome Reception, where a laid-back atmosphere was conducive for networking while reconnecting with colleagues and old friends over snacks and drinks.

And speaking of, tonight’s get-together was basically a very light appetizer for what’s to come tomorrow: the Wine Tent at Oktoberfest. I don’t know exactly what to expect from the world’s largest people’s fair, but somehow I think even if someone told me, it couldn’t do it justice.

More tomorrow …

Follow Summer Meeting/EAS Right HERE!

Just wanted to let all of our faithful "In the Queue" readers know you should keep checking back here throughout the next week as I'll be blogging from Munich, Germany, during the 2008 IAAPA Summer Meeting and EAS 2008.

Even though we're approaching our one-year anniversary here in this little corner of the Internet (hard to believe, I know), this is the first time I'm covering events of this scale almost exclusively on the blog, so your guess is as good as mine as to how this whole thing is going to work out. Starting Sunday night (Munich time), I'm hopefully going to post at least one item every day, so check back often.

See you in a few days!

After the Storm

Last week, Jeremy blogged about IAAPA members affected by the recent hurricane in the United States' Gulf region. Now that members are returning to their businesses and beginning to assess the damage, I thought I would offer a short list of government resources available to aid in the recovery process:

• The U.S. Small Business Administration offers both Physical Disaster Loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. The former is a source of funding for rebuilding privately-owned real or personal property. These loans are available to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and nonprofit organizations. The latter type of loan is for small businesses only and provides necessary working capital until normal operations resume. Information can be found on the SBA Disaster Assistance web site.
  
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can provide homeowners with temporary housing and money for repair or replacement following a disaster. It also can provide money for medical and dental costs, funeral and burial costs, clothing, clean-up items, and other necessary expenses. To apply for assistance, visit the FEMA web site.
  
• FEMA also maintains a list of other agencies that provide specialized assistance like the USDA (this may be helpful for zoo and aquarium members) or the IRS (if you have special tax considerations as a result of the disaster). Legal aid, crisis counseling, and insurance information is also coordinated through FEMA. The list is organized by state.

Finally, Jeremy did hear from one more member in the affected area. Jeffrey Seibert, director of corporate communications and sales for Schlitterbahn Waterparks, e-mailed to say Schlitterbahn Galveston Island Waterpark remains closed as park officials assess the damage caused by Ike. A reopen date has not been set, but keep watch here for more info.