Conquering the Summer Surge

A Guide to Smarter Guest Flow that Speeds Them on Their Way to Fun!

By Clint Novak, Business Development Manager, A&A Global Industries

It’s July. The sun is out, the doors are open and a line of guests is snaking out from your front counter. For an operator, this is both a blessing and a curse. More guests mean more revenue, but that long line is your first – and most critical – operational bottleneck.

During my nearly a decade as the general manager of Fun Land of Fredericks­burg, I became intimately familiar with this challenge. We observed that a standard transaction for a first-time guest could easily take five to seven minutes. You have to explain the attractions, decipher the best value and process the payment. Multiply that by a dozen families, and you have a recipe for frustration before the fun has even begun.

The goal shouldn’t be to work through the line faster; it should be to eliminate the line altogether. We learned that the key to a smoother guest experience isn’t just about what happens at the counter, but what you can do to keep guests away from it.

Empower Guests to Bypass the Line

Your single, most powerful tool for reducing front-counter pressure is your online store. Every ticket or package sold online is one less lengthy transaction for your team to handle. We aggressively pushed online sales by creating a dedicated, can’t-miss “Express Lane” for pre-purchased tickets. This immediately rewards guests for buying ahead.

But, don’t neglect the guests already in line. Place signs with large QR codes that say, “In a Rush? Scan Here to Buy Now & Skip the Line!” This empowers them to solve their own problem, turning waiting time into purchasing time. Is your waiver process a pinch point? Move it online. Let guests complete waivers from home so they can walk straight to the express line instead of fumbling with kiosks upon arrival.

Simplify & Intercept

On the busiest days, I made it a habit to become a “line-buster.” I would stand at the end of the guest services queue and ask a simple question: “Folks, what are you here for today?” If they just needed to add play value to a card, I could direct them to one of our many self-service kiosks in the arcade, instantly removing them from the queue. If they wanted to buy wristbands, I would point to the QR code and explain that they could buy on their phone and jump into the express lane. Just a few minutes of this proactive triage could significantly shorten the wait for everyone else.

This process also forces you to analyze your offerings. If it takes several minutes to explain your packages, you might have too many. We learned to simplify our options by eliminating unpopular or confusing bundles. Doing so made the decision-making process as quick and easy as possible for both the guest and our team.

Bonus Tip: Rethink the Very Idea of a Line

When we opened our new go-kart track, we were overwhelmed with demand, leading to waits of up to four hours. I refused to make people stand in a line that long. Who would want to start their “fun” day like that?
Instead of building a massive queue, we treated it like a busy restaurant. We downloaded a restaurant reservation app and placed a host at the ride entrance. Guests would give us their phone number and group size, and we’d add them to the virtual queue. Then, they were free to enjoy the rest of the park – playing games, eating food and spending money. When it was their turn, the app sent an automatic text message calling them to the ride. We transformed a miserable four-hour wait into a positive experience, kept the physical line under 30 minutes and captured revenue from guests who would have otherwise been stuck in a queue.

This July, take a hard look at your lines. They are more than just a waiting game; they are a critical part of the guest experience. By pushing sales online, simplifying your offerings and creatively rethinking how people wait, you can conquer the summer surge and ensure a visit to your park is fun from the very first minute.

This summer, I’ll be on the road again, touring FECs all over the country. Last year, I visited 150 different locations, and I’m always looking to see great operations in action. If you’re interested in having me stop by your facility, please email me at [email protected].