What's New

Virtual Queuing

Ciaran

Ciaran

Team Member
Team Member
What is everybody's opinions on the new virtual queuing system? Has anybody actually been to the park yet and tried it out?

I've seen a lot of positive comments on social media about the new system however I have taken note of quite a few flaws which, if fixed, would make the whole system much more efficient. For example:
  • You can only join one virtual queue at once, meaning you are stuck waiting around the park with nothing to do until it is your turn. You should be able to join a few queues at once in my opinion as this doesn't leave guests sat waiting around.
  • If your phone dies then you can't join any virtual queues. I have heard that guests can visit guest services and be given a pass or something, however this isn't ideal as it defeats the whole object of the app.
  • Some people don't quite understand how the 'boarding pass' system works which leads to huge virtual queue times.
These issues don't sound too hard to fix. I know that some of these are out of Drayton Manor's control as they don't develop the app in-house, however I don't see why they couldn't pass this on to Attractions.io.

However, despite the flaws, I think the app is amazing and is a huge, huge improvement from the previous app. Well done to Drayton Manor for this one!
 
Ciaran said:
  • You can only join one virtual queue at once, meaning you are stuck waiting around the park with nothing to do until it is your turn. You should be able to join a few queues at once in my opinion as this doesn't leave guests sat waiting around.
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We found you can join one longer queue and then join a 0 minute queue immediately (as you get a boarding pass straight away) which means you can leave the longer one (buffalo in our case) ticking along while you ride others.

Staff were also recommending each person who has a phone in your party joining a queue (which we found useful).

Personally I think it worked ok. I think the biggest flaw is it's not scanned until you get to the end of the queue so 9/10 the pass expires (not that it matters as long as you have the QR code). I think it would work better if you were scanned into the queue. It would also stop the situation I saw multiple times on Saturday where people were joining a virtual queue and then immediately joining the actual queue, getting to the end and being told they needed a boarding pass (they were allowed on anyway), this lead to queue times being incorrect and some people being rude to staff which isn't fair as they're doing their best.

It worked better when it was just Thomas land open as there were far fewer people, with more people in the park I really think they need to scan people into the queue to make it work better and would then allow you to join another queue while you're waiting (similar to how Disney works with their fast pass system).
 
just wondering do you have to have a bording pass to join the queue or can you still just join a queue and get on the ride without needing the pass or anything???
 
shockwave2019 said:
just wondering do you have to have a bording pass to join the queue or can you still just join a queue and get on the ride without needing the pass or anything???
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You need a boarding pass to join the queue. The idea is that you join a virtual queue for x number of minutes. When you get to the front of the virtual queue you get a notification and a boarding pass which is the point at which you join the actual queue.

hope this helps
 
SadieAdler said:
I am reading on Facebook that they are not using virtual queueing today?
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I don’t know about Friday but it’s defiantly not in use today. They’re just using ‘conventional queuing’ and asking people maintain social distancing.
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The only thing I hated about the app was Troublesome Trunks had used all its slots up so they closed the coaster early with 2 members of staff saying it was closed 30 mins before ride closed times. I also hated the fact I had to add rides even thou there wasn’t even a queue for it. The Flying Dutchman for example I got to the entrance and the member of staff made me add the ride so he could scan it. The ride wasn’t even half full.
 
i preferred the old queues a lot less hassle when all you want is a relaxing day at the park now you have to worry about joining a virtual queue just to get on a ride means a lot more hassle for people
 
shockwave2019 said:
i preferred the old queues a lot less hassle when all you want is a relaxing day at the park now you have to worry about joining a virtual queue just to get on a ride means a lot more hassle for people
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It really isn’t too bad. I think going forward (post corona) they need to split the queues so you have a traditional stand by queue and a fast pass queue (similar to Disney) if they then allowed you to hold a virtual queue, you could then go and queue normally for other rides while your virtual queue ticks away in the background. I think this way it would allow you to experience more rather than spend all day queuing. I’ve also mentioned on other posts is I really think they need to scan people in at the start of the queue to avoid the queue being flooded by people who don’t have boarding passes.
 
remlap said:
It really isn’t too bad. I think going forward (post corona) they need to split the queues so you have a traditional stand by queue and a fast pass queue (similar to Disney) if they then allowed you to hold a virtual queue, you could then go and queue normally for other rides while your virtual queue ticks away in the background. I think this way it would allow you to experience more rather than spend all day queuing. I’ve also mentioned on other posts is I really think they need to scan people in at the start of the queue to avoid the queue being flooded by people who don’t have boarding passes.
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I fully agree with this
 
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