Theme Parks Like Epic Universe Are Stopping Fights By Hiding Queues?

Let’s be honest, theme parks are expensive, and many say “too expensive.” Lately, more and more fights have broken out at theme parks over line jumping, line cutting, and other perceived transgressions.

Theme park guests now need either a huge extra spend for line-skipping privileges or a lot of planning and patience to do as much as possible. It’s frustrating and exhausting. Team that up with the Florida heat and stress, and it becomes a powder keg for aggression.

Now it seems that theme park designers are hiding queues from guests to stop fights from breaking out.

One issue plaguing theme parks, especially at parks like Disney or Universal, is the frustration of the stand-by queue. Since theme parks are going all in on upcharged line-skipping services that many can’t afford in addition to overpriced theme park expenses, guest frustration is leading to fights.

Instead of walking back paid privileges, theme parks are now hiding the line-skipping “fast lane” queues from guests in stand-by lines. Got to keep those record profits coming.

Kevin Blakeney, an Epic Universe landscape architect, told The Atlantic Universal looked for ways to keep the standby and paid fast lanes visually separated to avoid fights and frustration between guests.

“That’s a real point of frustration: to see the express moving so quickly when the standby is not. That’s when fights break out among guests.”

Let’s be honest, hiding the other queue isn’t going to lower tempers in the standby line, but it makes the plebs attacking the pay pigs less likely.

Lines can be a real source of frustration for guests

Waiting in line for hours can already be stressful for guests, and in recent years, that frustration has grown as theme parks offer fast access for a price. For example, when Disney offered every guest three FastPass+ options with their ticket, it created longer lines for standby guests. However, people were much less angry because everyone got the same offer.

Lines did get longer as FastPass guests were let through before the standby queue. Twenty FastPass guests might get through for every ten standby guests. Now, that number has increased dramatically, with queue ratios up to 91% of a ride’s capacity going to the line-skipping guests.

This is why lines take far longer. Ultimately, the theme parks wants you to get frustrated and pay them more for better access.

Now that cameras are everywhere, it’s a bad look for theme parks to have fights break out over lines.

Parks don’t want the bad PR of fights breaking out on the property. It makes them appear unsafe.  To fix part of the issue, their takeaway was to make sure the two lines avoid each other instead of fixing the underlying cause.

 How to avoid frustration if you can’t afford expensive line skipping upcharges?

• The best thing you can do is do your homework. Watch wait times at the parks you are visiting via their apps. You can see how the traffic moves and plan where to go from those patterns.It may mean going to the parks extra early or hitting the parks late to get on high-demand attractions.
• You may want to skip nighttime shows or parades for shorter lines.
• Visit during the estimated low attendance days.
• Utilize single rider lines if you are able.
• Stay cool in queues with neck wraps, portable fans, and other permitted items. Also, keep you and your party entertained with apps, games, or videos on your phone while waiting in line. Just make sure you keep paying attention to what is going on around you to move with the line. Otherwise expect your behavior to generate more frustration.
• Realize everyone else is in the same situation as you. Try to keep your temper in check.

Theme parks aren’t going to stop the extra-long standby lines as long as they profit from it. Planning is your best weapon.

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