At the turn of the decade, it felt like you couldn't move online for articles about the dream of the theme park of the future, where queueing was a thing of the past and guests could spend that time instead maximising their day with various adventures instead of being trapped inside the dreaded cattlepen. From wearable tech to digital mobile solutions and beyond, it looked like every entertainment company in the world had their eye on the same end goal, and with Epic Universe on the horizon it seemed inevitable to me that this would be the first theme park in the world to open with integrated 'queueless' technology.
Because it made so much sense given the developments in this space up until now. The themed entertainment giant's water park Volcano Bay pioneered this tech when it opened back in 2017 with TapuTapu - a wearable wristband that is distributed to all guests free of charge when visiting the attraction. Guests scan this wristband at slides and attractions they wish to experience and return when the TapuTapu says it's time to ride, allowing them to enjoy 'ride anytime' experiences whilst they wait for major attractions, ensuring no time is lost queuing during a day out at Volcano Bay. In an article as recently as December 2024, the Orlando Informer noted that 'TapuTapu is the key behind Universal Orlando's goal of no lines' - clearly this tech was meant as some sort of demo for the main event that would be Epic Universe.
So imagine my dismay and horror when recent photos emerged showing signage being installed for both stand-by lines and Universal Express Pass - the Resort's existing queue jumping solution, for all major attractions in the new park opening May 2025. Cementing that these existing solutions would be a part of the Epic Universe experience and crushing the fantasy of a queueless theme park all in a single photo update. Which begs the question: why?
Themed entertainment companies and industry journals alike have been reporting for decades that time spent in queues is the number one complaint guests have about a day out at a theme park. The amount of attractions a guest can experience in one day is also intrinsically linked with perception of overall value, and if a guest thinks something is good value for money you can bet they will want to visit again. Further, for attraction operators it's also in their best interest for you to not be stuck in a queue. From a revenue perspective, parks would much prefer for you to be shopping or eating between attractions and from a guest perspective it's just more enjoyable of a day to have the freedom of time to do so.
It's a win-win scenario for all parties, so why have we not seen this implemented for Epic Universe and theoretically for all parks built from the ground-up beyond? Firstly, I think the tech solutions just aren't there yet. My personal experience with Tapu Tapu, for example, isn't a good one. I am not a fan of having to wear anything around my wrist (I'm also a Disney MagicBand-hater), especially in a water park setting. I find it uncomfortable and distracting, something I'm constantly having to check in on to see if it is still working and, more importantly, still attached to my person.
And in the case of Tapu Tapu, this wasn't always so - a few boistrous laps around raging water rides and the thing would fly off, never to be seen again. Meaning I'd have to trudge back to guest services to request another. Annoying. Then there's the queue times themselves. In theory, great that I don't have to physically wait in a line however when the return time is 240 minutes from now (looking at you, Krakatau), there's only so much lazy river and 'free' slides I can endure before even that gets tedious. For me, the experience is frustrating and inconvenient, and I can't imagine how stressful something similar might be in a large theme park with multiple e-ticket attractions.
Then there's the piece of the puzzle that doesn't get discussed as much. After a chat with friends recently, we agreed that sure, if we're talking a Six Flags style hell-on-earth cattlepen queueing experience with little-to-no distraction and sometimes not even any protection from the elements, of course that's something you'd look to eliminate from a park day out. But, if we're talking a Universal style themed and essential to the storytelling journey you're sending your riders on line, the queue itself becomes integral to your attraction as a whole.
At this point, Universal have nailed the queueline experience. Imagine a Forbidden Journey that didn't begin with you exploring the corridors of Hogwarts, or a Skull Island: Reign of Kong where the mood wasn't set with a trepadatious wander through the skull-lined caverns of the island natives. As long as the throughputs are on point and you don't end up trapped in these heavily themed spaces for longer than intended, a well-executed queueline elevates a ride experience ten-fold vs. eliminating the queue entirely and having riders jump straight into a ride vehicle and sent on their merry way.
So I get it - given the choice between slightly irritating tech that might not work for everyone, isn't quite there yet and might impede on your guests' enjoyment of the new multi-billion dollar toy you've built for them that promises to offer world-leading experiences in every other facet, and a tried-and-true approach that your guests are familiar with and understand, that your team has existing and extensive operational knowledge of and that will generate some extra revenue in the meantime, it's kind of a no-brainer.
But does that mean the dream of a queue-less theme park is dead? For now I do think so. If anybody was going to do it, it was going to be Universal with Epic Universe, developed alongside the park as it was being built from the ground-up. Retrospectively integrating queueless tech into parks with existing queueline infrastructure would be no mean feat, nor can I imagine it being cheap, so I think that's out of the question for now. For me, the inclusion of the traditional stand-by plus Universal Express Pass lines at Epic Universe makes a statement to the industry that the optimal queuing experience is the one we already nailed decades again, and I'd be very surprised to see further developments in 'queueless' technology coming to major attractions any time soon.
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What do you think? Is the dream dead or are we just on the precipice of some amazing future tech developments in queueless technology? Let me know in the comments, I'd love to have a chat!
Talk later xoxo,
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