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Long lines...what's the professional solution?

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  • Long lines...what's the professional solution?

    I've gone to as many haunts as I could have this season, and the one thing that always baffled me are the lines. The lines that were short I felt that the haunt didn't do enough business, but the more successful haunts... one haunts wait time was A FOUR HOUR WAIT! AAAHHHHH!!!! I have seen the time slot method the most widely used, but even then it still seems a mystery how you can push so many people through a haunt and not have it be a rush.

    My question I guess would be, how do you increase traffic in a haunt, increase the customer flow without having either a rush of groups or that annoying constant train of people from beginning to end? I know there are probably many methods depending on who and where, but I would love to hear the expert opinions on this one. All suggestions and tips are much appreciated.
    - - Luke - -


  • #2
    At Kings Island I would send groups of (no more than) 6 through... every 45 seconds. When our line grew to the 3 hour wait... we shortened the timer to 30 seconds and I sent groups of (no more than) 9 through.

    This is just how we did it, got our line moving pretty good! -Tyler
    Chris Riehl
    Sales@spookyfinder.com
    (586)209-6935
    www.spookyfinder.com

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    • #3
      Thats pretty good, Thanks Tyler. But does it ever get to the point where one group slows down, another goes fast, and then you wind up with a train of 5 groups goin through all at once? Unless thats not a bad problem, I'm just assuming

      Maybe it would be easier for those attractions with multiple haunts?
      - - Luke - -

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      • #4
        Let's face it... a single haunted attraction can only handle so many people per night and still be effective. If you start pumping people thru like cattle, you're not gonna have to worry about those long lines next year.

        I think it's better to split it into 2 or 3 smaller attractions (each with it's own entrance, exit, theme, and admission charge). This would reduce the wait time (per attraction) and you wouldn't have to turn people away.

        The only exception I can think of is something like RAVEN'S GRIN INN where the full experience of the haunt is very dependant on the performance of the host.
        Guerilla Haunter

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        • #5
          Man I need the solution to getting long lines.
          Jared Layman

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          • #6
            We have been offering express pass tickets the past years (extra cost) to bypass the 2-3 hour wait. But now we are having to stop the sales of express passes because those too are filling up. One night we must have had 30 people in the express line!

            We would never send groups through faster if the line backs up. Everything in the house is timed for 6 people in a group. (1 group a min). So, if they want to go, they wait. (Or buy an express ticket)

            We actually had people waiting to buy the express pass tickets. (We wouldn't sell them if there were too many in the express line)
            - Glenn Campbell


            Haunted Hotel - Louisville, KY
            Industrial Nightmare - Jeffersonville, IN
            http://www.hauntednetwork.com

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            • #7
              Express tickets sound good, but do they interfere with the normal line? Is the express line something where you alternate with general admission or let the express go first? If that's the case then the general admission line is slowed down 2 - 3 times as much as a normal wait.
              - - Luke - -

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              • #8
                We send people through in groups of up to 9 people. When it gets very busy we have a secondary line that we open that is for groups with three or less people. It makes it easier to put more people through when every group is 8 or 9 people. If you send through groups of 5 or 6 but your capacity is a group of 9, you are reducing your throughput by quite a bit. The 3 or less line allows us to consistently fill up the group and put more people through.

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                • #9
                  If your EXPRESS LINE is backing up, you might not be charging enough for it.
                  Aaaah... capitalism!
                  Guerilla Haunter

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                  • #10
                    Long lines suck, but if you don't have them then people pass you by. We blew it last night by pushing too fast and killing our queue by 11. Still an okay night at 1200 people, but a stupid mistake.
                    "To be matter-of-fact about the world is to blunder into fantasy - and dull fantasy at that, as the real world is strange and wonderful." Robert A. Heinlein

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                    • #11
                      How would a 120 minute long movie play if you turned up the projector to twice it's normal speed?
                      I don't think it would be the same movie, would it?
                      (All the deep voiced haunters sound like The Chipmunks?)
                      Just change the sign outside to say "Haunted Squirrel House"
                      "Those guys are all nuts!"
                      It is never an easy balancing act between quality of show experience and need for more cash-quicker AND happy customers who can see the end of the line they are standing in.
                      hauntedravensgrin.com

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                      • #12
                        Well, what is everyone's max for a line wait? When is a line "too long"?
                        - - Luke - -

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                        • #13
                          A line too long?
                          To some people if they have to wait ten minutes they have a fit!
                          One time many years ago when I ran the house almost by myself I had people finally entering the house for the tour at 5:30 AM!! They might have been waiting from 10:30!? The bars here close at 1:00AM. The local city Police all go to bed at 2:30!
                          They were a very difficult group of cranky people at 5:30AM! (Gee, I wonder why?)
                          They had driven 3 hours from Chicago and really wanted to see the house, some left came back the next night and still raved about the experience, much to the chagrin of some already waiting and waiting to get in,this meant they HAD to wait and get in! (If those other people were so happy with it and everything........)
                          hauntedravensgrin.com

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                          • #14
                            hahaha, so in other words, theres no such thing as a line too long? Not for business, anyway

                            I figured there were certain cut off points for haunts
                            - - Luke - -

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                            • #15
                              Cut off points would depend upon how late you want to go. Will the help tolerate it?
                              Will the neighbors?
                              Will the customers still stand there waiting awhile longer?
                              Busy as heck one night then it's a ghost town the next because it's November!? (This has happened )
                              Gota git it when it's there!
                              hauntedravensgrin.com

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