9 minute read
Attractions and Technology
Attractions and Technology Disney’s Magic Band.
Cheryl Tay highlights how technology is enhancing the delivery of seamless visitor experiences
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Technology and attractions go hand in hand these days, with a good number of features at theme parks, amusement parks, museums and even zoos relying on augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and IoT (Internet of things) tools.
A growing number of attractions operators in Asia are taking advantage of such technological advances to enhance their visitor experience, and it seems to be working.
The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) has surveyed that attendance at the top amusement and theme parks across Asia rose by an average of 5.5% in 2017, with South east Asia a significant contributor to this growth.
TEA also estimates that as of 2020, Asia will become the world’s largest theme park market, thanks in part to top global brands like Walt Disney, Marvel, Universal Studios, Legoland and Cartoon Network having established their presence across the region.
These major brands recognise that the use of technology in attractions is not limited to in-park features - increasingly, they are using it to provide visitors with a seamless experience throughout, from pre-visit engagement to post-visit follow-ups.
Before the fun begins
In addition to engaging with past, present and potential customers on their social media platforms, most companies in the attractions and entertainment space have apps to make the entire visitor experience more convenient.
Such apps can allow customers to avoid long queues by pre-booking rides and monitor wait times. For instance, Disney launched a smartphone-compatible version of its ride reservation system, named MaxPass, which allows users to make FASTPASS selections from their mobile devices via the
Shanghai Disney FASTPASS.
Disneyland app.
All customers have to do is link their MaxPass tickets to their Disney accounts and make their FASTPASS selections, which they can easily change or cancel if necessary.
Such apps can also be used to view schedules and access maps, allowing customers to better plan their visit in advance.
More recently, Alibaba became a strategic partner in Universal Beijing Resort’s bid to “create a seamless experience throughout every stage of the guests’ journey with smart technology”, at the resort, which is due to open in 2021.
Under this partnership, Universal Beijing will make use of the
Universal Beijing Resort (above) and Augmented Reality at Singapore Zoo (below).
Alibaba Business Operating System to digitise its theme park operations, as well as Fliggy (Alibaba’s online travel platform) to enable visitors to buy tickets and book hotels on their mobile phones.
In addition, visitors will be able to view food and beverage recommendations based on their own preferences, and purchase meals online using Koubei, Alibaba’s local service application.
New Realities
In addition to making the ticket and hotel booking process more convenient for guests, the Universal Beijing Resort will also offer them the option of using Alipay’s facial recognition technology for park entry, storage lockers, express-lane access and payment for meals and merchandise.
Similarly, the Singapore Zoo and National Museum use VR for a more vivid, educational experience by allowing visitors to witness more than the naked eye can see. At the same time, newer attractions have made VR their main feature, such as Zero Latency and Sandbox VR.
While typically more expensive than VR, AR is gaining popularity in immersive rides and learning journeys. Southeast Asia’s first VR/AR theme park, The Rift in Malaysia, offers 12 VR games and became one of the country’s most visited tourist attractions within a year of opening.
Perhaps - and unsurprisingly - one of the most successful companies at providing a seamless visitor experience in the attractions and entertainment space is Disney.
A veteran in the business, the company’s expertise in this area has been at least partially responsible for its continued success: last year, its attendance increased 4.9% to 157 million visits, with Disney Parks and Resorts seeing a 5% year-onyear rise in revenue in Q2 this year.
One of the ways in which Disney delivers a seamless visitor experience is by making basic tasks like purchasing tickets and queuing for rides less mundane than they typically are. The Play Disney Parks app that was rolled out last year, for example, keeps visitors occupied while queuing for rides and attractions, using games associated with their rides of choice.
For instance, guests can play games featuring Pixar characters while queuing for Toy Story Mania at the Disney California Adventure in the USA, or design their own rocket ship while waiting in line for Space Mountain.
Disney also focuses heavily on immersion. The recently
Disneyland Parks App.
opened Star Wars: Galaxy Edge’s experience at Disneyland Park in California relies heavily on AR to allow visitors to interact with movie characters who appear to be walking around the parkland, giving visitors the feeling of being in a Star Wars movie.
The Play Disney Parks app also uses data to deepen immersion by syncing with the Star Wars: Datapad, which allows users to collect rewards for completing tasks that are part of the park’s story.
Park staff and movie characters can also interact with visitors at designated ‘responsive’ areas throughout the park, such as Oga’s Cantina (Disneyland’s first actual bar).
Outside of the Star Wars universe, the app offers an aspect of personalisation by using Bluetooth technology to include special effects in each user’s physical environment - those who have played games on the app while queuing for rides will see their scores on digital screens as they reach the front of the queue.
Disney has also invested in IoT tools to improve visitor experience - most notably, it developed MagicBand, an electronic RFID-controlled wristband given to visitors upon arrival. It can be used as an entry pass, hotel room key, and optional payment method, and comes with benefits such as restaurant reservations and advance ride booking.
At the same time, the company’s MyMagic+ system heightens the level of personalisation through MagicBand by sending individual users messages on their mobile apps and at specific touchpoints throughout the park and resort.
For attractions that include photography on rides, all users have to do is tap their MagicBand as they enter to download their photos on the My Disney Experience app after they exit.
Furthermore, guests who make reservations at a restaurant and turn up wearing their MagicBands will have a host ready to greet them by name.
Since introducing MagicBand, park logistics have reportedly improved significantly, with a 30% decrease in turnstile transaction times and overall increase in park capacity.
The Rift Virtual/Augmented Reality Theme Park Kuala Lumpur. Access via facial recognition.
Following Up
Attractions and entertainment operators are increasingly aware that post-visit customer follow-up is just as important as previsit engagement and in-park experience.
Disney’s insistence on constantly gathering customer feedback is part of what helps it remain at the top of its game - it emails guests surveys after their visit, focusing on the kind of technology and chat features each guest prefers, and how they used their smartphones during their visit.
In addition, it allows customers to provide feedback using their mobile app, as well as email customer service suggestions.
Attractions and entertainment companies often also remarket individual rides and features each guest may have ‘missed’ during their last visit, and encourage visitors to join loyalty programs that offer various perks that will entice them to come back.
Emails and in-app notifications leading up to customers’ birthdays or anniversaries are also common, whereby previous guests are urged to visit again and enjoy special discounts or free gifts.
To do so, they need to make use of seamless multi-device systems and data-driven personalisation, which requires a unified technology stack.
This stack is driven by a park ERP (enterprise resource planning) layer, which manages most of the operations, including marketing, finance and accounting, e-commerce sales, administration and human resources.
Other components of the stack include websites, mobile apps and a content management system (CMS), as well as an analytics layer consisting of a big data analytics engine and a business intelligence module.
External platforms complete the stack - third-party platforms are linked to system modules using APIs (application programming interfaces), and cover IoT, analytics, customer service, social media and e-commerce functions.
With their eyes firmly on technology and innovation, attractions and entertainment businesses are targeting both children and adults with personalised, seamless experiences all the way from initial interest to post-visit follow-up.
Based in Singapore, Cheryl Tay is Online Content Manager for IQPC Asia.
Innovations in attractions in Asia is one of the key themes of IQPC Asia’s upcoming 2nd Annual Attractions, Amusement & Entertainment Development Asia, being held in Singapore on Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th February 2020, with pre and post conference workshops on Tuesday 25th February and Friday 28th February.
For more information contact +65 6722 9388, www.asiaattractionsdevelopment.iqpc.sg
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