Lo-Q profit up 18% in 2010

I think Gonch needs to change his pants now.

If he's wearing them in the first place...

I'd say, "I told you so" but everyone knows already.

10th year of operations already...and positive on future growth. Gotta love something that sells so well at a time when people supposedly aren't spending. I think that's the definition of offering something seen as having value to customers.

^ I have never gotten the opposition to this system. It is fantastic, and I think back to those days where I only had 4-5 hours to spend at a park and litterally had to choose which attractions to skip. This thing allows you to completely plan out your day with not only the intention to ride everything, but also to have time left in the day to do other things. It is no more line cutting than express lanes at a thousand other services. No more expensive than a thousand other premium services offered around the world.

Now come on parks, let's get that inevitable "smartphone" app option going already! ;)

John Knotts said:
Now come on parks, let's get that inevitable "smartphone" app option going already! ;)

There you go.

It's not even a matter of if, it's when.

Will they give me free lockers for the phone if I use it in place of a Q bob? If so, I'd sign up.

Lake Compounce uses their system with phones. You buy credits and then text the ride name and it puts you in the virtual queue. It's a great system and cheap too, $1 for almost all rides on the system except the coasters, which were $2 when I was there.

Of course taking bribes to allow people to cut in front of everyone else is going to be profitable. Everyone wants to cut, if they can, and on the other hand, no one wants to be cut in front of.

I still say that they allow too many people use it and they don't charge enough for it. Less people cutting means a more enjoyable wait for everyone.

And what really upsets me about Lo-Q is when a park is running limited operations. One train, hours-long waits and closed rides during busy days makes Lo-Q, and the park, even more money. A Q-Bot is in higher demand when a park isn't being run efficiently, which could reward a park for doing a poor job. Sometimes, it doesn't seem right.

my home park of Lake compounce has the txt2ride thing and the next closest park Six flags New England has the Q-bots and they are a great idea both of them seem to work well although a lady was a bit mad that when she did the txt2ride she had to wait for two trains to pass just cause she wanted to ride alone. i am almost suprised that there is only a select few parks that have this already it seams like a fast pass in a new way almost better though becuase you really have no time in line at all since a fast pass kind of makes you wait even when it is your time. It didn't seem like a lot of people were doing the lo-q version most likely because it costs money. txt to ride is cheeper since it is like one dollar per ride instead of the q-bots thing that has a fixed rate that is kind of high. not a suprise that their profit was up thought :)

Less people cutting means a more enjoyable wait for everyone.

There's your fallacy right there. No wait while in line is enjoyable.

Well, until Disney fully realizes the full potential of Queuentertainment.

The most enjoyable wait time I have is the one where I'm not waiting in line, but sitting, eating, shopping, or watching a show while I'm queued up to ride.

The Simpson's queue is pretty fun. :-)

I wouldn't know, I had the express pass ;-).

That's the way I feel about pretty much everything at those parks. I felt lowly and dirty for having to stand in the regular line for Forbidden Journey. Oh, wait, there was no line because I picked the right day to go. :)

Jeff said:
That's the way I feel about pretty much everything at those parks. I felt lowly and dirty for having to stand in the regular line for Forbidden Journey. Oh, wait, there was no line because I picked the right day to go. :)

You won't be able to buy Express for Forbidden Journey for quite a while (heard that it could be between 1-2 years), more than likely. From what I understand, they don't have any plans to add Rockit to Express anytime soon (in the next year or so) either.

Both rides have the Express line set up and ready for use, and adding the ability to use it is as simple as two more employees with the networked barcode scanners. So why won't they use them? They'll sell more Express passes, give people two more reasons to stay at one of the resorts, and boost customer satisfaction...of a relatively small number of guests.

I've heard a few reasons for the exclusion of Express from these two hot attractions, and they all include capacity/satisfaction issues. The capacity issue relating to Forbidden Journey and the Wizarding World in general (if not to IOA as a whole) is obvious to anyone who has been there on even an average day (mid-range attendance), let alone a busy day. I would expect Rockit's impact on Studios to be less, but still, they obviously have reasons, and the ones I have heard point to capacity/satisfaction as the main ones.

Congratulations to Lo-Q on turning a profit, but I think there's a ceiling to how far they can expect to go, and how far parks can push the virtual queuing capacity. Based on what I know (admittedly nothing that anyone here wouldn't be justified in second-guessing), I think that Universal's actions for including/excluding certain attractions with Express correlate to statement that well enough.

I would argue that Forbidden Journey would benefit from another line input. Even with people hanging out at parent swap, they have a hard time filling benches on that ride. With a 7 second interval, it's not easy.

maXairMike said:

I think there's a ceiling to how far they can expect to go, and how far parks can push the virtual queuing capacity.

Indeed there is a ceiling... 100%. Disney's already trying it.

The BBC is exploring the concept in another industry ;)

kpjb said:

maXairMike said:

I think there's a ceiling to how far they can expect to go, and how far parks can push the virtual queuing capacity.

Indeed there is a ceiling... 100%. Disney's already trying it.

You know what I meant with that statement by virtual queuing, and that was not the context at all.

Disney's VQ is not what we have in the rest of the industry, and is something very different than the original topic under discussion. My context should obviously point to the paid, out-of-line model by Lo-Q and Universal Express (more like VIP access, but a similar idea for the purpose of this discussion). Disney's version(s) of VQ still has people in, at the broadest end, a self contained area where you cannot leave without "leaving the line" (The Rockin Roller Coaster test, and to a point, the new Pooh line, soon to be the new Dumbo "line"). The narrow end is FastPass, or even in-line entertainment such as the games in Space's line. FastPass is still limited to a percentage of the calculated ride capacity in conjunction with other variables, and will still hold people in a line if too many FastPasses are distributed for a certain time-frame (or if a downtime occurs). Regardless, that 100% will never be reached with FastPass, and I feel completely confident saying that for many reasons. The other Disney VQ methods still contain people in a physical line/holding area, limiting crowd overflow back into the midways and other areas of the park.

Again, these VQ method(s) that do not hold people in any one physical area have a ceiling that is below 100%. How close we are, I'm not sure, and that will vary park to park based on the attractions it is used on and also on how they calculate what their physical park capacity is.

Universal Express isn't different from Fastpass in terms of operation, only acquisition. I suspect the majority of people who use it are resort guests.