Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Given this complaint, our researchers descended on Disneyland to determine
whether a touring plan could be devised that would liberate visitors from the traffic
flow and allow them to see any theme park in one day with minimal waiting in line.
On some of the busiest days of the year, our team monitored traffic into and through
Disneyland Park, noting how it filled and how patrons were distributed among the at-
tractions. We also observed which rides and attractions were most popular and where
bottlenecks were most likely to occur.
After many years of collecting data, we devised preliminary touring plans, which
wetested duringoneofthe busiest weeks ofthe year.Each day,ourresearchers would
tour the park using one of the preliminary plans, noting how long it took to walk from
place to place and how long the wait in line was for each attraction. Combining the
information gained on trial runs, we devised a master plan that we retested and fine-
tuned. This plan, with very little variance from day to day, allowed us to experience
all major rides and attractions and most lesser ones in one day, with an average wait
in line of less than 10 minutes at each.
From this master plan, we developed alternative plans that took into account the
varying tastes and personal requirements of different Disneyland patrons. Each plan
operated with the same logic as the master plan but addressed the special needs and
preferences of its intended users.
Finally, after all of the plans were tested by our staff, we selected (using conveni-
ence sampling) Disneyland visitors to test the plans. The only prerequisite for being
chosen to test the plans was that the guests must have been visiting a Disney park
for the first time. A second group of patrons was chosen for a control group. These
were first-time visitors who would tour the park according to their own plans but who
would make notes about what they did and how much time they spent in lines.
When the two groups were compared, the results were amazing. On days when
major theme park attendance exceeded 42,000, visitors touring without our plans
av-
eraged
2.6 hours more waiting in line per day than the patrons touring with our plans,
and they experienced 33% fewer attractions. In 2004 the application of a cutting-edge
algorithm to our touring plan software increased the waiting time saved to an average
of 4 hours. Our latest advancement, introduced in 2012, gives subscribers to
tour-
ingplans.com
the ability to build personalized plans online, and then use the Lines
smartphone app while inside the parks to optimize their itineraries with real-time wait
time data. We expect additional research to continue to improve the performance of
the touring plans in future editions.
General Overview of the Touring Plans
Our touring plans are step-by-step guides for seeing as much as possible with a min-
imum of standing in line. They're designed to help you avoid crowds and bottlenecks
