The park has taken ambitious steps to reopen safely. In addition to the new app, other new measures to help keep guests safe during their visit to Drayton Manor Park include limiting which rides are open, taking temperatures of staff and guests and enhancing cleaning and santisation in every part of the park.
The new measures, including the Attractions.io app, have been designed to reopen the park as quickly and safety as possible, while delivering a fantastic guest experience.
Drayton Manor Park’s mobile app project was already underway when COVID-19 hit. Virtual queuing replaces physical queue lines with virtual ones that guests can join via their smartphones. Instead of waiting in lines, guests are free to roam around and receive a notification when it’s time to board the ride.
This technology supports social distancing by removing the challenge of having large volumes of people standing in close proximity. It also delivers marked improvements to the guest experience – queuing has long since been identified as the number one frustration amongst theme park visitors. With virtual queuing, guests spend less time waiting in line, and more time enjoying the activities on offer.
Most importantly, virtual queuing is not just an isolated solution purely to solve current social distancing problems – the app offers an end-to-end experience for guests, acting as a digital concierge to add value at every touchpoint.
Other features include an interactive map, wayfinding, live wait times and day planning.
Virtual queuing integrates seamlessly with the app’s built-in day planner, enabling guests to plan their itineraries, see live wait times, then join virtual queues in one intuitive flow.
Alexa Hickling, director of sales and marketing at Drayton Manor Park said: “The park was keen to invest in new technology to remove common points of friction and help guests make the most of their visit. We chose Attractions.io for their comprehensive platform functionality and innovative approach.
“When the pandemic struck, Attractions.io were really proactive, helping us identify opportunities to use the app to help improve guest safety as well as their experience. We’re confident that the app will deliver significant value to our guests and our team both now and in the future.”
Mark Locker, CEO at Attractions.io said: “We’re delighted to have been able to support Drayton Manor Park in their aspirations to improve their digital guest experience. Technology will be a key part of the new normal for the theme park experience and parks like Drayton Manor Park who embrace new technology early will be able to secure an early advantage which will be vital for re-building guest confidence and ensuring a strong recovery.”
