TapuTapu is a wristband with a screen that Universal is using to manage virtual queues on each of the park's water slide attractions. Visitors tap their TapuTapu on stanchions outside the attraction they wish to ride, which claims the visitor's place in a virtual queue. The TapuTapu screen will alert the visitor when it's time to return and go on the ride. Each tap station has large display screens that show what the estimated wait time for the ride will be, so visitors who are paying attention can make an informed decision about which virtual queue to commit to as the decide what to ride.
That's all great in theory, put theme park operations is where theory goes to die.
Volcano Bay visitors yesterday found wait times up to six hours, with that top wait for the Krakatau Aqua Coaster. (Surely everyone read my endorsement?) And many visitors didn't understand that they could wait in only one virtual queue at a time, meaning that people who tapped into that six-hour wait were locked out of going on anything else that required TapuTapu before that time passed.
So here are the issues facing Universal as it implements a "no lines" virtual queuing system for Volcano Bay — issues that will face other parks considering such systems as well.
1. Universal doesn't have any real-world ride capacity data.
Hard opens are bad enough. A hard open with an untested virtual queuing system is the theme park equivalent of entering the Indy 500 just after getting your driver's license. Manufacturer data on their rides' theoretical capacity is nice, but from experience, let me tell you that theoretical capacities don't tell you squat about what's really going to happen in live ops. Without an accurate count of how many people a ride can handle in five-minute period, Universal doesn't have an accurate number of "taps" it can assign to each return window before moving visitors into the next. That lead to long actual queues of people waiting to get on after their return time — defeating the whole purpose of the virtual queue.
2. No one has a tested strategy for visiting the park
At Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida (or anyone major theme park), fans with experience or solid research know exactly where to go first in the park, and what to do when, in order to minimize their wait times. But with a hard open at Volcano Bay, no visitors had any real-world experience to lead them through the park. For fans conditioned to following a plan when visiting a theme park, the lack of guidance just lead to chaos.
3. Many people don't realize that they need to research which queue to commit to
The TapuTapu system tells you the estimated wait time you're committing to when you tap in. But too many people yesterday didn't realize the commitment that tapping makes. It's not that you tap into one thing then go ride another. You tap in, then hit the beach, bar, or river during your wait. That beats standing in a physical queue, but it isn't the carefree, just go ride on anything experience that many people envisioned when they heard that Volcano Bay would have "no lines."
4. The park really needs wait time boards and to include wait times on the app
Volcano Bay is not a small water park. If you take the time to walk around and look at the posted wait times on all the TapuTapu check in stations, all those virtual queues are going to blow up while you try to make up your mind. Universal needs to add real-time wait time data for Volcano Bay attractions to the park map on its official app, the way to does for its other two parks. And with many people not carrying cell phones around a water park, Universal should add real-time wait time boards next to each TapuTapu station, telling people the estimated waits at other comparable attractions so that people can decide whether to make the walk over elsewhere to tap in.
5. Universal needs to address cultural challenges with virtual queuing
The most interesting observation I heard from first-day visitors to Volcano Bay was that it was British quests who were freaking out most. Britons are the world champions of queuing, so a boarding-time allocation system that doesn't let them do that isn't going to sit well for many. Several visitors from Britain didn't understand that they actually were queuing when they used TapuTapu, but they just didn't have to stand in the actual line. To those visitors, that's kind of like saying that while you are eating fish and chips, you're just not putting anything fried into your mouth and chewing. What's the difference? queuing is such an ingrained part of the theme park experience for many visitors, so Universal is facing an immense education challenge in teaching people another way to wait to get on a ride.
That said, virtual queuing eliminates a ton of problems, including line jumping, guest discomfort, and the need to time meals and bathroom visits around queue waits. Not to mention the engineering, construction and maintenance expense of creating physical queues that are accessible to all. So I applaud Universal from taking a step in this direction.
But no worthy journey is completed in just one step. What Universal does in addressing the Day One issues with TapuTapu either will provide the rest of the industry with a map to a successful virtual queuing implementation, or cast a chill on others thinking about this important switch.
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Also, my understanding is that pretty much every single slide requires TapuTapu, so while you could ride the lazy river, hang out in the pool or take a nap on the beach, it means you're not riding the slides, which is a primary differentiator for Volcano Bay over resort hotel pools. Why would someone pay for a water park where you're limited by a computer as to how many times you can ride the slides? I'm not sure how the queues are set up, but it sounds like they might need to go to FastPass like system that creates a standby line to allow those willing to wait an avenue to fill any empty spaces in the virtual queue.
I had read other accounts that described queues forming to tap in to walk up the queue to ride. These lines by some observations were in excess of 15 minutes, just to get to the front of the line to be allowed to walk up to the slide.
There are growing pains with any technology, but something like this should have been limited to a couple of attractions, not every slide. Let people TapuTapu for the water coaster and the trap door slides, but all the other standard slides should be standby queues until the virtual queuing technology has been fully vetted. Honestly, that's how I thought it was going to work, but it seems that every slide is stuck with TapuTapu.
Based on what I've read, I think three big changes need to occur ASAP if this is to be a successful system:
1. Move reservations from slide entrances to centralized kiosks (this is what I thought they'd do when the system was announced). Instead of requiring guests to run around the park to reserve rides, have 3-4 kiosks from which guests can reserve any attraction. This would allow guests to see all wait times easily and reserve one they're willing to wait for rather than joining a queue just because they're at that attraction.
2. Disable Tapu Tapu if the wait time is short or add stand-by lines as an option. Nobody wants to stand in line for 30+ minutes at an attraction, but no attraction should be idle because everyone is in line for something else. Either only enable reservations when a ride already has 15-20 minutes worth of people lined up, or allow guests to wait in a standby line to fill in gaps.
3. Make capacity estimates very conservative, at least at first. Theoretically, something like the Krakatau Aqua Coaster can do about 700 riders per hour, and by filling every raft it is not that hard to get close to that value. However, most other attractions (especially body/mat slides) are going to be delayed due to the amount of time it takes guests to clear the splash pool. Best case scenario, most body slides are only going to get about 100 riders per hour per flume (roughly 50-60% of the theoretical capacity).
I think the all or nothing method for ride reservation in a park will (eventually) work better than the WDW way. If anything the lines got longer.
Taking the park is open for a day. Not everything works fine yet. The lazy river was down and TM's need to find their way to see how guest react on certain rides rides and vehicles. I'm sure all (including the software) needs to learn and optimize.
I think a ride time table makes it easier to select less crowded rides to kill time. In the end, not waiting on stairs in line is great. I'd rather like to kill my time on a beach than in the queue.
TapuTapu is a virtual queue. You can't get into another line because you are "waiting" in this one - even though you are not physically there.
Fastpass is a ride reservation system. You have a reservation to come back at an appointed time. You are not in a queue, so you are free to join a line at some other ride while you wait for your Fastpass return time.
Universal Express is a front of line pass. You don't need a reservation and you do not need to claim a place in a line - real or virtual. Just show your pass and head to the boarding area.
Wait, there are Kiosks?
I think they would have been better getting some waterproof Q-Bot device. No need for a kiosk, just simply select the ride on the screen and go. I know its generally used as a fastpass system, but I can't see why it couldn't just be used as a virtual queue (thats how I always use em).
In general, it seems to me like they've just misjudged the capacity of the park.
That said, it's possible that such long wait times would have prompted visitors to abandon the queues at some point, reducing the wait time below what it was with the virtual queue. But not having the virtual queues wouldn't have gotten more people on more rides.
The big problem, as I am now seeing it, is operational. Universal needs to get better at 1) loading and dispatching people more quickly and 2) learning what the realistic capacity for each slide is, so that it can consistently predict more accurate wait times for the virtual queues.
I think it's the slow and inconsistent loading that's too blame for the fluctuations in the TapuTapu wait times, just as they would be for a "real" queue's wait.
With that said, anyone that went this weekend or in the coming weeks should continue to expect growing pains.
Which is why as Universal APs, we have no intention of ...
a) even attempting a first visit to Volcano Bay until the fall
and
b) won't even consider whether or not we want to make an investment in adding Volcano Bay to our AP until after the final finished product and operation has emerged
I created my Universal account in the app, paired my pass, and created my pin a couple days before attending. When I arrived at the park, they assigned me my Taputapu, and sent me on my way. I paid $7.50 for a small locker (cheaper but smaller than Disney's $10) and could use my Taputapu to open it. I started my adventure into the park, and attempted to check in for a wait time at the water coaster. My Taputapu had an error, and I was directed to speak with a team member. Knowing that it was brand new technology and likely to have a bug here or there, I happily went to a concierge booth to get assistance. The staff were super friendly, and tried for 20 minutes to get things working right for me; unfortunately the system was not cooperating. They gave me a new Taputapu that was not linked to my account so I could get on the rides, and advised that I would need to bring payment to purchase anything, and will need a locker attendant to open my locker. They are working diligently to iron out the bugs in the system, but with anything custom or new it will have issues.
The staff member at the concierge escorted me to a ride to make sure the new device would work, and even got me into the queue without having to wait for a return time. They do queue up about 15-30 minutes worth of people at a time, so there is never a time where the staff are just twiddling their thumbs waiting for customers to return. With 15,000 people in the park, of course there will be long waits for things. Everyone is excited to see the new park, and this is the busiest it will ever be.
The rest of my day went well, with my next ride having about a 60 minute wait for my return time, followed by another 25-30 mins in queue. Again, busiest the park can possibly be, and will get better once the newness of it wears off.
The last two things I queued up for were the aqua coaster and one of the tall body slides in the volcano. Both had a 300 minute wait, so I spent my day enjoying the amazing food, both the lazy rivers, and the main pool. The aqua coaster showed delayed at one point for about an hour, but when the timer came back, it seemed like it had still been keeping up with the other countdown, still estimating my return time to be about where it should have been if it was not delayed.
As time went on, and people are started leaving the park, my times dropped down even faster. In the event I wanted to change my mind, I could have used my Taputapu on any other ride, and cancel the body slide I had already queued up for. I was advised that when you turn in your Taputapu at the exit gate, that all remaining queues are cancelled to allow other users to move up to a faster time.
All things considered, the estimated wait times were long, and for the most part fairly accurate. I could have been standing in a five hour line for the aqua coaster with a traditional line, but instead spent my time enjoying the scenery, lazy rivers, food, and cocktails.
The food was the best I have had any water park, and better than some theme parks even. For lunch I had the curry chicken, and dinner was jerk shrimp mac and cheese. The cocktail I had was a bit strong but tasty, and the volcano blossom beer was a bit fruity but not sweet or cloying.
The staff were bombarded with rude customers, 100 degree weather, and troubleshooting bugs with a brand new system that they have not had much time to work with themselves. They handled it like champs, and every staff member I spoke to was super friendly, and went way above and beyond. Under the circumstances I would have expected the staff to be frazzled, but they were professional and courteous throughout. The staff get a 10/10 in my opinion.
As for the technology, I think it is amazing, and will be perfect once they have had a chance to iron out the bugs. Considering they pretty much built an entire theme park in about 6 months, I would say it is not 100% ready yet. It is ready enough to be an amazing and fun experience, but if you are looking for something fully polished give it a couple more months. There were still construction areas with some paths not opened yet, and silt fencing around some of the gardens to prevent erosion while things have a chance to grow in. Same thing with the trees and bamboo, which had thin leaves since they were freshly planted.
Overall, the park exceeded my expectations for something that would be at 100% capacity, where staff have not had time to become fully experienced yet, and they were using technology that had not been tested yet under real life circumstances. If you go into it with this understanding, I would say things are going perfectly.
In a couple weeks updates to the software that runs the technology will iron out the bugs that could only be discovered in a real life scenario, that would not have been found during pre-testing. In a few months the newness will have worn off, and the park will not be at capacity every day. In that time, the foliage will have had time to grow in, and the park will have cemented itself as the best water park in town. Even with the issues, I prefer this to any other water park I have been to.
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I was made to understand that a person could in fact tap into Krakatau Aqua Coaster AND have another attraction booked, but due to the expected popularity of Krakatau it was going to be the only attraction that could be booked on top of another attraction.
Questions - what information does it give you when you tap in? Is there a window to return like FastPass, i.e. "You can return between 1:20 and 2:20" or are you just given a buzz when it's time to return to the entrance. Can you cancel a reservation once made if you want to do something with a shorter return time?