Hey Thrill Seekers,
Happy Back to the Future day!
Yep that’s right today is the day that Marty travels to in Back to the Future 2… In the film they make tons of predictions as to what 2015 will be like, the major miss for most of us is that we still don’t have hover boards!
To celebrate Back to the Future day I thought I’d fire up my own crystal ball and have a guess at what the future of theme parks holds. Perhaps in 30 years time someone will read this and think “he’s got this spot on… but we still don’t have hover boards!”
Virtual Reality Rides
Virtual Reality or VR experiences are a hot topic at the moment, companies like the Facebook owned Oculus are spearheading an upgrade in technology that will see gaming become far move immersive.
I can picture theme park attractions based solely around a VR experience, it plays beautifully into what theme parks look at when deciding what to build. A small footprint but with the opportunity to create a vast attraction. Imagine Soarin’ but more interactive.
One attraction that springs to mind for me would be a Lord of the Rings VR experience, the vast world of Middle Earth would lend itself perfectly for a virtual experience.
Mobile
Although mobile is already a huge part of the theme park experience I can see mobile devices becoming even more prominent in the future and instead of being viewed with suspicion actually become the norm.
Hard tickets will become a thing of the past, all tickets will be accessed via your mobile device, Fast Passes will be totally mobile, purchasing merchandise or food will be done with the swipe of your mobile device.
Theme Parks will be able to manage crowds by sending push notifications to guests advising of where the shortest queues are or advise when a show is about to start.
Queues
I doubt I’ll ever be able to visit a totally queue-less park. So I imagine the future of queue’s will also change. I imagine that theme parks will put as much effort into interactive queues as they do the actual ride.
Mobile games, cast lead performances and interactivity will become the norm. Guests will be immersed in the story of the attraction even before they reach the main ride.
Interactive
One of the more impressive things I’ve seen is the interactive wands at Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Universal have lead the way by creating an experience that doesn’t just begin and stop at a ride.
As with the queues above, I imagine all areas to become more interactive adding more story development and above all immersing the guest in the experience. As soon as a guest enters a particular land they will be assaulted on a sensory level.
Ethics/Morals
As the World becomes more ethical I believe theme parks will have to follow suit, from green issues like global warming to the food the parks sell to how they advertise to children. Theme Parks have a social responsibility that I believe they will have to embrace to be successful.
IP’s (intellectual property)
If you’re a budding writer or film maker the future is bright. I believe the future battles for theme parks will be fought over who can secure the signature of the next big IP. Disney and Universal already have some amazing IP’s and the success of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the buzz around Disney’s future Star Wars Lands goes to show that humans love good stories.
I’d also love to see theme parks return to building more Roller Coasters and less 3D rides, sometimes the past is better.
What do you believe the future holds for theme parks?
Smiles included…
Jamie
