HK1209519B

HK1209519B - Queue management system and method

Info

Publication number: HK1209519B
Application number: HK15109953.9A
Authority: HK
Inventors: Justin Michael Schwartz; Ross Alan OSTERMAN; Jeffrey Lamar POLK
Original assignee: Universal City Studios Llc
Priority date: 2012-06-07
Filing date: 2013-06-07
Publication date: 2019-07-19

Description

Queue management system and method

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of amusement parks. More particularly, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods and apparatus utilized to control latency in tourist attraction queues by providing subscriptions.

Background

Amusement parks have become quite popular since the early twentieth century. To address this growing demand, amusement parks have expanded at an alarming rate by adding attractions (attractions) and space. The addition of tourist sites (e.g., rides, restaurants, stores, and shows) generally provides additional capacity for amusement parks to handle a larger number of guests. However, additional attractions also typically provide potential guests with an incentive to access the amusement park. Thus, while a particular amusement park may add additional capacity, the additional capacity does not always result in reduced latency for the attraction. Further, due to operational efficiency, it is often desirable to limit the availability of tourist sites during times of low attendance. Therefore, queuing for attractions is a long-standing problem for amusement parks.

While guests need a larger, better, and more elaborate tourist venue, they also need and expect a positive overall experience. Providing a positive overall experience for guests at an amusement park must address certain issues related to queuing for attractions. Indeed, it is now recognized that park guests may dare to return to a particular amusement park due to a negative experience with queue wait times. Further, guests may be prevented from visiting the amusement park's business (e.g., store) due to the time spent waiting in the queue. Indeed, in the past, guests were forced to wait in line for hours to experience some of the more popular attractions at the amusement park. Additionally, it is now recognized that park capacity is not always equal to guest utilization of its capacity, since individual guests prefer over other attractions for some attractions. Accordingly, it is now recognized that improvements in amusement park queuing systems and methods are desirable.

Drawings

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an amusement park including a reservation system in accordance with the present technique;

FIG. 2 is a process diagram of a method in accordance with the present technique;

FIG. 3 is a process diagram of a method in accordance with the present technique; and

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate a process diagram of a method in accordance with the present technique;

FIG. 5 is a process diagram of a method for facilitating guest scheduling for multiple reservations for an attraction in accordance with the present technology; and

FIG. 6 is a process diagram of a method for coordinating a guest schedule in accordance with the present technology.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure relates generally to methods and systems for controlling latency in an amusement park attraction queue by dynamically managing reservations for amusement park attractions, including shows, restaurants, rides, stores, and the like. The present embodiments include a system having an electronic data server and corresponding application capable of transmitting and monitoring metrics or characteristics related to reservations for attractions in an amusement park and controlling queue flow characteristics. The system may include a verification system, a tracking system, a cancellation system, a mobile device, and back-end computers and devices. The system may be configured to receive one or more reservation requests at a time and assign a general or specific time frame for a reservation based on information provided by the user and/or based on other data (e.g., data regarding the operation of the relevant tourist site or data relating to the detected location of guests holding the reservation). Further, the present embodiments are configured to access or modify one or more existing reservations and/or adjust queue characteristics (e.g., access rates) based on changes in reservation requests, changes in guest schedules, guest location, data regarding or relating to the tourist attraction, entitlement levels (e.g., based on tiered payment options for various levels of access), and/or the like. With respect to the level of entitlement, a tiered approach to pricing various features or components may be available that includes a micropayment for certain services or tasks. For example, guests may provide small payments to receive periodic updates about short queues in certain areas of the park.

The system may enable guests to wait in a virtual queue for one or more particular attractions using mobile or wireless technology while experiencing other attractions or relaxing in other areas away from or in the amusement park. Indeed, the present embodiments include systems configured to communicate with one or more attractions involving reservation requests or existing reservations, to dynamically adjust and optimize the guest's waiting experience in real time, and to deliver updates to the guest (e.g., via mobile or wireless technology). The present embodiments may facilitate communication with guests via portable communication devices, such as cellular telephones, pagers, and other wireless devices. Such devices may be referred to as mobile devices. The communications referenced herein between the system and guests include email, text, video, web-based, and audio communications, etc. from the system to the mobile device. The location of guests within the amusement park may also be obtained by monitoring such mobile devices or other means (e.g., facial recognition systems, ticket scanning, etc.). In some embodiments, communication with the guest may be accomplished via a commonly accessible display. For example, kiosks (e.g., computers with access to a network) with communication features may be placed throughout an amusement park.

In accordance with the present technology, a reservation system is configured to provide an interface for a user or guest to make a reservation for an attraction that accesses one or more amusement parks during an access. Reservations may be made for a group of guests or individual guests that were present in the amusement park prior to or at the same time as arrival at the amusement park. Indeed, the functionality of the systems described herein may include communicating with a single guest or group. Making reservations as a group for multiple guests may be facilitated by enabling association of all of the respective tickets with a single guest's ticket. These reservations may be made using a laptop, desktop, mobile device, or other access device prior to or during the guest's visit to the amusement park. Such subscriptions may be obtained via online resources, via direct access to a portal (portal) of the subscription system, via a telephone system, and so forth.

In accordance with the present disclosure, tickets may include various types or combinations of credentials that may be used to verify access rights to an attraction (e.g., an amusement park). Tickets (e.g., paper tickets, biometrics, or electronic tickets) may be utilized to verify access rights at the current time or future access rights. When tickets are not purchased together, the present embodiment may associate the tickets as a group. This will allow any member of the guest's community to obtain a subscription to the community. For example, if a group of several guests arrives at an amusement park and each purchases tickets separately, one of the group's guests may make one or more reservations for the group using the present embodiment. The present embodiment is able to associate a subscription to a group with a single ticket, which becomes the "master ticket". When a reservation is redeemed, the master ticket associated with the reservation must first be validated, and then the tickets of the remaining community members. Several techniques and systems may be utilized to associate tickets with a master ticket. This may include scanning the ticket to confirm the identification information, authenticity, and subscription information. During the validation process, each ticket may be associated with a reservation remaining in the system. Accordingly, subsequent reservations may not require validation of the master ticket before the reservation can be used.

Further, the reservation may be made prior to the guest accessing the amusement park without specifically specifying a time frame for the reservation. For example, a subscription may be established for a particular date without specifying a range of hourly times for the subscription. However, in some embodiments, an initial slot (slot) of time may be defined based on the guest's predicted arrival time to the amusement park. For example, the time of arrival of the reservation may be designated as morning or afternoon. In such embodiments, once a guest arrives, a particular timeframe (e.g., 3:00 PM to 3:15 PM) may be assigned to the reservation depending on the guest's arrival time and the availability of reservation time slots for the associated attraction. It should be noted that the present embodiment may be utilized to make multiple subscriptions to one or more tourist sites. The present embodiments may also facilitate communication between the reservation system and guests to provide dynamic updates of reservation times and to provide crowd control by encouraging guests to visit specific areas of the amusement park. Further, the present embodiments may effectively accommodate a guest's schedule change by facilitating reservation transactions within the reservation system. For example, if a guest prefers to change an assigned reservation, the guest may use the reservation system to obtain a new reservation at a more convenient time, return the initial reservation to available inventory or reassign it if applicable.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a system for managing theme park attraction queues is indicated generally by the reference numeral 100. The queue management system 100 includes a data server system 102, a guest entry system 104 (e.g., a ticket system or an access validation system), an offset system 106, a data reader 108, a Portable Identification Feature (PIF) 110, a tracking system 112, a back-end computer system 114, and at least one tourist site 116. Some components of the system 100 may be extensions or modules of the data server system 102, and other components may be separate features in communication with the data server system 102. Indeed, the data server system 102 may include one or many computers having one or more processors 118 and memory 120 (e.g., a hard disk drive or other tangible, machine-readable medium, which is non-transitory, meaning only that they are not signals). Indeed, in one embodiment, the data storage system 102 includes one or more redundant servers to ensure reliability and enable maintenance. The memory(s) 120 may store code or instructions that, when executed by the processor(s) 118, cause the reservation system 100 to perform certain functions in accordance with the present embodiments. Indeed, certain components of the system 100 (e.g., the guest entry system 104) may include code stored in the memory 120 that is capable of being activated by the processor 118. It should be noted that the present disclosure may refer to a group of components of system 100 or all of the components of system 100 as "reservation system 100" or "system 100". Thus, actions indicated as being performed by the reservation system 100 or the system 100 may include actions performed by a subset of the system 100. For example, the data server system 102 may coordinate with the data reader 108 of the guest entry system 104 to perform an action of determining whether a particular guest has checked in (e.g., passed through an entrance or entry) to an amusement park. This action may be said to have been performed by the reservation system 100.

In the illustrated embodiment, tourist sites 116 include monitoring and/or data maintenance systems 122 that may be utilized to monitor and/or provide information regarding the operation of associated tourist sites 116. These monitoring and/or data maintenance systems 122 may be referred to as tourist sites systems 122 and may include one or more of computers, control systems, and monitoring features (e.g., sensors and cameras). In certain embodiments, the tourist site system 122 basically comprises a port or workstation for inputting information into the data server system 102, retrieving data from the data server system 102 or otherwise communicating with the data server system 102. For example, the attraction system 122 may enable an employee of the amusement park to enter data regarding the operation of the relevant attraction (e.g., wait time, attraction volume, and downtime). In other embodiments, the tourist site system 122 is a separate system configured to operate independently and communicate with the data server system 102. By way of example, the attraction system 122 may be capable of logging all activities with reservations for respective attractions 116 (e.g., downtime, statistics regarding requested and redeemed reservations, availability, and traffic through the attraction) to facilitate data analysis by the data server system 102 and/or the back-end computer system 114. In one embodiment, system 100 is expandable to enable storage and processing of large amounts of data. Data obtained from the tourist site system 122 may be submitted by the system 100 for data analysis, the results of which are used to assist in the control of queuing characteristics and reservations, as will be discussed further below.

The PIF110 may include a ticket. Specifically, for example, the PIF110 may include a printed ticket, a biometric, and/or a mobile device. As examples, PIF110 may include a printed strip of material, facial recognition, finger scanning, a cellular phone, a microchip (e.g., memory) or circuit mounted on a card or bracelet, a pager, or a wireless device that may be provided by an amusement park or owned by a guest. Indeed, a particular cellular phone, which may be owned by a user or obtained from an amusement park, may be associated with a guest pass (pass). The term guest pass may be used to refer generally to a guest's right to access some attraction or generally to access an amusement park. For example, the guest pass need not be a tangible object. The guest may purchase a guest pass-through, which is then associated with the guest's identification information (e.g., a password, serial number, name, or number code) on the system 100 so that the identity of the guest may be confirmed and the guest's rights may be ascertained. The association may be performed by the portable identification feature assignment system of the data server system 102. Thus, a guest pass may be associated with a PIF110 assigned to a particular guest, and the PIF110 may then be used to confirm the guest's rights via the system 100. Depending on the information, an amusement park employee or system may grant or deny the guest access or the right to make reservations to a particular attraction 116. In certain embodiments, the PIF110 is capable of wirelessly detecting and providing access to identification information associated with the PIF 110. For example, the tracking system 112 may employ the device monitor 124 to track the PIF110 in an amusement park and identify the location of particular guests within the confines of the space. The system 100 also detects whether a guest has arrived at the amusement park by monitoring guest entry into the system 104 and detects whether certain PIFs 110 associated with the guest have been detected. This may include scanning tickets using the tracking system 112, scanning bar codes from a screen of the portable device, pinging (ping) the portable device, and so forth. The detection of the guest's entrance into the amusement park may be confirmed when the guest pass is purchased and associated with the PIF110 by, for example, scanning an entrance ticket or associating identification information for the mobile device with the guest pass.

As indicated above, a guest (or an agent of the guest) may use the present embodiments to obtain reservations to one or more attractions in order to avoid or limit waiting times in the attractions queue, such as the queue 126 for a particular ride 128. The system 100 may be designed to accommodate making, modifying, or accessing multiple subscriptions at a time with sufficient processing power to ensure that adding additional capacity does not affect operating speed, as the system slows down. Reservations through system 100 may be obtained remotely by guests or from within the amusement park via automated phone system 142, internet system 144 (e.g., a website or mobile station), text messaging system 146, or point of sale (POS) device system 148. The automated phone system 142 is accessible from the phone 150 and includes a network of phones 150. The internet system 144 communicates with the internet 152 and, in some embodiments, includes two separate websites, where a first website accommodates guests who wish to make reservations and a second website provides access for a service representative to perform administrative tasks in addition to making and revising reservations. The text messaging system 146 communicates with a wireless device 154 (e.g., a cellular telephone). The POS device system 148 includes a POS device 156 and/or is in communication with the POS device 156.

The system 100 illustrated in fig. 1 is capable of communicating with a variety of different types of wireless or mobile devices, which may be owned by guests or supplied by amusement parks. Indeed, PIF110 may include a communication feature that enables all guests with the appointment to receive messages and updates from system 100. However, without the use of a mobile device such as PIF 100, the mobile device may be used to communicate with system 100. As an example of system communication, a text message may be sent from text messaging system 146 to a mobile device operating as PIF110 and dispatched to the user, where the text message indicates that a particular subscription time has been moved backwards due to technical difficulties at a particular venue. Text messaging system 146 may be capable of sending a minimum of 20000 automated text messages per minute with delayed notifications, informational notifications, advertisements, and the like. Further, various other components of the system 100 may be capable of wireless communication with mobile devices or other wireless system components. For example, the data reader 108 and the POS device 156, among others, may be wireless devices capable of communicating wirelessly with the data server system 102. It should be noted that references to mobile devices indicate items that guests may easily transfer, such as cellular phones, pagers, and the like.

When a guest has just requested a reservation from an off-site (offset), as a component of the reservation process, the guest may be prompted by the system 100 (e.g., an interface module of the data server system 102) to provide the system 100 with an estimated time of arrival (e.g., morning or afternoon) to an area, such as an amusement park or a particular attraction 116 (e.g., an isolated area in an amusement park). Such a request may be received through an interface system of data server system 102 that is capable of receiving communications and input data from guests, including current and potential customers of the amusement park. Such communication may be provided via one or more of an automated telephone system 142, an internet system 144, a text messaging system 146, or a POS device system 148. No specific reservation will be established until the guest actually arrives. Conversely, the reservation allocation system of the data server system 102 reserves a reservation slot based on the estimated arrival time and correlates the reservation slot with the identification information for the guest. Providing an estimated time of arrival may require establishing subscription rights during the associated period of access.

The detection system (e.g., tracking system 112, guest entry system 104, and/or data reader 108) determines whether the portable identification feature has reached a designated area (e.g., an amusement park). If the guest cannot arrive during the predicted period (e.g., during the morning hours), the system 100 may contact the guest and reschedule or cancel the associated reservation rights based on feedback from the guest and/or other criteria. Similarly, once the guest is confirmed to be present in the amusement park, the reservation dispatching system of system server system 102 may define a specific reservation time and may notify the guest of the specific reservation time (e.g., a 15 minute window to the attraction 116). For example, a guest with existing reservation privileges or a guest that has requested a reservation may receive a text message or a recorded audio message from the system via one or more of the automated telephone system 142, the internet system 144, the text messaging system 146, or the POS device system 148. As a specific example, upon kiosk registration including POS device 156, the guest may be notified via POS device system 148 to: the specific time for the reservation has been established by printing the message and the reservation time on the receipt generated by the POS device 156. Similarly, communications from the system 100 may be provided to the guest via voice messages, text messages, or email sent to the mobile device and/or to the guest's PIF110 assigned to the guest (e.g., the guest's personal communication device or a device supplied by the amusement park) via the automated telephone system 142, the internet system 144, or the text messaging system 146. The specific time is narrower than the general time and will generally be limited to the general time, but may be the latter.

Additionally, the system 100 in the illustrated embodiment facilitates communication from guests to the system 100. For example, a user may transfer the following by submitting data to the system 100 via a mobile device that may include the PIF 110: no more reservations are desired or the arrival of the guest at the amusement park or single attraction 116 will be delayed. This type of information may be utilized by the system 100 to manage the guests and other guests' reservations. Further, such information may be utilized by the system 100 to facilitate queue management. For example, cancellation may be utilized to adjust the ratio of standby queues, fast queues, VIP queues, single passenger queues, and reservation queues or the number of guests allowed to access via the reservation entry. Indeed, the system 100 may communicate such data to an attraction control system (e.g., the attraction system 122) or an amusement park employee responsible for queue management. This may include the provision of an access management system for the data server system 102 or the attraction system 122, which data server system 102 or the attraction system 122 can control adjustable rate variables that adjust certain queue characteristics (e.g., number at the reserve queue entry) related to the reservation entry to maintain a desired latency and can provide information about nearby attractions with low latency (e.g., the nearest attraction with lower latency or lowest latency than the reservation queue).

The communication from the guests to system 100 may include periodic updates regarding the respective locations of PIFs 110 or updates entered by the user via data entry components of each of PIFs 110. As an example, the PIF110 may include a Global Positioning System (GPS), a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, or other detectable feature that may be used to determine the location of the PIF 110. In particular, such information may be employed to determine a general location of a guest associated with PIF110 by system 100, for example, if PIF110 is scanned as part of a purchase detected by data reader 108 or detected by a device monitor 124 placed in an amusement park. Further, guests may be able to submit requests or updates via a data entry feature (e.g., a keyboard or other interface of PIF 110). For example, PIFs 110 may each include a keyboard or basic input that enables a guest to respond affirmatively or negatively to a question issued by system 100, such as a question regarding whether the guest intends to attend for an undetermined booking. Other mobile devices that are not employed as the PIF110 may also be used to communicate with the system 100.

In addition to communications regarding reservations, communications between the system 100 and guests may also include other types of information or data, such as information related to crowd flow through the amusement park. For example, the system 100 may utilize location data from the PIF110 and other sources to aggregate crowd flow data. This data may then be employed by the system 100 to encourage the distribution of guests throughout the amusement park, thus reducing the population. For example, electronic coupons for nearby tourist sites may be issued by the system 100 via the PIF110, which may be restricted to certain guests by identifying information, or may distribute notifications indicating short waits are available at certain tourist sites. The system 100 can push (push) information (e.g., coupons, advertisements, and wait times) to guests via a web portal or the like. Specifically, for example, the system 100 may send a text message to all amusement park patrons that have PIFs 110 with specific identification information that will allow these park patrons to receive discounts at the store or restaurant. Further, the system 100 may track usage of these discounts such that the system 100 is aware of the time and location of usage, which may be used to control the crowd (e.g., submission of additional notifications based on location, items purchased, etc.). Additionally, the system 100 may automatically adjust subscriptions based on location and availability. For example, a reservation may be adjusted because a customer is located too far from an attraction (e.g., as determined by the purchase time of the item) to reach the associated attraction in time for the reservation, or because the guest is delayed in the restaurant due to slow service, the guest's position in the queue may be adjusted.

As with the other types of information discussed above, the system 100 can communicate crowd flow information between tourist sites 116 and dynamically adjust queue characteristics (e.g., the rate of permissions between reservation and standby queues) to facilitate (moveaware) optimization of user latency for tourist sites. For example, based on the remaining reservations into the keepsake store 160 and the availability of access to the attraction through the amusement park, an adjustment may be made to the rate at which guests allowed to enter the keepsake store 160 from the standby queue 162 (e.g., the area where guests are queued to enter the attraction without reservation) are allowed to enter the queued keepsake store 160 relative to guests allowed to enter the keepsake store 160 from the reservation queue 164 (e.g., the area where guests are queued to enter the attraction based on reservations). It should be noted that guests entering the reservation queue 164 may confirm access to the reservation queue or queue 164 by allowing a data reader 108 to access the associated PIF110, and may confirm access to the keepsake store 160 by allowing a different data reader 108 to access the associated PIF 110. Thus, the data reader 108 is utilized as an incoming access confirmation feature. The double acknowledgement may be utilized to monitor queue latency. Similarly, the data reader 108 may be employed as an access confirmation feature by confirming that the guest has entered the attraction (e.g., a vehicle entering a ride of the attraction).

The system 100 may also facilitate guest-to-guest communications as well as system-directed communications based on certain guest-common characteristics. In particular, the present embodiments may collect demographic data during the enrollment process or by opt-in to the process. The enrollment process may include any utilization of the system 100 by guests as needed for data entry or to facilitate the acquisition of demographic data. For example, the check-in may include utilization of a cellular telephone by a guest in connection with the system 100, and the obtained demographic data may include a zone number of a telephone number associated with the cellular telephone. When the PIFs 110 are capable of communication, direct guest-to-guest communication may be established between the PIFs 110 assigned to guests via the system, or direct guest-to-guest communication may be established between communication devices provided by guests or parks and known to the system. Similarly, such communications may be established via enabling access to social media, which may also employ the PIF110 or known communication devices. Accordingly, guests having a common characteristic based on the guests' enrollment data or selected options may provide notifications to each other. For example, guests from a similar geographic area may notify each other of activities that may have a common interest. Similarly, based on demographic data, the system 100 may provide information about activities that may have common interests. The system 100 may facilitate, among other things, publishing status updates, notifying guests in a group of activities related to the group, or providing notification of certain conditions in the park.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a PIF110 (e.g., an RFID transponder) is provided to each guest or group as the guest or group enters the amusement park. This may include the amusement park renting, lending to the guest, or simply selling the PIF 110. Each PIF110 may be programmed and assigned in system 100 to uniquely identify each guest or group. In some embodiments, providing PIFs 110 for each guest may include directing the system to identify and/or communicate with devices owned by the guest such that the devices owned by the guest are employed and activated by system 100 as PIFs 110. For example, the system 100 may be used to download an application onto a guest's cell phone, such that the system 100 associates the guest's cell phone with an amusement park ticket and with the guest (or group). In another embodiment, the system 100 may be programmed to detect the PIF110 and identify an association with a valid guest pass. Further, as discussed above, different types of PIFs 110 may include paper or plastic tickets or bracelets with integral detection devices. For example, a bracelet including an integral circuit stores a unique identifier in memory and/or provides communication capabilities (e.g., the ability to communicate with a global positioning unit or other location detection system). For example, an Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) device such as an RFID tag may be used. Other features of the PIF110 that may be used with the present embodiment may include bar codes, magnetic strips, pin numbers, cell phone identifiers, hotel room keys, credit cards, combinations thereof, and the like. Any identifying component of the PIF110, or combination of such devices, may have a mutual reader that communicates with the data reader 108 or other guest identifier (e.g., POS device 156) to track the movement and/or spending of guests in and/or around the amusement park. This enables tracking of crowd flow. Still further, in some embodiments, the PIF110 includes a handheld electronic device having a display screen that enables communication regarding crowd flow to facilitate direction of guests to certain areas of the park.

In one embodiment, the system 100 is able to control access to and manage reservations with the tourist attraction 116 by facilitating communication between the data server system 102, which acts as a central queue control system, and the guest entry system 104. Indeed, coordination between the data server system 102 and the guest entry system 104 facilitates identification of the arrival and attendance of guests with a reservation in the amusement park, which assists in the management of the reservation. Indeed, the reservations may be changed or cancelled depending on an algorithm that takes into account the arrival time at the amusement park. Communication of guest arrival and/or attendance may be accomplished by polling the guest entry system 104 at the data server system 102 at some interval (e.g., every 30 or 60 seconds) or at some time, or by sending identification data for the associated PIF110 from the guest entry system 104 to the data server system 102 each time a user is allowed to enter the amusement park via the guest entry system. For example, a data reader 108 associated with a particular attraction 116 may communicate with the data server system 102 or directly with the guest entry system 104 to confirm that the guest has a valid park entry ticket. Specifically, for example, a guest may supply a PIF110 assigned to the guest to a data reader 108 for a particular attraction 116. The data reader 108 may then obtain information from the PIF110 and communicate with other system components to confirm that the PIF110 is associated with a valid subscription, and that the PIF110 is known to be suitably present in the amusement park. This may include confirming that the PIF110 (e.g., a cell phone) has been identified as entering the amusement park via guest entry system 104 (e.g., scanned during entry into the entry) and that the PIF110 has been associated with a subscription to a particular attraction 116 or any attraction 116. In some embodiments, a guest must use PIF110 to communicate with first data reader 166 in order to enter queue 164, and then use PIF110 to communicate with second data reader 168 to enter attraction 116. This may facilitate monitoring of queue characteristics.

In one embodiment, the system 100 enables the following: making reservations for individual or group access attractions during a time frame, modifying the reservations, delaying the reservations (e.g., delaying the reservations at five minute intervals), transferring reservations from one PIF110 to another (e.g., from one group member to another), canceling reservations, and providing reservation details and updates (e.g., in real-time). As indicated above, the system 100 includes a number of access or interface points that can interface with a business management system for the amusement park (e.g., modules of the data server system 102 or a separate system in communication with the data server system 102 or accessible through the data server system 102). Indeed, a user may access or interface with the system 100 from the amusement park property remotely or via the automated phone system 142, the internet system 144, the text messaging system 146, or the POS device system 148. In certain embodiments, accessing and manipulating subscriptions may be accomplished using a PIF110, which PIF110 may be used to communicate with the data server system 102. Indeed, a guest may request to move a reservation backward (e.g., thirty minutes backward) or cancel by sending a text message to the data server system 102 from the PIF110 or a communication device identified by the system because the guest spends more time eating than expected. All interface points may be allocated the same capacity depending on the security available. For example, if it is determined that there is a risk of losing financial data during a transaction due to limited security from the interface point, access from such interface point may be limited. Further, access to the system 100 to obtain a subscription may be limited depending on the purchase of access rights. For example, a guest may have to purchase reservation capabilities to successfully make a reservation via system 100. However, the purchase price for the subscription capability may be set to zero or the purchase step may be bypassed. When the purchasing step is bypassed, the acquisition of the subscription will run seamlessly so that no indication of the required payment is provided. It should be noted that in order to access the system 100 and make a reservation that requires access to a particular area or attraction (e.g., an amusement park) as a precursor (precursor), the user may need to have purchased a ticket for the attraction or set of attractions. Indeed, access to make reservations within the system 100 or to the system 100 itself may be limited to users having corresponding tickets or to those with special access (e.g., employees of a theme park).

Fig. 2 and 3 comprise process flow diagrams for the process according to the present embodiment. The process is generally referred to by the reference numeral 200 and includes various blocks that represent acts or steps of the process 200. In accordance with the present embodiment, process 200 may be controlled or facilitated by a system, such as data server system 102 and/or other components of system 100. Indeed, in one embodiment, the data server system 102 includes a processor 118 and a memory 120, wherein the memory 120 stores instructions implemented by the processor 118 to receive input of data, manipulate associated data to transform the input into aggregated information, and provide output corresponding to process steps or actions disclosed herein. The components of process 200 may be performed by data reader 108, which may maintain its own data processing capabilities, or by other components of system 100. Further, in different embodiments, certain actions or steps may be performed in a different order.

As illustrated in fig. 2, the process 200 begins with a determination of whether a ticket or tickets have been purchased, as represented by block 202. In this context, a ticket is a right to access an amusement park or an attraction 116 of an amusement park. In other contexts, tickets may be associated with different access rights. As an example, obtaining a ticket may include associating the identity of the guest with such rights in the system 100. In particular, for example, a guest may be assigned and provided with a guest identification number, and the system may store information in memory identifying the number with access rights. If the ticket is not purchased, the process 200 facilitates the purchase of the ticket, as represented by block 204. According to the present embodiment, such purchase of one or more tickets is coordinated via the POS device system 148 (e.g., a ticket office), via the internet system 144, or via the automated telephone system 142. During the purchase, the attraction reservation capability may be added to the purchased ticket or tickets, as represented by block 206. In some embodiments, the attraction reservation capability may be automatically added as a free component of the ticket. In other embodiments, the attraction reservation capability may be a user-selected option, which may be free or may require additional fees. The system 100 can give priority to certain subscriptions over others. Priority may be given to guests paying a premium, visitors, or guests performing a special task.

Block 206 may also represent the actual addition of one or more tourist attractions when purchasing one or more tickets, which may include establishing a process for communicating information about the reservation. Indeed, block 208 represents prompting the guest to indicate whether the mobile device is available. If the guest does not have access to such a device, the guest may be directed to obtain an alternate communication capability (e.g., a self-provided communication device or a park-provided communication device), as represented by block 210. To facilitate this, guests may be directed to communicate with the customer service. Accordingly, the customer service may arrange to provide the guest with a mobile device for the purpose of communicating information about the reservation and potentially acting as a PIF 110. If the guest prefers not to use such a mobile device, arrangements may be made for other types of notifications and confirmations, such as via kiosks and paper tickets throughout the amusement park. Returning to the prompt provided in block 208, if the guest has a mobile phone, a mobile communication device assigned by the amusement park, or the like, the guest may indicate that such a mobile device is available. In this case, the guest may be further prompted to provide access to the mobile device via a phone number, email address, or the like, as represented by block 212. For example, the guest may provide a telephone number that may be used by the system 100 for text or voice communications related to the attraction reservation. Indeed, the guest may actually select the desired type of notification, as represented by block 214. This may include selecting whether to send an audio and/or text notification. The system 100 may prompt the guest to indicate whether the text message is acceptable. If the guest prefers not to use text, an automated voice message may be used. Further, block 214 may represent allowing the guest to determine whether certain types of information are to be sent to the mobile device. For example, a guest may restrict communications to communications related to an established reservation such that the guest does not receive communications related to coupons, wait times at other areas of the park, and so forth. In some embodiments, certain types of information may be accessed, received, or controlled based on pricing tiers of purchased access rights. For example, a guest with upper layer access rights may receive or access unique information about events that are only available to those with such access rights. As another example, those with upper level rights may be able to block certain communications (e.g., advertisements) that cannot otherwise be blocked.

Once the manner of communication between the system 100 and the guest has been established, the system 200 continues to establish the details of the reservation. As represented by block 216, this may include selecting an attraction, a reservation date, and a general time for the reservation. In some embodiments, only one attraction and/or date of reservation is available for reservation, and thus, no attraction and/or date need be selected. The present embodiment allows a user to make a reservation before entering a park to confirm access to a particular attraction. However, the specific time of the reservation may not be made until the guest actually enters the amusement park. Indeed, for example, the specific time of the reservation may not be made until after a ticket associated with the reservation is identified by the guest entry system 104.

In the illustrated embodiment, a guest is requested by the system 100 to provide a general time for a reservation, as illustrated by block 216, to assist in the organization of the reservation. As noted previously, the actual booking time will not be established until certain criteria are met. For example, a specific time window for a reservation (e.g., a 15 minute time window) may not be established until the guest is confirmed to be present in the amusement park and has confirmed that the reservation is still desired. The general time for a subscription may be indicated as morning, afternoon or evening. In another embodiment, the general time for the reservation may be one of various time windows (e.g., a four hour time window) that may be selected by the guest. Such an indication of the general time may allow for flexibility within the reservation system 100. For example, if the guest indicates that the general time for the reservation will be in the morning of a particular day, a determination may be made as to whether the guest has actually arrived at the park some time in the morning. If the guest has not arrived, the guest may be contacted via a mobile device, which may include PIF110, to determine whether an adjustment or cancellation of the reservation should be made. Some adjustments or cancellations to the reservation may be made automatically when the guest does not arrive within the indicated time window, when the guest is unable to respond via the mobile device, when the guest provides some updates (e.g., "one hour later"), and so on. As one particular example, when a guest does not arrive before a time corresponding to a general time set for reservation, the guest may be prompted to indicate whether the guest still plans to access the amusement park. The reservation may be adjusted if the guest still plans to visit the amusement park. The reservation may be cancelled if the guest no longer plans to visit the amusement park. Other subscriptions may also be moved as subscriptions are adjusted. Further, if a subscription is cancelled, other subscriptions can be moved and those subscriptions in the alternate list can be contacted to fill the available subscription slots.

The present system 100 allows for multiple subscriptions to be made at one time. In one embodiment, multiple reservations may be made and initially associated with a single ticket or with each of multiple tickets. Indeed, block 218 represents receiving an indication of a number of guests for the requested reservation in addition to other information provided in receiving block 216. By allowing multiple reservations to be associated with a single ticket, a single group member may make reservations for a guest's group. However, bookings for more than a certain number of guests (e.g., 10 guests) may require approval from amusement park personnel (e.g., members of a group sales department). Accordingly, block 218 represents receiving input regarding the number of guests for which a reservation is to be made, which may include indicating that the reservation is for a single guest. Next, as represented by block 220, a determination is made as to whether the subscription is for a community greater than some threshold. If the group exceeds the threshold, the guest may be directed to a group sales representative who contacts the amusement park, or the like, as represented by block 222. This may include automatically contacting the guest via telephone or initiating an email to the appropriate contact.

If the group does not exceed the threshold specified for group booking (e.g., the booking is for a single guest), process 200 continues with determining whether the attraction for which the booking has been requested has sufficient space, as indicated by block 224. In one embodiment, the action may include a communication between the data server system 102 and the attraction system 122. For example, as discussed above, each attraction 116 may include monitoring and/or status management features (e.g., attraction computers) that maintain information regarding reservations, availability, downtime, and the like. In other embodiments, all such information may be centrally located (e.g., stored in the data server system 102). If a determination is made that sufficient capacity exists for the requested one or more reservations, confirmation of the one or more reservations may be provided to the guest and the reservations registered, as indicated in block 226, and registered in data server system 102 and/or a management system for a particular attraction 116 or attraction system 122, where the reservation was made for the particular attraction 116. For example, the confirmation may include a text message, electronic information, printout, or audio message transmitted from the data server system 102 to the mobile device via the POS device system 148, the internet system 146, the telephone system 142, or the text messaging system 146. In other embodiments, the confirmation may simply be provided via the device employed to make the subscription.

If confirmation is made that there is not sufficient space to accommodate the requested reservation, the process may prompt the guest to select another date, a different time period, or a different attraction, as represented by block 228. In some embodiments, if the group size can be reduced or divided to enable booking, the guest may be notified of the option to divide the group or reduce the size of the group to obtain available booking space. If the guest chooses to make changes to the requested reservation, the process returns to block 216. If the guest chooses not to revise the reservation, then it is desirable to prompt the guest to select placement in an alternate list (queue made available for filling the slot) or cancellation of the reservation request, as represented by block 229. The prompt in block 229 may state that not selecting a placement in the replacement list results in a cancellation. When the option is selected, the requested subscription may be placed in an alternate list, as represented by block 230. Indeed, the present embodiment includes a waitlist function so that when a reservation is not available, the guest can obtain a position in the waitlist that becomes available for notification of a potential reservation slot. Once a guest or group is assigned a position in the replacement list, the guest may be notified that the subscription has not yet been registered, but that the guest and/or group has been assigned a slot in the replacement list, as represented by block 232. If the guest chooses to cancel, the reservation request is simply canceled and the guest is notified, as represented by block 234. With respect to confirmation of a subscription, as discussed above, notification may be accomplished by submitting a text message or voicemail to the mobile device, or by communicating via the device employed to request the subscription. Further, guests or groups may be notified of the opening via a mobile device or via other notification mechanisms in case the opening (opening) for the subscription becomes available. The guest may be requested to respond to such a notification by indicating whether the guest can fill the slot. A guest may be able to respond via the PIF110 assigned to the guest. Waiting list reservations may be moved into the open reservation slot if a guest indicates availability to get an open reservation slot.

Returning to block 202 of process 200, if a ticket has been purchased, process 200 may be directed to contacting the reservation system 100, as represented by block 250 in FIG. 3. Upon accessing the reservation system, the guest may be prompted to confirm the identity of the guest or group, as represented by block 252. This may include entering a confirmation number, scanning a physical ticket, accessing an application on the mobile device, and so forth. Next, as represented by block 254, a determination is made as to whether the identifying information corresponds to a currently active or in-service guest pass. If the identification information does not correspond to a valid guest pass, the process directs the user to the customer service, as represented by block 256. This may include automatically connecting guests to the amusement park personnel via telephone or automatically generating emails directed to the amusement park personnel.

If the system 100 determines that the identification information corresponds to a valid guest pass, a determination may be made as to whether the guest has previously associated the guest pass with the mobile device. If the mobile device has not been associated with a guest, process 200 continues to block 258 which represents a determination of whether such a device is available. Many of the following steps are substantially equivalent to the steps indicated and described with respect to fig. 2. In particular, block 258 represents prompting the user to indicate whether the mobile device is available. If the guest does not have access to such a mobile device, the guest may be directed to a customer service, as represented by block 260. Accordingly, the customer service may arrange the communication capabilities for the guest for the purpose of transmitting information about the subscription by, for example, provisioning the guest with a mobile device. If the guest prefers not to use such a mobile device, scheduling for notification may be made via a kiosk throughout the amusement park or the like.

Returning to the prompt provided in block 258, if the guest has a mobile phone, a mobile communication device assigned by the amusement park, or the like, the guest may indicate that such a mobile device is available. In this case, the guest may be further prompted to provide access to the mobile device, and then such access is provided via a phone number, email address, or the like, as represented by block 262. For example, a guest may provide a telephone number that may be used by system 100 for text or voice communications related to an attraction reservation. Indeed, the guest may actually select the type of notification, as represented by block 264. This may include selecting whether to send an audio and/or text notification. The system 100 may prompt the guest to indicate whether the text message is acceptable. If the guest prefers not to use text, an automated voice message may be used. Similarly, an email may be provided as an option. Further, block 264 may represent allowing the guest to determine whether to send certain types of information to the mobile phone. For example, a guest may limit communications to those related to reservations such that the guest does not receive communications related to coupons, wait times at other areas of the park, and so on. It should be noted that if a mobile device has been identified at block 254, the process 200 may continue directly to blocks 264 or 266.

Once the communication means between the system 100 and the guest has been established, the process 200 continues to establish the details of the reservation. As represented by block 266, this may include selecting an attraction, a reservation date, and a general time for the reservation. In some embodiments, only one attraction is available for a subscription, and thus, no attraction needs to be selected. As noted above, the present embodiment allows a user to make a reservation before entering a park to confirm access to a particular attraction. However, the specific time of the reservation may not be made or provided to the guest by the system 100 until the guest actually enters the amusement park. Indeed, for example, the specific time of the reservation may not be made until after the ticket associated with the reservation is identified by the guest entry system 104.

General time for the subscription (e.g., morning or afternoon) may be requested by the system 100, as illustrated by block 266, to assist in the organization of the subscription. The general time for a subscription is indicated as morning, afternoon or evening. In another embodiment, the general time for the reservation may be one of various time windows that may be selected by the guest. Such an indication of the general time may allow for flexibility within the reservation system 100. If the guest does not arrive before a time corresponding to the indicated general time, the guest may be contacted via a mobile device or the like to determine whether an adjustment to the reservation should be made or a cancellation of the reservation should be made. Some adjustments or cancellations to the reservation may be made automatically when the guest does not arrive within the indicated time window, when the guest is unable to respond via the mobile device, when the guest provides some updates, and so forth. Other subscriptions may also be moved when the subscription is adjusted. Further, if a subscription is cancelled, other subscriptions can be moved and those in the alternate list can be contacted to fill the available subscription slots.

As for when purchasing tickets, the present system 100 allows for making multiple reservations with respect to tickets that have already been purchased, as illustrated in fig. 2. Indeed, in one embodiment, multiple reservations may be made and initially associated with a single ticket or with each of multiple tickets. By allowing multiple reservations to be associated with a single ticket, a single group member may make reservations for a guest's group. However, bookings for more than a certain number of guests may require approval from amusement park personnel. Accordingly, block 268 represents inputting the number of guests for which a reservation is to be made, which may include indicating that the reservation is for a single guest. Next, as represented by block 270, a determination is made as to whether the subscription is for a community greater than some threshold. If the group exceeds the threshold, the guest may be directed to a group sales representative who contacts the amusement park, or the like, as represented by block 272. This may include automatically contacting the guest via telephone or initiating an email to the appropriate contact.

If the community size is within the threshold, a determination is made as to the capacity in the attraction, as represented by block 276. If a determination is made that there is not sufficient capacity to accommodate the requested reservation, process 200 includes prompting the guest to select another date, a different time period, or a different attraction, as represented by block 278. In some embodiments, if the group size can be reduced or divided to enable booking, the guest may be notified of the option to divide the group or reduce the size of the group to obtain available booking space. If the guest chooses to make changes to the requested reservation, the process returns to block 266. If the guest chooses not to revise the reservation and chooses not to cancel the request, the requested reservation may be placed in an alternate list, as represented by block 280. Indeed, the present embodiment includes a waitlist function so that when a reservation is not available, the guest can obtain a position in the waitlist that becomes available for a potential reservation slot. Once a guest or group is assigned a location in the replacement list, the guest may be notified that the guest subscription has not been registered, the guest and/or group having been assigned a slot in the replacement list, as represented by block 282.

If a determination is made that there is sufficient space for the requested reservation or reservations, a determination is made as to whether the guest or guests have accessed the attraction within the time period (e.g., on the date of the requested reservation, within the morning time period, etc.), as indicated by block 290. If the guest has previously experienced the attraction for the specified period of time, a determination is made in block 292 as to whether a threshold amount of access has been reached (e.g., whether the guest or group has experienced the attraction three times in the same day). Such a determination may be made by an access management feature (e.g., a system of the data server system 102 or the system 122). If there is no restriction or no restriction for accessing the attraction is reached, confirmation of one or more reservations can be provided to the guest or group, as indicated in block 294, and the reservations registered in the data server system 100 and/or the management system 122 for the particular attraction 116 for which the reservations were made. However, subsequent access to the attraction may be restricted based on the previous access. If there is a limit to the number of times a guest may access an attraction within a time period and the limit has been reached, access to another reservation may be denied and the guest may be placed in an alternate list, as indicated by block 280. For example, the confirmation may include a text message or an audio message transmitted from the data server system 102 to the mobile device via the internet system 144, the telephone system 142, the text system 146, or the POS device system 148.

Fig. 4A and 4B are process flow diagrams of a method employing the system 100 according to the present embodiment. The process is generally referred to by the reference numeral 400 and includes various blocks that represent acts or steps of the process 400. In accordance with the present embodiment, the process 400 may be controlled or facilitated by a system, such as the data server system 102 and/or other components of the system 100. Indeed, in one embodiment, the data server system 102 includes a processor 118 and a memory 120, wherein the memory 120 stores instructions implemented by the processor 118 to receive input and provide output corresponding to the process steps or actions disclosed herein. These inputs and outputs may be received from and directed to, respectively, other components of system 100 with respect to data server system 102. Further, in different embodiments, certain actions or steps may be performed in a different order.

The input from the guest to the system 100 (either prior to or during guest access) may include ticket identification, mobile phone number, booking date, booking group size, estimated park entry time (e.g., morning or afternoon), associated ticket identification (e.g., group ticket information), and so forth. Inputs from the operator to the system 100 may include data indicative of ride capacity, downtime estimates, operating status of tourist sites, re-ride status, queue rates, messages, advertisements, statistics, and data requests. The automated inputs may include guest park entry time, guest queue exit time, standby time estimates, and valid ticket validation. Outputs from the system 100 to various systems (e.g., websites, mobile stations, text messaging systems, telephones, and POS devices) may include subscription volume check results, general messaging, advertisements, available subscription dates, and subscription confirmation. The output from the system 100 to the operator may include allowed ride queue entry messages and messages with reservations approved. The output from the system 100 to the guest may include status updates, reservation modification messages, reservation window messages, time limit warnings, active time window messages, guest understanding messages, confirmation of reservations, updates regarding reservations, general messaging, advertisements, and park entry messages. In different embodiments, certain inputs and outputs may be directed to different components.

The process 400 begins by confirming that the guest has the appropriate access rights and allowing the guest to enter the amusement park when the access rights are confirmed, as represented by block 402. This step may involve the use of guest entry system 104. Access rights may be confirmed by determining that the guest has provided identifying information (e.g., a bar code on a physical ticket or data stored on a mobile device) corresponding to valid rights to access the amusement park. This may include, for example, scanning tickets provided by the guest and confirming that information retrieved from the tickets has been stored in the central database, as corresponds to the right to enter on the date of the scan. Indeed, such information may be stored on the central database 103 and issued electronically to guests, or stored on physical ticket items at the time of purchase.

After confirming the identifying information, a determination is made as to whether the identifying information is associated with the attraction subscription, as represented by block 404. If no reservation is associated with the identifying information, as represented by block 406, the guest may use the standby queue to access the attraction, join the group with group reservation, or obtain a reservation. For example, if the guest does not establish a reservation before arriving at the amusement park, the guest may use the internet system 144, the telephone system 142, the text system 146, or the POS device system 148 to obtain reservation rights and/or make a reservation. If one or more subscriptions have been associated with the identification information and certain criteria are met, the system 100 automatically establishes a specific subscription time, as represented by block 408. Indeed, once the guest is identified as being present in the amusement park, as occurs at block 402, the general time associated with the established reservation is translated into a more specific time (e.g., a time window or general time at which the attraction may be accessed with the reservation) and a notification (e.g., a voice message, text message, or email) of the reservation is provided to the guest via a mobile device or the like, as represented in block 410. As one particular example, when requesting a reservation, a guest may provide a wide window of time, such as "during runtime in the morning," "during runtime in the afternoon," "during runtime in the evening," "between 1:00 PM and 6:00 PM," "between 7:00 AM and noon," and so forth. Upon confirming entry of the guest into the amusement park, upon confirming presence of the guest in a particular area, or upon guest enrollment, the system 100 assigns a specific time that may be for the reservation, such as a time window from 2:00 PM to 2:15 PM or approximately 3:00 PM. This may not occur automatically when certain criteria are not met. For example, if the guest does not arrive within a predefined time frame (e.g., morning or afternoon), the availability of the reservation may have changed. As another example, tourist sites may not be available due to technical difficulties. If there is a problem with the reservation, these may also be transmitted to the guest in the same way that confirmation of the reservation will be transmitted.

Once the reservation is confirmed, the system 100 may prompt the guest for available options to cancel or modify the reservation, as represented by block 412. For example, following notification of the guest of confirmed reservations, system 100 may request that the guest indicate whether certain reservations should be cancelled or modified. If the guest indicates that the reservation should be modified or cancelled, as represented by block 414, the guest may be directed to a customer service or to a component of the reservation system 100 that facilitates execution of the components of the process 200 set forth in FIG. 3. If a guest does not wish to change any reservations, the reservations may be transferred to other identifying information (e.g., identifying information associated with PIFs 110 assigned to another guest). For example, a guest having a ticket associated with a particular reservation may transfer the reservation to another guest's ticket. Indeed, the system 100 may prompt the user or receive a user request to transfer a subscription, as illustrated by block 416. The guest may respond by using a mobile device, kiosk, contact service, or the like to transfer the reservation to the identifying information for another access pass, as represented by block 420. Many subscriptions may be transferred at once, or a series of transfers may be performed in a loop operation, as indicated by the arrow pointing from block 420 to block 416, until the desired transfer has been completed. It should be noted that the system 100 may allow guests to change or modify a reservation within certain time windows (e.g., at least 30 minutes before the reservation time) or at any time prior to the time slot of an existing reservation. This may include canceling an existing reservation and attempting to replace it with a slot preferred by the guest, trading the existing reservation with another guest, canceling the existing reservation and placing it in a virtual standby queue, and so forth. When a guest attempts to change an existing reservation, the guest may be given priority over guests without an existing reservation for the purpose of selecting other available slots for alternate reservations.

Once all transfers have been made, a determination may be made as to the associated delay or other issue with the subscription, as indicated by block 422. This may include periodically updating and continuously monitoring attraction information from a monitoring system (e.g., attraction system 122) associated with the relevant attraction. If the identified problem would cause a change to the reservation, the guest may be notified via a text message, voice message, email, or via a kiosk display for a new time window of the reservation, as represented by block 424. The notification may also include an indication of the nature of the delay or change. Further, any conflicting subscriptions may be automatically adjusted. For example, if the changed subscription time conflicts with the established subscription time, the established subscription time may be automatically changed, or the guest may be prompted to define the desired result based on the selection of available options.

If no issues regarding changes to the subscription are identified, the process 400 may continue to monitor whether the period of time before the subscription has been reached, as indicated in block 430. For example, block 430 may represent a determination as to whether the current time is 15 minutes before the reservation or less (e.g., a time window). If the current time is not 15 minutes or less before the reservation, the process 400 continues monitoring. If the current time is 15 minutes or less before the reservation, an alert is provided to the guest: the reservation times are close, as represented by block 432. This may include suggesting that the guest begin moving to the attraction. It should be noted that the period of time before the guest is notified may vary depending on the location of the guest. For example, if the system 100 identifies that a guest is in a particular location, which typically takes some amount of time to travel to an attraction for which the guest has a reservation, the time period associated with the reservation reminder notification may be based on the distance and the corresponding travel time.

After receiving the reservation reminder notification, the system 100 may enable the guest to move the reservation backward or defer the reservation. For example, the guest may be prompted or allowed to request a delay for the reservation, as indicated by block 434. If the guest chooses to delay the reservation, the guest may notify the reservation system 100 via the mobile device or other access point to the reservation system 100, as represented by block 436. The reservation system 100 may respond to such requests with information about new reservations at a later time, information about a selection of reservation times available at a later time, or no later time available. The system 100 may then enable the guest to respond by, for example, confirming or selecting the offered later time or denying changes to the existing reservation. If a new subscription is established, the system 100 provides confirmation of the revised subscription, as indicated by block 438, and the process continues to monitor the current time relative to the subscription, as indicated by block 430. It should also be noted that at any time in the process, in addition to modifying the reservation, the guest may also choose to cancel their reservation.

If the guest chooses not to delay the reservation, the guest may begin walking to the attraction, as represented by block 440. As noted above, the reservation reminder may account for the distance to be traveled by the guest by monitoring the location of the guest and providing a reminder for a corresponding amount of time prior to the reservation time. A determination may be made as to when the reservation time becomes active, such as when the current time enters a time window for the reservation, as represented by block 442. In the illustrated embodiment, this is monitored continuously. When the current time corresponds to a reservation (e.g., the current time is within the reservation window), the guest is notified that the reservation is active and that the guest should enter the attraction, as indicated by block 444. When a guest enters a queue associated with an attraction, the guest may need to confirm that they have a reservation by providing appropriate identifying information, as indicated by block 446. For example, the data reader 108 of the system 100 may be used to scan tickets or interface with a mobile device at an entrance to a short reservation queue or point of entry to confirm that the guest has a reservation.

When initial confirmation of guest identification and reservation information (e.g., ticket scans) is performed at the entrance to the queue, further verification may be required prior to actually entering the attraction (e.g., boarding the ride), as represented by block 448. This may facilitate monitoring queue lengths at associated destinations. Based on this measurement, future provisioning of the reservation and access provided to the standby queue may be adjusted to control latency in the reservation queue. For example, during steady operation, the present embodiment may control the approximate time spent by guests in the reservation queue to be about 10 minutes. Indeed, the system 100 may instruct the operator to allow guests to leave the queue and board up the venue at specified intervals based on an algorithm that accounts for queue characteristics. Confirming identifying information for a guest entering a ride (e.g., scanning tickets and accessing associated reservation data) may also facilitate monitoring and controlling subsequent accesses to the attraction. This may be used, for example, to indicate that a guest has accessed a particular attraction using a reservation. The indication may be stored on the system 100 and associated with the identifying information such that subsequent requests for reservations may be controlled based on whether a certain attraction has been accessed by a guest. This may include scanning tickets and the like after the guest leaves the attraction.

The system 100 may employ an algorithm that takes into account that certain guests may have accessed the attraction just before the attraction experienced technical difficulty and became inoperable. For example, block 452 represents determining whether the guest is checked in to the attraction but does not experience the attraction due to technical difficulties or the like. If the attraction is active, the guest is indicated as having experienced the attraction, as represented by block 454. If the attraction is not active, another subscription or immediate access rights may be automatically assigned to the guest just as the technical difficulties, etc. are corrected, as represented by block 456. An attraction may be considered non-operational when access to the attraction is blocked or when the attraction experience is interrupted.

The present embodiment will allow for a subscription transaction via a subscription transaction system, which may be a component or module of the data server system 102. This functionality may be available when system 100 is in use with multiple tourist sites. For example, a first guest may have a reservation to access a first ride at 1:00 PM. However, the first guest may be eating lunch and will not be able to arrive at the attraction in time for the reservation. The system may prompt the first guest at a particular time (e.g., 15 minutes) prior to the reservation to determine whether the first guest plans to maintain the reservation. The timing of the prompting may be based on the detected position of the guest relative to the attraction 116 for which the reservation has been established. Because the first guest cannot timely arrive at the first attraction, the first guest may respond by indicating that the reservation will not be reserved. The system 100 may then automatically look for a subsequent reservation for the first guest. The second guest may have a subscription at 4:00 PM and may be currently located near the first attraction, as determined by system 100. The system 100 may identify the second guest based on the location and time of the reservation and send a message to the second guest indicating that the transaction is available for the reservation held by the first guest. If the second guest accepts the transaction, the reservation may be transferred between the first and second guests through the system 100 and the guests are notified of their new reservations, respectively. This helps maintain full capacity while eliminating stress on guests associated with making appointments in time.

The present embodiments include a process and system configured to provide multiple bookings or routes for multiple different guests or groups based on input from the guests. For example, fig. 5 is a process flow diagram in accordance with a general overview of a process 600 for facilitating a guest schedule for a plurality of reservations for an attraction ranging from rides to restaurants in accordance with the present embodiments. The process 600 of FIG. 5 generally illustrates establishing routes that substantially optimize guest time in parks and park facilities. It should be noted that the process 600 is shown at a high level and may include the specific process features discussed above with respect to fig. 2-4. Further, the process 600 may be implemented using all or some of the features of the system 100 discussed above.

Process 600 begins with enabling a guest to communicate with a reservation system and provide certain tourist preferences, as represented by block 602. This may include providing guests inside or outside the park with access to the reservation system. For example, the guest may provide a list of particular attractions that the guest is interested in experiencing or a list of types of attractions that the guest is interested in experiencing. This may include providing a specific attraction and preferred time for the associated reservation along with an arrangement indicating the level of interest for each attraction. However, the guest may choose to simply provide a list of tourist sites of interest and allow the system to suggest a time. Similarly, a guest may simply provide certain types of sightseeing places (e.g., children's ride) and allow the system to suggest a route. Once the preferences are entered, the reservation system receives the associated data, as represented by block 604, and then processes the data to substantially optimize the schedule for each guest and optimize utilization of the park tourist attraction, as represented by block 606. In response to the preferences provided by the guest, the reservation system may execute an optimization algorithm and output a suggested route, as represented by block 608. In one embodiment, the guest may provide input before entering the park, but will not receive the suggested route until after entering the park.

An algorithm, represented as being executed in block 606, may be stored in memory and executed by a processor of the system (e.g., processor 118 of data server system 102) to generate a suggested route, as represented by block 608. The guest may then confirm the route or request a different route after viewing the proposed route, as represented by block 610. If an acknowledgement is received by the system, the process provides a route for the acknowledgement, as represented by block 612. If the guest chooses to modify the route, the guest may be prompted to indicate whether a specific modification is requested or a cancellation is desired. If cancellation is desired, the process ends and cancellation is confirmed, as represented by block 616. If modification is desired, the process may return to block 604 and/or enable changes to the schedule. It should be noted that the system may provide suggested modifications based on the identified restrictions of the tourist attraction availability and the guest-preferred agenda based on the optimization data at any point in the process 600.

An algorithm, represented as executed in block 606, may operate to identify locations listed as tourist sites of interest to guests, and determine a schedule based on a number of factors or optimization data, such as mitigation of transitions between individual tourist sites of interest. For example, the system may suggest a route that includes in-line reservations for guest-preferred attractions that allow guests to move throughout the park from one attraction to another without requiring the guests to return as they go. The route may also include suggested bookings for tourist sites along the path based on intervals in the calendar. In addition to considering the distance and location of the sightseeing places, the algorithm may also consider maximization of the park's operational efficiency, reservations of others, levels of interest, dining times, schedules that overlap with other guests designated as a common group (e.g., a social network), and so forth. For example, an optimization algorithm may suggest routes that limit travel between attractions, but accommodate the lack of availability of reservations at particular times for highly desirable attractions. Based on the established reservations and historical park data, the algorithm may also direct guests throughout the park to avoid predicted overcrowding in particular areas. The algorithm may also consider that a break will be needed around lunch time and suggest a reservation at a restaurant visit or simply a nearby restaurant. The algorithm may also take into account certain practical issues. For example, the algorithm may adjust the lines to exclude certain high-intensity tourist sites for a particular period of time after a meal. The algorithm may also attempt to maximize park utilization by suggesting reservations or access to tourist sites that are underutilized at certain times. In one embodiment, the algorithm considers an arrangement of levels of interest (e.g., high, medium, low) provided by guests with respect to an attraction and provides a route that accounts for the arrangement. For example, the algorithm may schedule reservations for higher-interest attractions throughout the day to keep the interests high throughout the day, or all of them occurring at an earlier time of day to ensure that all higher-interest attractions are experienced earlier.

The present embodiment may also facilitate group meetings within the park for separately arriving groups, groups that were once separated within the park, or groups that are expected to overlap in certain of the schedules. For example, fig. 6 illustrates a process 700, which is performed in accordance with the present embodiment, for coordinating a guest schedule. The process begins by prompting a guest to indicate whether the guest wishes to associate with a group for which the guest is already a member or whether the guest wishes to have an overlapping route with another group. This initial process is represented by block 702 and may be performed using any of the access features discussed above with respect to system 100, such as a cellular telephone in coordination with system 100. Block 702 includes identifying guests and groups.

If the guest wishes to meet a group or group of which the guest is a member, the process may identify a meeting location, as represented by block 704, and direct the guest to the location and/or direct the group to meet the guest at the location, as represented by block 706. This will generally occur when guests do not arrive with their group or are separated from their group during the visit. To facilitate reorganization of the group, the present embodiments may utilize PIF location information to direct guests to a desired group, provide a meeting location using a route established for the group, communicate the meeting location using guest-to-guest communications, and/or communicate the meeting location using system-to-guest communications. For example, a guest may be provided with a next tour on a route, and a group may be notified via a text message that the guest will join the group for a reservation at the next tour. Further, guest-to-guest communications (e.g., text messages or voice communications) between the group and the guest may be facilitated via the reservation system.

If the guest wishes to establish an overlap between the guest or a group or community of guests and at least one other group, process 700 proceeds to block 710 in the illustrated embodiment. This may occur when two or more groups or individuals decide to spend time together at a park. For example, communities from a particular area may decide to establish overlapping calendars so that they may experience tourist sites of common interest together, while other tourist sites are experienced in their separate communities. The group or individual may already have a reservation (e.g., a route), or no reservation. Box 710 generally represents a desire to identify a group or individual and confirm a tour experience with overlap. Once it is established, a determination is made as to whether one or more parties have an existing route or booking, and a preference is provided, wherein no route or booking is established, as represented in block 712. Existing routes and bookings are considered and preferences are provided in other ways. This may include providing commonly interested sightseeing places and desired overlaps. Then, based on the common interests of the guests, an algorithm is executed to provide overlapping routes for two or more individual guests or groups of guests, wherein the common interests are based on explicit designations, comparisons of preferences, comparison of existing routes, and/or optimization data, as represented by block 714.

While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A method of queue management, comprising:

receiving attraction preference data into the reservation system, wherein the attraction preference data includes an attraction list including a plurality of attractions for the park of interest to the at least one user;

analyzing the attraction preference data using an algorithm executed by a processor of the reservation system to produce analysis results, wherein the algorithm is configured to perform the analysis based on attraction availability data generated from electronic monitoring of a plurality of attractions associated with the attraction list, location data associated with the attraction list, park utilization data, and a user-specified level of interest for the respective attraction in the attraction list; and

generating a proposed route for confirmation, modification or cancellation of at least one user based on the analysis result, wherein the proposed route includes a reservation for the at least one user; and

proposed routes are proposed according to the analysis results, wherein reservations are proposed consecutively such that at least one user is guided to a series of tourist sites in a backtracking-limited manner.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising initiating a reminder of the reservation at a reminder time prior to a particular time window of the reservation, wherein the reminder time is based on a location of the at least one user relative to the respective attraction.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the algorithm is configured to perform the analysis based on an arrangement of interest levels of a plurality of tourist sites of interest to the at least one user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein an algorithm is configured to perform the analysis based on historical park data associated with a plurality of attractions of interest.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising, for at least one of the plurality of attractions, assigning a specific time to access the at least one attraction to a portable identification feature associated with the guest and to another portable identification feature associated with another guest, wherein the guest and the other guest are in a same community.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein proposing the proposed route includes proposing bookings designated as highly interesting as interspersing through the proposed route such that the interest of the at least one user is maintained for the duration of time through the proposed route.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein proposing a reservation based on the tourist attraction preference data and the user-specified level of interest includes proposing a reservation designated as highly interesting early in the proposed route.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising adjusting the suggested route to exclude certain high-intensity tourist sites for a period of time after a meal time.

9. A method of queue management, comprising:

receiving a request to generate, via the reservation system, an overlapping route between the first group of guests and the second group of guests;

identifying, via a processor of the reservation system, one or more existing routes or preferences of the first group of guests and the second group of guests, an

Generating one or more overlapping routes for the first group of guests and the second group of guests based on a common interest between the first group of guests and the second group of guests identified via one or more existing routes or preferences, wherein the overlapping routes include bookings for the first group of guests and the second group of guests proposed according to the attraction preference data and the specified level of interest for the one or more attractions, and successively proposing the bookings such that the first group of guests and the second group of guests are directed to the series of attractions in a backtrack-limited manner.

10. A queue management system, comprising:

a data server system comprising at least one processor and memory, and configured to:

analyzing the attraction list with an algorithm stored in memory to produce analysis results, wherein the algorithm is configured to analyze the attraction list based on attraction availability data associated with the attraction list, location data associated with the attraction list, park utilization data, and a user-specified level of interest for a respective attraction in the attraction list;

generating a suggested route for the at least one user based on the analysis of the attraction list, wherein the suggested route includes a reservation for the at least one user; and

proposed routes with bookings are continuously proposed so that at least one user is guided to a series of tourist sites in a backtracking-limited manner.

11. The queue management system of claim 10, wherein the data server system is configured to, for at least one attraction in the list of attractions, notify the at least one user when the detection system of the data server system determines that the portable identification feature associated with the identification information of the at least one user has not reached the at least one attraction within the arrival period.

12. The queue management system of claim 11, wherein the data server system is configured to adjust or unsubscribe based on the feedback of the notification.

13. The queue management system of claim 10, wherein the data server system is configured to monitor the wait time of the queue for any of the attractions in the attraction list based on a double detection of the portable identification feature entering one of the attractions in the attraction list and entering the queue for the one of the attractions.

14. The queue management system of claim 10, comprising a reservation transaction system configured to identify the portable identification feature based on a number of times the portable identification feature is used to access the corresponding attraction in the attraction list and a threshold of repeated accesses to the corresponding attraction.

15. The queue management system of claim 10, wherein the data server system is configured to send a reminder of the reservation to the at least one user at a reminder time prior to the particular time window of the reservation, wherein the reminder time is based on a location of the at least one user relative to any of the attractions in the attraction list.

16. A queue management system, comprising:

a data server system, comprising:

a memory configured to store instructions; and

a processor configured to execute instructions to:

receiving a request to generate, via a reservation system, an overlapping route between a first group of guests and a second group of guests;

identifying one or more existing routes or preferences for the first group of guests and the second group of guests; and

generating one or more overlapping routes for the first group of guests and the second group of guests based on common interests between the first group of guests and the second group of guests identified via one or more existing routes or preferences, wherein the overlapping routes include bookings for the first group of guests and the second group of guests, which are brought in accordance with the tourist attraction preference data and the specified level of interest for the one or more tourist attractions, and wherein the bookings are brought in succession such that the first group of guests and the second group of guests are directed to a series of tourist attractions in a backtrack limited manner.

17. A method of queue management, comprising:

receiving, via a reservation system, a request to generate a route for one or more guests of an amusement park;

generating an suggested route for the one or more guests based on the attraction preference data provided by the one or more guests, wherein the suggested route includes a booking for the one or more guests presented in accordance with the attraction preference data, a specified level of interest of an attraction for the amusement park provided by the one or more guests, the booking for the one or more other guests, and an overlapping schedule with the one or more other guests when the one or more guests and the one or more other guests are specified as belonging to a common group.