How Amusement Parks Benefit from Big Data

All over the world, amusement parks have deployed innovative technologies to capture insights about visitors.  This enables them to understand behavioral trends and provide an atmosphere that improves operational efficiency and drives sales. Let's take a look at how amusement parks benefit from big data.

Big data analytics provide a wealth of information to improve efficiency, improve customer engagement, and increase profits.  Additionally, analytics provide crucial intelligence for future staffing needs, new ride locations, restaurants, shops, and services.  Opt-in analytics facilitate marketing outcomes that boost customer loyalty and increase conversion. 

Customer Satisfaction

Big data gives amusement parts the ability to know more about their customers than ever before.  It also helps anticipate the needs of every guest to ensure the right personnel, food, and merchandise are in the right locations at the right times. Furthermore, by collecting this customer data and identifying interests by tracking behavior, more personalized marketing communications can be sent to customers.

It Works Like Magic

Walt Disney World is one of today’s leaders, using analytics to improve customer experiences at all of the Disney amusement parks. The unique MagicBands are colorful, waterproof wristbands that a customer quickly and easily touches to a sensor called a touch point.  Disney also provides cards, if a customer prefers, that do the same as a MagicBand.  These MagicBands can be used to:

• Unlock hotel room doors at Disney Resorts
• Enter theme parks
• Enter water parks
• Check in at FastPass+ entrances
• Charge food and merchandise purchases to your hotel room

While you, the customer, are using the MagicBand, visitor analytics are working behind the scenes to ensure you have everything you need, when you need it.  Analytics also let the operations team know where more food is needed, how people are navigating through the park, and how they are consuming the entire Disney experience.  Analytics also report which attractions are visited most often on any given day of the week.  For example, the Cinderella Castle may be the most visited attraction on Saturday at 12:00 p.m., but on Sunday at 12:00 p.m., Mickey’s PhilharMagic may be the most popular.  This information allows the staff to anticipate and prepare for the projected crowd at the right location.

Using the Data

Without a proper process and infrastructure to act on the data, it’s useless.  Disney’s retail shops are supported by a 16-member team with analytics, demand forecasting, sales forecasting, and sales analysis.  If amusement parks are going to obtain any value from the data, there has to be a balance between the actual data, the people, and the processes of maintaining the data.

With BI integrated into amusement parks, big data, visitor analytics, predictive analytics, and forecasting can play a major role in keeping visitors happy and ensuring they have a positive experience, thus leading to return visits, positive online reviews, and word-of-mouth referrals.  An amusement park’s number one priority is keeping customers happy.  Using big data software, you can do just that – and more.