
3 Game-Changing Ways to Drive Cost Efficiency at Your Amusement Park
5 min read
Published 21 JAN 2025
After speaking and working with hundreds of venues and vendors across the global entertainment industry, here are 3 proven (and less obvious) tactics to slash costs and supercharge efficiency at your theme park - all you need is data!
As a theme park software specialising in visitor flow analysis, we regularly engage with organisations to understand their pain points and gain unique insights into their business performance. Across the board, we see recurring issues and common patterns in visitor behaviour.
Here are two scenarios which we’ve seen raised repeatedly.
1. Staff rostering matrixes not backed by the right data
-
No data to predict the optimal number of staff needed
-
Insufficient data on occupancy flow throughout the day to schedule staff at peak times
-
Lack of insight into how visitors engage with the venue, leading to poor staff placement
Outcome: Loss
2. Uneven visitor distribution across a venue
-
Leading to underutilisation or excessive workload
-
Long queues
-
Poor experience
-
Low ride or asset engagement
Outcome: Poor customer experience and productivity
Summary: 3 Cost Efficiency Challenges Amusement Parks Face Today

Solution #1: Implementing Data-Driven Staff Rostering (Real-Time & Predictive)
Efficient staffing is essential for operational success in theme parks, where crowd dynamics and guest experience are central to the business. By using predictive analytics, parks can optimise staffing levels in real time, preventing the costs of overstaffing during quiet periods and the chaos of understaffing during peak times. This ensures resources are allocated efficiently to clear ride queues faster, offer extra assistance at food and beverage stations, and streamline overall operations.
Identifying Signals of Inefficiency
To uncover potential inefficiencies, we recommend three key methodologies:
1. Measuring Idle Staff Time & Customer Wait Times
Track the time staff spend behind counters without serving customers, alongside customer wait times in queues. Research (Harris & Leme, 2019) indicates that idle staff time often results in overstaffing during low-demand periods, while long customer wait times signal understaffing. This data helps align staffing levels with actual demand.
2. Staff-to-Queue Length Ratio
Monitor the ratio of staff to queue length to assess if staffing levels match customer demand. Studies (Guszcza et al., 2020) show that imbalances between staff and queue length lead to inefficiencies - either overstaffing during off-peak periods or inadequate service during peak times.
3. Customer Experience KPI's
Track customer-centric KPI's, such as queue wait times, ride throughput, and customers served per minute. Research (Jiang et al., 2021) demonstrates that optimising staffing based on these metrics improves both operational efficiency and guest satisfaction. High wait times and low throughput typically indicate the need for staffing adjustments.
Optimising Staff Rostering
-
Historical Data Analysis: Use occupancy and entry data to evaluate past staffing levels and ensure they are adequate during peak and off-peak times.
-
Real-Time Adjustments: Leverage real-time data on occupancy and queuing to trigger notifications, allowing managers to reallocate or deploy cross-trained staff as needed, ensuring efficient resource use and improved guest experiences.
By implementing these strategies, theme parks can ensure that staff rostering is aligned with real-time demand, improving operational efficiency and guest satisfaction.

Service desk efficiency displayed over 2 graphs: 1. depicting when the service desk had customers with no staff and, 2. when the service desk had no customers with staff.
Solution #2: Optimising Visitor Distribution
Effective visitor distribution is essential for improving guest experiences and reducing congestion in theme parks. Here are three key strategies to optimise crowd flow:
1. Minimise Customer-Facing Wait Times
-
Real-Time Queue Updates: Use mobile apps or digital screens to provide live updates on queue times for rides and attractions, helping guests plan their visit and avoid crowded areas.
-
Staggered Entry Times: For high-demand rides or events, stagger entry times to prevent overcrowding and ensure smoother crowd flow.
2. Enhance Signage & Wayfinding
-
Clear, Visible Maps: Place easily readable maps at key locations to guide visitors to attractions, food stations, and amenities, reducing confusion and congestion.
-
Digital Signage: Use dynamic signs to provide real-time updates on wait times, direct visitors to less crowded areas, or inform them about temporary changes in the park.
-
Directional Markings: Implement floor markings or overhead signs to guide visitors through pathways and reduce bottlenecks
3. Leverage Data for Proactive Crowd Management
-
Real-Time Crowd Monitoring: Use sensors or mobile data to track crowd density and identify high-traffic areas, enabling timely interventions to redirect visitors.
-
Smart Resource Allocation: Use data to deploy staff and resources efficiently to areas with the highest demand, ensuring a smoother experience for visitors.
-
Visitor Distribution Trends: Analyse visitor movement patterns throughout the park to anticipate crowd shifts and take pre-emptive action.
By focusing on these strategies, theme parks can optimise visitor distribution, reduce congestion, and enhance the overall guest experience.

Graph showing operational efficiency looking at queue lengths, recommended staff, throughput, performance and bottleneck causes
Solution #3: Predictive Maintenance: Reducing Downtime and Costs
Predictive maintenance helps theme parks optimise operations by proactively addressing issues before they disrupt service. This data-driven approach not only improves safety and efficiency but also significantly reduces costs. Here’s how:
1. Rides and Attractions
Instead of servicing all rides based on a fixed schedule, predictive maintenance uses data analytics to monitor usage and wear. For example, tracking dodgem car usage or ride components allows for maintenance only when needed, reducing unnecessary repairs and avoiding unexpected breakdowns. Parks can save up to 20-30% in maintenance costs by shifting from reactive to predictive models (McKinsey, 2021).
2. Cleaning and Facility Maintenance
By analysing foot traffic and facility usage, predictive systems can optimise cleaning schedules. Sensors detect when bathrooms or high-traffic areas require attention, reducing unnecessary cleaning and ensuring facilities are always guest-ready. This targeted approach can cut cleaning costs by 10-15% while improving guest satisfaction (Deloitte, 2020).
3. Infrastructure Monitoring
Predictive analytics can monitor key infrastructure like ride machinery and HVAC systems, identifying wear before failure occurs. This proactive approach reduces the risk of unplanned downtime, saving up to 50% in repair costs and extending equipment lifespan (Accenture, 2022).
By adopting predictive maintenance, parks can reduce downtime, extend asset life, and save significant amounts on operational costs, all while ensuring a seamless guest experience.
Conclusion: Driving Efficiency with Data-Driven Solutions
Leveraging data-driven strategies and foot traffic analysis tools, theme parks can streamline operations, reduce costs, and enhance guest experiences. By optimising staff rostering, improving visitor flow, and implementing predictive maintenance, parks can achieve significant savings and operational improvements.
With real-time staffing adjustments, parks avoid overstaffing and understaffing, ensuring resources are used efficiently. Proactive crowd management minimises congestion, improves guest satisfaction, and ensures smoother operations. Lastly, predictive maintenance cuts repair costs by up to 30% and reduces downtime, extending asset lifespans.
These data-driven solutions deliver tangible cost savings, improve efficiency, and ensure a superior experience for both guests and staff.

About - Nola
Nola is a Theme Park Analytics software that enables amusement parks to use their existing infrastructure to gain anonymised insights on real time crowd flow, revenue leakage and visitor experience.
www.nolahq.com
Contact Nola: hello@nolahq.com
References
-
Technology transformation frameworks can drive park operational efficiency, reduce costs, improve revenue generation and enhance operational performance. https://www.ey.com/en_us/industries/media-entertainment/unleashing-theme-park-technology-transformation