ernierocker wrote:^The Q-bots can be set up like the Gold or Platinum Passes at Six Flags. For HHN, you would just reserve the house you want to do next (from anywhere in the park) and say the line is 1 hour, you wait 15 minutes and then you can enter the Express Line.
With this system, as opposed to the ticket system, the park can easily keep track with who is using the Q-bots and what houses they are reserving. They can then adjust the wait times accordingly. If one of the soundstage houses gets an influx of Express Users, the wait times on your Q-bot will increase for that house. With the ticket system, you wouldn't know this ahead of time, and might end of waiting 30 minutes because everyone is trying to use the Express Line at once.
In addition, once they scan your Q-bot at a particular house, you can now reserve your place in line at another house and by the time you finish the first one, you will have a shorter wait for the next one.
The same concept applies to the rides at the studio park and Islands of Adventure. With the ticket system, you have to physically go to the ride entrance to reserve your spot in the Express Line. With the Q-bots, you can do this from anywhere in the park while also getting a generally idea of what the wait will be for all of the attractions across the park.
This is why I prefer the Q-bot over the ticket system. I don't know how crowded the Express Lines get at Universal, having never used it, but at Six Flags, even the Flash Pass lines can get long depending on how crowded the park is that day. I can view all of the rides on the Q-bot at once and see how long I will have to wait and can choose accordingly. And then when my Qbot is scanned at the ride, I can reserve my place on another ride before I even get on the first ride!
This may be the best/most comprehensive statement that I've read about why Q-bot is better than cardstock-based passes. Caveat: I've not read every page of every discussion on the forum, but I do read fairly thoroughly everything that's current. I appreciate your thoughts, and, based upon that, I can see this switch as being potentially good for all parties, as long as the implementation is done well and the ROI is better than previously.
My chief complaints about any skip-the-line system are in implementation and in managing expectations of all of your guests. This is the reason that I hate "exit passes", because you're ignoring the expectations of your standby customers, who may, in some cases, wind up waiting several trains/cycles when they appear to be "next in line" because someone with an exit pass takes their seat.
This is one of the reasons that I am very much in favor of the new Fastlane at CF and dislike the FlashPass at SF. One effectively manages expectations, one doesn't. It's not about the fact that people are paying more to skip lines, it's about the implementation and how guests' expectations are managed.
Back to the USO question, I tend to agree that the requirement to use a fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo for the Q-bot is asinine. That's one of the implementation issues that (hopefully) will get worked out, but makes me [initially] resistant to the change.
