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Why Billboard Barricades and Theme Parks are the perfect match

Theme park barricades: operational efficiency’s best friend

Plastic manufacturing has transformed crowd control barricades from what they once were. Where you might have found bulky, loud metal barricades before, now high-density polyethylene (HDPE) Billboard Barricades can take their place. Plastic barricades for zoos, theme parks, and aquariums are a safety team’s best friend, as they are quick and easy to move, store well, and get the job done without the risks that come with metal barricades.

What affects crowd control at theme parks (and the like)?

There are multiple factors that affect the crowds, and, thus, necessary crowd controls at theme parks, zoos, and aquariums. We’ll mostly reference theme parks, but these factors apply to all large venues that regularly host guests indoors and out.

Size

Due to the size of these establishments – especially theme parks – employees constantly face an uneven spread of guests throughout the grounds. This makes it difficult to know where guests will be and requires advance planning to be prepared to quickly put various levels of crowd control in place, depending on the crowd level.

Weather

The weather can go from sunny to inclement in an instant and send guests scurrying for cover. This is even more relevant for the venues that have much of their space outdoors. While some portions of the parks might be indoors (like restaurants, some exhibits, and even ride queues), much of a theme park relies on clear skies to be fully operational.

Lack of directional signage and clear maps

While there is usually some signage interspersed throughout the grounds, it can be easy to get lost in parks with large spaces. This can cause second-guessing, backtracking, and general confusion in guests.

Location

This factor is not necessarily referencing the location of the venue itself, but the locations of the individual attractions, restaurants, and rides within it. Clusters of popular eating spots or the latest ride can clog up walking paths and require extra crowd control to keep the crowds regulated.

Holidays

You might think that holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween would mean that people would stay home, but the opposite is often true, especially at the California and Florida Houses of Mouse. These theme parks see an influx of guests during the holiday season, which means that the parks are seeing double (or more!) the normal number of people. The summer holiday also brings more guests to theme parks, zoos, aquariums, and the like, as parents try to find fun activities to do as a family while school is out.

How can Billboard Barricades help?

Clear crowd management

Bright colors draw the eye, so using crowd control barriers that come in any color imaginable will help make it clear where guests need to go. The theme park barricades could even be matched to the park’s logo colors or the specific attraction they are guarding.

With Billboard Barricades, there is also the capability for adding signage. This can be used directionally, to indicate that a ride is closed, or for the rules of a show or attraction (silence phones, no eating, etc). Placing billboards with custom signage outside of entrances can make it easy for guests to see necessary information.

Portability

If the lines for rides or attractions are getting out of hand, try creating a queue from Billboard Barricades. You can save space and keep each line near its attraction with a snaking, zig-zag queue. As our theme park barricades are adaptable and easily portable, they are simple to rearrange when necessary. This lessens the time needed to move and reset, saving time for employees who might need to move the barriers from one place to the next.

Safer to the touch!

Have you ever seen excited kids (or even adults) at the local amusement park or fair? There’s running, jumping, and bumping into things galore. Rather than colliding with sharp corners or hot metal due to excitement or play, plastic crowd control barricades contain guests without the risks.

*One thing we don’t recommend using Billboard Barricades for: to protect moving rides from the general public. They are incredibly sturdy and able to withstand being leaned on, inclement weather, and more, but they should not be used to cordon off hazardous areas around the machinery of rides and the like. Safety first!

Where are our Billboard Barricades used?

You can find OTW crowd barricades at theme parks, zoos, and aquariums around the country! You might recognize some below:

ZOOS + AQUARIUMS

Adventure Aquarium
Dallas Zoological Society
Denver Zoo
Great Plains Zoo
Hogle Zoo
LA Zoo
Lincoln Children’s Zoo
Nashville Zoo
Oakland Zoo
Phoenix Zoo
St. Louis Zoo
The Florida Aquarium
WCS Bronx Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo
Zoo Miami

THEME PARKS

Busch Gardens
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Fun Spot America
Kentucky Kingdom and Hurricane Bay
Michigan’s Adventure Amusement Park
Universal Studios
Walt Disney World Resort
Water Wizz of Cape Cod
Wet n’ Wild Phoenix

How can you get started with your own zoo, aquarium, or theme park barricades?

Take it from the experts: large venues like aquariums, zoos, and theme parks all require very particular crowd management to run smoothly. Crowd safety (and animal safety too!) is incredibly important, and using crowd barriers for theme parks or the local zoo will go a long way towards proper crowd control.

The OTW team is always ready to help set you up for success with crowd control safety measures. We can help you decide the proper number of theme park and zoo barricades necessary to fully cover every location where crowd control is needed, and we can quickly ship your brand new crowd control barriers right to your doorstep (or hold in will-call for local pickup).

OTW has been in the safety business for over thirty years and we know what it takes to cover all the bases when it comes to crowd safety.

Contact our expert team today for a quote and we’ll get you started with the best theme park barricades on the market today.

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