DVD and Amusement Parks
Next time you ride a roller coaster, maybe you will have a DVD made so that you can take it home and remember/replay the ride.
A Thrill to Remember
By Rick Redding
There’s nothing like the thrill of a roller coaster. Zooming up, down and around on a metal track at breakneck speed. For two minutes, life is suspended, the mind in a maze of curlicues and loop-de-loops.
At Paramount’s Kings Dominion in Richmond, Va., thrill seekers will soon have the opportunity to re-live their two-minute whirlwind with a DVD that replays their experience from cameras placed on each ride car. Another camera captures the view going forward from the front seat. The final product is a synchronized version of the ride with audio and video.
It’s the idea of Chantilly, Va.-based Triverity Corp., which markets its products for the motor sports, trailsports, snowsports and now the theme park industry under the name Xtremex3. This summer, the five-year-old company inked an agreement with Paramount to install its on-ride digital video system that will allow those brave enough to experience the Flight of Fear to take a DVD of the ride home with them.
The DVDs will be sold at the end of the ride via self-service kiosks. The price is expected to be between $10 and $20.
KIOSK InformationSystems of Louisville, Colo. is providing the kiosk hardware. Triverity developed the software for the application.
“It makes each person the star of their own show,” says JB Haller, senior vice president marketing and business development, for Triverity. “The beauty of our system is there’s no expense in consumables, no printing. You just pick out number and go to a kiosk POS station to see a preview in full motion video.”
Regular visitors to amusement parks are familiar with the ride photos offered in most settings, in which customers chose a still photo from a bank of television screens or actual photos, and may choose to purchase them.
“This is digital photos extended to the next generation for amusement parks,” Haller said.
The experience is captured by the X3 system, consisting of cameras, processors, high-speed wireless devices and retail POS self-serve kiosks.
The technology isn’t all that new, but the theme park experience at Kings Dominion will be the first actual installation. Triverity believes the theme park market will be an ideal fit for the DVD product.
XtremeX3 isn’t just a roller coaster experience company. Its products are used extensively at more than 100 racing and driving schools throughout the United States.
The driving schools use the DVDs to measure all aspects of a customer’s high-speed experience, even going so far as to evaluate a driver’s performance. For customers paying thousands of dollars for the experience of driving an actual race car on a performance track, the DVD is a cherished memento, Haller said.
“People drive to get lap times, but what they really want to see is video,” he said.
What’s more, theme parks that install the systems can generate more than $250,000 annually, per ride, using Haller’s estimate.
“We’re excited that we’re the first park in North America to deliver an on-ride digital video system that captures the entire ride experience for each of our guests,” said Paramount’s resale vice president Eugene Naughton in a news release.
Haller explained additional benefits for the park operator.
“What is appealing about our business model is that we are adding outstanding value and cutting edge technologies to our partners’ operation for no cost to the partner and for the ultimate benefit of the theme park guests,” he said. “Although it may seem somewhat mundane, our introduction of assisted self-serve kiosks to the theme park market is quite an advance technologically for most parks because although customers have become accustomed to using kiosks in other applications (e.g., airline check-in, grocery store check-out), theme park customers typically expect to interact exclusively with human resources. By adding assisted self-serve kiosks, we’re introducing a fun and easy way for customers to not only view previews of their on-ride experiences, but also to transact business without waiting in line for a park sales person.
“The introduction of assisted and self-serve kiosks also plays a dramatic role in helping theme parks reduce the cost of their labor; instead of selling to customers who already have decided to purchase an on-board video DVD, park personnel can allocate more time to customers that need more attention,” he said.
This case study was generated by KioskCom
