Theme park masterplanning: The not-so-surprising things making your guests happy

Lily-Ann Bedder
Aug 13
3 min read

Katapult's Lily-Ann talking about theme park masterplanning

We’ve all been there - holding all the bags in the blistering sun whilst our loved ones run towards the next big ride of the day, and whilst they're thinking about airtime, I'm thinking about the uncomfy, never-intended-to-be-sat-on surface I’ll no doubt be perched on for the next few hours.

And, although this isn’t going to make or break my day, this common occurrence has somehow made its way into my core memories of visiting a theme park.

It might seem like a little inconvenience at the time, but throughout an 8-hour day, those “little things” can snowball into a strongly worded review on TripAdvisor. So, how can we ensure that our guests (and their bums) are happy during their visit? We plan for the problem before it even becomes a reality.

When we say “masterplanning”, we often think about the juicy bits - the ooohs and ahhh’s of a shiny entrance portal, the glossy hotels and the adrenaline-fueled signature rides. But what about the essentials?

theme park masterplanning bubble diagram

From accessibility ramps to shaded areas, stroller parking to toilets, these elements are a given; they're expected.

Yet, so many times we think that adding more will make a great guest experience, and yes, having enough places to sit down is a fantastic start to keeping guests happy, but it doesn’t dive into the bigger issues they might face during their day.

For example, let’s all imagine we’ve built the best new family coaster ever (it was even on time & budget!) What’s the basic checklist of what your guests might need in this new area - at minimum, stroller parking, toilets and benches - tick!

But how does it hold up in a guest scenario?

Say you have a family with a sibling too young to ride, and a parent has to stay behind with them, or maybe a grandparent isn’t feeling up to it and decides to sit this one out. How can you elevate their experience beyond giving them somewhere to sit and wait?

A sprinkle of additional CAPEX could provide a small F&B with an adjoining toddler soft play. This gives the guests somewhere to sit, relax and have fun whilst they wait, and it’s an additional revenue stream- everybody wins.

But when the budget just isn’t able to stretch that far, we can always be smart with our initial checklist. It could be as simple as positioning your stroller, parking in a shaded or undercover area so nobody has to put their child into an uncomfortably hot stroller. Or theming the bins/trash cans to keep the story of the land flowing in all touchpoints.

The toilets can be family-focused, with lots of baby change spaces, kid-friendly toilet seats and, of course, sinks and hand dryers at accessible heights for the whole family.

Putting yourself into the role of the guests highlights the problem for you, so it never becomes a problem for them. These might seem like little things, but it’s the little things that make the day memorable.

Theme park masterplanning from Katapult

For new and reimagined themed attractions, we undertake theme park masterplanning to ensure from the start that creative concepts and operational flow work seamlessly together. Our package of support can include: