Flamingo Land beats the queues
VISITORS to popular North Yorkshire theme park Flamingo Land will be able to book a place in the queue this Easter.
The Kirkby Misperton near Malton-based park has signed a deal to install a unique queue management system Text-Q, which allows mobile phone users to reserve their place in line.
Users pay a fee and using the premium rate SMS service avoid standing in line.
The one year agreement also covers technical assistance, training and support as well as software updates and maintenance. The installation is expected to be completed in April in time for the busy Easter period.
The system – developed by Reading-based software firm Lo-Q – was first used at the London Dungeon and Madame Tussauds.
The “dynamic virtual queuing concept” arose because of a wait in a line by Leonard Sim, the company founder and inventor of the Lo-Q System, and his family in a Florida theme park in the 90s.
The ride had mechanical problems, which meant that the almost two hour wait was a waste of time.
Lo-Q designs, installs and operates systems which allow members of the public to make ride and show reservations when they visit a theme park or other attractions.
Its flagship product – VQ2020, which uses hand-held units called Q-bots -is used in major theme parks around the world.
Lo-Q sites include 10 Six Flags theme parks in North America, Dollywood in the US, theme parks in Australia and Italy, as well as Legoland Windsor in the
The company today reported growth in pre-tax profits from £550,000 to £1.85m for the year ended December 31, 2008. Revenue grew by 73% to £13.52m from £7.81m for the previous year.
Flamingo Land can trace its history back to 1959 when Edwin Pentland Hick bought a bankrupt country house with nine acres on land with the intention of setting up a zoological gardens.
A few years later a small fun fair was introduced and a colony of flamingos – now the biggest in the UK.
The company was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1968 as Associated Pleasure Parks and was later bought by Scotia Leisure.
In 1978, one of its director Robert Gibb bought the park shortly before Scotia Leisure collapsed in scandal and changed its name to Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo.
In October last year, Flamingo Land confirmed there would be a new roller coaster to be installed for the 2009 season named ‘Mumbo Jumbo.
The ride will be constructed on the site of the parks previous attraction ‘Tidal Wave’ and will occupy a 185 foot x 45 foot footprint.
Mumbo Jumbo will feature a 112° drop from the ride’s highest point of 30 metres generating in excess of 4Gs upon it’s riders.
The ride, which will cost in excess of £4m and will be Flamingo Land’s eighth rollercoaster, is set to open in July 2009.
It is set to be featured in the 2010 Guinness Book Of World Records with the title of ‘steepest roller coaster made from steel’.
The Kirkby Misperton near Malton-based park has signed a deal to install a unique queue management system Text-Q, which allows mobile phone users to reserve their place in line.
Users pay a fee and using the premium rate SMS service avoid standing in line.
The one year agreement also covers technical assistance, training and support as well as software updates and maintenance. The installation is expected to be completed in April in time for the busy Easter period.
The system – developed by Reading-based software firm Lo-Q – was first used at the London Dungeon and Madame Tussauds.
The “dynamic virtual queuing concept” arose because of a wait in a line by Leonard Sim, the company founder and inventor of the Lo-Q System, and his family in a Florida theme park in the 90s.
The ride had mechanical problems, which meant that the almost two hour wait was a waste of time.
Lo-Q designs, installs and operates systems which allow members of the public to make ride and show reservations when they visit a theme park or other attractions.
Its flagship product – VQ2020, which uses hand-held units called Q-bots -is used in major theme parks around the world.
Lo-Q sites include 10 Six Flags theme parks in North America, Dollywood in the US, theme parks in Australia and Italy, as well as Legoland Windsor in the
The company today reported growth in pre-tax profits from £550,000 to £1.85m for the year ended December 31, 2008. Revenue grew by 73% to £13.52m from £7.81m for the previous year.
Flamingo Land can trace its history back to 1959 when Edwin Pentland Hick bought a bankrupt country house with nine acres on land with the intention of setting up a zoological gardens.
A few years later a small fun fair was introduced and a colony of flamingos – now the biggest in the UK.
The company was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1968 as Associated Pleasure Parks and was later bought by Scotia Leisure.
In 1978, one of its director Robert Gibb bought the park shortly before Scotia Leisure collapsed in scandal and changed its name to Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo.
In October last year, Flamingo Land confirmed there would be a new roller coaster to be installed for the 2009 season named Mumbo Jumbo.
The ride will be constructed on the site of the parks previous attraction ‘Tidal Wave’ and will occupy a 185 foot x 45 foot footprint.
Mumbo Jumbo will feature a 112 degree drop from the ride’s highest point of 30 metres generating in excess of four Gs upon its riders.
The ride, which will cost in excess of £4m and will be Flamingo Land’s eighth rollercoaster, is set to open in July 2009.
It is set to be featured in the 2010 Guinness Book Of World Records with the title of ‘steepest roller coaster made from steel’.
