Waiting in Wonder: How Anticipation Could Enhance the Visitor Journey

After years of working at (and with) visitor attractions, and being a customer myself, I’ve come to accept an uncomfortable truth: queues happen. Despite our best efforts, clever scheduling, queue-busting tech, slick signage - lines still form. People still wait.

It’s easy to see queues as a failure. In many ways, they are. They often reflect misjudged capacity, uneven guest flow, or resource strain. I’ve rarely met a guest who sees a queue and thinks, “Ah, excellent!” and I’ve met plenty who saw one and walked away.

So yes, we should keep working to minimise them. Timed entry, better throughput design, smart routing; these all help. But let’s be honest: we’ll never eliminate queues entirely. Not during half-term. Not in the summer. Not when a school group shows up an hour early or a ride goes down unexpectedly.

The real question, then, isn’t how do we eliminate waiting altogether? It’s: What do we do with the wait that remains?

Here’s where I think the UK attraction scene has missed a trick. We’ve been so focused on treating queues as dead time - something to hide, shorten, or apologise for - that we’ve neglected their potential. What if waiting could actually add to the experience?

Why Waiting Feels So Bad

Waiting is unpleasant when it feels pointless. When time passes without context, without control, and without progress, frustration builds. Research has shown that people are more patient when they understand the reason for the wait, and even more so when they are given something to do during that time.

Psychologist David Maister famously outlined principles of waiting psychology. Unoccupied time feels longer than occupied time. Uncertain waits feel longer than known, finite ones. And people are more tolerant when they feel the wait is fair or justified. These ideas are decades old but still underused in our industry.

In short, if you want people to tolerate waiting, you have to give them more than just a space to stand.

There’s a flip side to the frustration of waiting, though. When people are excited about what’s to come, waiting can actually amplify the experience. Studies on travel and events consistently show that the lead-up often brings more happiness than the event itself.

Dopamine is heavily tied to anticipation. It spikes not only when we get something but when we expect to get it. That means the queue has the potential to emotionally prepare your guests, not just delay them.

At its best, the queue becomes the first act of the story.

I Hate Digital Queues

Let me be clear about one thing: I hate digital queues.

I understand the appeal. They sound efficient. They promise freedom. “Join from your phone and explore the site” is the usual pitch.

But in reality, they just shift the problem. Instead of standing in a line, guests spend their visit glancing at their phones, refreshing screens, and waiting for their number to be called. They stop engaging with the environment and instead focus on a countdown.

You haven’t freed them. You’ve given them something else to manage.

A physical queue, while imperfect, is at least shared. It’s visible. It can be shaped, themed, staffed, and enhanced. A digital one often becomes isolating and passive. It’s a missed opportunity to create connection, storytelling, or even just joy.

What Disney Gets Right

No one handles queues better than Disney, and it is not just because of budget. It is because they treat the queue as part of the show.

Take the Haunted Mansion. Before you ever board the ride, you’re in a themed graveyard with witty tombstones, subtle sound design, and gentle pacing. The experience begins early. The updated queue and expanded grounds around the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland include new gardens inspired by Master Gracey and Madame Leota, a greenhouse belonging to the mansion’s ghosts, and a personal garden retreat designed by one of the mansion’s inhabitants, Master Gracey. Further along the queue, riders will get a look at Madame Leota’s garden, which “is dipped in a mystical energy; as if every plant, statue, and trinket is under Leota’s spell.”

When crowds swell, Disney often responds with something unexpected. Parades that come out of nowhere. Characters who wander into the waiting area. Musicians or dancers who appear with no build-up.

These are not just distractions. They are emotional resets. They give people something to remember, something to talk about, and something that makes them feel like they are still part of the story.

It’s Not Just Operations

Too often, queues are left to operations teams to manage. But in reality, queues are shared territory. Experience designers, marketers, and frontline teams all have a role to play.

Marketing can set expectations. Design teams can shape space and sound. Frontline staff can lift the mood. These small efforts can have a big emotional payoff.

Don’t Waste the Wait

I have watched too many guests get frustrated in queues that could have been better. Not necessarily shorter, but more thoughtful. More aware of the moment people are in.

We will never eliminate queues entirely. But that does not mean we should give up on them or pretend they don’t matter.

Instead, we should treat them with care. Use them to build anticipation. Turn them into part of the experience. Give them purpose.