Designing the Day

A new theme park is making waves—Epic Universe has officially opened its gates, offering a lineup of immersive, media-rich dark rides that push the boundaries of thrill and storytelling. But it raises an important question: what’s the ideal mix of attraction types to create a well-balanced, memorable day for all guests? As PGAV Vice President Jeff Havlik explains, a clear plan and a proven operational model can evaluate the right blend of ride systems, throughput, and guest behavior, ensuring every park delivers variety, flow, and fun.

Attraction Mix 
What factors must be determined to create an effective attraction mix? 

• Target demographics (teens, families, young children). 
• Level of immersive environments—prioritizing high-intensity rides or a more thematic environment? 
• Overarching theme and story of the park. Should attractions tie into this theme literally or more loosely? 
• Topography of the site (hills, flat). 
• Climate considerations. Is it hot, rainy, or humid, prompting more indoor or water-based experiences? 
• What is the available budget? (A key driver of ride selection and scope) 

Ops Model 
Jeff Havlik, PGAV Vice President, explains the ops model, “At PGAV, we’ve developed an operational and programmatic model that uses multiple attendance factors to analyze guest behavior during the peak hour of the design day. This peak hour is divided into categories: rides, shows, exhibits, unstructured attractions or play, culinary, retail, and time spent walking between attractions.” 

Based on these categories, a percentage of the guest’s time is assigned to each one. For rides specifically, that percentage is further broken down into attraction types—major, medium, and kiddie rides, as well as different transportation systems. 

These percentages are then aligned with our target “attractions per hour per guest” (att/hr/g), a metric determined by industry benchmarks, the type of park, desired guest experience, and acceptable queue times. By multiplying the percentage allocated to each attraction type by the park’s instantaneous capacity and the att/hr/g factor, the required hourly capacity for each ride type to meet the project’s operational goals can be calculated. 

Once these targets are defined, ride systems are selected. Each ride is evaluated based on: 

• Penetration rate – the percentage of guests likely to choose the ride 
• Height restriction – the portion of the audience able to access the ride 
• Theoretical hourly capacity provided by the manufacturer 

Rides are selected to meet these criteria while ensuring an even distribution of ride types in each thematic zone. For example, if 2,000 people per hour (pph) of major ride capacity is needed, we could meet this with a single high-capacity attraction. But if the park has three distinct themed zones, placing just one major ride in one zone leaves the others without a comparable draw. Instead, we could distribute that capacity across three smaller attractions—one in each zone—so that together they meet the 2,000 pph requirement and provide a balanced experience throughout the park. 

Havlik says, “A great park isn’t just about having the biggest thrills or the flashiest tech—it’s about having the right mix in the right places. That takes a good plan and a clear vision. For long-term success, it’s not just about what you build, it’s how smartly you build it.”