Dear Elitch Gardens: 5 ways to improve your experiential brand.

This weekend we headed to Elitch Gardens, an amusement park in downtown Denver.  We aren't really amusement park people, and one of us hadn't been to the 'new' Elitch's before (opened in 1995).  So we had pretty fresh eyes on the experience.

The biggest problem was a lack of partnership, a lack of interest in the experiential brand that every moment represents.

After a day spent - mostly - in line there, we have some ergonomic/design observations:

1.  Take a note from ski resorts, which put 'singles' into a separate line to fill out the lifts.  The Ferris Wheel had long lines because the operators would only put one party in a carriage, regardless of party size.  We live with each other on the lifts and in the lines, we can stand each other for one Ferris Wheel ride.  People who can't should have to wait separately.

2.  Put time indicators on the lines.  One ride had a sign at the 90 minute mark, but nothing else.  Estimates are helpful if people are trying to get to concerts or meeting spots and need to know if they can fit the ride in.

3.  Own the problems.  One ride had several broken cars, so a wait that might have been only 45 minutes was almost 2 hours.  Put up a sign that warns people of this - don't force them to stand in line until they have to leave, and then have them depart with a bad feeling about their experience and your brand.

4.  Be consistent.  There were all these signs up from the American Heart Association about exercise, healthy lifestyles, etc.  but it was impossible to get water at many food vendors.  When it was possible, you were punished for wanting to be healthy by getting half the liquid for the same price.  Let people pay to refill their souvenir bottles with water - what harm could it do you?

5.  Recognize that the whole experience affects your brand.  We came up on the train, and then made the huge mistake of taking the elevator up to the bridge over the tracks.  The only reason to take that elevator was to get to the park.  It was one of the most foul and disgusting public elevators I've ever been in, and that's saying something.  Not inside the park, but beginning our park experience by controlling our gag reflexes - and not in a good, adventure-ride way- was not fun and tainted the whole day.