Over the last decade, lockers have become the norm at many of the major new attractions introduced by both Universal and Disney.
While lockers have been a part of theme and amusement parks for decades, usually stationed at the front of parks to be rented for the day, the concept of including temporary lockers for riders to place their belongings solely for the duration of time they’re waiting for and riding an attraction was introduced to mainstream American parks on a large scale with the introduction of Universal’s Wizard World of Harry Potter in 2010.
First introduced with Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, the concept saw guests put bags, hats, phones, and other loose articles in lockers located at the ride’s entrance and then retrieve them after they disembarked.
While the concept irritated some – – especially due to the cramped nature of the lockers, as riders leaving the attraction and riders rushing to put their items away would often jam the area – – they achieved the desired result of limiting the number of articles lost on the ride. Universal would once again install lockers at the entrance to Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringott’s four years later.
In the years following Potter, Disney also began using lockers on some attractions, notably Avatar Flight of Passage (which features lockers right behind the attraction).
Universal and Disney’s most recent attractions to utilize lockers – – Velocicoaster and TRON: Lightcycle/Run, respectively – – feature two-sided lockers, which allow guests to store their belongings on one side before boarding, then retrieve them from the other after disembarking, cutting down considerably on crowding issues.
While many guests welcome the lockers, not wanting to deal with cumbersome items on thrill attractions, others are wary to leave their valuable items in a locker, even though they can’t be accessed without a specific code (or in the case of Disney, a MagicBand. Unfortunately for those guests, it seems that the trend isn’t going away anytime soon. Several of the attractions at Epic Universe have lockers, and concept art for Disney World’s upcoming Monsters, Inc. “Door Coaster” shows a locker area themed to the locker room seen in the film.
While controversial amongst some guests, it seems like temporary lockers outside major new attractions are here to stay at both Disney and Universal. Stay tuned to AllEars for more on the evolution of theme park attractions.
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What are your thoughts on lockers? Let us know in the comments below.
Actually the temporary lockers started at Universal Studios Orlando with the Men in Black ride. I used to work there. I remember them well.
I know they’re a pain but my husband could barely fit in Seven Dwarfs Mine Train with our massive backpack for the day. Since we don’t have a stroller, there really isn’t anywhere to put all of the drinks and snacks we carry. He said he wasn’t even secured properly on Space Mountain because of how much room it took up at his feet.