Universal Orlando Innovates Large-
Scale Badge Production for Annual Pass Holders
What happens when a successful promotion causes a theme park operation to triple it's ID badge volume for pass holders practly overnight?
"You get creative, real fast," said market sales manager Nick Pestillo, Destination Universal. Luckily, Universal Orlando was prepared to accommodate the dramatic increase in volume thanks to IDenticard's IVIS Plus 2000 digital imaging system.
In April, 2000, Universal Orlando had chosen the IVIS Plus 2000 system to create badges for annual pass holders at its Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure theme parks. The same system is also used at Universal's West Coast location--Universal Studios Hollywood. "We wanted to offer our annual pass holders a superior badge, reflective of their VIP status," explained Pestillo. "The sophisticated digital technology of IVIS Plus gave us the flexibility and expandability we needed to provide a high-quality pass product." Shortly after installation, the system's flexibility and expandability were put to the test, when Universal launched a booming pass promotion.
Last summer, Universal created an Action Adventure Pass for Florida residents. For just $10 more than the price of a one-day admission ticket, Florida residents could visit both theme parks as often as they wanted for a specific period of time. "The promotion was so successful, we tripled the volume of the badges we were printing," said Pestillo. "In no time, we went from three IVIS Plus systems at each theme park to a total of 18 systems. The IVIS system is quick and accurate. It gets the job done."
In addition to the Action Adventure Pass for Florida residents, Universal Orlando offers three different types of annual passes with various amenities. "We consulted with IDenticard to design and create six different prototypes for our various badging needs," explained Pestillo. Using the IVIS Plus 2000, all badges are produced on-site and each is color-coded and bar-coded with a color photograph, logo, and entitlement information. Pass holders run their badges through a bar code reader to gain entry to the theme parks.
Universal Orlando administers hundreds of thousands of annual passes. "With the IVIS Plus 2000, we can easily create 300 or more passes a day," said Pestillo. "Because we didn't want our clients waiting in long lines to obtain their passes, we needed to get creative with the system," he explained. Using digital cameras, Universal personnel photograph clients as they wait in line, then invite them to play in the park while their badges are made. "After taking the photos, we pull a storage chip out of the camera and insert it into a reader box, which downloads the photo into the IVIS software." The clients can pick up their finished passes on their way out of the park.
Pestillo said the IVIS Plus 2000 also stores the data Universal collects about their annual pass holders so they have it on file for important mailings. "IDenticard customized our data screens to make data entry and retrieval quick and easy."
Universal's needs are constantly changing, as they look for novel ways to better serve their clients. "IDenticard is always there to work with us in developing our new ideas," said Pestillo. In the near future, Universal will be able to download information from Florida drivers' licenses into their IDenticard system---a capability that means less data entry and limited potential for error. "When we're ready to run with that, you can bet IDenticard will be getting a call."
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