London, UK (August 5, 2013) — Admission control and ticketing software supplier Gateway Ticketing Systems has announced the installation of a new ticketing system at Sundown Adventureland in Nottinghamshire, UK.
Sundown is a theme park specifically designed for families with children aged under 10 and offers a wide range of rides and attractions suitable for its target group. Additionally, over the Christmas period, the park is transformed into a winter wonderland for its Christmas Spectacular, a huge event for the venue which continues to grow every year and is a major draw for visitors.
The Christmas event was the catalyst for the new ticketing system from Gateway, with bookings for this, including the park’s unique Night Before Christmas ride, all being carried out online. And in addition to vastly improving this process, the new installation has also improved throughput times at the entrance gate and online web sales.
The new system was installed by Gateway in just six weeks from contract signing to going live and very quickly the park noted a significant increase in online bookings. Transactions are fast and simple to complete and online sales are live into the onsite database with print at home tickets and no possibility of double bookings, which had occurred with the previous system.
Commenting on the installation, Paul Tomlinson, Park Manager at Sundown Adventureland, said: “Primarily we were looking for a proven ticketing system that could manage our online web bookings for the Christmas Spectacular here at Sundown Adventureland. This is a massive event for us and it is totally controlled by the booking system. I knew Gateway’s Galaxy system was used worldwide in a lot of big theme parks so felt sure it could help us too.
“When the system was demonstrated to us I instantly liked the POS terminals’ ease of use and the flexibility of the system in regards to tailoring it to our individual needs. I think the pedigree of the Gateway system outshone a lot of its competitors and this is why we chose this booking system. The support, training and back-up seemed very good and has proven to be exceptional further down the line.”
On behalf of Gateway, UK operations director Andy Povey said: “We are very happy with the installation at Sundown Adventureland and the fact that it is achieving exactly what the park required. The previous system that was in place suffered from very slow transaction times, a complicated online booking process and was incapable of handling timed bookings for the park’s Christmas ride, among other things, so we have been able to overcome all these issues with our system.
“All transactions are now quick and simple to complete while we also trained all cashiers on the day of opening, including one of 83 years old, which gives an indication of how user friendly it is. The many benefits of the system will certainly make life a lot easier and more efficient for both the park and its visitors.”
Gateway UK provides the full range of Gateway’s revenue management solution for general admission ticketing at all venues within the attractions sector, including theme parks, museums and galleries, heritage attractions and historic houses, zoos and gardens and events, as well as for those in the bus and ferry transportation sectors.
