Operations Planning

Theme park operations are planned before the gates open, not after. Amusement park operations management covers how the park runs safely, every day.

A park is judged on the day it runs. Operations planning sets the procedures before the gates open. Mast Parks plans amusement park operations management by developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), safety training, safety audits, ride operation protocols and manpower benchmarking.

The service sits in the Rides, People and Operations stage of the 13 Mast Parks services. It follows Team Hiring and Training and comes before Marketing and Branding. It turns a built park into a working one.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

SOPs are written procedures for the tasks the park performs every day: opening and closing, ticketing, queue management, cleaning, food service and emergency response. They let any trained staff member perform a task the same way.

Safety training

Staff are trained in the safety practices that apply to their roles, so that they know what to do before, during and after an incident.

Safety audits

Safety audits review the park against its procedures and look for gaps. They are done before opening, and they can be repeated as the park runs.

Ride operation protocols

Each ride has its own way of being run safely: who operates it, how guests are loaded, what is checked at the start of each day and what stops the ride. Ride operation protocols write this down for each ride.

Manpower benchmarking

Manpower benchmarking sets staffing levels based on ride type and risk. A ride with higher risk needs more people at the controls and at the loading area than a gentler ride. Benchmarks help an owner plan the cost of staff and ensure that no ride runs short.

An owner brings the master plan, the list of rides and attractions, the staffing plan and the opening date. Where rides come with vendor manuals and safety rules, the owner shares them.

The owner receives a set of operating documents and a plan for safety: SOPs, ride protocols, manpower benchmarks and the safety training and audit plan.

Theme park operations planning is needed before opening, and by existing parks that want their operations reviewed.

Operations planning is used by private landowners, existing park owners, family businesses, government and tourism bodies, and temples and religious trusts. New parks use it to prepare for opening. Existing parks use it to improve consistency and safety.

Mast Parks planned operations for a Mast water park in Rajasthan, where operations planning included hiring and training support. At Jungle Adventures, the work covered operations and revenue planning and management consultancy.

At Nicco Park, the work to improve footfall included operational efficiencies, alongside marketing.

• How many staff does each ride need? Manpower benchmarking gives a starting point.
• What are the rules for each ride? The protocols set them out.
• How do we keep guests safe? Safety training and audits address this directly.
• How do we keep the park consistent? SOPs give every shift the same standards.
• Are we ready to open? The pre-opening check answers this.

Without written procedures, a park depends on what individual staff happen to know. Standards vary between shifts, and new staff learn by watching others, including their mistakes. Staffing set without reference to ride risk can leave a ride short of people at its busiest time.

Safety is the most serious part. A park that has not trained staff and audited its procedures cannot be sure how it would respond when something goes wrong.

• SOP. Standard Operating Procedure: a written way of doing a task.
• Safety audit. A review of the park against its safety procedures.
• Ride operation protocol. The written steps for running one ride safely.
• Manpower benchmarking. Setting staffing levels by ride type and risk.
• Footfall. The number of guests who visit.

Owners get more from this service when they arrive with answers, or at least with a view, on the points below. None of them needs to be settled in advance, and Mast Parks can help to settle them.

• Which rides and attractions will open first?
• Do vendors supply operating manuals?
• What is the opening date?
• Who will manage operations after opening?
• Which safety standards apply to the park?

Mast Parks organises its work as 13 services in four stages, listed here in the order a project usually follows. Operations Planning is shown in bold. An owner can start at any stage, but each stage builds on the one before it.

• Concept and Planning. Feasibility Studies, Financial Planning, Concept Creation, Theme Development.
• Design and Execution. Master Planning, Architectural Designing, Project Management Consultancy.
• Rides, People and Operations. Ride and Attraction Planning, Team Hiring and Training, Operations Planning.
• Launch and Growth. Marketing and Branding, Merchandising, Content and Events.

Most owners use several of these services together, and some use the full set from idea to opening. See all 13 on the services page.

Mast Parks works with the owner at each step. The owner approves the work before it moves to the next stage, and revisions are part of the process. The owner knows the site, the region and the ambition. Mast Parks brings experience of designing and delivering parks across eight park types. The best results come when the two work as one team, with decisions made quickly and in the open.

To start a conversation, use the contact page. Mast Parks will ask about the site, the park you have in mind and where you are in the project.

A park's first season is the time when plans meet reality. Guest numbers may differ from the forecast, rides may behave differently from the vendor's description, and staff may find new ways to do their tasks. Operations planning prepares for this by treating the procedures as living documents. They are reviewed after opening, and updated when the park learns something.

Safety audits during the first season show where practice differs from procedure. The aim is not to find fault, but to close gaps while they are small.

Operations are shaped by the design. Where queues form, how staff reach a ride, where first aid is placed and how guests exit in an emergency all depend on the master plan and the architectural drawings. Operations planning works best when it begins while the design can still be adjusted, so that operational needs can be included in the design rather than added afterwards.

This is one reason Mast Parks offers design and operations within the same set of 13 services. The people who planned the layout can explain why it was drawn that way, and the people who plan operations can ask for changes while they are still easy.

Rides involve speed, height, water and moving parts. Safe operation comes from procedures that are written, trained and audited, not from good intentions. Operations planning treats safety as a system: the protocols say what to do, training prepares staff to do it, audits check that it is done, and manpower benchmarks make sure enough people are on duty to do it.