Heading to Disneyland and fearing long wait lines? There's an app for that.Meet "Wait Watchers," a new sanity-saving App available in the Apple iPhone App Store that allows iPhone users to view and update wait times of attractions at Disney and Universal Studios theme parks in California and Florida.
Brent Pope, the app's creator and a father of four, came up with the idea after getting laid off from his advertising job.
"They say necessity is the mother of recession," he said during a phone interview from a reconnessance mission at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Fla. "In my case, I think recession is the mother of invention."
Here's how it works: iPhone users purchase the app for $1 per Disney or Universal park. Once it loads, an alphabetical list of attractions at that park appear, along with user-uploaded wait times, a timestamp of when the wait time was updated and the area location of the attraction.
I convinced a coworker to purchase it Monday and tried it out here in the office.
At 11:45 a.m., the wait time for Pirates of the Caribbean was just 5 minutes, while the wait time for the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage was 35 minutes. Had I been at the park, I would have dumped plans to explore the coral reef in Davy Jones' locker and made a break for New Orleans Square.
Uploading a wait time takes "about 8 seconds" Pope said, and the app has a built-in GPS feature intended to prevent people from erroneously entering wait times when not at the theme park.
Pope, who just launched the Disneyland app in late June, said he is working on adding other features to the app, such as an additional screen that would count down the time to a certain parade or show. He also is toying with the idea of expanding the app to other smartphones.
"If you hate waiting in line, this is a great app for you," he said. "If helps you decide what to do next and helps you make a more informed decision."
If it helps thwart kiddie meltdowns on Main Street and preserve parental peace-of-mind, Pope just might earn himself a new job title: Prince Charming.
What's the longest wait time you've experienced for a ride at a theme park? Was the ride worth it? Post your memories (fond or not) here.
