University of Central Florida University of Central Florida

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Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

1974

A Simulation Study of Guest Procedures in a Resort Hotel A Simulation Study of Guest Procedures in a Resort Hotel

Complex Complex

Bradley Barraclough University of Central Florida, alexab@bellsouth.net

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STARS Citation STARS Citation Barraclough, Bradley, "A Simulation Study of Guest Procedures in a Resort Hotel Complex" (1974). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 86. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/rtd/86

SKmLm BMtmACL0'13'6'd B.S.E., Florida Tetbaiogical Unp~ersity, 1972

S u W t t e d i a p a x t f s l fulfillment of the requireaents for the degree ef ,Haerter of frcieace in Engigeerhg

&a tM ~raguate Sgudies Program of Plokida Trcht'~01ogical Uaiveysity , 19?4

TABLE OF CC)ElT~TS

't2mu"lL"ER I. GUEST W E L C m CEWTER COHCWT ~ * e e ~ * e o e o o m ~ ~ . ~ ~ e o ~ o m ~ 3

Purpose of the Welcoae Center Guest Pxocessing Fuactiora1 Descrfp rion

11, SY$= SIBWUTJON s * e a c o o m . u r r r r o c o r + o + . r * . a o o . . o e * * o PO System DefinAtion Simulation Study Approach

III. S I k m T I O N WDXL, INPUTS, ASSUMPTIONS ................ 14 S%mul.ation &die1 - Welcome Center S$mulation M ~ d e l - Tranpportation Simulation l b d e l - Hotels Simulation Model - Departures

...................... xv . ~ ~ w u T r o a O~UTPW rn WYSIS 26 Validation of SSaDulation Hodel S l e w h f ion Oatput: Suggestions far Futther Work

AjpPrnXX A. INP& DATA ............e..~........................ 38 B. SIMXLXfIOEJ HODEL OUTPUT a . s e o o o ~ a . o * - a c * e . o n * r . e . * * r . . 52

At this t h e there is an increasing emphasis in Florida on

developing large, multipurpooa complexes which include shopping,

entertai~laent, and accommodations for tourists. In all cases a majar

design problem is people transportation. For best efficiency the

primary mode o f transportation, the car, m u s t be exchanged for other

people movers within the complex, which w i l l afford more security, <+y -<-y ** < ~ i

f lex ibi l i ty , and better movement of people t o theix: ultimate

destination. Economically speaking, this tiould 90 t only couserve f I I ~ - ,

but would allow consolidation o f at~tomobile parking into a leas

desirable area and tke group$ng of foc i l i t f ta for Bore shopping and

recreation csnve^ilfews.

An ex-lo could be t y p i f i e d by a large complex of scattered

hotelinotzls, which m u s t handle people ct their balorrgings efficiently.

Oae such caes i s the botrJ, operatiom at Welt llisney World. At the

present time only the Polynesian and Contemporary hotels are operating;

hocrever, futcre hotels are planned. Permitfing cars to drive directly

t o the hotel S.ntroduces nuch confuston, traffic ccngestion, and

additional effort or. the part c f guests and host. A cursory review

of Fmw hotel uperntions reveals the large mount of effort which

typical ly w a t be expended in processing the guests and their

belong2nqs to and from their ram. To be meaningful any suct~ stJdy

must j-nclsde all aspects o f guest processing and the Interrelat:f..olxsf:tps

a

2 '&

of the raajog . functions, - such as trcmsportation, material handling, a,--

end guest treatment. Because o f the ~Zze mxd cmplexity, this can

only be done by simulation.

This research used simulation to t e s t the Guest Welcome Center

concept. The proposed Walt Dignry Sorld Guast Walcome. Center would

feature a luggage ualoctdfng area, spacial parking lot for hotel guest

vehicles, convenient reception and registration, orientation for new

guests, and transportation t o the hotels an& Theme Park. It would

further feature luggage containerization, with a special container

tram running t o and from the hotels. . A computer simulation model of

the proposed Guest . J # E $ & Q ~ ~ . $e0.&e,g.p38 . . -.., .:..&%YB?.PP~~ L,s.++kp-k 9 , and its perf ornaan~e .,,- 7 2 :.:; ;-.yr,:. 2.y -, i + :2< a-F. :-. . - ,-:;:-,A:%z--$

, , % 7 -.,- >',Z A 5:. . J-r: .,-. -.,. . - A . , . . . - - .

analysed. The measures of performance were the maxhum length of

waiting l ines and the maxirmne number of frtcflity service channels

needed, both by hour of t b day a d the average waiting t b m spent by

hotel guests at various locati~ns. 'Ke laodel perfomance defined

staff ing requirements and floor space t c q u i r ~ . n t s for guaet waiting

l i a a a*ld luggaga etorage. Fasthrtr, gha

into the nature of the syatm and suggested changes which might

$.mprove it.

fazpcrlae of the Veleo~ie. Center

The proposed Guest Welcome Center ~ u l d pravide the arriving

guests of WDW hotels with a VIP welcome and reduce the; volruae of

rraf fic within the entertainmeat conplex. ft would feature a baggage

unloading area, n special parking l e t for hotel gueat vehicles,

convenient reception and registration, orientation, arul transportation

t o the hotels and Theme Park. The proposed Welccme Canter ccncept

satisfies other objectives including that the guest be greeted by

mame where ever poss ible , that a guest's luggage be containerized

upon his arrk~tcl at tho Welcome Center %ndd he wltnens th5.o containerizn-

&%on, that tha registration be done prior t o entry in to the hote.b such

tha;; the present functio~ of the hotel desks be changed to sfaply

check in and cashier (for check out), and that queues (araiting Llnesj

be avaided bv afways providing an alternative path for the gcests.

Figure 1 is e plan view of the recreation complex showing the

Ccmten;porary Kotel and Thme Park and t h e i r proposed physical relation-

ship to the Welcome Center.

Guest Processing Functional Description

For the f olloking descrtption of guest processing, reference

s h l d be made to Figure 2 and 3, which are functional block diagrams.

Upon evrivnl of the hotel gluest ac the t o l l plaza, the plaza

tittendant wLll obtain preregistration infomation fr01~ hlm, a~sign

3

PIG. 1 -- Plan view o f a portion of the Walt Disncay World reeration complex &o~fng, the Cpateaprary Rotel end the Theme Park and their propoeed physical. relorirrnsblp to the Velcome Center.

FIG

. 2 -- .Cuest W

elc

me

~onte; con

cept functional b

lock diagram

of

' the g

uas t a

rriva

ls atotlel .

PXG* 3 -- G

uao

t UeZeoms Center concept functional b

lock diagram

of

the g

uest d

epartu

rea nrodel.

his car a number, which is attached t o the windshield, direct him t o

the Welcome Center, and radio pertinent inf.ommtion regarding the

guest t o the Welcome Center registration dmk. Wle the gueet i s in

transit t o the Welcome Center, the rogfstrrtfm desk wi l l confirm his

registration, assign h i r s raorn, a d relay all psrtfnenz iafozmation

t o the baggage handking .tation and to the attendants in charge of

When the g w s t arrives at the baggage unloading island, he will .

be greetad by naare on the basis of his previously assigned automobile

nllmber; h i s baggage w i l l be udloruled, containerized, and the container

tagged. The guest w i l l receive the key t o the container (or containers),

as orel l as a receipt for his luggage. The parking attendant, having

received the car keys, will te l l the guest where hfs car will be

parked and direct him t o the registration desk.

When the guest arrives at the registration desk, hie will be

registered and be directed to the guest orientat

which he may proceed after the pa+Uagg zetitraed with hi s

car kfiys. The orientation, &Ach - the $guest may bypass if he so desires,

. would welcome the guest t o Walt Disney World and, by the use of models,

renderings, and a film, familiarize him w i t h the various attractions

of the entertainment c~mplex.

Finally, the guest w i l l wait for any of various forms of 'WW

transportation t o take him eith5r to his hotel or to the main entrance

to the Theme Park, depending partly on whether h i s room is ready. Ife

would have been notified o f the status of hihi room during registrati~n.

After tile guest arrives at h i e hotel, assuming that h i s room is ready,

8 .

he ell check in at the hotel deck, and a porter w i l l be notified.

Tire parter will retrieve the guest's baggage container, which since

its transport to the hotel, ha8 been held in a special betel baggage

storage area, and wtll meet the guest at thc check &in deskan4 escort

him to his room* - Having shown the gu-t ta his row, the porter. iuill

return t o his station vith the empty baggage container.

The proposed departure processing of the guest who has completed

h i s visit to Walt Dieney World is nearly the reverse of the arrival

processing. When the guest is ready to leave the hote l , a porter is

sent to his room wtth an empty baggage container. After the porter

has containerized the luggage and given the guest the container key,

he w i l l escort the guest t o the hotel cashier and take the container

to the hotel baggage storage area t o await transport back t o the

Welcome Center

The hotel eadde~ , having precalculated the guest's charges,

will recetve payment for those charges (check out the guest) ead ditect

him to the transportation area prwidad; trrasportation will be provided

either t o the Welcae Center or Park, frm plhieh he may get

transportation ro the.ljelcome Center at a later time. The cashier will

then relay pertinent information regarding the guest t o the Wlcome

Center registration desk and, after the gueet's room has been cleaned,

~5.11 not i fy the registration desk of an update i n room status.

As soon as the guest arrives at the Welcome Center registration

desk, he w i l l be greeted and h i s check out verified. Then the baggage

handling station and the nutonrobile parking attendants will be

notified. The parking ettendank wj.1.I get t.he car keys from the guest

and mve !be &ueett s car t o the loading area while the baggage

attendant hae the guest's luggage sent CO the loading area from

the baggage storage area. After he has delfvwx~d the car t o the

loading area, the parking attendant. vilX retom-to M e station.

Fina l ly , the baggage a t t ~ d a a t d3.I thaa aaeSst in Zoadiag'tbe car

and the guest wil l depart.

Spst-Eai b f i M t i ~ n _

A systes may be defined as "a eollaction of regularly

interacting or interdependent copaponents.;.acting as a unit in

carrying out. . . [a) nission. " (Haisel, p .8 ) The Guest Welcome Center

concept is a system cornpolled of service facilities arranged into a

unit whose objective it i s t o effectively process hotel guests while

keeping automobile traffic within the entertainment cmplex t o a

Frm study of the proposed system, i t was determined that the

critical aspect of its performace, as far as the convenience of

the guests was concerned, ~ u l d be the length of waiting time. Also,

it is important to derstand the system performance, t o delineate

those factors affecting guest waiting time, and t o help predict

staffing and floor space requiresmts. Since an exSsting atmilar system

was not available with which t o experhent, it was decided t o construct

a si=latioioc model which could be used t o predict the dynamic response

of the system in terms of these parameters when subjected to varying

input conditions. Simulation is a method o f problez solving which

lends insight into the dynamic behavior of the system over time.

The most suitable model. for studying the behavior of t h i s

system i s a tlueuet3.g (waiting l lne j mcrdel. A queceing model consists of

sexvice f a t i l i t l e s having crril ct mite stations (c:ixnnel s) be1ri~ir.d W C . ~

waiting lines can form. A waiting l ine forms when the demand for *

service by thoee charmels that are open exceeds their capacity. For

a given demand, the mre channels that are open, the smaller the

queue and, therefore, the shorter the awerage oraft$% time in the

queue. The major facilities of +he Guest Welcome Center which would

tend to form waiting lines were modeled and simulated. The simulation

output determined the size:of the quews formed end the number of

service channels which had to be opened. The I.B.M. General Purpose

Simulation System (GPSS) computer language was used for the 4

simulation. (G~sS/360 User' s Manual)

The simulation study consisted of determining the computer

prqgram logic, inputs, and program output using sensitivity analysis.

The canputer program logic was developed ir. two parts: one to treat

guest arrivsl6, the other to treat guest departures. The total output 9

o f a given simulation run then rasults from superimposing (adding)

the outputs o f each part. In the arrival model the service facilities

incl.ude the toll plaza, baggage handling at the Welcome Center,

autom~bile parking attendants, registration desk, hotel check in desk,

and hotel porters. In the departure model the service faci l i t ies

include the porters, hotel cashier, Welcome Center registration desk,

beggage handling, ax~d automobile parking attendants. For our purposes

a f ac i l i t y was ass~rmed to have as many channels as necessary, with more

upmiry upcm demand. The pragraa logic treats service dtz~&^~~d by

al lodng a given user o ~ l y a m a x i m w i wait'lng t i ~ n g in the f a c i l i t y

gwue before an additionax eervice chtmd i o qetmd. Th&a maxbn 0

t h e could be vasieel frm run to ma. X 1 mdd b@ d.e-fi3cable t o have

thilt tiae equal to eerkeuch that no facil ity queues o c c ~ r . However,

since. this would not be sconmitally round i a sc tua l practice; a

max%mum desirable waiting t h ,pf 2.7 dnutao was decided up4n. after

consultation with the hotel aranagers. This value was used in the

COtUpUte'XI XUX28r

The two things whose validity directly iufluence the value of

the simulation output ate the system raodel and the input data. After

it has been determined that the model &dequately represents the system,

the burden of sfmulation accuracy lies with the input data. These

include guest party arrival rate, departure rate, fac i l i ty servtce

times, number o f people par party, and pieces of luggage Ter party.

The average nwber o f guests per party is 3.5, and the average number

of pieces of luggage per psrty is 4.9. These values were determined

fro3 sarqle-,data taken by the hotel managers on each o f their operations

aver a one week period. The raw data 16~ pxwd~ted Appendix A.

llppendix A also idmltff Sea other inputs used, together with their

GPSS provides output for all queues and facil it ies in the form

of the mslximuu! queue and average tlme per party spent in a queue for

say hour of the day and the mext.sum number o f service channels used in

a fac i l i ty by b u r of the day. Three rqns were made of the completed

system sjiaulntion progrm: a "normal" run and two others which

comprised a sensdtivity- itrialysis.

The seasit3.vitg analyeis raas intended t o land iostght into the

nature of the behavior of the systesn. It included a runmade wfth a

25 percent increase in guest volume. Thie was intended t o encompass

paosible weekly aad seasonal oariatioae b gba. t azxival pat terns.

In addition, a run was made which did rrot all- departing guests to -

visit the Thcme Park prior t o departing through the Welcome Center.

It was considered that this situation might easily occur in actual

guest proces~ing aperations .

The computer simulation rnodcl w i U . bo dioctur t=a- ~f

four basic functions: (1) kbe Wale ~~t~ proper; (2) %ha

transportation between the Welcome Center and the hotels and Theme

Park, (3) the btsla, and (4) the departures. The model will be

described by tracing a guest party describing inputs and assumptions

for each functional process.

A transaction is the GPSS term which refers t o an entity whfch

passea through a simulation model, be it a person, machined part, or

bit o f data. It waa most appropriate to t ~ s e the w s t party as the

t~ansilction, as opposed to a sing1.e guest. So, in order t o ds~ermine

the number of guests in a queua, for instance, you waUfti multiply the

queue length t h e e the average number of people per party (3.5). All r'

time values are in tenths of a minute aod all fuactianaf input data

as defined earlier is tabulated in &ppandix A.

For the following dieemdon of the sba2ation model, reference

should be made to Figure 4-8, where ovala represent areas of queue

formation, blocks represent service f acilitp cbnnel.s, and circles

denote non--functional delay times. (GPSS inputs can be 9.n the form of

functions or constants. A constant delay might be wfltten ADW&YCE 5,

which i s a 30-second delay, or ADVANCE 10,S, vhich is a delay that may

have with uniform probability any value between 5 and 15 tenths of a I

@ ~ = ; a ~ (Double Check Car) A, 1 T

(211.221 1 30 1 REGTSTRATION DESK I PARKI'lG FACILITY

I _ -

Delay (Baggage

Watt far Gusat Trans t o Hotels and Park

Wait for Trans. t o Coat/Palg

FIG. 4 -- Block diagram of that segrPent o f the GPSS arrivals model from the Toll Plaza through the Welcom Center. Ovals designate queues, squares fac i l i t y channels, and circles non-functioaal delays. -

Mner~snics c o ~ e from CPSS program.

Cutst parties arrive at the toll pbsa accarding t o a function.

(AU~)S) of iaterarriva~ time (ti- bemm ~ r r i w d s ) versos time of day.

A delay (PTwCD) is incurred in travcli~g f ~ 4 m t h plaEd La thsa Walcorae

eenter baggage handling faci l&.t~ . Af ter d o a d - the:

guest takes time t o &ubb check. his car and generates ct request for an

auto parkingattendlast. M t e ~ taking tiare to walk from the baggage

handling dock to the Welcoae Center desk and after begrig served at the

desk, the pprty, if it his not yet received its car keys from the a

parking attendant, w i l l w a i t in an area of the Welcome Center lobby

(WPf[EP) until the attendant arrSvea, after which time the attendant,

who is himself a service charmeZ of the car parking facil ity, returns

to his station ready t o w s v a anather guest party. The total time

token by the attendant t o do his job is given by the function PCFLI. A r

is assanted r+t the attendants are stationed in close pro

the registration desk. The guest party now has the q$eion of vie~$a&

the oriient~eion prerrentatgon. Zt rra& wrs M1 gmlercsnt will vlev

it a d 20 percent wi l l bypdpisrs it. Those waitha t o enter the audfrorium

are in another area o f the lobby (WCLQ), The orientation duration i r r

i m l n u t ~ s (1W21), and there are two auditoriums such that one presew

tation f s starting when the other is half through. This makes a

3.5-minute span between showings.

After v i e w i n g he orientation presmtation, guest parties f o i u

those Wh4 bypassed it in waitbg for trmmportation to the Polynesian

hatel, the Contearporary hotel, or the aain entraaca t o the Theme Park. - w'

Mthough the Guest Welcome Center a awntually oopposed t o provide

varioue forms of transportatian t o additional locatioas, the model

assuaas the use of one of the faeteast o f these foreta og t&~r-tion,

the ninibus, which bes a capacity of efght patties. Urn, it was

a s s d that 113 of the parties arc Polpeefan guests and 2/3 are

Contemporary guests $i.ace the Contemporary has roughly twice as many

roome as the Polynesian (1058 vs. 495 rooms). The percentage of

guests vira go directly t o their botel from the Welcome Center varies

by time o f day [IICX function) from zero a t 8:00 a.m. ta 100 percent

after 2:00 p.m., which is the deadline for checking out on the day a

party concludes its stay a t the hotel. Therefore, 213 of those going

directly t o their hotel will require transportation to the Contemporary,

the other 113 to the Polynesian, the remitidder w i l l seek transpor-

. tation t o the Theme Park entrapce. Gigure 5 shows that two buses with i

6-dnute one way t r i p times (F1J24), two buses with lMxmte one onrp

trip times (PX23), end-one bua with .st &*xa&e one wry trip tiae (=25),

are provided to the Theme Park. chtrancrr, C a n t q r a q , and Polynesian,

Ubilc the guest parties are being processed in the Welccrme

Center, their baggags containers await transport by tram t o the hotels.

Baggage transport i e accomplished as though concurrently with the guest

transportation; and at any departure to a hotel from the Welcome Center,

the entire baggage queue for the respective hotel i s depleted. This

insures tlat a guest's baggage is always available at the hotel to

any kia t o hfs roan. Tb necessary.capaeity af a lraggrage txeaa

1 @ Delay (Trans)

1.

Hotel Baggage Storage

Delay (To Enter Park) I -- 7

@ Delay (Trans) Be

Queue f o r Trans to Hotel

Batel Desk Queue

FIG. 5 -- Block diagram of that segment of t h e GFSS arrivals model treating the transportation of guests (and luggage) from the Welcome Center to the Theme. Park and hote l s . Mnemnirs come from G2SS program.

for a siven hotel. can be datewined by summing the ut i l i za t ion of the 4 , , , , . - . . - - e , = - L.*? - '-. -

A - ,. = %< .. , .-- 4% =*.. 2,T<<;;$.A,?i::>2- R>..-. , &z2.yL A4Th*.*p>~:5,;$+:>-j::;~>7iF &g$; guest transportation to that hotel and a.fraction (2/3 or 1/31 of the

utilization o f the transportation to the Park entrance.

Those guests who travel t o the main entrance of the Theme Park,

having arrived, w i l l take 15 dnutea to walk from the transp~rtatlon

t e r P i ~ l to the park. Since no data w a s available, a hypothetical

ratcof departure@ of parties from the Park going to hotels was

aesumed based on the number of parties in the park at 2:UQ p.m.,(Q).

That rate is 24/15 per hour for the Contemporary and Q/15 per hour for

the Polynesian, which w i l l empty the park uniformly over the perlcd

fran 2:00 p.a. to 7:00 p.m. The transportation mode from park to

hotels was arbitrari.1~ assumed t o leave the Park at 10-minute intervals

with a travel delay t o the hotels of 10 minutes. Recall that the

departures are treated independently of arrivals so that the only

parties in the Park of the arrivals model are part3.e~ destined for the /

hotels. Also, the departure rate from the Park is calculated at 2:00 p.m.

since no parties used the Park transpartatfon from the Weelcose Center

after 2r00 p.m. end no parties begin t o leave the Park for the hotels

unt i l 2:00 p.m. (in anticipation of a 3:00 p.m. hotel check in time),

For the remainder of the arrivals model, any given computer run

will. only treat guest patty processing at either the Contemporary or

the Polynesian, but not both. Thus, Figure 6 s h w s the portion of the

laadel for the arrival of gueet parties at one hotel. After incurring

a delay to walk frool the transportation area to the hotel desk,

for Part=.- with Baggage

Delay - - - - - A

&&%I Baggage Storage

Delay fFrm Heating Party " 1 t o Return t o Station)

- v Boom

P.IG. 6 -- Blpck diegram of that segment of the GPSS azrfvals model treating gagst processing through a given hotel . ~ n a k d c c l come fron GPSS program.

arriving partiee are cheeked in after a c h they g-&rate a request - * for a porter. The party then watts fn an .ares of t@..btel lobby

(FmQ) for a porter to get their baggage e-taherand join them.

Uhen the porter arrives same ti- after h5s being called (H820), he

accompanies the party ta their roa~.. adbadd tha. baggage ccmtoinor,

and returns to his station, which tba mdel treats rs one delay

(PWRM), %.era, delay fnw.raeeting the party at the hotel desk to

return t o porter station ready to a s s i s t the next arriving party.

The Contemporary hotel was considered three separate hotels

t o reflect the fact that i t does consist of three separate buildings.

The.Tower contains roughly 40 percent o f the rooms and each wing,

North and South, 30 percent. Rowever, aince each check in would

take place in the main building, the model treats the Contemporary

as a single hotel pllith bcteased average travel time to and from the

rooms to compensate for that 60 percent of the rooms located a greater

distance away from the hotel desk.

-on, &dal-Wpl;par,gwcs

The departwe modal, @how in Figures 7 and 8, begins with a

function of inter-departure time versus time of day (DPFIJC, DPFNP) for

each hotel . The sements of the departure model devoted t o the hotels

are identical in structure so processing of guests departing a hotel

will only be traced once with comparison ~ a d e between the inputs

assigned the segments. A guest party which desires to depart its room,

having not.ified the hotel desk t o send a porter, waits (queues DWQC,

DWQP) for the porter. Once the porter leave8 his station, he takes a

GPSS IPEPAETfnBE MODEL --

Delay Load Bags)

- - - - - - J . Delay I L - - - - - (To Return

Delay t o Station) (From Room t o Cashier) TCASC/P

Storage at Wotef

to WeI>come Center

I

@ Delay ( F k m Cashier t o Trans)

@ Delay (Park Entr. t o Park)

Wait .for Trans P W Q

4 Delay ( Trans) 0 I

-

Baggage Storage , at Welcome Center

PIC, 7 -- Block diagrma of that bepent o f the GPSS departures model treating guest processing through the hotels to trbmportat2on to the Uelcooae Center or Thme Park, Mnemonics come from GPSS program.

I Parties From Hotels

Delay (From Trans to

W.C. Desk)

4 DSI(FN

WIG. DESK I I ,

P K n Q Waft for Trans to W.C.

auto

---I . Requests

Delay (Get Car)

R14A

I

CAB PARKING

ATTENDANTS

Delay (Return t o

Station)

I @ Belay (WLC. ~ e s k t o 1 Baggage Island)

Request

Wait at Baggage Loading Island

i Delay -

(Bag Conveyor) IT---:--- I 1

Delay (To Load Car) 1 . Lop. t.L - -- --- - - - - - - -i

Leave WDW

-. , -

j::* - >-..- . - 1 - 1 ' -

b-

L -

FIG. 8 -- Block diagram of that segment of the GPSS departures model treating the processi.ng of guests through the Welcome Center. Nnesoalcs cma from GPSS program,

tire awrsghg 5-1/4 pinutea for boa +. 1 to reach the 0 *

ram. Tha porter containerioaa the g@ ill 3 ainufes (LDBG) ; and

while he takes it t o thC hotel baggage stmas@ area (delaye BSTAC, RSTAP)

where S t will await trrmspott to the R e l Gamer, the- g1rns.3: party

goes t o the hotel cashier (delays TCA96, -I). It i o aassmed that i t

takes the same a ~ u n t of t h e for the 'party t o reach the caehler as it

takee the porter to reach the baggage storage area. Having delivered

the baggage container, the porter returns to his station. Since it is

assused that tbe'baggage storage i s located near the porter station,

na transit delay occurs betwean them. As in the arrivals model, the

baggage i e aesuaed t o be transported t o the Welcome Center concurrently

wAth the gwsts; and it is stored at the Welcome Center (DBSTQ) until

it io called for. Fram the cashier the party will either go to wait

for transportation (q~19:aes D G a C , DGTgS) diraetly to the Welcame Center

or for transportation (queues PKTRG, PKTRP) to the Theme Park, and &a ,'

dofng so incur a delay. Due to the lack of data, it i s an assur~ption

that for the normal. run half of the depart* patties go to the Theme

Park after checking out of their hotel, regardless af the t h e of day

that they check out. .

The transportation provided for departing guests is identical

to that p r d d e d in the arrivals m o d e l . As a =tter of fact, the @am!

scheme is used for the departure of parties frm the Park, i.e., the

parries are assumed t o leave unifordy betwe- 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p a .

based on the maximum nuntber of departing parties in the Park, whlch

occurs about 2:00 p.m., the deadline for checkout from the hotels.

A i l parties arriving a t the Welcome Center w%ll take a

25 I4

hypothetical tirae CWCD) t o walk ftosl thair minihas t o tlre Velculae

Center desk* '&This time may have t o cover. time spent usiag the rest

rooms and juice bar. A; the Uelccrmc Cent- desk, a reqwst 5s

generated far a parlring attendant t o p t car, and the party then

wai ts in the lobby until notf f i ed t u x their ear i s available. Bs

soon as the car arrives, tbs puty proceeds t o the loading island *ere

a baggage handling rttaBdont has requested their baggage container

fro= the baggage storage area. After retrieving the car, the parking

attendant returns t o h&s station Tor reassignment. The baggage

attendant helps the guests load their car when they reach the island,

after which he returns t o his station. Tlre required time t o meet the

guest at the Welcome Center desk and retrieve the car (BWA) was assumed

t o equal the time t o park it and return as used in the arrivals model.

Time t o return to the auto parung statian from the island is

hypothetical (BbmO). Tbta taken to Load the car (LOAD) is assumed i

equal t o the time it took t o unload it, and the time it take@ to get

the baggaga container to the islland after it is requested (RWBG) was

hppothet ically derived.

Validation of tho-- Wdel

One problea with the use pfaXnrulatisn is.validarion of the

output. To explain, one should be cancerned specifically with the

Welcome Center W.el sfimtlated in it gtven mode, e&, a nonaal run,

A singl,e simulatio~ run would provide data similar t o that obtained

by observing the actual Welcome Center operations on any normal day.

If five runs are made (five days observed) and their outputs (data)

averaged, random behavior peculiar to any given-run (day) would be

minimized and behavior more clearly the result of the dynamics of the

system w u l d then daminate. In fact , the more runs the Less the chance i

o f random behavior influencing simulation output.

Due t o the aBIount of computer time required and the uti l izat ion

of the computer facilities available, only one run was made per

simulation mode (normal run, 125 pascent of norm1 valrrma, and no . .

departures through the Pork). Under -re favorable working conditions,

five runs per mode raight be considered a more acceptable number. The

output presented, however, wil l prove informative and should help direct

further refinement of the system model and its inputs.

Simulation Output

The simulation output is presented in four parts: lsaxfmum

queues, faci l i ty utilization, waiting times in non-facility queues,

and transpcrtation and orientation utilization. Table I shows the

26

T a l l Plaza Queue

Baggage Handling Queue

Welcoara Center Lobby Queue 3 P

W.C. Guest Transportation Queu

Welcome Center Baggage Storage

Polynesiaa hggqga Smrags

+@ae ~ o a t ~ o r a r y med-~n -SIC RGDKQ/C

Polynesian Check-In Desk Queue RCDPQ/P

Contemporary Cashier Queue PORTQ~C, CASHC

Polynesian Cashier Qww POBTQ/P, CASHP

To21 Plaza

Baggage Handli.ng Island

Welcome Center Desk

Car Parkfng Attendants

Contemporary Check-In Desk

Polynesian Check-In Desk

Contemporary Porters

Polynesian Portaxe

Cmtaporary Cashier Desk

Palyoesian Cashier Desk

TOLL PLAZA

BAG. IlAND* FAC, BAG. UANf).

FAC. (Dm) REGZSTRATZON DESK, WeCaDECK

HOTEL DESK / C&+T

HOTEL DESK

PORTERS / CONP, Cont PORTERS (m)

Contmgmrary CASHIER

Polynesian CASBIER

TABLE 1.--Table indicates the superiaposition (addition) o f the arrivals and departures models. The left column lists queues and faci l i t ies of interest while the r ight column groups the corresponding GPSS entities, whose outputs are added.

ouperfntpositian used to organide the total! oyseae model output. 0

Table 2 gives the aaximm queue length during any hour of

the day for PU. of fhe facility-producod guart party end baggage queues.

(See Appendix for more details.) A.s&ng Urot the criaxulat%~.on mode

with no departures through thc! Eark PJPM&~ a w ~ o e caee of system

condition, the output for ;&at run wa8 u ~ e d t o calculate the floor

space requirements ahovn in Figures 9 and 10. Additional floor space

requirements were foz 81. loaded baggage containers at the Contemporary

and 38 at the Polynesian. Floor space requirements used for the f inal

system design would take in to account seasonal variations as well as

forecasted growth in terms of hotel guest volume.

It should be noted that maximum queues for the 125 percent run

consistently exceed those for the normal. run, although not by 25

percent. Also, the no departures through the Park run increased

laaxiolm queues at the Welcome Center above those of the 125 percent ,'

run, not t o mention the rmrmsl run, and significantly &.~~em@ed the

maxhtm queue occurring in the Welcowr Centar baggage etoraga ares.

Reference s%ould Be nmdrr to Fimurtas 11 a d 12 for system

behavior vfth regard to maximum fociZity u t i l i za t ion by hour of the

day. Both Figures treat all three mdes of operation. Figure 11

gives faci l i ty u t i l i za t ion for the Welcome Center, and Figure 12

far the hotels. In Figure 11 notice that, compared t o the normal run,

the no departures through the Park run tends to cause the distribution

of the maximum nuslber o f required servers t o peak more abruptly

(lover the standard deviation) while the 125 percent run tends t o

branden, the distribution (increase the standard deviation) even t o

T o l l Plaza Queue

Baggage Handlirlg Queua

Welcona Cmter Lobby Queue

W*C. Guest Trans. Queue

Contemporary Chsctr-Ia Desk

Polpmi~rr C k w P I n Desk

Coararaporary Caahiar Queue

Polynesian Cashier Quaue

Toll Plaza

Baggage Bandling Island

.. wt&oare Cent& Desk

Car Farking Atte%adant@

Conteslporary Chaclt-In Desk

Polynes$an Check-In Desk

Cmtwporary Porters

Polynesian Poxtere

cant t2apcrf iry! CGWex Brook

Polpnesfen Csahi~r Desk ..

TABLE 2.--Table compares simulation runs by maximum queue length and loarirmaa number o f f a c i l i ~ y channels required (for arrivals plus departures), both throughout the day. (PSR-normal run. 125Z-run at 125 per cent of normal volume, N D S ) E P ~ ~ M J ~ ~ rtm with no departures by way of the Theme Park.) Arrows indicate values of particular interest .

r - 1 TRAM M A D I N G I

L .d BAGGAGE HOLDING AREA- (Capacity - 39 Containers)

8 -

1. \

BAGGAGE, DEPOSIT

+- 9 Cars --+I.

Space for:

18 Guests,

5 Luggage Attendants,

5 ~ ~ $ w g e Containers

Space for :

32 Guests, . 9 Luggage Attendants,

r * -.

9 Luggage Cantatners

FEG. 9 -- B%,agram ehmm setup involved in unloading and moving Zugjgctgp. from exitranee arm af WrPlcq~q Center t o the tram for transpar- tation ts S&B haters. Net@ e n % baiting and storage area required by vats+ ease fNnEP) run (@ 3.5 people pat party). Not t o scale.

WAITING AREA

at registration csunter, waiting

ENTRANCE

COMPLEX

FIG. 10 -- D i a g r a m of the Welcome Center shows reception area, orientati.on area, and area for awaiting transportation to hotels and Thwe Park. Note mlniaagn waiting area required by worst case (NIDEP) run (@ 3.5 people per party). Not t o scale.

Run wfth no departursrr i Bus a t 125 pet cent . f hraugh the Park sf Normal volume

Hgur of. Bay I S-9 ' 9-10~15l~!il-12~ 12-1' - 1-2 2-3 i 3 - 4 14-5 I

-r L 6-7

Welcome Center

PIG. 3.1 -- Bar graphs showfng: maximum f a c i l i t y utilization (number of channels required) by hour of the day for facilities of the WeXcoute Center.

t4 cu b u r o f Day F.I es a d d 4 E ~ U F of Day O d d 4

gt 4 C C C C C ) s J m a h C n r 4 t I t . 5 3 m * * * 4 - t L A A , t U d W 4 I t 1 , , d d d d & & $ & & & C h ~ J d d 4 W k & m *

Conteaporary - Check-In Desk

Coatemporarg - Porters

PIG. 12 -- Bar graphs of 8laximm faci l i ty utiliagti.an (number of channels required) by hour of the day ifot facilities a£ the hote l s . Light bars denote normal guest volume, dark 125Z af normal voltme.

34 t

the extent that tke mw%xi.nwp atmibar of servers required throughaut the 0 *

day remains generally below that of even the no departures through

the park run. is appareat that

difference the ''no the normal. run.

'was expected. It will aleo trs noted t M tlrs A23 percent run tends t o

raise the wake of the c b t . Pnd lav&1 the .valbye; i .e . , i t amplified

the system facilfty utilisation response by a factor greater than 1.25

in the case of the Contemporary hotel end less than 1.25 in the case

of the Polynesian. Table 2 l i s t e d the. akximvm number of channels

required the entire day. Special attention should be paid

the extra burden placed on the Welcome Center desk by the "no

departures" run.

Waiting in any fac i l i ty queue was limited to 2.7 minutes.

Referring back to F&gwas 4 t k o ~ g h 8 however, that there

are other queues that are not directly associated with a facilfty.

These queues, for the arrivals model, may be guest

for the cat b y e a t the OPalcor~c Cestcr desk, far orientatSem, for

transgartation, o r for gmrtmrs, OT my Be baggage containers awaiting

itfng v i th their guest parties. For the

they could in addition be

the baggage loading Ref erring

average waiting time a t nou--f ac i l i ty type.

departing guests waiting

to Table which

for a normal; run,

c a ~ be seen that, with the exception of the arrivals guest party

queu?s waitfng for car key6 at the Welcome Center and of the arrivals

guest party qUeue8 awaiting the orientation presentation, the average

time gmssly exceeds Special attent Lon shQuld be

I.

'

. ,+

.I

B$(, i: *:,

:

-;L!

.; :, ~ ., ,;,+

'

rj$

36

e v e n the tirw spent by arrivislg sueat parties w&tfD$ for a porter

a t the P ' Q I ~ ~ . ~ hotel and the t iPra spaat By depalcting guelrt parties

waiting a t the baggoga'laading dock. Thr only solution t o Chis

problem is to increase the amber or spwad af PDlynmiS,an par ters

and baggage handling personnel sew$- bepaitfag gtlsske* wait*

ti.e in the WCQ [departing guoets in the WaZcooe Center lobby)

i s not critical since if is voluntary fur the mast. part (use o f rest

The only output with which we have not concerned ourselves is

the utiliratfon of transportation and orientation. Appendix B shows

the leaximuat w e o f these entities by hour o f the day throughout the

rwa of each sllaulation mode. For the transportation amploping two

buserr each, the maximum is indicated for each bus, as well as for both

buses ccmb5~t~d. X f a a&-- maxirmrs! occurs twice during a run, only

the first i s deoignatcd. The data show that most of the tfw the

buses are kunning far bClow capacity. This problem could be sr~dpd

withoat significantly increasing waiting t h p by u9- batme with

lower capacf ty and by usis8 only one bne (an there mutes which in

this study use two) during those burg o f low uti l ization. Similarly,

although dual orientation auditorimns should be used t o keep waiting

tine down (for a given presentation duration), the capacf-ty could be

reduced,

I+, shotlld be emphasiced that this study i s intended as a

prel.fminary investigation prior t o a mre advanced study, which would

37 L

incorporete the ref inementa auggse tad by the present m d e l output.

These refinements would cotlsist of cbnges in the systta~i model, as

well as changes in thc input.

Some suggested changes in the spstslr al mt&ht be e finer

definition of the delays encountered, use of feedback rzithin the

model, such as queue length affecting the semicc tfmt, basing the

percentage of guest parties goiag to the hotels on the vacant rooms

within the hotel. which have been or w i l l be prepared in time for

the guests, and keeping track of the requirements for baggage

transportation and o f movement of empty baggage containers. Some

refinements suggc~ted in inputs are in fwnctfons and constant delays,

as well as schedules for and capacity of transportation between park

and hotels and of interdeparture time distribution from park t o

hotels (errTvals) .nd part to Wrrlcosle Canter (departures).

Finally, with regard to the refinement of simulation logic, /

M effort should be made to automatically reduce output t o a more

readi.Ly usable ffonn, perhaps by interfacing GPSS end P O R m .

DATA

x *+ ** ++ 7-"+* 2 , *C

A. - X .* *. * N&r of atrivals rs . Wur of -.-q--*--*-*-*------w----T----------**---w+-

"1 + i ~ r ++ e * tke Fer Guest Parties at I *. * * the Po3-ymesian Wo tel. Pram -r--"-'*'---'---------e-*-----*L--*LC---u-- a+ +a +* Polpasion Ma eel Check.rIn Study

f *+ ++ ++ +* + C Frequency ~ i s t r i b u t i k for 1 ++ ++ ++ T-'-----------"-&--"--------------&----- RJmber df People pet Paxty . L

.++ ++ +f (For Q~-w$:& P8=%&) F a f - ~lr+ ++ ++ e lgt T----"*---------------------e---e------a

m

*+ O f C* % a

NO. P'IY _ ---- * --..- --- " - - - - - - - - - - " - - - - - - , - - - - - - " *

--''NUfilnGER 'OF' PEQPCE PER - .PARTY* 'TOTALS

I . X

4- 7- ,: wmw-@ ..

z Frcq-~ Biatribution for TI"d-'- --" ~~~-~~-IaCrrvCC.I-...-lll--~.*-. . 6 T h e at the PaZyneatan :%-.%>: -

i %ot& Bag& h 9

8k. f . T**" --------------,---.--I----- L"9--C...*-: <Pot =- Proaz 'I

-%ynesian Hogel G ! h ~ b I n Study

-x'--------------.-,-~--------.---------i a--

r ! . C I

f P ~ l p m s f ~ a lletrl Gb+k43ut Study.

NO B PPY

.--------l-----------,------b----- -,-* -63-YAQ d.A.&Xd..&Jd- 3?d0;3..;1_ dQ--~lb:mt~__ * AAd 'ON

1

V&ET P-ING QHLI

T m T COMPLETED

8 .

11 t 33 ll: 33 11: 34 11:37 1JL:Bfi 13.:48 31: 55 31:56 12:OS 12 : 06 1.2 : 04 12115 12 : 15 1% : 14 12:29 P2:32 9:59 10t18

9:49 9:55 10:ZT 12 : 00 12 : 03 12r00 12:oo

If T W E 6.3.. minutes

# n & ~ ~ t l k ~ s $ laEl.z3ut@s 4 * a e s 6 m % w s s d d$iprltas 3 dnutas 7 =hutes 6 dnutcs 4 mhutes 6 d.nutes 4 minutes 7 minutes 6 nirrutes 5 a h u t e s 4 d n u t e s 5 minutes 9 minutes I ) rninutcs 4 minutes

. 5 mfi~utes i S . nhutes 8 d-autes 21 minutes 6 o~inutes 5 mfnutes

Valuee are froat Polynesian Hotel Check-Ia Study

. -- 3 ",

w. 1L?

.+ 0

7'

CI

3*- 3

A

e-

'$

t- 9 (2

I- t?

:&

'3.

- '4

fL

! 2

-M

3

*

c

Z

'St L

t ..

'"

ri.

0

a

5 -- aecarding t o guect party transportation.

6 -- 150 1 -- t h e between departures from the Park.

Empties the park uniformly over a five- hour period. *

8 -- transportation mode loads every 10 minutes for a 10-minute ride t o the hotel,

9 -- no delay used'.

10 -- no delay used.

2 -- transportation mde loads every 10 a%nstes far a 10-Enfnute r%de to the Park*

4 -- according t o guest party t ~ ~ q x t r t a t i o n ~

5 - time between departures f son &he Emptf es the park mif ~xmly OWBE a - f ive-hour .perlad.

Values of sirnilation model delays not described by functions.

wm 11.11

*lay 2 -- Delay 3 -- m21 -*

kl8~ 4 - a-

~ ~ 2 3 -- m4 -a

IOl.25 .I.I' #

Delay 5 --

Delay 6 -- Delay 7 - Delay 9 --

based on data taken bp . rgmfoa.Xs to the Polpesion hotel wer a &.%&a

operat%onal data taW fa^

educated guess by I

* .

based on data EaWa fros preo;rcnt an% raq b t c l operatiane, opPl%ek Pnrre felt $0 be very bl~,atXa~ tm

braad on data taken by WDW of service time at the Folymmion hoeel check in desk, whose present function is r b A l ~ r t o that proposed for the Welcome Center desk.

based on operational data.

educated guees.

educated guess.

supplied by UMJ management.

educated guess.

supplied by WWJ management.

the same as transportation time for hotel guests: FW23 for Welcme Center t o Contaap.a-raty. a d FB25 for Welcme Center to.Palynesfan.

dducated guedlo ubse value.docs not eriUcal ly affect the node1 simulatton,

Thlr '-manner o f emptying the park i s an educated gurrss basad on coprmunicart;ionrr with WDW management.

Xavement 'of the guest part ies is tntermittent as though accomplished by minibuses or manorail, whose tiore between arrivaLs' for loading is alka arbitrary.

Delays 9 d 10 - nu delay used.

WmH LL cdwated guess baaed oa the service tW f u n c t f a of the check in de~k. ..

based csa i;nfosltaaebn frsra management, different for e&& hotel.

PWW 111111) baed an iatcmrmtian from l d ~ ~ nanageaent , smm for both;.

Sources ef data for functions and xxm-functional &&lays for the GPSS arrivals model;

PISTAC/P

T W C / P

cS.RSC/P

Delay 1

Delay 2

Delay 3

Delay 4

Wcp

belay 5

&lay 6

B r n N

RUA

.wtm Deby 7

litlinz

w

based on r study made of % X p ~ t s operations by WlXd.

based on idornrafion isupg1U4 bp kmW 9

saaae for both hafez*.

4Bqmz C@

m '1.8 for bofh hcttls. ep-1 to arrival Delay 10.

4 ~ s ~ equal to arrival Delay 8.

ascbwmd equal t o arrival Delay 6 .

accordilzg t o guest party transportation.

educated guess.

assumed equal t o arrivals Delay 7.

due t o minibus transit time.

aasmed equal to IiD.KFN of arrival model.

asrum@& equaf go l%ZR'of asrival m.&$tl,

educlated g~eao booed on Welcome Center layoat,

a @ ~ ~ t ~ d equal to arrivals Delay 2.

assumed equal t o arrivals Delay 3*

assumed equal t o B W H of arrival madel.

Soorcea o f data for functions and non-functional delays for the GPSS departures model.

S m T L O N NUDZL OUTPUT

MaxiBtrsl queue length and gt%ixSnum fac i l i ty utilization by b u r of the day for ' the a run. Weuesr and facilities ate grauprrO as in Table I, the ssxhua

.+aha throughout &he day is indicated f o e : %?+/

Maxhm queue length a d m a ~ n a facility utilization by b u r of the day for Ghe ---- run a t 125% of nornrsrl wlume. Queues and facilities are grouped as i~ Tabla 1, the maximum value thr %$v@95. . -.--: l L.72-, ~~~ .)--a j=@ ,

,&adicatad for each group. - - .-. --. -+ ', '..'-.- - . : . c

B&ixbm quew length and maximum fac i l i ty ut i l izat ion by bour of the day for .the --- run with no departurr .

wa sf r h lPhame Park. Queues and faci l i t ies ' &2---- ore grouped p. fn Table 1, the lsaximum value tbrougheut tha day i s indicated for each group,

I

1Sor~lal. R m , @apartures Model

- . T>Pa+k,. Departures. ,Mi&?$. . ; - --C

. . -- -- .---.---. ---_)--.- --- _---I -

Transportation mode and orientation auditorium maximum uti l ization (number of parties) by hour of the day showfng values per minibus, route, auditorium, and for both auditoriws together. (Numbers 1,2,6,7,8,10, 1% are GPSS program designations for tninibu?$$+ auditorirnae.) Minibus capacity 8 part%e&+":.. auditorium capacity = 11 parties.

WJonge, James. "Computer Sirnulatian Aids System DBve A u t - t i ~ t t ~ Vole 19, Dee*-, 1912, ~ ~ 5 2 ~ 5 ,

General Purpose Sipzu$agioa ~p~tLeJ36Q. &tr~- u+x '~ &aawl. White P&aAni, N.Y.: TBchnical EWbP%ca~Soss Pepartrsent,

General Purpose ~%mt,thtion Sye-t;m/ 360, User ' s, Manual. White P l a l r u ~ , H.Y.: IBH Tachnical Publications Department, 1971.

Gordon, Geoffrey. Syrtem Simulation. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Ball, Iac., 1969.

Haisel, Herbert, and Gnugnoli, Giulisno. Simulation of Discrete Stochastic Systems. Palo Alto, ~ayif. : ~cieze Research Associates, Inc., 1972.

Miller, Irwin, and Preund, J . E. ,a for &.g.fneef: s . Englewrocd C l i f f s * N ,J , : ~eai~~--.Bkt%1, Inc ,I9 65.