What is On Stage?
In most all theme parks there are two main areas you will hear theme park operators, owners, and designers use, they are: Onstage (or Front of House) and Backstage (or Back of House).
The term ‘onstage’ (also commonly called front of house) refers to any area of a theme park that both theme park visitors or Guests and theme park operators, owners, and designers are permitted.
Some common, but not all, areas that are included in on stage or front of house areas in theme parks are:
- Ticketing Areas
- Guest/Visitor Relations
- Promenades
- Attraction and Show Queues
- Merchandise and Retail areas
- Food & Beverage and Restaurant locations
- Kiosks and seating areas
- Theme Park Guest Transportation stations
Understanding Onstage and Front of House
This terminology stems from theme parks – certainly Disney and Universal theme parks – being essentially movies or movie sets the visitors or Guests walk through. Since modern day theme parks have a direct correlation and heritage from the movie making industry, many of the same terms used in movie making have found their way into theme park lingo.
Depending on the theme park, Guests on stage may often see graphic signs that may say “Cast Members Only”, “Employees Only”, or “Team Members Only”. These themed signs indicate to the Guests they are not permitted to go beyond the limits of that sign either for operational and/or for safety reasons and these areas are deemed ‘Backstage‘ or ‘Back of House’.