Managing the exit surge, not just entry

At 9:52 p.m. Saturday, our south exit backed up past Gate 4 after the encore; we dropped one barrier to open a 10-ft relief lane, shifted four ushers to the choke point, and cleared the concourse in 12 minutes without a medical. I’m sharing this as a quick after-action and asking what messaging cadence others use for staggered dismissal; our 30/60/90-second PA cues work, but we’re testing visual prompts next show.

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What’s worked for us is triggering lighting cues by zone about 90 seconds before the encore ends — portal headers and aisle runners shift to the next color in the exit sequence — because “lights lead legs” and it beats PAs that get tuned out; we only run it after radios confirm the south ramp is clear. Have you tried pairing your 30/60/90 with a color pass so each section moves on its color?

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