The First Barcoded Ticket... (Part 4) With Timed Access

When it opened in August 1990, The World of Coca-Cola at Underground Atlanta was immediately recognized as a premier attraction in the hometown of The Coca-Cola Company. The museum had numerous attractions and remarkable memorability. It was the first to use barcoded tickets with timed-ticket access control from Lasergate Systems, Inc.

My father, Donald G. Turner, the founder of Lasergate Systems, originally developed the idea of timed-ticket access control for barcoded tickets and introduced the first system at The World of Coca-Cola. The three-story building at Underground Atlanta used barcoded tickets to schedule admission times to control the quantity of patrons moving through the museum. The entry points were controlled with Lasergate's stainless-steel barcode scanning turnstiles and gates.

At the box office, patrons purchased barcoded tickets with a scheduled time for admission. The ticketing system from Lasergate controlled the number of tickets available per hour.

The barcode scanning turnstiles confirmed the tickets were used within the scheduled time. One entry point supervisor was able to monitor the admission process while patrons scanned their own tickets at the self-service scanners.

The system ensured that the museum avoided overcrowding and bottle-necks at popular attractions by controlling the admissions based upon the time schedule.

Once inside, patrons enjoyed attractions such as the "Bottling Fantasy" kinetic sculpture saluting the bottlers of Coca-Cola around the world and the "Spectacular Soda Fountain" that provided the opportunity to sample over 23 of company's beverage flavors.

To maintain an accurate count of patrons in the museum, the system from Lasergate used exit turnstiles at the end of the tour at the entrance to the gift shop (where patrons were welcome to stay as long as they wanted).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mark A. Turner, from Microcom Corp., began my career in the ticketing industry in 1984 at my father’s company, Lasergate Systems, Inc. (the original barcoded ticket company).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please take a look at some of my other posts:

“The First Barcoded Ticket..." (Part 1)

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/first-barcoded-ticket-mark-turner

“The First Barcoded Ticket..." (Part 2)

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/first-barcoded-ticket-part-2-mark-turner

“The First Barcoded Ticket..." (Part 3)

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/first-barcoded-ticket-part-3-debit-point-value-mark-turner/

“Donald G. Turner (In Memoriam)"

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/donald-g-turner-memoriam-mark-turner/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please visit my Facebook page to see my collection of ticketing cartoons:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mark-Turners-Ticketing-Cartoon-Collection/223544974487720

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------