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AttractionPros brings you into the room with the top leaders, executives, and influencers in the attractions industry, to gain the widest possible perspective of all areas of the industry. Most people are only exposed to the practices of their own organization without seeing how the rest of the industry operates. By following AttractionPros, you will gain the skills and knowledge needed to succeed and learn from the best of the best, whether you are the CEO or just beginning your career.
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 05, 2021
Tuesday Oct 05, 2021
Kenny Funk has been in the attractions and resort industry since 1996. With 21 years with Walt Disney World and 3 years at Great Wolf Lodge, Kenny has been leading the charge to rethink retail. Kenny is now an independent contractor with the Magic Makers Group, a cohort of ex-Disney executives that combined have over 500 years of experience in all facets of theme park and resort operations.
Brand deposits
“There is no grey area with brand deposits and withdrawals. It’s either one or the other.”
Kenny defines brand deposits as the little employees and organizations do every day that reinforce their brand promise. At an attraction, that could mean being ready for the projected crowd, having enough ride vehicles ready to go, ensuring your systems and processes are up to date, and preparing your team, one by one, to deliver on the brand promise from whatever role they are in that day.
One component of enforcing and encouraging the behaviors that bring the brand promise to life is to catch people doing something good. Telling them specifically what they did and how it creates a brand deposit is the “wing beneath the wings” of an employee and will encourage them to repeat the desired behavior. Kenny shared that there is nothing less impactful than an ambiguous compliment.
There are naturally going to withdrawals that we have to recover from, and the message to the team is, “we’re going to have to overdo deposits” to make up for it.
Retail as gratuity
“Guests will want to commemorate their amazing experience with a tangible reminder.”
Guests view their day at an attraction in aggregate, meaning they don’t necessarily know or care what different departments or teams are providing the experience, they just know if it’s good or bad. If it’s good, guests will be compelled to offer a “gratuity” by purchasing a tangible reminder of their experience.
“By definition, memories are ethereal”, Kenny says. When guests have enjoyed their experience, they don’t want it to end. One way to ensure that it doesn’t end is to take something home that will serve as a continual reminder.
Guests have a choice if they will leave a tip in a restaurant environment, similarly they have a choice if they are going to leave a tip with their “most disposable” part of the attraction experience.
The biggest driver for any business is the intent to return. If an organization creates an environment where guests have such a great time that they are compelled to come back, that organization has to spend less on marketing to get new guests to visit.
One size fits one
“Leadership is a customized exercise, as opposed to a commoditized exercise.”
Young leaders often get bogged down with trying to lead the entire team at once and according to Kenny, you just can’t do that. You have to lead individuals, and individuals comprise the team.
The essence of leadership is taking time to make a difference for that one… that single person or employee. If you don’t think of your employees as individual entities, you are far less likely to be successful as a leader.
In order to lead individuals, it's important to recognize that we have to engage their head, heart and hands. That means that to the individual, we need to understand what drives them intellectually, what their passions are, and what specific skills they bring to the table.
To get in touch with Kenny, reach to him through the Magic Makers Group website: Magic Makers Group
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Audio and video editing by Abigail Giganan
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Social media marketing by Kate Kujawa
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
- Email marketing by Sam Bercik
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday Sep 28, 2021
Tuesday Sep 28, 2021
Scott Drummond is the President of Party Center Software. After Scott purchased a children’s entertainment center in the late 1990’s, he identified a gap in organizing birthday parties for easy scheduling. Identifying a need for his business, his frustration led to the creation of Party Center Software, which helps FEC guests book birthday parties online and helps the business keep tabs on the bookings. In this interview, Scott discusses the importance of building a playbook, employee empowerment, and protecting your employees.
Building a Playbook
"Everybody has a playbook, but most people just put it in their head."
When somebody walks in the door, how do you greet them? What about greeting a party? Do you hold a sign with the guest’s name and greet them verbally? These processes already exist in some fashion, but with employees constantly turning over, having a playbook allows you to formalize these processes so they can be passed from one generation of staff to the next.
Your playbook must address all aspects of your business, including food and beverage, booking a birthday party, diffusing escalation situations, and cleaning your restrooms. The playbook should list out everything you need to do and how you do it, and when something new pops up, the playbook is a living document that gets updated as necessary. The playbook that your business uses is unique to you; even your direct competitors are using a different playbook than yours.
When comparing a playbook to a standard operating procedure (SOP), the playbook is a document that emphasizes “this is how you do it” vs. “this is what you do.” They are generally specific to completing a specific task or resolving a specific problem, which makes it easier for anyone to understand, especially for frontline staff members. SOP’s are also usually more set in stone, whereas a playbook should be updated as new issues or challenges arise. Your employees should have influence in the playbook’s continual evolution, especially as external trends and factors also evolve.
Employee Empowerment
"You have to be able to give them a little bit of rope, and let them fail."
When your employees are challenged to be a part of the solution, their empowerment leads not only to higher levels of satisfaction, but also enhances the success of the business. When you invest in educational experiences, even if they result in failure, they are likely to lead to higher levels of success with new ideas down the road. Fostering a culture of empowerment may lead to many ideas that ultimately don’t work, yet the ideas that do work provide benefits that may not have otherwise been generated, and the magnitude of the successes outweigh the magnitude of the failures.
Empowerment is more than simply saying that your employees are empowered. Many businesses claim that they empower their employees, but they don’t walk the walk. Leaders should let employees make the decisions that they feel will be the best solution for the circumstance. Scott reinforces this point by sharing an instance when he suggested a solution to a staff member for recovering from a service failure, whereas the employee suggested a different solution. When Scott gave the employee the opportunity to take the credit for the recovery, the employee’s solution ultimately led to a high level of satisfaction. In other instances where the employee’s actions might misalign with the leader’s, it is better to have the conversation after the fact to determine the best action in the future, rather than stopping the employee from making the decision in the first place.
Protecting Your Employees
“I don’t take kindly to people yelling at my staff.”
It doesn’t happen often, but when a guest is being unruly, or parents are not stopping their children from being disruptive (or biting), sometimes the best solution is to ask a guest to never come back. There is always a threshold of abuse that employees will take from guests; however, in the event of repeat offenders or abusive guests, Scott stresses the importance of not allowing guests to be abusive to his employees. Despite the revenue lost from the guest, the employee is far more expensive to replace than the guest - even up to 50 times. The lifetime value of your employees far exceeds the lifetime value of your guests.
Even in some of the worst of circumstances, a brief intervention from the leader to help calm a guest down may diffuse the situation, and then the control and empowerment can be turned back to the employee. The employee must know that they are protected and have authority, especially when the leader is standing with them side-by-side.
To learn more about Party Center Software, including PCS Academy, visit the Party Center Software website.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Audio and video editing by Abigail Giganan
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Social media marketing by Kate Kujawa
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
- Email marketing by Sam Bercik
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday Sep 21, 2021
Tuesday Sep 21, 2021
On August 30th, 2021, AttractionPros hosted an interactive podcast with a live audience at the 2021 Florida Attractions Association Annual Conference. While the topics discussed revolved around the lessons learned during the pandemic, the overall tone of the session was incredibly positive, focusing on the silver linings of these incredibly difficult past 18 months. Questions to the audience asked for stories of those silver linings, examples of changes made during the pandemic that are likely to stick around, and also ways in which people grew personally during these challenging times.
Jared Reid of Wild Florida Airboats said that COVID was “the best thing that has ever happened” to the business. When the lockdowns came, Wild Florida was just launching its new safari drive-through attraction. Because of the nature of their attraction, it was able to stay open while other attractions had to remain closed. By focusing more on the local market and less on tourists, attendance soared from 200 visitors per day to over 4000.
Mary Stella of Dolphin Research Center discussed their pivot to connecting with supporters daily over social media platforms. This led to increased engagement and donations from the people they interacted with digitally. They also increased their distance learning curriculum.
Kara Laufer of Naples Botanical Garden emphasized the goal of “being a force for good.” They worked to grow their online presence while finding ways to give back to their community. One way they gave back was by offering free admission to healthcare and frontline workers and their families. They’ve also partnered with food banks to help distribute donations to those in need. During all this, their memberships grew.
Rob Lamke of the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) emphasized that change is not inherently bad. He discussed how sometimes there is a tendency to keep doing things the same way that they have always been done. The pandemic forced MOSI to implement some of the types of things they’d already discussed but never committed to, such as a huge focus on digital content. This led to increased engagement with their partner schools, record attendance to the museum and their summer camps, and a greater focus on engaging with adults.
John Chidester with Fun Spot America looked ahead, keeping everyone on during the challenging times but asking them to try new roles, like landscaping, to help prepare for the eventual reopening. While others were having to lay folks off, Fun Spot was hiring. When the time came to reopen, Fun Spot focused on locals who hadn’t gotten a chance to enjoy all of the parks’ latest additions. Additionally, while others were cancelling their new ride and coaster orders, Fun Spot was able to move up in the line and get new attractions in a more timely, affordable manner, helping them be ready for the recent surges in travel.
Sara Turner with IMAG History & Science Center said that the downtime gave them a chance to reevaluate their mission. They switched up their programming to become more virtual. They also worked with a local news station to create weekly science segments, giving back to their community while also spreading the word about what they do. They also gave back to their community with food drives.
Christina Schwartzman of Sawgrass Recreation Park said that the pandemic gave them a chance to slow down and decide how they wanted their business to look in the future. Instead of continuing to focus on getting as many guests as possible through the doors each day, they decided to switch their focus to VIP, low-volume experiences. This meant there were fewer people coming to their attraction, but they were making more money. Their new focus enhanced the guest experience by allowing visitors to have a quiet, nature-focused visit. Additionally, the supply chain challenges allowed Sawgrass to partner with more small vendors who provided handmade items for their gift shop. Christina also expressed the joy of getting to spend more time with her frontline workers.
Julie Baross of Gatorland also discussed the benefits of switching to digital content to grow their engagement with kids and their families. They also created a character, named Social Distancing Skunk Ape, to remind people to stay six feet apart. Their efforts to reach out and provide free digital entertainment in 2020 have led to record-breaking attendance in 2021.
Dean Mixon of Mixon Fruit Farms discussed the need to reinvent themselves during the pandemic. The downtime gave Dean time to finish filing a patent. Additionally, there was a greater emphasis on weddings on their beautiful farmland. Dean also expressed his gratitude for local visitors coming out to support the farm, and he also talked about how thankful he was for the employees that stayed with them through the most challenging times.
Janet Mixon, also of Mixon Fruit Farms, discussed another aspect of their pivot. A Canadian company reached out to them and asked for assistance making Broghies. This was a new line of business for them, and the popping nature of the machine that makes the Broghies has been a hit with young visitors.
Lisa Sbuttoni with Fort Myers River District Alliance talked about the campaign she created called “Look Up, Fort Myers.” Lisa hired aerobatic pilots to put on an amazing show that could be seen all over Fort Myers for the 4th of July. Along with this, Lisa worked with local news channels to feature 26 local businesses and encourage people to buy from local small businesses. Because of the community coming together during this challenging time, none of the businesses in the downtown district went out of business during the pandemic.
Scott Rose with ZooTampa at Lowry Park discussed how they had to implement changes to their yearly, large-scale Halloween and Christmas events. In the past, these events have been free for zoo members, so 75% of attendees were members. Because controlling attendance would be important for this event and to combat no-shows, a $5 non-refundable reservation fee was required for all attendees, even members. This fee was given back to people that came in the form of Zoo Bucks that could be used on food and merchandise during the event. This caused more people to choose to dine during the event instead of before arriving. Despite having to limit attendance, the huge in-park spending increase actually made the events more profitable while also giving those that attended a better guest experience.
Barry Bass with A Means to a Vend noticed the trend of drive-by parties and gatherings happening during the pandemic. He launched a new product, later named PromoPop, in response. He put popcorn in customizable containers that could be given out as party favors during these drive-by celebrations.
Aimie Johnson of the Florida Aquarium talked about how she amped up her collaboration skills during the pandemic. When working with other aquariums who were also creating plans to safely reopen, Aimie freely shared her learnings with others while also asking questions about how the other aquariums were managing guest flow, holding events safely, and keeping employee morale up. She also discussed the value of asking experienced pros to share their thoughts while also gathering the thoughts of newer employees.
Kelly Sheer with Moonlight Promos shared how tragedy helped her make a difficult but positive change in her life. Her doctor of 20 years sadly passed away due to COVID-19. This tragedy caused her to reflect and think about what she wanted her life to look like moving forward. This introspective caused her to end relationships that weren’t providing joy to her life and making a big move to a new part of the country to start anew.
Robin Rosario with Pure Florida talked about how she’d always tried to shoulder everything herself, both at home and at work. However, when she was hospitalized due to COVID-19, she realized that her family and her coworkers were capable of taking care of things when she needed to rest. She realized how blessed she was to be surrounded by folks that supported her, and she was humbled to learn that she no longer had to feel responsible for handling everything on her own.
While Matt and Josh were asked to host the session together, Josh was unable to attend due to an unexpected breakthrough COVID-19 infection. If you are on the fence about getting vaccinated against COVID-19, please note that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stresses that “high vaccination coverage will reduce spread of the virus and help prevent new variants from emerging.”
To learn more about the Florida Attractions Association, click here. For previous AttractionPros LIVE! episodes hosted at various conferences throughout the United States, click here.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Audio and video editing by Abigail Giganan
- Complete episode summary by Paige Reiter
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Social media marketing by Kate Kujawa
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
- Email marketing by Sam Bercik
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday Sep 14, 2021
Tuesday Sep 14, 2021
Tim Anderson is the President of Traders Village Marketplaces, a collection of three massive, weekend flea markets in Texas. The first Traders Village flea market was founded in 1973 in Grand Prairie, Texas, near Dallas. Since then, they have expanded to two other locations in Houston and San Antonio. Traders Village flea markets aren’t your typical flea markets. On average, they span 210 acres, and on a typical weekend, 6000 different dealers might be selling their goods at the three different locations. In addition, Traders Village has yummy food stalls and permanent thrill rides at each property. They also host dozens of festivals each year, ranging from food fests to car meets.
Tim has years of experience within the attractions industry. He got his first job as a game operator at the now-closed Six Flags AstroWorld in Houston, Texas. He continued to work there throughout high school and college. Upon graduating college with an economics degree, he originally planned on going to law school; however, he found himself being pulled back to Six Flags. After working in management at Six Flags Great America for about five years, Tim had the opportunity to develop and open the Kellogg’s Cereal City USA attraction in Battle Creek, Michigan. He loved getting to be a part of the design and opening team and stayed on as its general manager for a few years. After that, Tim became the general manager of Landry’s Kemah Boardwalk off Galveston Bay. It was after that role that Tim found his way to leading Traders Village Marketplaces where he has been for the past 12 years.
Traders Village sees over 6 million visitors a year, and that’s just on Saturdays and Sundays when the sun is still up. When they first opened, they described themselves as the Disneyland of Flea Markets. They are known for being big, clean, exciting, and full of great finds. A survey in 2019 found that 52% of Americans had visited a flea market that year. This means that Trader Village has a very wide customer base, but their key demographic consists of lower income individuals and families as well as other value-oriented individuals. The visitors to Traders Village have thousands of different stalls to browse through, and Tim says that you can “buy anything from a ballpoint pen to a bulldozer.”
The other huge demographic of Traders Village is its self-motivated, entrepreneurial dealers, or the people that rent space to sell their goods. Tim says that some of the dealers have been in constant attendance for over 45 years. He spoke fondly of how he enjoys being an incubator for small businesses. He even shared that some businesses start at the flea market before expanding to be incredibly successful chains, such as an electronics store and a furniture outlet. However, he did say that not all of the thousands of new businesses started each year make it, but he still enjoys watching many go on to be successful.
Tim also discussed his leadership style. His preference is to surround himself with the best possible team and empower those team members to be autonomous and successful. He puts a lot of faith in his employees, but that has always worked well for him. He enjoys giving his managers the freedom to run their aspect of the business in their own way. In addition, he is very welcoming of new ideas and said that he is willing to try almost anything at least once. Tim admitted that new ideas can be scary but still enjoys exploring them. However, he also helps guide people to evaluate their own suggestions by helping them think through how it would be operationalized. By doing this, he enables his team to filter out some of the ideas least likely to succeed before they actually are tried, which often works better than him pointing out the flaws from the start. Furthermore, he likes it when his team makes decisions because Tim believes that even a wrong decision is sometimes more likely to move things along than choosing not to make a decision at all. Tim emphasized the importance of being able to adapt and stay ahead of challenges. Lastly, Tim always tries to exceed the expectations of his customers and his dealers.
The Grand Prairie location is currently installing a roller coaster to its rides area. Tim discussed that adding bigger and better rides helps to bring a new, wider demographic to the flea markets. Additionally, the rides area can be marketed separately from the flea market and even open when the shops are closed, giving Traders Village another income stream besides renting spaces for dealers to sell. Tim talked about his experience of installing the Boardwalk Bullet roller coaster at Kemah Boardwalk. He said that adding a coaster really changes the perception of a place and takes it to a whole new level. At Kemah, adding the coaster tripled sales and brought it far more visitors compared to before the coaster was open. Tim hopes to see similar positive impacts when the former Scandia Screamer opens at Traders Village.
If you’d like to learn more about Traders Village Marketplaces, you can check out their website. If you’d like to get in touch with Tim, you can contact him through LinkedIn.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Audio and video editing by Abigail Giganan
- Complete episode summary by Paige Reiter
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Social media marketing by Kate Kujawa
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
- Email marketing by Sam Bercik
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday Sep 07, 2021
Tuesday Sep 07, 2021
Bridgette Bywater is the Vice President and General Manager of Kings Dominion. Bridgette was inspired to join the attractions industry from hearing the fond memories her parents had working at Worlds of Fun when they were younger. Despite being an introvert, Bridgette decided to try being a ride attendant, like her parents, and she found that working with people was very motivating for her. She chose to stay with Cedar Fair in various leadership roles, where she was able to work with many different people and help them be successful in their various endeavors.
Bridgette grew up hearing stories about how her parents met at Worlds of Fun during its first year of operation. Her father ran the Zambezi Zinger while her mother ran the Silly Serpent nearby. In addition to those stories, Bridgette has her own fond memories of her early visits to theme parks, including riding Bounce-A-Roos over and over until Worlds of Fun closed for the day. Though she initially started as a chemistry major while in college, her continued time working in theme parks during the summers helped Bridgette realize that theme parks was where she wanted to stay. Over the years, Bridgette has held many jobs at Cedar Fair parks and its corporate headquarters. She started running rides like her parents, then spent time in a variety of divisions: admissions, human resources, safety, security, and operations (1park and water park). Now, she is the VP and GM of Kings Dominion.
Bridgette describes herself as an introvert, and that contributes to her leadership style. Bridgette believes there are two main leadership styles: those who lead from the front of the room and those who lead from the back of the room. While she is definitely capable of getting in front of a room when she needs to, Bridgette says that she tends to lead from the back of the room by supporting her teammates, removing obstacles for them, and helping her employees be the best they can be. Bridgette says that the best leadership teams are made up of a combination of introverts and extraverts and that neither is inherently better than the other.
Bridgette emphasized that a leader’s job is to focus on their team and elevate them. Leaders provide their teams with the knowledge, tools, and information they need to succeed while working to eliminate any obstacles that stand in the way of them performing at their best. By doing this, the team will return the favor and elevate the leader. Another important aspect is empowering members of the team to take action and make their own decisions. For example, frontline employees need to feel empowered to take action to solve guest problems quickly and sincerely without having to get approval from their managers. Even if an action was taken that might not have been the manager’s first choice, it is still important for that manager to support that their employee took the action they thought was necessary and guide the employee toward the best decision next time. Bridgette also emphasized the value of delegating tasks in order to eliminate single points of failure. By making sure multiple people are aware of a task that needs to get done, it is more likely it will get done if one person is unavailable. Bridgette talked about how it is important for your team to be able to function even if you are not there. That means they have been set up for success and simply need to execute in the best ways they can.
When she first arrived at Kings Dominion to assume her current role, Bridgette brought years of varied experiences with her, making her an incredibly well-rounded Cedar Fair leader. She admits that she wouldn’t call herself the expert in any single discipline but instead knows how to assemble teams of experts and enable their success. In the early days of her new role, Bridgette asked lots of questions and learned as much as she possibly could from those around her. In addition to learning, the fact that she asked questions helped to challenge others to evaluate why they did things a particular way instead of just taking what had always been done as the only possible option. Bridgette’s experience across so many different parks helped her see the overarching goals of Cedar Fair parks, such as making every guest happy, while also respecting each park’s rich history and individuality. Additionally, spending time in the corporate offices offered yet another look at the parks. Bridgette said that one of the best parts about taking new jobs is that they often give you a different perspective, which can lead to greater overall understanding.
Bridgette discussed some of the changes that have taken place because of the pandemic and offered her thoughts on which ones are likely to stick around. She discussed that almost every change, especially those that are likely to stay, were discussed prior to the pandemic’s onset and were simply accelerated because of it. Many of the changes were implemented to eliminate unnecessary touch points for both guests and employees. This led to changes including cashless transactions, more virtual communication with guests, online training, virtual queues, and digital checklists for maintenance teams. Many of these digital changes led to increased efficiency and are likely to continue far into the future, but embracing technology isn’t meant to completely eliminate face-to-face interactions. In-person interactions are still cherished, especially at places like theme parks where so many memories are made for friends and families.
If you’d like to learn more about Kings Dominion or get in touch with Bridgette, visit Kings Dominion’s website.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Audio and video editing by Abigail Giganan
- Complete episode summary by Paige Reiter
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Social media marketing by Kate Kujawa
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
- Email marketing by Sam Bercik
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday Aug 31, 2021
Tuesday Aug 31, 2021
John Wood is the CEO of Sally Dark Rides. He started the company with two other Johns in 1977, when they showed off their animatronics to the themed entertainment world at the 1978 IAAPA Expo in Atlanta. While they had struggled to convince retail stores and museums of the value of their animatronics, theme parks and other themed attractions understood their purpose immediately.
Sally Dark Rides has evolved significantly since its founding in 1977. The company’s name, Sally, comes from the first animated character that one of the Johns created while in dental school. Their major early successes were in musical animatronic shows, where robotic characters would sing and play instruments for guests. One important aspect of Sally’s animatronics was that they were less expensive than those made by and for Disney and Universal. This fact made them much more accessible for regional amusement parks. John spent a lot of time talking to various theme park general managers, and onene manager at Kings Island told John that guests kept saying in surveys that they wanted a haunted house, although the park wasn’t sure how to make a reliable, affordable, exciting haunted house so they kept putting in new roller coasters instead. However, John wanted to tackle this problem instead of shying away from it. This led to the expansion of Sally into the exciting world of dark rides.
John discussed the creative process of designing a new dark ride for a park. First, the park would convey the constraints of the project: budget, location, capacity, and whether a particular intellectual property (IP) would be used. The team at Sally will take all of this information and quickly return to the park to pitch 3 to 7 creative story briefs, some no more than a paragraph long. Then the park will pick their favorite pitch or two to develop further. This next step involves creating a script for the ride, a layout for the attraction, and a list of all the different elements and gags that will be incorporated into the ride. Within about 3 months, the timing and budget for the project are honed, and then the ride is created over the next year.
One of John’s primary focuses with rides that Sally creates is to ensure that they have elements that encourage guests to ride again and again. His main way for achieving this is incorporating interactivity, typically in the form of a shooting element. By making the ride a competition which can have different outcomes each time, guests are encouraged to ride again to build their skills. In addition, John likes to incorporate surprises and fun gags that catch riders off-guard, delighting them and making the experience exciting. He also likes to incorporate a variety of different element types. For example, John likes to mix physical animatronics with digitally-projected characters so that everything doesn’t look the same throughout the attraction. John admitted that if he rides an attraction and something excites him, he tries to learn from it and incorporate something similar on the next ride he creates.
One way that dark rides are evolving is that they are becoming more technologically sophisticated. Many of the latest attractions have been inspired by the video game industry, utilizing gaming engines like Unreal to incorporate real-time, interactive animations into the ride. Media is being used more and more throughout parks and their rides. Additionally, some rides are incorporating radio-frequency identification (RFID) to add an element of personalization for guests and allowing them to take their scores with them throughout the day. That being said, John emphasized that you don’t always need to use the latest and greatest technology to create an effective, fun attraction. One of the biggest inspirations for the Sally team when it comes to dark rides is Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. It’s full of simple but effective imagery that takes guests on, well, a wild ride.
John emphasized that no matter what the criteria for the ride was, it needed to be fun first. One important element of that is the preshow. Because the ride itself often isn’t long enough to go into details about the story, the preshow is used to set up the point of the ride and the guests’ role within it. This helps ensure everyone will have a great time once the ride starts. Another important part of a ride being fun is that it needs to work and be reliable. Nothing takes you out of an attraction like a malfunctioning or broken element. John talked about how reliability criteria is incorporated from the very first moments of designing a new attraction. Sally rides and elements aim to have a lifespan of at least 10 years. They achieve these results by utilizing industrial-rated valves and focusing on pneumatics, which are cheaper and easier to maintain than their alternatives. Sally aims to make maintenance as easy and simple as possible for the parks they create rides for. Many Sally rides are going strong after over 20 years of operation.
Lastly, John talked about why dark rides are so important for a park. They act as an opportunity to offer a completely unique experience for a park. That unique experience can be the backbone of family memories that will keep guests coming back again and again to see something they cannot see anywhere else. John’s parting words were to encourage listeners to keep riding and loving dark rides.
You can connect with John on Facebook or on LinkedIn. You can also learn more about Sally Dark Rides on their website.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Audio and video editing by Abigail Giganan
- Complete episode summary by Paige Reiter
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Social media marketing by Kate Kujawa
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
- Email marketing by Sam Bercik
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday Aug 24, 2021
Tuesday Aug 24, 2021
Paul Griffiths is the Director of Painshill Park, an 18th century landscaped garden just south of London. Paul also has an honorary doctorate in Heritage, Conservation, and Tourism from Solent University. Painshill Park is a protected cultural heritage site within the United Kingdom that features beautiful walking paths, scenic natural landscapes, and a variety of follies. (A folly is a small building with no specific purpose found within a park or estate that provides visual interest.) Painshill allows its guests to explore and reconnect with nature while also allowing guests to focus on their physical and mental wellbeing.
Paul has worked the past 25 years or so in the tourism industry. When he first went to college, he planned to major in the business aspects of the sports industry. However, during the summer after his first year, Paul worked for a month at Hever Castle, the childhood home of Queen Anne Boleyn. There, he learned the value of working at a beautiful historical site and fell in love with that aspect of the tourism industry. Upon returning to college, Paul went on to earn a degree in heritage management. Right after graduating, he began working in the English Heritage office and began working his way up, eventually becoming the area manager for 12 London Historic Properties. His time with English Heritage also allowed Paul the opportunity to open a new museum and create business strategies for it. These learnings would come in handy when Paul decided to try something new and start working at the Painshill Park in 2018.
Painshill Park was established in the 18th century by Charles Hamilton. At the time, many people would take months-long tours around Europe, learning about different places and their cultures. Most people brought home many items from their journey, but Hamilton brought home his memories and inspiration. He was particularly inspired by architecture and nature. This was why he created the landscaped gardens of Painshill Park. The various follies around the grounds were inspired by some of his favorite architectural finds: a ruin, a Turkish tent, various bridges, and even a grotto with a waterfall. The park changed hands numerous times throughout the years, and during World War II, the park fell into disrepair. It wasn’t until a charitable trust was established for the park in the 1980s that restoration began to bring the park back to its former glory.
When Paul began working at Painshill three years ago, it wasn’t very well-known, even with locals. That made spreading the word about the park a top priority. One issue was that Painshill didn’t have a strong tagline to describe what it truly was. Paul worked with a consultant to create their new slogan: “Where the walk is a work of art.” In addition, Paul has worked at bringing in more guests by offering a variety of limited-time events. They’ve had music, theater, and comedy events in the park after normal admission hours. Paul has also invited local businesses to create installations of zoo animals and fantasy creatures that guests can find throughout the gardens. Additionally, Paul and his team focus on providing exceptional guest service so that visitors will take stories home with them and share their experiences with others. Word-of-mouth advertising is very powerful. All of these efforts have led to an annual increase in guests from 75,000 to 200,000 in the span of several years.
Paul shared some of the many benefits of visiting a location like Painshill Park. One is the ability to disconnect from our busy, electronics-filled lives and just enjoy nature. Along those same lines is the escapism that visiting Painshill provides, especially during the challenging times of the pandemic. As an outdoor, spread-out attraction, Painshill has been open for the majority of the pandemic, providing a place for locals to escape from their daily stress. In addition, Painshill is a wonderful place to focus on personal well-being, both physical and mental. Its circular walking trail is visited by some guests daily. The park has also become a hub for educational experiences. Students will come visit the park and spend time learning about and interacting with nature.
Painshill Park is an attraction, though it is different from most of the types of attractions that are regularly discussed on the AttractionPros podcast. That being said, Paul said that he loves to learn from other segments of the attractions industry and apply what makes sense to Painshill. One common thread for all types of attractions is the desire to provide excellent guest service and a memorable, enjoyable experience.
If you’d like to learn more about Painshill Park, you can check out their website. If you’d like to get in touch with Paul, you can find him on Twitter or LinkedIn.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Audio and video editing by Abigail Giganan
- Complete episode summary by Paige Reiter
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Social media marketing by Kate Kujawa
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
- Email marketing by Sam Bercik
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
In this unique episode, Josh and Matt brainstorm solutions to one of the biggest challenges facing the theme parks and attractions industry today. Taking an innovative approach through a free-flowing conversation, the topic of queueing and creating a more comfortable experience was dissected. How can waiting in line be a better experience for guests visiting theme parks and attractions? How can parks position premium experiences without devaluing the experience for guests purchasing general admission? How premium of an experience can a park provide that optimizes per capita spending and guest satisfaction? This certainly is not a new conversation, but with the ample amount of both paid and free options for guests to minimize queuing, Josh and Matt’s conversation leads to thought-provoking solutions that intend to spark additional conversations and brainstorming of the AttractionPros audience.
The conversation was influenced by Josh’s recent visit to Cedar Point in late July 2021. On this visit, Josh and his friend decided to partake in two paid add-ons for the day: Fast Lane and VIP Lounge Access. Josh spoke about how these add-ons enhanced his guest experience by allowing him to spend time doing the fun things at theme parks, like enjoying rides and exploring, and spending less time doing the things we don’t like at parks, like standing in lines. Josh also enjoyed the Cedar Point 150th celebration parade from the VIP grandstands. He admits that without the dedicated seating, he may have missed the entertainment offering altogether. Additionally, Josh admits that having the Fast Lane access, which allowed him to ride his favorite coasters more efficiently, gave him time to experience other rides that he may not have prioritized otherwise, such as Cedar Point’s newest attraction, Snake River Expedition.
The other great advantage to spending less time running from long line to long line is that Josh was able to slow down throughout the day and enjoy relaxing in the VIP lounges. He noticed that he wasn’t the only person doing this. It was interesting to see a calm, relaxing haven within an amusement park, where the experience typically involves a lot of rushing around. It got Josh thinking about how to create a lower-stress experience that still allowed park guests to enjoy all the excitement of a theme park.
Josh proposed the following idea: What if Fast Lane and VIP Lounge Access were combined into a single, concierge-like, luxury experience? They go well together because Fast Lane allows for less time spent in line, allowing for more chill time in the lounge areas. Matt and Josh brainstormed that perhaps a concierge or “butler” could be assigned to a single family or a few families for the day. In addition to providing the sorts of things you see on a VIP Tour at some parks such as front-of-the-line access, they could also go get your favorite foods from across the park, take photos and videos to document your family’s experience, and even plan special surprises throughout the day. These surprise moments could range from personal character meet-and-greets to toasts for special occasions to meeting an engineer responsible for someone’s favorite ride. This sort of thing could be done at other themed entertainment venues, including zoos, aquariums, and museums. These sorts of offerings aren’t cheap, but if a guest sees the value of the offering, they could be willing to pay that premium price.
One topic that usually comes up during these conversations is whether these premium offerings come at the expense of guests that just pay for general admission. When there is a standby line and a shorter, paid-for line, it is important that where, when, and how they merge doesn’t make people feel angry or awkward. In some ways, operators want the paid-for line to be invisible to their standby guests so that their experience doesn’t feel diminished. At the same time, there is value in showing the paid-for option so that more guests might see its potential value and choose it next time. It’s important for guests to be educated on their options so they can make an informed choice about which option is right for them. This can help them feel less resentment if they see people in the paid-for line getting on the attraction faster because they understood the option and determined that it wasn’t the right choice for them that day. However, they might decide it does have sufficient value the next time they come if they witness the benefits.
Another topic that was discussed is the win-win benefit of these luxury, curated experiences. Naturally, if the value is there for the customer and they end up having a much better day at a price they determine to be fair, then the guest wins. If that luxury experience is filled with wow moments that the guest shares with their friends, then a park now has a group of happy guests that are now acting as free marketing for the venue. They might help inspire their friends to come check out the park when they otherwise might not have.
The last topic focused on how to make the standby queue a premium experience. Josh wondered what would happen if you flipped the entire queue experience so that the normal, free option involved using virtual queues and timed reservations whereas you would pay to jump into the standby line in order to “ride right now.” He even said that getting rid of all of those pesky line switchbacks would leave plenty of room for more VIP lounges to relax in. Matt admitted that one challenge he has during these brainstorming sessions is wanting to jump to answering logistical questions, like “how does it work” or “what are the implications,” but he knows that this phase of innovation is too early for that.
Matt took the goal of making standby queues feel like a premium offering in a different direction, reminding Josh of the value of queues. More guests in lines leads to fewer people in the park’s walkways. Matt talked about how he loves interactive elements and entertainment offerings within queues. Those sorts of fun distractions in lines help to make the wait go by faster. Both Josh and Matt agreed that waiting in line is typically the worst part of visiting an amusement park, and they both enjoyed brainstorming different ways to improve this guests’ dissatisfier.
While there are certainly several operational and marketing logistics to consider, this conversation was intended to pitch an idea, and estimate how feasible it may be. If you like this format, let us know! Better yet, share another issue that you may be facing within your organization for discussion in a future podcast episode.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Audio and video editing by Abigail Giganan
- Complete episode summary by Paige Reiter
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Social media marketing by Kate Kujawa
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
- Email marketing by Sam Bercik
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday Aug 10, 2021
Tuesday Aug 10, 2021
Vince Kadlubek is the Founder and Director of Meow Wolf. Meow Wolf has expanded from its original location in Santa Fe to two new locations in the past year: Las Vegas and Denver. Meow Wolf is an immersive, multimedia, story-driven experience rooted in artistic expression.
In 2008, before Meow Wolf was conceived, Vince was living with his parents and working as a food delivery driver. He was also part of Santa Fe’s local art community. He and his fellow artists longed to have a place where they were free to express themselves. So instead of waiting to be invited to a gallery or show, Vince and some of his friends set up temporary workspaces and exhibitions in warehouses around the city. From 2008 to 2015, Meow Wolf acted as a side project for many of Santa Fe’s artists, including Vince, where they could make and display their creations. In 2015 Vince decided it was time to get serious, make a business plan, and convert the original Meow Wolf idea into a permanent, admissions-based attraction. He pitched the idea to George R. R. Martin, and Martin’s support led to the opening of the House of Eternal Return, Meow Wolf’s first permanent attraction. At the same time, Vince became Meow Wolf’s CEO. Upon deciding to expand to new locations in Denver and Las Vegas, Vince chose to hire more team members who could collaborate and bring these big ideas to life.
One of Vince’s key goals for Meow Wolf’s attractions is that they inspire exploration, discovery, and imagination. Vince has stated that there is currently a “crisis of imagination.” He explained further by pointing out that most people are obsessed with memories and things from the past and focus a lot less on imagining what the future could be. Vince went so far as to expand this to the current global climate crisis, pointing out the tendency to talk more about how we have gotten to the current state and less about envisioning how to get to a better future. Vince aims to create elements of mystery and adventure within Meow Wolf’s art experiences that inspire visitors to leave with a desire to create their own content.
Meow Wolf’s attractions accomplish Vince’s goal of encouraging exploration by first having guests enter a familiar environment before sprinkling in out-of-place elements that lead to an entirely unknown landscape. In Santa Fe, guests walk right into a normal-looking home, and in Las Vegas, visitors wander into a fully-stocked grocery store, complete with employees. By first letting guests explore something familiar, they become more comfortable exploring and interacting. By the time they discover something otherworldly, most visitors are ready to dive in headfirst to the unfamiliar. Vince referred to those moments of crossing from the known to the unknown as transformative moments, and they are another key element of Meow Wolf’s experiences.
These transformational experiences are a key offering of themed entertainment. In a world where we can experience so many different things within the comfort of our own home, it has become harder and harder to convince people that a location or attraction is worth visiting. Vince stated that these transformative moments are vital to creating experiences that make people want to put down their phones and engage with the world around them. Making a place that is safe to explore and play is something that Meow Wolf excels at. They have even created spaces that are enjoyed by guests of all ages, though a young guest may interact in a completely different way than an older guest. That’s part of the magic: that every visitor can have a completely unique, unscripted experience within the same attraction. Vince argues that all of these aforementioned conditions are what help Meow Wolf’s guests break out of their normal way of thinking and start dreaming of what is around the corner.
Vince admits that creating these unique art experiences isn’t always easy or efficient. While the beginning of the project is very focused, the middle stages of development expand to allow for as much creativity as possible. Meow Wolf attractions are the compilation of hundreds of artists coming together to make something new and exciting. For a lot of the project development process, the focus is on “what” the team wants guests to experience and “why.” Once these are nailed down, then the tough questions of “how” to enable this grand vision are tackled. This is when the project has to shrink back down to a more narrow, executable plan. Before that shrinkage, though, project phases that pump in even more diversity of ideas are explored. This helps ensure that the most magical experience possible will be created by the time everyone on the project is told to put their pencils down, which typically doesn’t happen until the very second that the new attraction is being opened to the public.
If you’d like to contact Vince, you can reach him at vince@spatialactivations.com or vince@meowwolf.com.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Audio and video editing by Abigail Giganan
- Complete episode summary by Paige Reiter
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Social media marketing by Kate Kujawa
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
- Email marketing by Sam Bercik
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday Aug 03, 2021
Tuesday Aug 03, 2021
This week, AttractionPros’ own Matt Heller shared seven key takeaways from his recent theme park road trip. Matt has dubbed this trip as Coaster Nerd Con 2021, where he and some friends visited 8 parks in 8 days. The parks were Fun Spot in Orlando and Kissimmee, SeaWorld Orlando, Universal Orlando Resort, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Wild Adventures, Six Flags Over Georgia, Dollywood, and Carowinds. Matt said it was wonderful to finally visit parks again after he’d been away from them for about a year because of the pandemic. Matt made a lot of lasting memories on his trip, and many of the standout moments lead to some interesting learning opportunities.
Employees often come up with creative solutions to recurring issues
Throughout his trip, Matt was impressed by the effort employees were putting into their work. Many parks are experiencing labor shortages, but many of the employees Matt saw seemed excited in their roles, despite how busy they were. Furthermore, Matt was impressed by the way employees were tackling problems in order to provide exceptional guest service. For example, Matt witnessed an employee at Fun Spot Orlando use a large, sunshade umbrella to keep guests dry. The employee carried the large umbrella and helped guests move from one covered area to another that had more things to do. That gesture is likely not something you would put in an employee training manual, but that type of out-of-the-box thinking should be highlighted in order to encourage other employees to come up with creative solutions to recurring problems.
Employees deserve recognition for all that they do
Matt was impressed by many of the employees at the parks he visited, but perhaps the team that stood out the most was the ride operations crew at Fury 325 at Carowinds. The crew was incredibly efficient while also maintaining the highest level of safety. They also showed incredible guest service skills, recognizing Matt and his friends when they came around for one of the 14 rides they took on Fury that day. Matt also appreciated that the crewmember on the microphone made the experience personal and exciting by calling out the individual team members by name, mentioning their roles, and asking for the crowd of guests to give that person a round of applause. It was a fun way to bridge the divide that sometimes exists between guests and employees. Adding some fun in between the safety spiel is a great way to keep guests entertained but also engaged with the important safety messages that are being shared between the candid add-ons.
When efficiency is visible, even long lines can feel short
Another thing Matt noticed was the value of perceived urgency and hustle. Visiting a theme park in the middle of the summer typically has a high correlation with waiting in long lines to ride awesome rides. However, that long line doesn’t feel so bad as long as guests can see that employees are working as quickly and efficiently as possible to get riders safely through the experience. Even if a line is long, if it keeps moving the whole time, the wait seems less tedious. The Fury 325 crew did an excellent job of displaying that hustle in order to get guests onto the ride as quickly as possible. Matt experienced a similar situation at a busy food venue in another park. While he and many other guests ended up waiting 45 minutes for their food, most guests didn’t seem too frustrated by this. They could all see that the employees were hustling as fast as possible. Even two managers were working in frontline roles to try to keep up with the demand. Seeing that constant hustle to try to provide the best experience possible as efficiently as possible made the wait bearable. Matt summed this point up well by saying that guests typically don’t mind waiting as long as they don’t feel forgotten.
Take in as much information as possible before responding
In Sesame Street Land in SeaWorld Orlando, Matt had an interesting epiphany: Cookie Monster has feet. While posing for a picture with a statue of Cookie Monster, Matt happened to glance down and see that Cookie Monster, indeed, had feet. This seems obvious now, in hindsight, but he had never thought of it before since, on the TV show, all of the characters are puppets, and you don’t tend to see the lower half of them. Matt was able to turn this into a learning moment. That learning moment is that we should take in as much information as possible before making a judgement call. This is true when trying to help a guest that has come to visit guest services. This is true when a consulting client thinks they have a handle on what is going wrong in their company. This is also true for leaders who make decisions that directly impact their frontline workers. It is important to “listen to learn” instead of simply “listening to respond.” By taking in as much information as possible, it is more likely that we can respond in a way that will be the best possible response to the situation, whatever it may be.
Each park within a chain has unique aspects
Matt visited Six Flags Over Georgia for the first time on this trip, and he learned a valuable lesson from that visit. He’d visited other Six Flags locations. Like with those, he was impressed by the ride selection. However, there were a few aspects of this particular Six Flags that made it unique from ones he’d visited before. In one area of the park, there were wonderful mature trees that provided valuable shade from the Georgia summer sun. Matt really enjoyed that shaded area, and it got him thinking about the aspects he enjoyed from each of the other Six Flags parks that made them unique. Six Flags, and other park chains that have various offerings around the globe, have aspects that are consistent across their locations and tie them together, but each location has something unique and authentic to offer. It’s worth visiting different parks from the same company to see their special, local flair.
Empathy and tone of voice say more than just the words being spoken
Another important lesson that Matt was reminded of is the importance of tone when talking to guests, especially if you are giving those guests bad news. One negative example of this occurred when Matt asked a ride attendant, while the ride they were stationed at was closed because of the weather, if he would be able to ride the attraction if he was able to get into the line before the park closed, assuming the ride opened back up. However, the ride attendant didn’t answer the question that was asked and instead recited the spiel about the attraction being unavailable because of the weather and not knowing when it would open again. Matt repeated his questions and received a response, but the exchange was definitely a low point on his trip. On the flip side, Matt had a much better experience at Wild Adventures. When he strolled into an ice cream parlor, he was immediately greeted by a friendly smile. The smiling employee actually had some bad news to deliver. She apologized sincerely and admitted that she couldn’t serve ice cream at that time because she was out of gloves. This employee went on to explain that Matt could wait a few minutes for the gloves to arrive, or he could go across the street to the Dippin’ Dots stall if he didn’t want to wait. Though he had just received bad news, Matt wasn’t upset at all because of the caring, empathetic tone that the employee had used during the delivery. Matt mentioned that it was both the words that are said and the why those words are said that can really turn a negative situation into a pleasant experience.
You can find exceptional guest service anywhere
Throughout his trip, Matt experienced excellent examples of outstanding service at each park he visited. This showed that a park doesn’t have to be part of a large chain in order to deliver exceptional guest experiences. Even without a huge budget to support rigorous training or guest service incentive programs, parks can empower their employees to provide world-class service. Leadership teams need to provide both positive and constructive feedback as well as examples of exceptional guest service to their employees in order to empower them to be proactive with their guest interactions. Fostering the right culture is the most important part of enabling your employees to reach their peak performance. After all, many aspects of providing an excellent guest experience are free so all parks can make it happen.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Audio and video editing by Abigail Giganan
- Complete episode summary by Paige Reiter
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Social media marketing by Kate Kujawa
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com