AttractionPros Podcast

Episode 218: Doug Stagner talks about running a 67 year old startup, linking operations and marketing, and management by walking around

Doug Stagner is the President of Grant’s Farm and Busch Family Estate in St. Louis, MO.  With a career that began at SeaWorld San Diego in 1984, Doug held many roles with SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment at multiple parks across the United States.  In July 2021, Doug was hired at Grant’s Farm as Anheuser-Busch transitioned out of day-to-day operations.  In this interview, Doug talks about how Grant’s Farm is like a 67-year old startup, the importance of linking operations and marketing, and how management by walking around can help you gain full clarity of the guest experience, as well as the employee experience.

Running a 67-year old startup

 

"We're a 67-year old startup."

 

While Anheuser-Busch does not own Grant’s Farm, they have held the management contract since 1954.  Despite the transition out of operations, A-B is continuing to invest in the property to ensure its growth, as well as to preserve its legacy.  This presents a unique opportunity to create new ways that guests can learn about the property's history, as well as farm education, which serves the organization’s mission.

 

Doug also talks about the importance of bringing guests behind the scenes, specifically as it relates to the passionate care of animals, in order to properly tell the story of animals in professional care, which transfers to sustainable farming and education for guests at Grant’s Farm.  By focusing on processes and ensuring that guests are being served the best, this leads to operational changes that are intended to improve the business.

Linking operations and marketing

 

"If you get locked into thinking you know the answer, that can be dangerous."

 

When Doug oversaw the front gate at SeaWorld San Diego, he recalled that operations would occasionally be disconnected from the marketing department.  Doug shares the importance of the continual feedback loop between marketing and operations, and that he would have weekly meetings with Scott Rose, who oversaw advertising at the time.  To avoid a circumstance where you overpromise and underdeliver, marketing and operations should regularly be communicating.  However, if you underpromise too much, you may have the ability to overdeliver, but it may negatively impact the business, because under promising can set too low of an expectation.

 

Doug says that silos must be broken down, and that there are shared successes and shared failures.  The disconnect between the two departments is often due to individuals looking to achieve their own professional goals, without realizing that it is to the detriment of other elements of the business.  In order to help tear down these silos and so that everyone can be successful at their job, everyone, regardless of their role, should integrate themselves in the guest experience.  This means that back of house employees should regularly see front of house operations and how their own job impacts the guest experience.

Management by walking around

 

“How do we make a job better or a job easier?  Ask the person who’s doing it.”

 

Part of Doug’s leadership strategy includes rolling up his sleeves and leading by example.  A leader should never ask someone to do something that they themselves have not done or would not do themselves.  It’s important to recognize that it’s not just about being out in the field while it’s busy, but also while it’s slow to be able to have conversations with employees and guests alike to hear their suggestions and ideas.  Previously, Doug has hosted “Donuts with Doug” and also recently created an email box named “Ask Doug” to demonstrate open communication platforms amongst the entire team.

 

You don’t know what you don’t know, and you may be missing an opportunity if you aren’t speaking with the team members who are doing the job on a daily basis.  Something that perhaps you assumed was occurring in the operation might be different when you uncover the reality of the circumstance.  Don’t shy away from opportunities to learn, even if it might be information that you don’t want to hear.

To learn more about Grant’s Farm, visit www.grantsfarm.com.  Doug can be reached at doug.stagner@grantsfarm.com, as well as on LinkedIn.

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

Episode 217: Scott Rose talks about aligning marketing & operations, guest research, and communicating through COVID

Scott Rose is the Senior VP/Chief Operating Officer ZooTampa at Lowry Park. Scott’s career spans many decades working at animal attractions such as SeaWorld, Discovery Cove, the Florida Aquarium and now ZooTampa. Scott has also been very involved with the Florida Attractions Association where he advocates for all attractions across the state. During this conversation, Scott shares insights about working with animals, aligning the Marketing and Operations departments and the importance of guest research.

 

Aligning Marketing and Operations

"Sometimes I find I am arguing with myself."

Marketing and Operations teams often have different agendas and tactics to complete their tasks. As COO, Scott now oversees both departments and has to not only balance the relationships, but also the objectives and deliverables - which he says is actually fun.

As a long-time sales and marketing professional, Scott recognizes that what those teams do have a big impact on the operation. Marketing wants to sell as much as they can, but then Operations has to deliver on it. Scott believes that to bring the teams together in a positive way takes communication and an understanding of what the other group is doing, as well as having an appreciation for what both departments contribute to the success of the zoo.

 

Guest Research

“We’ve expanded the program to get input from people who normally don’t comment on the guest experience.”

The quote above is referring to the “Host of the Day” program at ZooTampa. Every Saturday, a member of the ZooTampa team will come to the park, dressed as a guest, and they will bring their family. This form of guest research allows the experience to be evaluated from a different viewpoint from traditional research efforts, and the results provide leadership with a robust data set upon which to make key decisions. 

This program was originally designed just for senior leaders, but recently they have started to include members of the team who aren’t normally guest-facing or involved with the guest experience. This has proven to be invaluable in getting very candid feedback from people who are passionate about the zoo, but who also don’t necessarily know what SHOULD be happening, so they can experience the zoo with an open mind. 

 

Communicating through COVID

“In the attractions industry, we all went through this together and there was no playbook.”

Scott says that early on in the pandemic, the ZooTampa leadership team decided that they were going to come out of the pandemic stronger than ever, which meant working to bring back the 80% of their staff that they had to furlough when they shut down. While some employees chose other lines of work or were not comfortable coming back, every employee that was furloughed was offered re-employment and the majority of them did come back. 

According to Scott, one of the other key strategies during the pandemic was to continue to market the park, adjusting the communication for the new conditions. While other parks stopped or slowed down their advertising, ZooTampa did not take their foot off of the accelerator. Through social media and other channels, Scott said they used the shut-down period to tell their guests how they were taking care of the ZooTampa family and how they would be ready to welcome them back when it was safe to do so.

 

To learn more about ZooTampa: zootampa.org   

To connect with Scott directly: scott.rose@zootampa.org

 

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

Episode 216 - Melissa Vogt talks about embracing all attractions, community involvement, and evolution of the dinner theater

Melissa Vogt is the General Manager and Director of Marketing & Public Relations for Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre, which opened in 1993 in Fort Myers, which is the heart of Southwest Florida.  Melissa joined the Broadway Palm team in 1998 in an entry-level position, and has held many roles in marketing, sales, and nearly every front of house aspect of the business until taking on the role of General Manager in 2021.  In this interview, Melissa talks about the importance of being involved in the local community as well as industry associations, how the dinner theater has evolved over time, including prior to the pandemic and how it will continue to evolve into the future.

 

Community Involvement

"Form relationships. That's the best advice I can give."

As a resident of Southwest Florida since she was six months old, Melissa is ingrained in the community.  Melissa talks about the importance of partnering with hotels and other attractions, including a combo ticket with the Edison Ford Winter Estates that discounted both venues.  She also shares the benefits of the local convention and visitors bureau and attending various networking events so that Broadway Palm stays top of mind everywhere she goes.  This leads to great partnerships, as well as increases in ticket sales, along with events held at the theater.  Melissa stresses that the Southwest Florida region is a relationship area, not a sales area, and the power of networking and forming relationships far exceeds the power of sales.

Broadway Palm has also been involved with the Florida Attractions Association for decades, and Melissa was inducted to the association’s board of directors in August 2021.  Her board position includes advocating for the industry and for the association, and ensuring that members are engaged and involved with all of the benefits that FAA has to offer.

Evolution of the Dinner Theater

“This is not your parents’ dinner theater anymore.”

The dinner theater is a dying industry, which has required Broadway Palm to reinvent itself numerous times in order to stay relevant.  Certain trends have dictated changes to the structure and layout of the theater, such as guests no longer wanting to be bussed to the theater and herded through the buffet line and then sitting with strangers.  The programming has also changed, including hosting concerts, bringing in shows that attract their audience, while also aligning the experience with the family demographic.  Melissa says that they cannot be looked at as “chew and view,” which is how dinner theaters are often viewed as.

As General Manager and Director of Marketing & Public Relations, Melissa bases her decisions not only on what impacts her staff, but also the guest.  Melissa is focused on communicating to guests how the theater has changed in an ever-changing landscape of the business.  This requires a strong focus on both roles, marketing and management, to ensure full alignment.  In response to the pandemic, Broadway Palm reduced capacity which allowed them to space out tables, which has been positively received due to an increased comfort level for guests.  Due to the favorability, the structure will remain at least through 2022.

Going into the future, Melissa predicts that there will be continual evolution of shows, seating, menu items, and the ways that they serve people, based on continually changing consumer trends.

 

Embracing all Attractions

"Embrace all attractions, whether it’s a museum, whether it’s a go kart track, or it’s theater. We're all attractions, we’re all in this together.”

When people challenge whether Broadway Palm is an attraction, Melissa stresses that she serves the local market along with those who are visiting the Fort Myers area for various reasons.  While people may not visit Fort Myers specifically for Broadway Palm, Melissa states that they fit into the tourism market by being something in addition that visitors can do while they’re in town, rather than creating marketing campaigns in regions outside of Florida to attract people directly to Fort Myers.

Oftentimes, art, culture, and attractions are overlooked by local governance, without recognition of their contributions to the community in terms of revenue, tax dollars, and the enhanced value that they bring.  Melissa says that the voice of the attractions family in Southwest Florida is to advocate for the industry to share the importance of all that they do.  Additionally, by collaborating with other attractions and through the Florida Attractions Association, Melissa talks about the value of visiting other FAA attraction members who all share the same goals of fostering the continued growth of the Florida tourism industry.

Melissa also says that despite her new role as General Manager, she knows the small details that it takes to get things done, and isn’t afraid to jump in whenever it’s needed.  She also speaks strongly against micromanaging employees when they can be trusted to do their job well, and the importance of not letting ego get in the way of leadership.

To learn more about Broadway Palm, visit www.broadwaypalm.com.  To get ahold of Melissa directly, contact her at melissa@broadwaypalm.com.

 

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

Episode 215 - Jared Reid talks about Florida Wildlife, listening to your guests, and 10Xing your attendance

AttractionPros Podcast - Episode 215: Jared Reid talks about Florida wildlife, listening to your guests and 10xing your attendance.

 

Jared Reid is the General Manager of Wild Florida, Orlando’s only airboat, gator and drive-thru safari park. Wild Florida has traditionally counted on international travelers for the bulk of their attendance, but with COVID-19 that demographic was unable to travel, causing Jared and the Wild Florida team to re-evaluate their marketing plans. As you will hear in this conversation, their changes led to attendance growth that they never could have predicted. 

 

Florida Wildlife

“This is so peaceful, this is so calming. This is Florida.”

Jared recognizes that many visitors to central Florida are drawn in because of Disney, Universal, etc, but for guests who want to see the Florida that is beyond the theme parks, Wild Florida offers guests the chance to reconnect with nature. Jared also enjoys the chance to educate people not only on the wildlife they can experience at the park, but also the fact that Florida has so many opportunities to slow down and enjoy a day with plenty of fresh air and no lines. This became a tremendous advantage when during the pandemic, people were tired of being cooped up in their homes and just wanted to get out. 

 

Listening to your guests

“One thing that surprised us was that we thought we had plenty of animals, but our guests told us they wanted more.”

 

When asked about specific feedback that surprised him, Jared mentioned that the Wild Florida team felt they had plenty of animals, but guests were telling them that they wanted more. The guests were also saying that they loved the fact that the animals didn’t look too close together or packed in, which presented an opportunity to expand the drive-thru safari to accommodate a larger collection and to give the guests more wildlife to experience. For other enclosures, Jared said they have built them 2 to 3 times larger than what the building code calls for, just to ensure the guests see that the animals have plenty of room and are well cared for. 

 

10xing your attendance

“The biggest challenge was figuring out how to maintain our tranquil experience with so many more guests.”

 

When the demand for your product is 10x almost over night, you are going to experience some growing pains. Jared explained that this impacted every part of their business. They needed to hire more staff, widen the roadways and allocate resources to manage the traffic flow into the park. Since they were one of the only attractions open, they were able to hire quite a few people who had been furloughed or laid off from other attractions. Part of what caused the additional attendance was Wild Florida’s switch to focus on the local market rather than international visitors. This was out of necessity, as international travel had all but stopped. The Central Florida residents came out in droves and accounted for Jared saying that in some ways, COVID was the best thing that ever happened to us. 

 

For more on Wild Florida: www.wildfl.com.

Jared can be reached at 407-957-3135 or jared@wildfl.com.

 

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

Episode 214 - Taylor Bybee talks about marketing to enthusiasts, documentary filmmaking, and engaging through YouTube

Taylor Bybee is a digital cinema graduate with a passion for the amusement industry.  In 2013, he created Coaster Studios, a YouTube channel geared toward coaster and thrill ride enthusiasts.  Taylor considers Coaster Studios as a bit of a “variety channel,” with footage on rides, reviews, satirical content, and documentaries.  Most recently, Coaster Studios has released a full length documentary, This is How We Roll, which highlights the inspiring story of Rocky Mountain Construction.

 

Marketing to enthusiasts

“Roller coasters are inherently freakin’ cool.”

Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana offers a tour of The Voyage, one of the park’s signature rides, that they offer as a premium experience, catered specifically to enthusiasts.  However, coaster enthusiasts make up such a small percentage of overall park attendance.  With that said, Taylor says that coaster enthusiasts are both your biggest fans and your biggest critics.  Coaster enthusiasts are the loudest, and act as the park’s advocates to influence new guests.  When you have such a passionate group of enthusiasts, what they love is often going to transfer over to the public.  For example, Rocky Mountain Construction sells merchandise, which is unusual from an industry supplier; however, RMC’s fans are as big of fans as the parks themselves, and are eager to support their favorite ride manufacturer.  As a result, their influence has the ability to convert the average visitor into season passholders and breed the next wave of enthusiasts.

 

Documentary Filmmaking

“Roller coasters are the B storyline.  The A storyline is about the people.  You get to know these people, and you become attached to them by the end.”

As a recent graduate of Utah Valley University, Taylor was required to complete a senior capstone project for the digital cinema department.  Having previously met members of the Rocky Mountain Construction team, he presented the suggestion of creating a documentary, which was immediately well received.  In addition to the rides, Rocky Mountain Construction has an inspiring story with incredible people behind it.  What was initially set out to be a 40 minute film, Taylor quickly identified that there was a much bigger story to tell, due to what he learned after starting production that couldn’t be researched online.

Taylor also stresses that This is How We Roll is not intended to be a commercial, but to give people a greater appreciation for roller coasters.  You can ride an RMC ride all day, but when you know the backstory of the people behind it, you ride it with a greater understanding of everything that went into it.  The documentary is intentionally designed for anyone who wants to learn more about roller coasters, not just the biggest coaster fans.  This is How We Roll is a story about family, determination, and perseverance, and Taylor believes that that is what appeals to the majority of people.

 

Engaging through YouTube

“You can have the nicest camera in the world, but at the end of the day, if what is on the other side of that camera doesn’t look amazing, there’s not really a way to hide that.”

When a park posts a video, it’s advertising.  However, when Coaster Studios produces content, the intention is to engage the audience, rather than striving for the audience to purchase a ticket.  Since 2013, Coaster Studios has built trust within the audience, proving that the content will be authentic, as well as produced with high quality.  And since not every visit to a theme park will be a perfect experience, Coaster Studios shares that too, and the audience can make their decision to visit the park or not, versus the channels that parks use, which will always highlight the high points of the experience.  If the content always said that a ride was the ultimate experience, it would lose the authenticity that has built trust in the channel and the brand.

To learn more about Taylor, Coaster Studios, and This is How We Roll, make sure to follow Taylor on Twitter, subscribe to Coaster Studios on Instagram and YouTube, and purchase This is How We Roll on Vimeo.

PS: Taylor has ridden 780 roller coasters all over the world.  When asked what he hasn’t ridden yet, he says that he has yet to ride Formula Rossa at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, the world’s fastest coaster.

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

Episode 213 - Kenny Funk talks about brand deposits, retail as gratuity, and one size fits one

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

Episode 212 - Scott Drummond talks about building a playbook, employee empowerment, and protecting your employees

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

Episode 211 - AttractionPros LIVE! at Florida Attractions Association

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

Episode 210 - Tim Anderson talks about flea markets as an attraction, rides as an amenity, and knowing your demographic

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

Episode 209 - Bridgette Bywater talks about shifting perspectives, leading as an introvert, and letting go of ego

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