Front Gate
parkworld-online.com
Figures of Fun
5
number of individual parks now accessible with pay-one-price ticket at Sunway Lagoon, Malaysia (see page 23)
30
million Danish Kroner ($5.2m/€4m) – budget for renovation of Tivoli’s (Copenhagen) Rutschebanen scenic coaster
50
years – anniversary season being celebrated in 2013 at Dutch Wonderland, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
300
per cent – increase in profits at Sea World Parks & Entertainment. The US park operator is being prepared for a public offering by the Blackstone Group
5,000
number of workers or “cast members” expected to be recruited at Shanghai Disney Resort by the time it opens in 2015
BigQuestion
What do you expect will be the biggest challenge this season at your park, and how will you overcome it?
Nick Thompson, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, UK: Fuel prices remain an issue, as does VAT, but we don’t have any competition this year from the Olympics or a major summer football tournament, so I think we have a chance. The weather last season was the worst for 100 years, so hopefully that can’t be as bad either. The big challenge will be to counter the depression created by people talking down the country every time your turn on the television, however with our new Wallace & Gromit Thrill-O-Matic ride I am confident we can put a smile on everyone’s face.
Eric Gilbert, The Great Escape, USA: In this economy we are all challenged to stay top of mind with families as they decide where to spend their leisure dollars. Six Flags parks are a place where people can escape and spend quality time with their families. We need to provide something new every year and deliver tremendous value for money. We will meet this challenge in 2013 with the introduction Screamin’ Eagles interactive flying ride. We also have a new all-season dining pass and a membership programme with low monthly installments.
Ot Ciolina, Plaswijckpark, The Netherlands: We need to level out demand from the customers over the season, and we hope to do this with our new Huis in de Heuvel (House of the Hill) attraction, which children can enjoy whatever the weather. Unless the whole nation falls apart, I think we will be OK. Another challenge we be the staff. We should provide a really good customer experience but, to be frank, some of our staff can be quite hostile towards the customers. We have some people who have been here 35 years and when you ask them why they do something a certain way they reply it’s because that's the way they have always done it.
Matt Eckert, Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, USA: Our biggest challenge each year is in finding new ways to improve our level of guest experience. We don’t ever want to say “good enough” and rest on our laurels. We study our cornerstones: safety, service, friendliness and cleanliness and set company-wide and departmental goals to help us exceed the previous season’s results. I’m confident we can continue to improve.
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APRIL 2013
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