area surrounding the wave pool, interna- tional calibre beach volleyball courts and a Hawaiian beach bar featuring a live tropical band, dance fl oor and tables on the sand.
UNIQUE FEATURES What makes Calypso particularly special is its family-friendly atmosphere and design, Drouin says. “We allow visitors to bring food inside the attraction,” he says. “Most parks in the US don’t allow picnics so people have to eat them in the parking lot. Here we have 500 picnic tables in the park.” Another unique feature of the park is its Money At My Fingertip system, which Villages Vacances Valcartier Group devel- oped with Softticket, spending two years on research and development. The sys- tem uses biometric technology to allow guests to pay for food, beverages and gift shop items without carrying cash, simply
AM 3 2010 ©cybertrek 2010
Calypso’s features include a Jungle Run River with water speeds of 2m per second and a Turbo Lab
by scanning their fi ngertip – particularly convenient for waterpark visitors spending the day in bathing suits. The system was fi rst installed at Valcartier Vacation Village in 2009. “This is unique to our two water- parks,” says Drouin. “We’ve received a lot of positive feedback from our clientele.” The park, located a 20 minute drive
from Ottawa and a 75 minute drive from Montreal, is being marketed to both regions, with advertisements appearing in the local press. The park can handle 12,000 visitors per day and 300,000 are expected in the fi rst year. Drouin expects this to increase as he grows the park. “We
have some other attractions to put in place. There’s a lot of space – we bought 425 acres of land, and we’re using 100 acres right now. In 2012, we’re planning to open a campground right beside the park to attract people from farther than Ottawa and Montreal – people from the Toronto area. And we’re planning to add new rides every two years.”
STAFF STRATEGIES Drouin hopes to apply what he’s learned over his decades of managing staff at Valcartier, which has 500 new employ- ees, including 120 lifeguards. Some of the staff at Valcartier have been there for 25 years. “I try to make my employees as happy as possible because if it’s not fun to work somewhere you won’t stay there for long. It’s never easy, but it’s key,” he says. “I hope that the directors and main staff
Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital 21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86