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Park Hoppin
Park Hoppin’with Susan Storey J
anuary begins with high hopes and excitement for the
new year. In our industry, it also means a (slightly) quieter time as parks and attractions slow down after holiday-themed events and either experience a few weeks of smaller crowds, or complete closure. That’s not to say park life has stopped and everyone stays home. It’s the time when behind the scenes everything is moving forward. Plans for new ride debuts are being developed, park maps are updated and seasonal hiring events begin to take place. Avid park fans fill the “void” left by closed parks
by coming together to celebrate their rides with their own events. The American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) have hosted the NoCoaster and Eastcoaster events for many years, welcoming hundreds of members to Chicago and Harrisburg to discuss their favorite roller coasters and parks, share favorite memories and hear from representatives of the parks themselves. Contests, games and souvenir trading take place, too, over shared meals and drinks. Some parks themselves lean into the cold and welcome guests for unique events. In Ohio, Cedar Point’s Winter Chill Out is exactly what it sounds like – an event in the middle of winter that invites park enthusiasts to don their boots and coats and tour behind-the-scenes areas across the park. The event often has the special and exclusive opportunity to take photos of a snowy midway, with quiet behemoth coasters standing against blustery wind. It’s not all frozen delights though; this year the event will include the chance to see Top Thrill 2 up close and to learn more about the highly anticipated record-breaking roller coaster which will open this summer. January and the new year is also a critical and special time when
industry professionals, leaders, designers, maintenance workers and more come together to focus on the one issue that matters most: safety. 2024 kicked off with the AIMS International Safety Seminar in Orlando, Florida. More than 800 employees of parks and attractions from around the world came together for more than 400 hours of education about critical safety topics including inspection, maintenance, ride inspection, crisis management, emergency planning and so much more. The week includes certification exams, specialty core curriculum for aquatics, operations, and adventure attraction and critical content for state inspectors
I was able to take part in a small way at this year’s AIMS Safety
Seminar. Mostly, I attended to support and learn from industry friends who were either sponsors or educators. It was an inspiring week. Like so many industry events, it was a homecoming and reunion all wrapped into one. Park operators and manufacturer representatives were there, all eager to catch up after the hustle and bustle of the holidays. In classrooms that lined the hallways, a second language was shared with sessions about lock out / tag out procedures, the best way to safely mount video gear to ride vehicles and the world of welding. (All new to me!). Attendees were engaged, focused, and eager to learn together and from each other. Industry leaders such as Premier Rides, Skyline Attractions, Zamperla, IAAPA and Chance Rides were also there, celebrating each other and communicating the common theme that safety in the global attractions industry is paramount to all, regardless of position or title. What also struck me was the camaraderie among attendees. First
time attendees and sponsors were embraced and welcomed like old friends. I met several sponsoring companies that had never attended AIMS and were even new to the industry. They came with solutions and products that could enhance and help safety procedures and with the desire to learn how they could support and do more. Throughout AIMS, I also met several young professionals and
students who took the time to volunteer to work for and be a part of the event. On the second day, the back of a student’s jacket caught my eye. It had a beautiful logo of a theme park skyline complete with fireworks and the words, “Rochester Institute of Technology Theme Park Enthusiasts.” Never one to miss the chance to talk about my hometown, I introduced myself and asked about the jacket. I learned RIT has a club, made up of engineering students that meets on Saturdays to talk about their shared passion for theme parks and their pathways that hope to lead to a career designing and building them. My dad is an RIP alum, so I felt an immediate connection, but it also made me look at this group of students who took the initiative to attend an event so they could learn and network. And while all of this was taking place, it dawned on me they were also becoming part of the culture of safety that sets our industry apart from all others. As a parent, I strive to instill values and morals in my son. By
welcoming students, the future of our industry, AIMS and its attendees began to instill the importance of our industry’s safety in them - before they even had a job. Those students will come to us in a couple of years, diplomas in hand, already understanding the guiding principle of ensuring safe fun for everyone. Maybe that’s not as sexy as a spring break spent in Cancun, or as thrilling as sailing over the silky rails of Velocicoaster again and again, but if it means they enter the industry with full hearts and clear eyes about what we do and why we do it so well. We can’t lose.
In association with
JANUARY 2024
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