Industry Insider
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Family first Sunset at Gulliver's Valley
Having been in post as Gulliver’s managing director for over two decades, Julie Dalton has led the business through numerous changes and challenges to celebrate its 45th anniversary this year. Park World
Charlotte Westwood: Tell us about your background. Julie Dalton: Theme parks are in my blood. My parents – Ray Philips and my late mother, Hilary Philips – opened the first Gulliver’s theme park, Gulliver’s Kingdom in Matlock Bath, in 1978, so I really did grow up in the industry, learning everything there is to know by getting involved with every aspect of the business. Now, 45 years on, I’m proud to now be at the helm of the company as managing director, with four Gulliver’s parks across the UK, including Gulliver’s World in Warrington, Gulliver’s Land in Milton Keynes, and Gulliver’s Valley in South Yorkshire, which we opened in 2020.
CW: Clearly you love the industry to have been in it for so long. For you, what’s special about it – and Gulliver’s in particular? JD: I have a huge passion for creating memorable experiences and opportunities for families to play together and have a fun day out, without breaking the bank. That’s the ethos I grew up with and the idea that the entire Gulliver’s business was built on. Gulliver’s is a true family business. There aren’t many family-run parks left nowadays and I’m very proud to say that what Gulliver’s provides today is the same as when it all started – a great day out or short break for families aimed at children aged two to 13.
Seeing the kids’ faces is what makes it special, bringing them something different that goes above and beyond. Our theming helps us to create magical experiences, from our mascots Gully and Gilly, IP including The Clangers and Dennis the Mennis, plus Dinosaurs, Western Worlds, Pirates, and Unicorns themed areas. It’s also lovely to see multiple generations visiting our parks; Gulliver’s really becomes a big part of families’ lives and inclusivity is really important to us. We work with a number of charities and hold days at our parks which are dedicated
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to families with autistic children. We’ve worked really hard to make sure we maintain the family ethos at
Gulliver’s core. The entire team feels like one big family too, and aside from myself as managing director, there’s also my brother, Nick, on the development side of things. Many of our rides are built in-house, and we have our own woodwork and metalwork shops.
CW: How has Gulliver’s changed and developed over the years? JD: We started out as a model village, so it’s fair to say that things have changed and expanded considerably! Like any business, we’re used to adapting and our parks have grown and evolved in order to stay relevant and continue to offer our visitors something new and exciting – be it new rides, attractions or partnerships with well-loved characters from children’s TV shows. We’ve expanded into four different locations across the UK over the last 45 years and we’ve introduced a whole range of new accommodation offerings at each of our sites, with more set to be unveiled this year. However, the one thing that hasn’t changed is the value we offer. No matter what has been thrown at us – from COVID-19 to rising costs – we pride ourselves on delivering family fun activities, for a reasonable price. With the current cost of living crisis, we know there’s a lot of pressure on families at the moment, and for us, the idea is to be there to take some of that pressure off.
CW: How did the pandemic impact the park? JD: The COVID-19 pandemic coincided with the launch of our fourth park in 2020 – Gulliver’s Valley in Rotherham. It meant plans had to be changed and the logistics of opening a theme park in the middle of a global pandemic had
MARCH 2023
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