
SEPTEMBER 2010
Industry members to gather at Busch Gardens Williamsburg for
Golden Ticket Awards
Preparations for Amusement Today’s coveted Golden Ticket Awards
are well under way, and the host park for the two-day event, the
beautiful Busch Gardens Williamsburg, is hard at work rolling out
the red carpet for industry attendees who will visit on Friday
and Saturday, Sept. 10-11. This is a “don’t miss” industry gathering
(not to mention always a great time with a lot of laughs!).
Special
behind-the-scenes tours and a social reception is being planned
to kick-off the event on September 10, while other activities such
as guided park tours, a day of experiencing Busch Gardens Williamsburg
in operation, and, of course, the anticipated awards show, will
entertain attendees on September 11.
To check out the itinerary
for the Golden Ticket Awards, as well as to register, please log
on to www.goldenticketawards.com. This event is reserved for working
professionals in the park and amusement industry. Representatives
from parks and attractions, manufacturers, suppliers, consultants
and more will come together to celebrate another industry season
– all in the name of fun.
This is the 13th annual year for the
Golden Ticket Awards; they are presented to the “Best of the Best”
in the amusement industry and are calculated from an international
poll conducted by the industry trade publication Amusement
Today.
—Gary Slade
EDITORIAL
The importance of being original — Andrew Mellor
The
opportunity to hear industry leaders speak at different events
and provide their expert and knowledgeable insights into the many
aspects of the theme park and visitor attraction industry is always
one worthwhile taking.
Recently I attended the Vision XS attraction
operator’s conference in the U.K. which this year played host to
a number of ‘A’ list speakers, including two industry legends in
Bob Rogers, founder and chairman of BRC Imagination Arts, and John
Holland, former general manager of Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom
at Walt Disney World, Florida.
Both, of course, provided inspirational
and thought provoking presentations, discussing the importance
of reaching into the hearts of the audience, being original and
empowering staff through great leadership, among other things.
And it was the point about being original, discussed
by Rogers, and the observations he made on the effects of globalization
on the industry that was one of many I thought about later. He
noted that very often it was a case of the same solution for everything
and urged delegates to differentiate their venues from one another
rather than doing the same thing. Of course many operators do strive
to be different and work hard to provide guests with original ideas,
but there are also venues that often do pretty much the same thing
as they’ve seen elsewhere with little or no effort to put their
own stamp on it.
Creating your own identity is important in all
walks of life and none more so than in a place where you want to
attract visitors time and time again. Guests to theme parks and
other types of visitor attractions go to a number of venues each
year. If all they get are the same or similar experiences then
they are going to start looking elsewhere for their entertainment
and days out. With constantly increasing competition for the leisure
dollar, euro, pound, etc., being original has never been so important.
Audiences are more sophisticated and simply won’t
put up with seeing the same things repeated in the facilities they
visit. They are constantly demanding more and better products and
being original will ensure parks cater to that demand.. —
Andrew Mellor |