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