Busch Gardens and Park Operations Seminar

Yesterday was one of the best days I have had in Florida. A group of us took a trip to Tampa and visited Busch Gardens, what a beautiful park! We arrived at opening and practically had the park to ourselves until noon, we rode every ride multiple times and visited all the animals. The highlight of my day was hand feeding the kangaroos. They are set up in a petting zoo-like area, and I was able to get some great pictures with them. Another awesome moment was when one of the tigers jumped up at the glass in front of me. It seemed as if he was looking me eye to eye but I have a feeling he was trying to get a peek at the lady tigers that were kept across the tunnel. After a day of roller coasters, alligators, and all day dining we were hoping to catch their finale show, but a thunder storm rolled in and it was canceled. Overall, a really great day and I recommend Busch Gardens to everyone, the hour drive from Orlando is 100% worth it.

This morning I had my first Expert Seminar. The speaker, Tim Currier, was from Park Operations. Tim's job is to manage the attractions portion of the operations department. His co-worker is the manager of park upkeep, the other aspect of operations. He gave us some insight on what goes into planning the show schedules, the prices for attractions, and organization of employees within the attractions. What I found most interesting was the way they schedule all the different shows SeaWorld offers. Every show impacts the amount of sales, either in Merchandise or in Culinary/Dining. Tim and his team plan shows at times that directly benefit the revenue of the park. For example, a Shamu show will get out around the time when families are looking to eat lunch, those families are expected to eat immediately after the show directly outside the Stadium at the close by restaurants. Culinary is given these schedules far in advanced so that they are staffed appropriately for these show breaks. He also talked about they way SeaWorld receives feedback from guests, and how the park responds to the surveys. If enough negative feedback about a certain aspect of the park is given than the department takes action and assesses what needs to be done to enhance the park. He gave us a sneak peek at what happens behind the scenes, I look forward to my next seminar on Zoological Operations.