I'm4Fun...with Dennis Speigel

Guests:   Sara Seay, Vice President of Administration, Sales & Marketing, Premier Rides  Chloe Hausfeld, Director of Marketing & Business Development, JRA  Katrina Verweel, Tradeshow & Events Manager, WhiteWater Dennis Speigel welcomes three very important guests who will discuss industry-related marketing strategies and sales tactics that have been impacted by the events of the last 20 months. These very special guests are Sara Seay (Vice President of Administration, Sales & Marketing for Premier Rides), Chloe Hausfeld (Director of Marketing & Business Development with JRA Design group), and Katrina Verweel, Tradeshow & Events Manager for WhiteWater West. These three very talented and experienced women join Dennis for an insightful conversation about how marketing and sales efforts have changed and how such programs are impacted moving into the future, as well as how trade shows and expos have been impacted and what trends can be expected in the years to come.

Dennis Speigel welcomes Ash Smart, Chief Financial Officer at Harbour Park in the United Kingdom. Ash’s family has owned and operated the park since 1977, but the family link to the entertainment industry spans back to 1910 with a single-hand cranked roundabout. This was followed by a traveling funfair, a touring big top show, a safari park, and now Harbour Park, which is a seaside amusement park / FEC offering outdoor and indoor attractions. Ash is highly involved in IAAPA and currently serves on its board of directors. With this depth of family history and roots in the amusement industry, Ash shares his unique insights on how European family-run parks and seaside operations have adapted, and discusses the outlook for the future, not only in the UK, but in Europe.

GUESTS: CHIP CLEARY, SENIOR CONSULTANT AT EUROPA PARK AND ROB NORRIS, PRESIDENT OF SEABREEZE AMUSEMENT PARK Dennis Speigel welcomes two seasoned industry veterans who share their unique insights and experiences as globally renowned amusement operators and strategists. Chip Cleary is Senior Consultant to Europa-Park in Germany, working directly with the Mack family on a number of projects. Before joining Europa-Park, he oversaw design and renovation on projects such as Adventureland and Splish Splash in New York, and also held leadership positions with Palace Entertainment. Chip is past President & CEO of IAAPA, as well as past Chairman and a long-time member of critical strategic committees. Rob Norris is President of Seabreeze Amusement Park in New York, where he began as a teenage employee and worked his way through the ranks to President. While also serving on various IAAPA committees as well as serving as its Chairman, Rob has led the short and long term direction of Seabreeze Park for over 40 years. He is also instrumental in leading legislative change for the state of New York. Chip and Rob join Dennis to discuss key industry matters, including the state of Europe’s theme parks, the outlook for the USA small park market, strategies for our industry to overcome Covid’s impact and rebound better than before, and the status of IAAPA and industry organizations during these critical times.

Dennis Speigel leads a discussion in global trends in the waterpark sector of our industry, specifically relating to waterpark operations as part of tourist-based resorts. Joining the podcast is Chris Perry, current VP of Resort Operations at Baha Mar in the Bahamas, and a longtime industry veteran with over 20 years of international waterpark and water safety experience. Chris is a frequent speaker and panelist at industry trade shows and was the host of Travel Channel’s Epic Attractions, providing viewers with an all access, backstage pass to the best attractions in the world. The ITPS I’M4FUN podcast focuses on the experiences of waterpark operations as it relates to product diversity and quality, guest satisfaction, safety and training, and in particular, trends in resort operations with waterparks or water features. Chris provides unique insights into the current state and the future of waterpark operations.

Guest:   John Reilly - COO, Palace Entertainment Dennis Speigel welcomes industry veteran, John Reilly. John is Chief Operating Officer of Palace Entertainment. He has more than 30 years of experience in the amusement industry, starting with Busch Gardens in their merchandising division, and then with SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment where he worked his way up to Chief Operating Officer before taking the helm at Palace Entertainment to oversee their U.S. portfolio of parks. Dennis and John have a candid conversation about what Palace Entertainment has learned over the last 18 months and how the company has re-positioned itself to operate successfully in a post-pandemic world. They discuss the industry as a whole and how we can evolve and grow in the years to come.   Join us on this exciting podcast as John Reilly shares his insights based on his longstanding operating experience in the amusement industry.