I've been observing the amusement industry for a very long time now. Aside from some Web and video contract work, I've never worked "in" it per se. I know a surprisingly large number of the players and probably one-third of my closest friends work in the biz. But I do not.
I got to thinking about that today while at Cedar Point (Walt and I were there shooting Magnum pr0n and some other stuff). Ran into John, the GM, on the midway, where NOTNSUV was parked. Had my usual conversation with him about how I couldn't imagine everything would be ready by opening day, even though it always is.
I guess I just don't have the slightest idea what I'd do. I don't know how compatible I'd be culturally at Cedar Fair especially, though I suspect I'd fare better at Six Flags, Universal, Herschend or maybe Disney. I especially like the way seasonal parks roll, in kind of the anti-academic calendar mode. It's pretty exciting to watch things go from plans in the fall to an open park in the spring. Or for big cap ex projects, concepts a few years in advance up to the opening of a new attraction.
The business absolutely fascinates me. I'm surprised too to see how many things they could be doing in better ways if everyone had the right buy-in (or in CF's case, "Dad" didn't have to approve everything). There is a great deal of data generated in the business, and when it's paired correctly with human factors and vision, you can do great things. A part of me would love to be a part of that.
To a certain extent, yes, that's my unemployedness talking. But it's still interesting.
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