All right. I think we're live. And we're back.
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another
episode of Live with Sondra. I hope you guys
missed me because I missed you. I think it's
been about a month since we've done a show. But
if you've been watching any of my socials, you
know I've been on the road. London, Greece, all
that good stuff. We'll have to save that for
another show. But I'm very excited about today's.
conversation. And for those of you who don't
know, I'm your host, Sondra, and this is the
Live with Sondra show. Today, we're diving into
the topic that every park and attraction and
tourism destination needs to think about, how
your guests see you. Now, this show would not
be possible without our sponsors, GateMaster
Technology. And for over 30 years, GateMaster
has been helping attractions of all sizes run
smarter with online ticketing, point of sale,
and marketing solutions. They truly understand
this industry from inside and out because like
all of us here, they're passionate about creating
better guest experiences. So thank you, GateMaster,
for supporting this conversation today. And speaking
of experiences, I'm thrilled about today's guest.
She's a creative force behind Stephanie Tassone
Creative, a design and photography business that's
been shaping the way attractions tell their visual
stories for nearly a decade. From maps that feel
like art, compelling branding, to photo and video
that inspires people to visit. She's worked with
parks across the U .S. and internationally. Please
help me welcome Stephanie Tassone. Stephanie,
I am so excited to have you on the show. And
please, you know what? I meant to ask you if
I was pronouncing that right. Close. It's close.
It's Tassone. Tassone. I'm sorry that I didn't
ask that in our pre -show. That's actually something
I tried to be really good about, but I was so
excited to, one, be back here, but also to have
you on the show. So thank you for... clarifying
that and before we get started i know we did
a little bit of bio there but we did have a conversation
uh prior to us going live today about how you
started in the industry and i thought that was
super interesting i wondered if you might tell
the audience a little bit more about your experience
and how you got here because that's always a
favorite of mine of course yeah it's a favorite
of mine too because it ultimately leads to where
i'm at now of course but it ultimately led me
to the love of my life my husband so i have a
lot to thank for water parks but i started off
as a lifeguard when i was 18 i think yeah 18
years old um and from there i just kind of loved
working within like the The fun atmosphere of
water parks and became like a marketing intern
and then moved my way up to being a marketing
director for a couple different parks. And I'm
going to shout out the first ever park that I
worked at was Raging Waves Water Park in Illinois,
because that's where I'm from. So yeah, just
started as a lifeguard and kind of never really
left and been in the industry for over 10 years
now. Wow. I love that. And you mentioned the
love of your life. How did that like, like, can
you elaborate on that? Yeah. So my husband's
name is Eric Tucker. Some people might, he was
in the water park industry for a long time too.
But he had just moved from Florida to Illinois
and became the director of operations at the
water park. And that's where we met. And so,
yeah, forever thankful for water parks. We've
been married. It'll be 10 years. I love that.
I love those stories. Those are my favorite stories
is the ones where we make connections like that
in the industry. And especially in an industry.
I mean, because I know this industry, you agree
with me, mostly because you're still here, that
this is a unique and beautiful industry and that
we do have these connections and we have these
very long relationships. And I have to say, like
you were one of the few guests that I've had
where people were like, I want to support Stephanie.
And I need to pre -register for this show. And
hopefully we'll hear from some of those people
in the chat today. But I have to acknowledge
that because I thought that was really neat.
So you've obviously made your mark in this industry.
And water parks is something that I love too.
Water parks is something that I kind of fell
into because I started in the family entertainment
side of attraction. But there came a point at
the company where it just made more sense for
us to work with water parks. And so I learned
that business. This was probably 20 years ago,
but learning that business and really fell in
love with water parks. I'm a big fan. My kids
love them. It's one of those things that we never
miss a season as a family. So I think that's
most people's feeling about water parks. So I
love that you came from the water park industry.
And like I said, you got some fans out there
who messaged me. this show so uh pop up in the
chat you know who you are um stephanie just to
kind of jump in to our conversation today you
know i'd love to hear more about the creative
perspective and you know maybe just getting our
audience prepped for the conversation that we're
having today and kind of where you see your mastery
of this industry and how you're helping parks
So I think why I think. what i do for parks is
so important is because there's lots of different
perks out there right but we've got to find ways
to make your park unique and one of the best
ways in my opinion is just making sure that how
you present yourself either with your advertisement
that you're putting out there billboards flyers
things like that your website um all of that
plays together and looks really cohesive and
nice so that when people come to your park when
they spend their really hard hard -earned money
to spend a day at your park, they're not surprised
at what they're getting when they walk in the
door because they've already seen everything
that you put out there that looks so nice and
so put together and so fun. Like, and that's
a big part too, is I think making sure that everything
looks so fun is so important. Yeah, I agree.
I love that because I think like, if I'm understanding
correctly, I think what you're saying is like
all that you're putting out there to attract
your guests. to your park should tell the story
about that fun day that they're going to have
when they're there. And I think that's a mark
that gets missed so often in our marketing and
storytelling, especially because not every park
has that Hollywood -sized budget. And that kind
of leads me to my first question, because I know
one of the things that you talk about in your
work is creating powerful video and photos. And
so how does a park that maybe doesn't have that
Hollywood budget do something like that? Yeah.
I think it's for, I work with many different
parks. They all have different budgets and things
like that. You really don't need a super large
budget to be able to create powerful imagery,
videos, things like that. So for example, whenever
I do work with a park and I'm talking about,
okay, well, we're putting together your marketing
things, your branding things. What do we have
to work with? and more often than not a lot of
parks they're like oh let me dig back in my google
drive to see if there's any photos that we can
come up with um so that's where we first start
is um if you work with uh either a professional
photographer or just a photographer um you don't
need to spend a bunch of money for example if
i go out to a park i tell them I can get enough
photos for the next three seasons if we're out
there for eight hours. So just a regular operating
day, maybe a little bit more. And then you build
up that photo bank. keep keep pulling on those
images and things like that year after year um
you're gonna create that powerful imagery about
your rides and attractions the feelings that
guests get when they get the park fnb all of
those things so you really don't need to spend
a bunch of money but you do need to work with
um like i said either a professional photographer
or someone who knows how to grab those images
that are gonna tell your guess how much fun they're
going to have at the park so um that's where
i first start off when i'm working with different
parks is making sure that they have that um and
I mean, it plays together with video as well.
We all know that now video is outperforming photo
and things. So if you've got a really strong
video that you can use for social media advertising
on your website, things like that, that's going
to go a long, long way. And I was just talking
to my husband last night about this, about building
the photo bank up and video bank up. What's beautiful
about the water park industry is. swimsuits are
swimsuits so you can continue using those images
and they're not really and i mean pending getting
new attractions and things like that to your
park you can you can get a lot of use out of
them because they're not gonna like look you
know like super dated you know right well what
i like about what you said about having that
full eight hour photo shoot it makes total sense
because you're capturing a day yeah and and so
you're going to be able to market that morning
that what it's like in the morning at lunchtime
at dinner time and hopefully until the sunset
if you've got a park that's been that late and
and maybe you do it on a day i know my water
park here they do nighttime events do it on a
day when you know you're going to be closed down
for a nighttime event i mean we've got uh we've
got a park locally that's doing like djs and
adult night which i i've not attended one of
those but it is definitely on my list of things
to do although i'm wondering if i might be too
old to be going to something like that i might
be the oldest one there but i'm like super excited
about this idea and and i don't know why i if
they've been doing it for a long time or if it's
something new it's just something that got on
my radar but like you're saying like capture
all of those things throughout a full day and
you've got so much content to work work with
and and i agree with you on the video too because
i think what uh like you're saying short form
even short form content is outperforming just
regular posts on social media and uh some of
the things that i've seen and you can certainly
correct me because you are the expert here but
from what i've learned is like even youtube videos
are outperforming in some cases google searches
yeah and then we've got ai that's a whole other
thing right yeah it is a whole other thing for
sure But yeah, I think just taking the time,
like spending that one day and getting all that
content is really going to go so far. And whenever
you are in like the time of year where you're
like, OK, well, we need to start thinking about
our advertising. What are we going to do? Billboards.
What are we going to do? These things. You're
not like, oh, my gosh, we have nothing to work
with. Like you'll have a ton of stuff to work
with and make everything so much easier on the
offseason. So then you guys are ready to go like
when the season starts. Yeah, that is such a
great idea. And it's fun too. Like if you've
got like a couple of different hero families
in there and they've got like these kids that
are just, they know what they're signed up for.
I hand them a GoPro and they go to town and it's
the best. Like they have so much fun and you're
getting so much good content. It's amazing. Wait,
so you actually will give the camera to the families?
Yeah. I love that. they're going down the slides
and oh my gosh it's it's so much fun and they
like act like they're like little youtubers like
i look back on the footage it's so funny hey
you know my kids would my kids would love that
my kids were little youtubers now they've they've
they've they've moved on hey you know i have
a question from the audience actually so whatever
we somebody is asking christy dillard she's saying
what are some social media things that people
do that are a waste of time Oh, man. I don't
think anything truly on social media that people
are doing is a waste of time, is a waste of your
time. I have a few different parks that I handled
all of their social media, both paid advertisement
and just like handling like the organic posting
and things like that. Anything that you put out
there is going to be good from my perspective
anyways. things that could be a better use of
time when it comes to social media is really
focusing in on maybe doing those videos like
reels and things like that showing um the i know
a couple different reels that i have put together
that have just been regular phone videos have
been showing the staff working and being together
with guests, because I feel like that's always
a good thing to show with parks is showing how
happy different employees are to be working there.
And then also showing the guests interacting
with them. I feel like it like gives it a more
like, I don't know, I don't want to say homey,
but like just like a more real version of like
the park experience. I love that idea of that.
And I don't want to interrupt. I also, just because
I agree with you, I don't think there really
is a waste of time. And correct me if I'm wrong.
Like I said, you are the expert here because
I do not do social media posts. I have people
who help me with that and they're better at it
than I am. But from what I've learned, isn't
it, you know, a lot of the algorithms reward
frequency. So it is better. post even if you
aren't confident about it yeah yeah i um with
some of the parks that i work with we got into
um a schedule of posting every single day um
i know that that can be tough and unless you
have someone dedicated to do that but it has
it has done a lot for park recognition not only
for people that maybe aren't like local to the
area but the people that are local as well like
they're interacting with every single thing that
we're posting which only helps with your organic
reach if you're not choosing to do paid advertising
love that i love that So it is kind of like a
pay to play type of thing. But if you really
put the effort into it, it really does help.
So anything that you can put out there, I feel
like is going to help your park. Yeah, I agree.
I think it's I think you just got to do it all
the time. Do it scared. Yeah. Yeah. It's like
nobody's watching. I coach a lot of business
and in and outside of this industry. And when
they ask me, like, what's too much? And I'm like,
it's never too much. It just posts like nobody's
watching because you've got to stay top of mind.
Yeah. Actually, for those, I think for those
attractions that maybe are watching that are
open throughout the year, you know, our seasonal
attractions get a little bit of, I'm trying to
think of the right word here. They get, they're
kind of special because of the seasonality. They
get that like. What, what, what, that mystique
because they're only open. Yeah. People are more
like, more like excited when they are posting
things because they're only open for a short
amount of time as opposed to. And I don't know,
I kind of mentioned to you earlier, you know,
water parks are certainly like we're water park
people at my house. And so it's something that
we look forward to all winter. It's something
we plan and we talk about. And, you know, I've
got a sister with a birthday in July and we know
we're going to get a cabana for her birthday.
You know, it's something that we plan. But I
think for those attractions that might be watching
that are. open all year long you know they're
struggling to stay top of mind they've got to
remind people that they're there when the kids
go back to school yeah yeah it's so true yeah
i think again with those that are open all year
round establish a regular posting schedule so
that you are keeping top of mind for people who
are interacting with your different social pages
and things like that. Even your website, making
sure that that is always updated with new things
that are happening or events that are happening.
So then people know that you're still there and
you're still ready to have fun all year long.
Yeah, I love that. Now, I know you've worked
with both domestic and international parks, and
I'm curious if you've seen any key differences
in the visual approach or branding across those
two. From one place to the other. Yeah. I think
the only like major difference that I see with
between international and just staying here locally
in the States is those international brands.
They really have to make like a punch with. unique
things to do because people are taking major
vacations and hitting those destinations. So
just making sure that like everything that they're
putting out there is maybe unique things that
they cannot, that people can't do if they're
back at home. But on the flip side of that, with
the ones that are here in the States, and I can
only speak of their perspective because I am
from here and I'm not like a local in the international
like markets there. But the ones that are here,
in the states it may not be as important to say
we have all these unique things because you get
the local crowds coming in and you have people
who are traveling but you know traveling state
to state is not the same as like taking an international
trip so it may not be as important to those people
to be to say like oh I I rode the world's tallest
roller coaster. You know, you know what I'm saying?
So I think that was the only like when I was
thinking about it, like the only major difference
between those type of messaging for the different
parks. Well, I think I think what's kind of interesting
about what you said and and also kind of looking
at the video and the photography that is being
done, let's say that you're doing that eight
hour day, just kind of self in the. the parks
perspective, you know, knowing what to do. I
mean, would you say that, and I'm just using
this as an example because it's something that
came up because we were looking at cabanas for
my sister's birthday, was, you know, could you
do a video that talks about the different areas
of the cabanas? You know, are those the things
that you're talking about getting done during
that day? Like explaining what the guests can
do when they're there? Or are we just taking
video? photos and videos, you know, what are
some of the ideas maybe of, I mean, for me, if
somebody posted that on YouTube, like, hey, these
are where our cabanas are located. This is the
view you get because I'm showing you this video.
I feel like that's really powerful for somebody
like me who's planning the day for my family.
Yeah, definitely. And that is like a really good
content idea anyways, because that can not only
be used on social, but that can be used on your
website. And it's going to help clear up a lot
of questions because with. i also offer web design
and i can see the questions that are coming through
the website on what people are asking and the
majority of the questions are about cabanas um
so if you had a video out there that's that posted
up on your cabana page that says here's what
it looks like um for this cabana here's what
is offered within your cabana rental and then
have a cabana server come up and say this is
also what you get and all of these things to
really show people um the value add when they
do book a cabana so i think like yeah there are
whenever i do work with parks they're obviously
all parks are different they all have different
requests and things that they think are really
important to their park um so i think if um a
park is talking about what what can we do to
help out with our cabanas that's definitely would
be an amazing way of uh promoting your cabanas
and just clearing up questions that people yeah
and i love that and you know our audience is
made up of we've we have we have all the different
types of attractions so i would imagine that
could apply to a museum or a family entertainment
center like take a video of the party rooms yeah
yeah well mom doesn't always know what to expect
i've planned a lot of kids parties at these events
and not knowing what the room's going to look
like until i get there and that sometimes doesn't
work out the way that you think it's going to
look out so i can see where not only could you
use that for your marketing but also it's telling
that story of what that day is going to be like.
Yeah. Well, I'd love to move into maps. I know
that's something that you talk a lot about, maps
and that imagery. And I'm curious on your perspective,
you know, what makes a map more than just a navigational
tool? Because I know currently that's probably
how most parks are using it, but it is so much
more. Yeah. oh my gosh i i could talk about maps
all day i i just it's like my like really be
besides like water park it's like my niche thing
within the niche um but i really think that maps
are so important because when someone when a
guest is coming to your website they they can
put together maybe the images that you have on
your website all the information but they're
never really getting a full view of what your
park has to offer and that's what maps do you're
able to see a bird's eye view down on all of
your different attractions where they are laid
out um and how accessible things are too because
that's super important if like someone is coming
to your park they're worried about how far they
have to walk or things like that so i think like
having a map that super clear in showing everything
that your facility has to offer but also looks
really fun is like so important and I think it
it's one of the things that your website needs
in order to get the people understanding what
your park is and also excited and then when it
comes to the map within the park, obviously that's
when it becomes a major navigational tool, not
only for people who are looking at it on their
own, but also helping out employees point out
different things to guests to make sure that
they know where they're going. So I think park
maps are really important. And I also just, I
really love designing them as well. Well, I love
that you brought up the accessibility piece because
we've had, we've actually had a number of accessibility
advocates on the show here. And one of the things
that mentioned, and I think you just kind of
confirmed that was that, you know, a lot of times
guests with those needs, they're not necessarily
looking for you to, you know, change the whole
park to accommodate whatever needs they have,
but what they are looking for is information
so they can plan their day. And so, you know,
just going back to that idea and you guys can
thank us for this idea later, because this is
a great marketing idea. i think going back to
that video like even if you showed a video this
is how close the cabana is to the restroom if
you need accessibility or doing a video that
shows all of the accessible things that you know
ways that they are accommodating because you
know i think that is so huge I work on a project
for a company called Outlier that is focused
on accessibility in film, television and media
and now attractions. And what's interesting to
me is that it's a big percentage of people. If
you just don't tell them using your map. how
they're going to be able to navigate their day,
you might lose that business. And it's what,
25 % of people now have some sort of need with
regards to accessibility. So that's a big number
when you think about how huge. the market is
and how much money we're losing when we just
don't tell that story exactly and it's not even
just the people with the with those needs they're
bringing their family so you're also missing
out on that as well so i think it's like really
it's really important to take those people into
consideration as well um and back to your point
with like doing a video and all of that um on
your website you have the capability to put an
accessibility menu on there you can add those
videos to that so people um it doesn't need to
be like on your site if you're worried about
taking up space but like if you you can add those
videos to that accessibility menu so then those
people will see that right off the bat and then
they'll answer all their questions or hopefully
most of their questions i love that i think that
is an amazing idea you guys can thank us later
send stephanie a message Because I think that
that's huge. I think it's huge. Well, you know,
kind of going back to the mapping, you know,
I'm curious how an outdated park map. I never
like to talk about the negative impact that things
have, but we know that there is probably a negative
impact on the perception of the attractions when
they have an outdated map. What do you see happening
right now for those parks that are not updating
these things? I think it just goes back to making
sure that the guests know what their visit is
going to be like before they get there, especially
those guests who have never visited your facility
before. So if you're running on an outdated map,
then you added in. a new attraction or things
like that you're missing out on those people
that might have been excited about that new attraction
if you're not showing them what's there on their
map um but to turn a negative into a positive
it's easy fixes it is like i have worked on maps
where we started from ground zero to maps that
have been redesigned over and over and over again
adding on attractions and things like that so
it's really an easy fix you just got to make
sure that when you either have your attraction
there or if you're planning on it that that's
in the works and then it's all updated so because
if you imagine like if you're going to a park
and like you see the map and then you're like
oh okay well I was expecting this to be here
and it's not anymore or like you had this attraction
it's not there anymore or something like that
like I don't know. I just think it's really important
to make sure that, again, your guests who are
spending their hard -earned money at your facility,
their experience is 100 % accurate to what you're
portraying out there, your story, your park story.
Yeah, I agree. Because if you go looking at the
map and then you show up and that ride doesn't
exist anymore, or even when the ride's just closed.
Yeah. Right? That's disappointing. thing at times
right like i have a favorite ride i like to ride
and it's it's it's for whatever reason it's not
open a lot i mean it seems like a difficult ride
to maintain this particular ride and um you know
it's nice when you're kind of prepped for it
versus you know, showing up and having that little
bit of disappointment. So I can see how you can
communicate with your guests, these things through
the mapping. And, you know, I'm curious what
the process, what is the process look like for
working with a park to translate it into physical
space, into a compelling artistic map? You know,
can you take us through kind of like, what is
that process for those? Believe it or not, we
still have parks, even a gate master one that
we work with. that don't have maps. And I think
there's maybe some fear around how to translate
that into the map. How do we turn that into the
map? I mean, with that, I know you probably have
some IP and things that you may not want to share
with us, but I'm just curious if you can help
ease the minds of some of the parks that are
about to take this on and what that process looks
like. Mm hmm. There's no secret sauce. Honestly,
like I hand draw all the maps and then I digitally
illustrate it. So there's nothing that I'm hiding
with what I'm doing. A little backstory is I
wanted to be an architect and I went to school
and I was like, I don't care about load bearing
walls or fascias. But I was like, but I still
like designing and I like knowing where things
are and things like that. But I like the fun
aspect of it. Anyways, when it comes to park
maps, the process seems like it would be daunting,
but it really isn't because I have designed for...
parks that I have visited before. So then I'm
able to pull from what I already know about those
parks. And I've designed from parks that I've
never visited before. So when I work with a park,
I first start off by going to Google Earth. I
don't know if anyone still uses it. I think I'm
the one that's still keeping that whole program
alive. It's not Google Maps, it's Google Earth.
So you're looking everything top down. So I first
start off by looking at that and I'm able to
see a general layout. out of what the bird's
eye view of that park looks like and then from
there if they've made changes from that view
that I'm seeing I'm able to work with like the
general managers or park owners and things like
that to get new photos of attractions that they've
had different layouts of different things and
if they've changed colors with their different
attractions and then from there I sketch it out
We have one phase where I show them the wireframe,
which is basically just the sketch plus some
of the lines in there. And then from there, we
kind of tailor it to what they're seeing in the
park, what it actually looks like and what it
looks like in the map. And then once all of those
lines are set up, then I just color it in and
put in some fun characters. And that's basically
it. The whole process takes around... two to
three months with back and forth communication
and just me being able to get all of those details
in there. But yeah, it's, it's a pretty straightforward
process. It's not, it's not super daunting. At
least I hope it's not for parks that are working
with me. But I think it's really important that
the map is fun, but super clear because it has
to be a good balance of both. So yeah, that's
basically. You're right. You're communicating
with your guests. So you do want it to be clear.
And I'm sure there is a little bit of balance
between that and the branding. And then, like
you said, the characters that might be or the
mascots that many of our parks have. You know,
I like to talk a little bit about innovation
on this show and innovation in practice. And
I know we kind of touched a little bit on AI
and where things are going. i'm curious you know
if you see ai being used to enhance photo and
video marketing over the next three to five years
or if you just you know what are your general
thoughts around it because i i have mixed feelings
on it but i'm curious how you feel about it so
i'm kind of in your same boat with mixed feelings
about it um i do not think um right now that
any ai should be used with imagery um because
again it's kind of in my opinion it kind of misleads
the guests a little bit um i feel like it's very
important to show your attractions the way that
they look um and also like AI is getting getting
good getting better but still sometimes it adds
a tooth an extra tooth or an extra hand in there
and things like that so like I just I feel like
there is a human element when it comes to creating
really good imagery with photo and video and
even even with some of the graphic design work
that I do as well like there's just that that
touch of human personality in there that I feel
like really translates to the final product.
When it comes to like other uses of AI, maybe
like generating captions, things like that, like
a little bit more lenient on those things, I
think. But still, I think overall, like your
park is run by humans. attended to like humans
come into the park so it's like i don't know
i don't know it's a hard subject and honestly
it's a hard it's a hard thing to kind of wrap
my head around being creative um overall with
having like the conversation with ai i think
um it's a really powerful tool but i do believe
that humans are creative and yeah Yeah, no, I
can totally appreciate that. Plus, I think, you
know, like you said, the guest. I like what you
said about it can be a little bit misleading
to the guest. Right. Because a photo is a photo
like they can they can see that when they come
to the. And I think that that has impact on their
experience, especially like you said, these these
families are spending their hard earned monies.
It's an investment. I say this all the time on
the show. You know, it's an investment to visit
our parks and attractions. And we don't take
that. I mean, most of us do not take that lightly.
We're super grateful and love the families that
are that are patrons of these facilities, for
sure, because we couldn't do this business. without
them. And, you know, many of the attractions
that are out there and water parks are there
to create joy for these families. And I think
that that is, you know, it's just something the
world needs. I love our industry so much. It
is something the world needs. I mean, I even,
I mentioned earlier on the show, I just got back
from going on a bunch of different countries
in Europe. And over and over again, I found myself
looking, what are the attractions that I can
visit? Because it's going to give me a taste
of that experience that we're having. And then
also to your point on the marketing and the communication
and kind of understanding, you know, what is
that experience going to be like is important,
especially if somebody has never been to your
park before. You know, kind of leaving this on
finding the fun. I know you're passionate about
bringing a sense of fun into business in a world
full of seriousness. And I don't feel like our
business is very serious. I mean, it is a real
thing. You know, what's a simple change attractions
can make to remind both their guests and their
staff that we are in the business of fun? I think
what what part what facilities can do is I don't
know just when people I always like think about
like walking through the door places and really
like seeing like what what everything is that's
there but also just that feeling of like I'm
so excited to like be here I think Having that,
like, translated through the way that your employees
interact with your guests and just making sure
that, like, all of your, like, I don't know,
your, like, signage and everything is just super
positive and super exciting to look at, I think
really just helps, like, feed that excitement
of people that are there to have fun for that
day. And this is a fun industry. So, like, really
just, like, go in with it. be so fun like with
everything that the your facility has to offer
I think even like down to like I don't know just
like the little signs like that are at the park
like having like your mascot on there like I
don't know just making it just so that everyone
who is there and in that environment knows that
fun is like the priority because life is tough
like you go to a fun place like a water park
like that's all you should be worried about is
just having fun yeah it's it's so true life and
what's happening outside the gates of these parks
you know i just visited epic universe and i know
like every park listening is going to have the
tools or the resources that that that had and
i was there for an iapa meetup so we got like
two or three hours in the park but you know one
of the things that i will say is just You know,
even for those few hours, you know, I just got
off a plane from London. So, you know, legit
jet lagged. It was we left at 8 a .m. and arrived
at 3 p .m. So that's like a difference in Orlando
at six. But, you know, even despite all of that,
all of a sudden I was taken to this whole other
place. And I think that. the situation or the
feeling that we want to give our guests when
they show up at our parks. And that's what we
want them to expect from us. That's what they
are expecting from us. And so, so much of what
you've shared today helps create that picture
of what that looks like. Yeah. And I do want
to touch on what you're saying with your staff
as well, just because I recently last month.
went to a park and took photos and everything
and we had like a few hours at the tail end of
the day where it was just the the staff going
down the slides and stuff like that i just had
particular photos that i wanted to get and i
knew that if we sent some of the lifeguards down
the slides and i can tell them when exactly like
to look at the camera we would get it but just
that feeling of like the those staff members
having such a good time and like that camaraderie
like within them like I don't know just brought
me back to like my lifeguard days and like how
much fun I was having when I was working there
I think also fostering it on that side not just
your guest experience but also your staff experience
too is like so important because it just translates
it really does like I people I mean obviously
people the staff knew I was there for photos
because I have a camera in my hand but I was
kind of looking out and seeing like like how
that they were interacting with their guests.
And they were so positive, giving high fives,
talking about how their days were going and things
like that. And like, I don't know, just asking
silly questions to the guests before they push
them down the slide. And I feel like because
they had that like fun, like staff environment,
that they were able to translate that to their
guests. So I think it's not, like I said, it's
not just important for your guest experience,
but also for your staff experience too. And I
mean, I think it's great because if you're working
as a lifeguard and you're in your teenage years
or college years, like you're building core memories
and other memories that are going to last a lifetime
and could only help you be a positive member
of working wherever else you end up working at.
And that, and that gives us like a fresh choice,
joyful perspective on how the work that's being
done in our parks day to day, because it is,
we do have to keep this fun. If it look, I can
tell when a ride attendant's not having fun or
somebody behind the counter. I mean, I've been
in parks where the people behind the counter
are crying. You know, that is not the situation
you want to have your guests experiencing because
they're not having fun. The team should be having
fun. Yes, it's work. Work is not easy. They don't
call it work for nothing. I say this all the
time. My work is called work because it's work.
But at the end of the day, like you said, many
of the young people who are working, young professionals
who are working in this industry are developing
those core memories. They are gaining the skills
and competencies that they need to move within
this industry. And because you are somebody who
has gone from a lifeguard to who you are today
and helping all of these parks tell these stories,
I really appreciate you sharing your story because
like you, I started off as, you know, just Somebody
was briefing people in laser tag arenas. And
it's amazing because this is one of the few industries
where I think people like you and me can continue
to develop ourselves as professionals in this
industry. Working in this industry, every young
professional has an opportunity to get a seat
at the table of these parks that allows them
to have greater impact and develop into whatever
professional role they want. Yeah, absolutely.
Now, I know we're bumping up on time, and those
who are listening to the podcast cannot see the
puppy that just showed up for our interview.
I have to mention I'm a dog person. And I just
saw you had a little corgi. I love corgis. They're
my favorite. That's my coworker. What's his or
her name? Cannoli. cannoli oh my gosh what a
perfect name for yeah i actually brought him
to um wwa last year and i dressed him up as a
lifeguard it was amazing oh how funny oh i love
that i love that i'm a tough person so i i i
had to say hello um thank you well before i let
you go uh two things one any last words for the
audience and then two if somebody feels so compelled
or needs your help what is the best way for them
to get a hold of you i just want to say thank
you for having me on this podcast or this live
stream i think it's really i think it's really
cool that um we're able to like talk about um
these things within the entertainment tourism
industry um and i can't believe that i'm actually
like at this point right now where i have stuck
with the industry and like now we're here I'm
able to like talk about it you know so thank
you so much for having me on this show I really
appreciate it and yeah I just think like this
is a great industry to be in and if anyone has
any interest in furthering any of their skills
to continue in on it I think it's a really fun
and fruitful career for anyone. So, um, if anyone
is interested in working with me or even talking
with me, if they have any questions or anything
like that, I'm always, I'm always open to help.
I had a lot of people help me along the way.
So any way that I can pay that forward, um, I'm
willing to do, um, and happy to do, but I have,
um, my website, which is my name, stephaniesonycreative
.com, um, that people can reach out and you can
see any of my work that I've done and my park
map. and things like that. So, yeah. Stephanie,
well, thank you so much for being here because
this show would not be possible without people
like you who are willing to not only share their
voice, but share their experiences and their
expertise. And I feel like this show was such
a gem because you gave people actionable things
just here on this, on the, you know. that they
can take into their businesses today and be better.
And that's really what this show is about. How
do we make this industry better? Not that it
isn't already great, but in order to keep the
greatness, we've got to keep, and that's just
my, maybe that's my personal perspective, but
I feel like any, anybody. who wants to continue
to grow gets better right like that's just how
it goes so you know you being willing to be here
today and to share your knowledge and information
and expertise with the world i really appreciate
that and i i appreciate together as a community
we are trying to uh build more fun and more joyful
fullness for the families and the people you
know look We got park adults now. So for everyone
that's visiting, right? We've got park adults
who are coming. But, you know, it's everybody.
You know, this is really for everybody. And the
thing I think I love the most is that we're bringing
people together. Yeah, definitely. So thank you
again for being here today. And hopefully I'll
see you at WWA. Yeah, yeah, definitely. I'm looking
forward to it. Awesome. Well, thanks again for
being here. Yay, thank you. I'll see you next
time. Okay, bye. All right. Well, just to wrap
up this show, I do have to, again, thanks, Stephanie,
for being here. I don't know about you guys,
but I think this was a great show to come back
to. I haven't been here for a little while. And
what I'm most thrilled about is that we showed
up with a bang because we, I mean, if you listen
to this whole show, there are things in here
that you can take and put into action in your
business. And I hope that you do because it is
these things that we're sharing on this show
that are going to help you continue to move the
needles in your business. And again, this show
would not be possible without our sponsor, GateMaster
Technology, who's been helping parks and attractions
for over 30 years. Parks and attractions of all
sizes run smarter using our all -in -one ticketing
and point -of -sale and marketing solutions.
And we truly understand your business inside
and out because we've all been there. We've all
been there and we work side by side with you
and we understand some of your pain points. We
understand some of the things that you're trying
to improve. We understand how you want to get
better and hopefully you want to make more money.
That's usually like a qualifying question for
me when I'm talking to a potential park. Do you
want to make more money? Yeah, we do because
that's how we have impact and we continue to
do the things that we do. So I hope that you'll
visit gate masters, gate master .com. And again,
thank. to Stephanie, to Sony for being on the
show today. And I hope to see you next time.
The next Live with Sondra. We'll see you guys
on the other side. Go out there and be great.