For Episode 6, the I’M4FUN Podcast welcomes Mr. Roland Mack, Founder of Europa-Park in Rust, Germany. Roland founded Europa-Park in 1975 with his father, and today Europa-Park is Germany’s largest amusement park, having been voted “best in the world” for the sixth year in a row by the Golden Ticket Awards. As a former Chairman of IAAPA, Roland joins Dennis live to discuss how the European leisure market is faring in 2020 and what its outlook is for the future. Not only as an operator, but also as a co-owner of Mack Rides, Roland specifically provides a unique insight as to how Covid-19 has impacted both the operator and supply sides of the industry. Don’t miss this interesting discussion!

Dennis is joined by Jane Cooper, President & COO of Herschend Family Entertainment, considered the nation’s largest family-owned themed attractions corporation. Its entertainment and hospitality properties currently span 23 locations in six states across the USA. Do the observations and experiences from COVID provide opportunities? Jane addresses the current risk to talent in our industry and provides insights as to how to build bench strength. Also:

Our special guest for Episode 4 of the ITPS I’m4Fun Podcast is Rene Aziz, CEO & President of Grupo Divertido in Mexico. Dennis and Rene engage in an energetic discussion about the status of the attractions industry in Mexico and Latin America. Rene shares his insights on the general state of the economy and how this will continue to impact leisure attractions. Learn about the future of Mexico in its quest to rebound its theme park and attractions market and hear what Rene, a past Chairman of IAAPA, feels it will take for our global industry to fully recover.

Dennis Speigel, Founder & CEO of ITPS and Rick Hunter, Chairman & CEO of ProSlide Technology discuss the continued growth of the waterpark industry, and the shakeouts that have resulted from Covid-19 impacts. Rick provides insights on both domestic and foreign growth trends and opines on trends and technological advances he is seeing as our industry regains its footing. Watch this dynamic and highly informative discussion.

Dennis is joined by Keith James, Owner & CEO of JRA, a world-class attraction design company that has planned, designed, and produced hundreds of experiences for international audiences. Listen to Dennis and Keith as they discuss how the design process has changed as a result of the new operating era that parks and attractions are implementing, both short and long term. Keith also talks about the process of design in a remote working environment, including both difficulties and advantages, and sheds insight on how this new process can affect and help developers.

For this inaugural ITPS podcast, Dennis is joined by Jim Seay, President & Owner of Premier Rides. Jim is a safety industry expert and a globally respected industry icon. Hear how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted manufacturers and suppliers around the world in both the short and long term. Dennis and Jim  also discuss their insights on our industry’s performance, including how vendor transactions will be carried out in the future.

I'm4Fun...with Dennis Speigel