Last week I attended the Western Fairs Association Conference in
Anaheim. While attending the conference, I had the unique opportunity to
take a behind the scenes tour of both Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm!
It was quite a treat for a guy who is fascinated by what goes into staging any
special event.
Being the home of the "Magic Kingdom", I didn't expect to learn
any secrets at Disneyland. We took our tour and learned about
their recycling program, toured their maintenance area, went upstairs
into Walt Disney's apartment, rode in the private caboose of the train
and my favorite part, got to see the main launch facility (yes it is a
facility) for their fireworks show. Their staff was definitely
polished, extremely knowledgeable and everything seemed to be perfectly
manicured and maintained. The park was packed due to it being the last
weekend before school resumed from Christmas break. As luck had it, the
Indiana Jones ride broke down, resulting in the cancellation of our tour of the
rides maintenance bay and our chance to actually take a ride on it! After
miles of walking, with no break for lunch, we finally boarded a bus and headed
back to our hotel.
A few days later we boarded a bus and headed to the less popular park down
the street, Knott's Berry Farm. I was surprised to learn that Knott's is
actually older than Disneyland. The historian that met us in the parking
lot informed us that Walt Disney once visited the park to get ideas for his own
project.
What immediately struck me was how Knott's had the feeling of
"home". The facility and landscape wasn't perfect, but the
staff members were welcoming, friendly and very laid back. As we finished
our tour of their popular restaurant, we were ushered into the kitchen where
over 600 pieces of fried chicken are cooked every forty minutes! It smelled
amazing! Not only could we see it being prepared, but much to our
surprise, their head chef and other management team started serving us fried
chicken, biscuits and some absolutely amazing raspberry butter!
The tour continued after our snack and we began walking through the
amusement park. The managers freely shared the costs to renovate rides
and answered questions relating to the events industry. Soon enough we
were led to the front of the log ride and boarded to have fun on the newly
renovated ride. How could this tour get any better? Well, our next
stop answered that question! We entered a building and were greeted by
other managers and staff members who led us to a table full of deserts!
Blueberry pies, cheesecake, raspberry tarts, cookies and an assortment of
drinks. As we ate, their marketing team shared their strategies and
offered industry related advice.
As the tour ended, I realized something; both parks offered us an experience
and wowed us in different ways. It made me realize that regardless of
what industry we work in, we should strive for the visual perfection that
Disneyland is so great at presenting. However, the Knott's Berry Farm
experience reminded me that most people will ignore the imperfections if you
treat them right and create an experience that feels like home.
So I share this story to simply offer this food for thought: Whether you manage a fair or a
festival, pastor a church, own a restaurant, or just want to entertain friends
or family in your home, having the best facility and the finest equipment
is great, but just treat people right and make them feel at home and people
will drive to the bad side of town, travel for hours and wait forever to
experience whatever it is you have to offer. So the question is, how are YOU treating people?
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