VALDOSTA —
Wild Adventures is always changing, always preparing for the future, the chief executive of the company that owns the park told The Times this week.
During a visit to the park Wednesday, Joel Manby, Herschend Family Entertainment’s CEO and president, said Wild Adventures may possibly open an on-site camping area in the future. Lodging components, such as hotel accommodations, have been given consideration.
In recent years, Wild Adventures has focused on improving the customer experience rather than adding attractions.
These improvements include the replacement of tons of concrete and cement with more green areas, trees and shade. Splash Island added more accommodations for guests to rest and play.
“We’re not always adding a big ride,” Manby said. “We have enough ride capacity but we wanted to add to the comfort capacity for customers.”
Herschend Family Entertainment has long-term goals for Wild Adventures, an evolving plan reaching 15 years into the future, Manby said. More immediate goals are developed in three-year increments, with implementation and public announcements of changes, additions, etc., coming annually.
“The bottom line is we’re trying to make the park better every year,” Manby said, adding that Wild Adventures is firmly settled in South Georgia. “Herschend Family Entertainment remains committed to Wild Adventures and this community.”
The CEO visited the park as part of a promotional tour for his book, “Love Works: Seven Timeless Principles for Effective Leaders.”
Manby gained national attention two years ago when he appeared on the CBS reality show, “Undercover Boss.” On the show, he gained a unique perspective of how Herschend could better serve its employees and customers.
The experience made him a believer and an advocate for the Share It Forward Foundation, which helps Herschend employees in matters such as catastrophic aid, single parenting, scholarships, and marriage counseling. The book’s proceeds go to the foundation.
The book addresses what Manby views as a leadership crisis and shares how CEOs, presidents and managers can be more effective leaders.
One such principle is staying in regular contact with employees while not micromanaging them. For example, Manby visits Wild Adventures about once every two to three months and allows Wild Adventures General Manager Greg Charbeneau to do his job managing the park.
Charbeneau said Wild Adventures’ core customer base remains the immediate South Georgia-North Florida area, citing Valdosta and Tallahassee, Fla., as the chief markets. Fifty percent of Wild Adventures’ customers are season-pass holders. Most customers are willing to drive an average of 66 miles one way. The core marketing campaigns stretch 75 to 100 miles.
Given this distance, within an elliptical region of the tri-state area of Georgia, Florida and Alabama, Wild Adventures has the potential to attract 5.2 million people.
Wild Adventures has increased marketing to middle and north Georgia, Manby said, and the campaign has worked as more visitors are traveling to the park from these regions.
Wild Adventures’ location also plays into Herschend’s strategy of operating parks primarily in the South because demographics show the South continues experiencing high population growth. Wild Adventures also has the advantage of being located near Interstate 75, on a state line, centrally located between Atlanta and Orlando, Fla.
While theme parks nationwide have felt the brunt of the economy, Wild Adventures continues to fare well, Manby said. It offers a less-expensive experience than Orlando theme parks such as Walt Disney World and Universal. Families may not be able to afford the travel and ticket price of an Orlando theme park but they can afford a day trip to Wild Adventures.
“We’re a cheap date,” Manby said. “We are very affordable.”
Comparing theme parks with the auto industry, where Manby originally served as an executive for Saab and Saturn, Manby said theme parks have no worries about competitors coming to town.
“There is no competition from other areas in this business,” Manby says. “There is a high barrier of entry. No one else is going to come into Valdosta and build a theme park.”
As for Wild Adventures, it is regarded as one of the few, if only, success stories for new parks in the past couple of decades throughout the nation.
“Wild Adventures would be one of the most successful park starts in recent years,” Manby said. Overall, “the big picture is the industry is very healthy.”
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