LIGHTWATER VALLEY STUDENT PACK
CONTENTS
1. WHAT IS LIGHTWATER VALLEY?
2. LIGHTWATER VALLEY THEME PARK
3. LIGHTWATER COUNTRY SHOPPING VILLAGE
4. LIGHTWATER BIRDS OF PREY CENTRE (TALON FALCONRY)
5. KEY FACTS & FIGURES
6. FOOD FACTS!
7. SITE HISTORY
8. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
9. JOB DESCRIPTIONS
10. MASCOTS & ENTERTAINERS
11. A DAY IN THE LIFE OF …
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1. WHAT IS LIGHTWATER VALLEY?
Lightwater Valley is a tourism and leisure business set in 175 acres of North Yorkshire Parkland and is home to the following individual attractions:
• Lightwater Valley Theme Park • Lightwater Country Shopping Village • Lightwater Birds of Prey Centre (operated by Talon Falconry)
2. LIGHTWATER VALLEY THEME PARK
Lightwater Valley theme park is home to over 40 rides and attractions, but the theme park is most famous for being home to the longest roller coaster in Europe – The Ultimate, officially recognised as the longest in the world until 2001. Other jaw-dropping rides include Eagle’s Claw, a KMG Afterburner, Whirlwind, a Mondial Top Scan ride, and Powder Kegs, a Huss breakdance. For younger guests we have an equally varied selection of rides, categorised as both ‘mini’ and ‘mega’ adventures.
3. LIGHTWATER COUNTRY SHOPPING VILLAGE
Lightwater Country Shopping Village comprises just over 30,000 square feet of undercover retail space and is currently home to ten different factory-style outlets, as well as a restaurant and coffee shop known as The Granary. Whilst the theme park is open from March to November, our Shopping Village remains open for 12 months of the year.
4. LIGHTWATER BIRDS OF PREY CENTRE
Located in the grounds of Lightwater Valley, we have awe-inspiring Birds of Prey Centre operated by Talon Falconry. Established to raise awareness of a wide selection of breath-taking birds, this facility offers a truly unique experience where people can come along and learn about every aspect of the birds' life and care. Visitors also have the opportunity to see how these amazing birds are trained and handled, as well as being treated to dramatic flying shows at 2:00pm and 4:00pm every day. Guests can also volunteer to pull on a gauntlet and allow these trained raptors to land on their arm.
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5. FACTS & FIGURES
Lightwater Valley Theme Park is open to the public from March through to November and is located 3 miles North of Ripon on the A6108 in North Yorkshire.
Each season approximately 350,000 people visit the theme park, but our highest ever visitor figure was nearly 500,000 in 1983. Over 480,000 people also visited in 1992, the year we opened The Ultimate!
6. FOOD FACTS
Each season our theme park visitors consume:
• 113,000 portions of chips • 32,000 burgers • 9,000 portions of popcorn • 2,000kg of pick & mix
7. SITE HISTORY
Lightwater Valley started life in 1969 as a self-pick fruit farm and in 1977 the first Children’s attraction was built – ‘Fort William Adventure Playground’. Following this, a restaurant was the next major building to be constructed, closely followed by a crazy golf course, a miniature railway and a lake with paddle boats.
The first white knuckle rides were constructed in the mid 1980’s:
• The Rat (built 40ft underground) • The Wave (a 54 seat Roman galley)
In February 2001 Heritage Great Britain plc took over the ownership and management of Lightwater Valley, with the aim of making us one of the UK’s strongest visitor attractions.
Other Heritage Great Britain sites include:
• Land’s End; • The Needles on the Isle of Wight; • John O’Groats; • Snowdon Mountain Railway in Wales.
Further information is available from www.heritagegb.co.uk.
3 8. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
Lightwater Valley is divided into the following departments:
• Marketing & PR • Customer Relations & Admissions • Operations • Engineering • Hygiene • Revenue (incorporating retail, catering and games & arcades) • Health & Safety • Human Resources • Finance
Each area of the business has a ‘Head of Department’ who reports directly to the General Manager, who in turn reports to the directors of Heritage Great Britain PLC.
9. JOB DESCRIPTIONS
The Revenue Manager ensures the park provides:
• Games – the latest video simulators and amusements; • Food and beverages; • Souvenir items including branded goods; • Ride photography.
The Marketing Manager is responsible for the effective promotion of Lightwater Valley across all media, ranging from newspapers and magazines to radio, television and social media. The marketing department also ensures that all customer enquiries are responded to in an efficient and timely manner, as well as overseeing the admission process.
The Operations Manager looks after park maintenance, as well as all issues relating to security and hygiene. This department also takes the lead on ride and theme park evacuation, traffic control and the safety of everyone who visits and / or works at Lightwater Valley.
All seasonal staff are put through a general induction programme, as well as undergoing training in health & safety, customer awareness, basic food hygiene and cash handling.
10. MASCOTS & ENTERTAINERS
Lightwater Valley has been home to many park mascots, with some of the earliest being Edgar Fox, Cyril Squirrel, Reggy Rabbit, Woody Bear and Dozy Dorris. Our current Park mascots are Harry, Sally and Baby Al – The Valligators.
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A RIDE ATTENDANT
“My day begins at 9:00am when I wait for the bus; this usually gets me to Lightwater Valley for 9:25am and the morning briefing. The purpose of the briefing is that we all find out from the management how the park did the previous day, such as overall visitor numbers and whether or not we all hit our departmental targets.
“Following this, all front-line staff are directed to their individual positions for the day, whether this be shops, catering outlets or (as in my case) a particular ride. Today I am working on The Ultimate with two further attendants and one ride operator; on arrival at the ride we begin cleaning in preparation for customers.
“At 10:30am the first customers begin to arrive; I have to check everyone’s height before they are allowed to board the ride.
“With some customers out on the track enjoying the ride, I chat to the people who are left in the queue, asking them how their day is going, if they have travelled far, what their favourite rides might be. When talking to customers I always keep eye contact and try to have a little fun with them; after all, people visit a theme park for a great day out and tend to be in a relaxed frame of mind. I also try to look as happy as possible around the customers to assist in making their day a little better; this isn’t difficult as working in a theme park is a great way to spend the summer and is far better than being stuck in a city centre office!
“The day ends at 5:00pm, but this can be later if the park is busy as the rides stay in operation until 6:00pm.”
11.1 A DAY IN THE LIFE OF …
A RETAIL ASSISTANT
“On arrival at work, I ‘clock on’ and make my way over to the theatre for morning briefing, where we all find out about yesterday’s figures and today’s targets. The retail team then transfer to the Mainline Gifts outlet where Chris (our retail manager) tells us about our individual tasks and positions for the day ahead.
“I am assigned to the ‘Whistle Stop’ outlet today, but firstly I need to pay a visit to the cash office to collect my float. On arrival at ‘Whistle Stop’ a few minutes later, I count my float into the till and ensure that all delivered stock is displayed correctly. I then open the doors and start serving customers as they arrive at my unit.
“After lunch, I put away the stock from the second delivery and start work on the cleaning schedule. This involves facing-up stock, sweeping and mopping the floors, filling in the cleaning records and taking the rubbish out to the bin store. I also need to record the fridge / freezer temperatures, as well as serving customers as and when necessary. At 4:45pm I begin shutting down in preparation for closing the shop at 5:00pm and cashing-up. I then return the float to the cash office and catch my bus home.”
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