i stumbled accross this website and they interviewed the Alexis and here is what he said:
Pleasurewood Hills opens for its new season this month under the stewardship of new general manager Alexis Camelin. Born in Grenoble in France, Alexis is no stranger to the leisure industry having worked in various jobs around the UK for the past 15 years. His vision is to revitalise the park whilst remaining true to its history and iconic mascot, Woody. Alexis has moved to the area with his family and his children, Ellie 7 and Sam 4, are especially excited that their dad is in charge of a theme park! What did you think when you arrived - were there any areas that you felt needed updating? I thought that it required a general tidy up and that some areas required a coat of paint. Also the local signage to Pleasurewood Hills was poor and I would like to have this improved, particularly around the roundabout at Leisure Way.
What’s new this year? New for 2010 is our Castle Theatre show which has an urban street dance theme with performers from Europe dancing with BMX bikes and doing street dance which seems to be very popular at this moment with the youth of today. We also have two new play areas with environment for all our guests. New themed queue lanes have been created to give the atmosphere a boost whilst waiting for your turn on the rides. We will continue to landscape and refurbish areas of the park during the season to improve the whole experience for our visitors.
What are your aims for your first season in charge? My aims for the first season in charge are to make every visitor feel that they will have an enjoyable day out and that they would return again. I would like all the staff to smile a lot and to enjoy working at such a great place. To continue winning awards like “The Best Visitor Experience 2009” and at the end of the year to say ‘well done’ to everyone on the success of my first year in charge.
Pleasurewood Hills went through a difficult patch in the late 1990s. How hard do you think it will be to overturn people’s perceptions of the park? People’s perception of Pleasurewood Hills can be quite varied and by having our very own daily survey we can monitor what it is that they want and expect from us. A staff member goes round on a daily basis and asks questions on an electronic survey tablet, all this data is then collated and sent to our head office. We then receive a report back every two weeks to let us know the results. We do act on these results as do the whole of the Compagnie Des Alpes organization. Communication is of utmost importance and we also like to talk to local businesses, local authorities, other attractions and our neighbours.
You’ve recently moved into the area with your family. How are you finding it? My children are so proud of their daddy and are really happy that daddy manages a theme park. What more could they wish for! Having local knowledge of the area and my background from the holiday parks makes it all exciting.
Do you think that the role played by local attractions like Pleasurewood Hills become more important during a recession as less people travel abroad? Tourists may only come here once during their stay in the area and we must make sure that they leave us after having a great day out and a truly good experience of what’s on offer here. We have the perfect mix to suit all ages and there is something for everyone. During this recession people are looking for value for money and we certainly offer that.
What are your plans for the future of Pleasurewood Hills? We have three unused rooms which we hope to put into good use by converting one into maybe a memorabilia room from the past of Pleasurewood Hills, one to be changed into conference facilities as we are holding more corporate events, and by having some birthday party rooms as we are getting more and more bookings for this type of event here. We would also like to create a spooky ride for all you dare devils out there.
You’ve worked in the leisure industry in the UK for 15 years, what have you experienced in that time? I have worked in the leisure industry for many years and some of my roles have been working at places such as Harrods in London where I started as a waiter and then progressed higher to silver service and chef de rang. I managed holiday parks in the local area and worked for Bourne Leisure in their park resorts in sales and general manager roles and became an area manager for a company called Haulfren Group Ltd in the south east.
How has the industry changed in that time? A lot. One of the reasons could be that purchasing a holiday home as an investment for your leisure time has been made affordable to a lot of people. Also the quality of service in this industry has improved considerably making it more attractive. Health and safety too has improved on holiday park sites thus making it a more family orientated environment to be in with plenty to see and do at the venues. One of the challenges Pleasurewood Hills has always faced is its location. Places like Alton Towers can attract people from wider areas. How can this be changed? One of the main disadvantages for Pleasurewood Hills is that there is no motorway infrastructure in this region. However, according to research from the East of England Tourist Board, 4.5 million visitors are staying in the area every year. An additional 26 million are day visitors coming to the area and we need to capitalise with our marketing skills and knowledge to make sure that our information is out there to reach them.
How important to the local area and economy is a successful Pleasurewood Hills? It is important not only for local companies, contractors and suppliers but for employment too. We employ 22 full time permanent staff and up to 180 seasonal full time staff during our peak times which all helps people in the area. The park celebrates 30 years in 2012. Are there any plans for a celebration? Not only will Great Britain be celebrating in a big way with the Olympics but Pleasurewood Hills will be celebrating its 30th Anniversary in 2012 too. We will be organizing some special events throughout the season, one being “A Big Party in The Park”.
I’ve heard that Woody will have more of a presence in social networking loops. Is this an important part of widening the appeal of the park? Woody is part of the brand of Pleasurewood Hills and gets more and more popular every year. He will be making many propmotional appearances outside the park. Bookings are now being taken for appearances and I would like to add that his diary is getting quite full so get in there early if you would like him to attend any special events for this year!
^ Remember, that Alexis may not be in charge any more with the sale of the park.
New themed queue lanes have been created to give the atmosphere a boost whilst waiting for your turn on the rides.
That is good to hear, though it did only happen on one ride.
We have three unused rooms which we hope to put into good use by converting one into maybe a memorabilia room from the past of Pleasurewood Hills
Brilliant! PLEASE do that PWH, please!
We would also like to create a spooky ride for all you dare devils out there.
So is that spooky as in Ghost train? The dare devils part makes it seem more about a thrill ride.
One of the main disadvantages for Pleasurewood Hills is that there is no motorway infrastructure in this region. However, according to research from the East of England Tourist Board, 4.5 million visitors are staying in the area every year. An additional 26 million are day visitors coming to the area and we need to capitalise with our marketing skills and knowledge to make sure that our information is out there to reach them.
This is where the duelling of the final stretch of the A11 could really help PWH!
That does all sound really good, but I refuse to get my hopes up when it comes to Pleasurewood!lol
^I think so. Say for example they changed the Fairytale Fantasy into a Haunted ride, not only do we get a new spooky attraction, we also loose the Fairytale Fasntasy :P
As much as I loved it when I was young, it just hasn't changed, and hasn't been looked after. The Fairytale Fantasy and Tales of the Coast are an embaressment at Pleasurewood.
I disagree, they are integral to the family element of the park. What the park needs is evrything to be better ideally. It needs a new signature coaster, it needs to improve its theming so the rides are more of an experience. It needs to create something that is not replacing something that already exists but bring something new and unique that has not been done before in terms of UK theme parks!
On the same note, the veteran cars are well past their sell by date.....
Yeah same with the Waveswinger, that thing is acient! Would love to see one of the large tradtional Waveswingers back at Pleasurewood.
Last time i rode it was Alladin i think! It had a dragon in it!
Yes it did! It just on the left you went indoors. Used to scare the hell out of me when I was little! Even during the journey to the park, I'd be dead excited, yet in the back of my mind the dragon was haunting me!lol Needless to say I cried, lots.
i remember when totc had 3d efect which made it more of a family ride but since then it has gone down hill and is in the need for a total makeover and veteran cars should stay as when i go there with my family they are always a big hit for thoese scared of the bigger rides or to small to go on them
3D effect? What was that then? They gave you glasses, but there was no need for them, hence why they soon stopped giving them out, and removed the '3D' from the ride description.
TBH aside from the 'local tales' aspect, i don't know why they spent money on TOTC because just a few years earlier Peter Hadden changed Aladdins Cave into 'Fantasy Sea Adventure' and spent a fair bit of cash on it.....
It seemed an odd thing for CDA to do. IMO another bit of budget that could have gone towards something else.....
It would be nice for a larger Waveswinger to come in, they are popluar with all groups. As for 'Sky Hooks' It will probably stay for a while - they have only recently moved the controls from the centre of the ride to a 'shed' (ops booth LOL) alongside the queue area :(
Yeah thats a good point about TOTC, the Fantasy Boat ride was alright I suppose, better than TOTC. The money would have been much better spent on Fairytale Fantasy.
