Working in an American Theme Park
Working in an American Theme Park
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The 450 amusement and theme parks in the USA relieved 309 million visitors of $9.1 billion in 1999. Many parks employ thousands of seasonal employees from America and the rest of the world and provide low cost housing to their staff.
The work itself is varied but, as usual, it all comes down to making sure the paying visitors are kept fed, watered, safe and entertained.
Six Flags own and operate 28 parks across America and accept job applications from international students at 15 of their centres. They have 50,000 seasonal vacancies each year and employ 3,500 international students. Good English skills are necessary as all of the positions (ride operations, games and attractions, landscaping, food services, ticket selling, safari guides and guest relations) require dealing with guests. Visit www.sixflags.com for more information.
Cedar Point, located at Sandusky, Ohio, on Lake Erie, bills itself as the roller coaster capital of the world. Bartenders, clerks, ride staff, lifeguards and weightguessers are among the 4,000 people they employ each season. Employees receive $6.25 per hour plus $1ph bonus and can enjoy a mile long sandy beach during their time off. More details at www.cedarpoint.com.
Dollywood is the most visited attraction in Tennessee after the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Originally Silver Dollar City, the theme park has seen attendance figures rise 75% since Dolly Parton took over in 1986. See more at www.dollywood.com
Walt Disney World, the biggest and most well known park in the world has a dedicated career website at jobs.disneycareers.com. Several programmes cater to foreign nationals.
Further Information
A large list of predominantly American parks can be found at this Directory of Amusement Park and Roller Coaster Links, which both looks as though it dates to the dawn of the internet and provides a clue as to when we first wrote this article. Theme Park Insider has kept up with the times, though.
* Please note that wage rates may no longer be current
Image courtesy Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism
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