Theme park manager

Theme park managers ensure visitors have a safe, enjoyable and unique experience while delivering the park's business goals

As a theme park manager, you'll lead the day-to-day running of the park, with responsibilities covering visitor experience, strategic planning, health and safety, finances, and staff recruitment and management.

The role involves developing strategies to improve visitor satisfaction and overall park performance. You'll typically be involved in all areas, from rides and attractions to retail, catering, events and entertainment, acting as a central decision-maker. You may also oversee marketing and will liaise with stakeholders such as local authorities, suppliers and sponsors.

In the UK, many parks operate seasonally, closing or reducing hours over winter, so managers have to balance busy peak periods with year-round planning, park maintenance and staffing issues.

Job titles vary and may include guest experience or guest excellence manager, rides and operations manager, park operations manager or attractions manager.

Responsibilities

As a theme park manager, you'll need to:

• ensure all areas of the park, including staff and equipment, are operating safely and effectively
• ensure compliance with health and safety rules and carry out risk assessments to protect staff and visitors
• plan and deliver strategies to boost visitor satisfaction and staff engagement
• create new events, attractions and experiences to keep the park exciting and encourage visitors to return
• manage budgets and keep costs under control
• oversee park developments, including ride design, maintenance and upgrades
• liaise with contractors and suppliers on facilities and services
• recruit, train and manage staff, supporting their performance and development
• lead marketing and promotional activities, keeping an eye on competitors and industry trends
• build good relationships with local communities, authorities and partners, making sure regulations are followed.

Salary

• In smaller or family-run parks, or in more junior management roles, salaries may be below £30,000.
• Salaries for theme park managers typically range from £30,000 up to £60,000, depending on the size of the park, location, your responsibilities and experience.
• In large, corporate or high-profile parks, particularly for very senior or general management positions, salaries may exceed £60,000, especially when combined with bonus or performance-related pay.

Large parks may offer additional benefits, such as health insurance, life assurance, enhanced pension schemes, park admission/season passes, performance bonuses, or other employee perks.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

Your working hours will often include evenings, weekends and bank holidays, as parks operate during peak visitor times. Hours are often longer during school holidays and peak season, when visitor numbers are highest.

Many parks open from Easter through to October or November, then close over the winter for maintenance and the installation of new rides and attractions. As a manager, however, you'll typically work year-round, focusing on planning, recruitment and development activities during the off-season.

What to expect

• Most theme parks are located in the countryside or near seaside resorts, although larger parks can also be found near major cities. Theme parks operate across the UK, Europe, North America and increasingly in Asia and the Middle East. Safety regulations vary between countries.
• Many parks are corporately owned, often as part of a wider group that may include hotels and other leisure facilities.
• You'll be accountable for both financial performance and safety, maximising profit without compromising safety.
• Work is seasonal, with longer hours during peak holiday periods. Even when parks close in winter, managers remain busy with planning, recruitment and maintenance. You may also need to work unsocial hours, shifts or be on call to deal with incidents.
• The job can be demanding, involving outdoor work in all weather, constant customer interaction and responsibility for delivering high service standards in a busy, noisy and competitive environment, often to tight project deadlines.

Qualifications

You don't need a degree or HND to become a theme park manager as employers usually value practical experience over academic qualifications. However, a degree in one of the following subjects may be useful:

• business/management
• engineering
• facilities management
• hotel and events or hospitality management
• travel, tourism and leisure management
• marketing.

Staffordshire University offers a Visitor Attraction and Resort Management degree in partnership with Alton Towers Resort, and some of the large leisure groups run graduate or trainee manager schemes. Gulliver's Theme Park Resort, for example, offers a Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship with placements across different areas of the business.

It's also possible to start in a customer service or hospitality role and work your way up to the role of manager, often through supervisory or team leader roles.

Postgraduate study isn't essential, but a Masters in leisure, business or management may support career progression, as can professional training in health and safety, project management or HR. Languages may also be useful in international parks or visitor-facing roles.

Search postgraduate courses in leisure management.

Skills

You'll need to have:

• excellent communication and interpersonal skills to build collaborative relationships across teams
• excellent customer service skills, with a visitor-first mindset
• leadership skills and the ability to motivate and support a team of staff
• time management, planning and organisational skills
• sound business and commercial acumen with budgeting and financial management awareness
• the ability to influence, persuade and negotiate with a range of stakeholders
• initiative, energy, passion and resilience
• strong problem-solving skills and decisiveness under pressure to resolve issues quickly and effectively
• adaptability and creativity to cope with competing demands and drive innovation
• technical competence and computer literacy, as many rides and systems are computer-controlled.

You'll also need knowledge of relevant health and safety regulations. Some roles may require a first aid qualification.

Work experience

Customer service experience at visitor attractions, theme parks and resorts or in related areas such as hospitality or leisure is vital. Apply for seasonal work, either speculatively or through advertised positions, as these opportunities can lead to permanent positions and will give you vital experience and contacts.

Part-time jobs in hotels, holiday parks, on cruise ships, with airlines or in experiential retail are also useful. Volunteering at large-scale events, festivals or visitor attractions can further demonstrate your skills. Experience of health and safety, first aid or working in environments with high footfall will also strengthen your application.

Team leader or management experience in a fast-paced, customer-facing role is often required. Without it, you'll usually need to start in a non-management or assistant/departmental management post and work your way up. Industrial placements and internships run by large leisure groups can provide a structured entry route into management.

Vacancies are often advertised on specialist hospitality and leisure job boards (e.g., Leisurejobs and Caterer.com), general job websites, LinkedIn and directly on employer websites. University careers services may also advertise summer roles and internships.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

The commercial or private sector is made up of some very large operators, as well as smaller companies.

One of the world's largest leisure groups is Merlin Entertainments, which owns and manages numerous LEGOLAND parks and resort theme parks in the UK and overseas. These include:

• Alton Towers
• Chessington World of Adventures
• Gardaland (Italy)
• Heide Park (Germany)
• Thorpe Park.

They also manage many other Gateway attractions, such as The Dungeons, London Eye, Madame Tussauds, SEA LIFE centres and Warwick Castle, and have graduate opportunities in various business functions.

Other major UK employers include:

• Drayton Manor Resort
• Paultons Park (home of Peppa Pig World)
• Flamingo Land
• Blackpool Pleasure Beach Resort
• Gulliver's Theme Parks and Resorts.

Internationally, operators such as Universal Destinations & Experiences and Disney Parks provide further opportunities for experienced managers. New large-scale developments are also planned, such as Universal's proposal to build a theme park in Bedfordshire.

Parks are increasingly offering themed experiences, where rides form only part of a visit and other attractions include visitor centres, museums, farm parks and zoos, live shows, and sometimes guest accommodation in themed lodges, hotels and campsites.

Look for job vacancies at:

• British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions (BALPPA)
• Leisurejobs
• Leisure Management
• Leisure Opportunities
• websites of individual theme parks and resorts.

It may be worth sending a targeted speculative application, as some management and supervisory roles may not be publicly advertised, particularly at smaller or family-owned parks.

Professional development

New managers are usually trained in the Fairgrounds and Amusement Parks: Guidance on Safe Practice, issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), alongside further health and safety training.

Companies usually provide induction in management techniques and customer care across all areas of the park. If you're on a graduate training programme, you'll typically rotate through a series of work placements in different business areas.

Once in post, learning is usually fast-paced and hands-on. Training may cover ride technology, crisis management, media handling, first aid and safeguarding. Development opportunities in planning, finance, marketing and human resources may also be available.

Industry bodies such as BALPPA (UK parks and attractions) and the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) provide conferences, training and networking opportunities to support professional development.

Career prospects

Promotion depends on your ability and performance. In large theme parks or leisure groups, promotion can be rapid, but you may need to be flexible about location.

Larger parks and resorts often have a team of managers with responsibility for different areas such as rides, food and beverage, retail, HR or accommodation and hotels. Sometimes, it's possible to start by specialising and then move into a more general management role.

Working for an international group with several attractions can open up opportunities to relocate in the UK or overseas. Smaller parks may have flatter management structures, so you might need to make sideways moves to broaden your experience.

With significant experience, you could progress to senior roles such as operations director, park general manager or regional manager. Some experienced managers choose to move into consultancy, training or senior positions across the wider hospitality, leisure and events sectors.