Working in a theme park is not a typical kind of job. This is especially true if your park includes animals, they require care 24/7, open or closed, good weather or bad. The folks that stay around are very dedicated and have decided that traditional summer holidays can be celebrated other days of the week and that not having weekends off can be a good thing for errand running - less crowds on weekdays.
At SeaWorld I am surrounded by just such a dedicated group of people, many that have been with the park 10, 15, 20 or even 30 plus years. Many met their husband or wife while working here. I did, have kids that virtually grew up in the park and then pursued their own careers at SeaWorld. It is a great exciting job, but it is also long days (sometimes nights), missed dinners, sometimes late for family events, yet many of us have trouble picturing doing anything else.
So why do we stay?
I know there are jobs out there with a more Monday to Friday, 40 hour-per-week schedule and probably better pay, so why?
Back in 1988, when SeaWorld San Antonio opened, hundreds of team members worked seven days a week, 12 to 16 hour days for weeks leading up to our April 15 opening, and many of those people are still here.
The night before opening I got home after midnight and was back to work at 6:00 AM the next day. I remember doing my opening rounds to make sure everything was ready. It was mostly a smooth start with a few “oops,” but then it was 10:00 AM and the National Anthem was playing. I got a slight tingle when the first guests entered the park, but it was not really that big of a deal. I kept touring, checking in with my team as the morning progressed, working my way south to Shamu stadium for our first killer whale show.
At show time the stadium was pretty full and the quiet buzz of voices could be heard. I had been with SeaWorld 11 years at that point and seen many Shamu shows, the last few weeks I had attended 15 or 20 rehearsals, but I had forgotten that most of the 4,000-plus guests seated in the stadium had never seen a killer whale, so I was unprepared for their reaction.
Geoff Baldwin, crowd watching at a Believe showWhen Shamu made his first appearance there was a hush and then the stadium erupted with screams, cheers, laughter and excitement! I looked around at the faces of all the guests, the awe on the children's faces and the joy of their parents as they watched.
That was when I got a major chill, and that is why we do what we do! The joy and wonder in the faces of our guests.
To this day after almost 34 years, if I am having a less than perfect day, I go see a Shamu show, not to see the whales, but to watch and listen to our guests. It still gives me a chill.
Gotta go, burning daylight! Geoff Baldwin
