Gathering ideas

It's funny how my friends and neighbors think each time I go away it is for pleasure. They envy my recent journey to Trinidad or this time the sourjorn to Florida. The truth is it's all business, even though, in fact, I may go to some of the same places as they do for their holidays. On my trips however there is no time for relaxation for we are in the business of theme parks. This trip was to walk the floor of a theme park convention and trade show where more than a thousand vendors from around the world show the latest theme park hardware and attractions. I spent many hours walking the floor looking at new things, talking to people and learning all we possibly could. Most of the information I gathered yesterday was directly related to current or upcoming projects. 

But I was also soaking in everything I possibly could to make me a better designer and builder of future projects. We finished our business at the trade show about two oclock this afternoon and headed back to the hotel briefly. We then jumped in the car to go to two local theme parks to see and learn even more. Our visits to the parks, (like my walking around the trade show) was a whole lot of fun for me, but I was there for much more than just a good time. Chris and I walked through the parks looking intently at everything we saw. I took scores of pictures documenting everything for future reference. Along the way we gathered and discussed ideas, looked at color schemes talked about how things were made and excitedly dreamed up future projects.

It's been a wonderful and worthwhile trip. Now it's time to head home once more. On the long plane ride home tomorrow I'll be busy making notes and quick drawings in my sketchbook to capture and adapt these new of ideas to suit our purposes before I get busy making up for my time away. Then on Friday it is time to get back to real work once more.

-grampa dan

THANKS to a great crew!

With my being in Florida for the international theme park convention and trade show I suddenly feel like my readers do each day, wondering how much progress was made and what great adventure the Sawatzky crew enjoyed this day. I couldn't stand the wait this afternoon and so checked in with home base. I also got Haiey to take some pictures so I could see the progress, both in the shop and on site. I was pleased. Very pleased. I'm also pleased to pass some of those photos on tonight here on the blog.

The sign lettering that will be mounted to the light house base is looking ever more colorful each hour. By the Friday we should be able to mount them in place. I can hardly wait! Great job Jenessa! In the background Brando is busy applying the wire mesh to the balloon. It too should be ready for the concrete in a day or two at most.

Peter and Hailey have been busy adding more concrete to the tree and the crew polished off the mesh wiring too. It is starting to look pretty cool!

The Balloon basket will be ready for the concrete work by the end of tomorrow. It too looks great!

Up at the lake work site the crew there has been very busy too. The cave maze now has the welding complete and the wiring nearing completion. It will be ready for the concrete work by the time I return. Exciting stuff!

TJ has also been busy (With the help of others I'm sure) on the barrel bridge over the creek. It will be wired in a dy or two as well. It's sure good to see it shaping up as I imagined it would - and without my being there.

It is sure good to have a hard working crew I can count on - even if I'm not watching. THANKS to each one!

-grampa dan

Planning on the fly

One of the pleasures of our business is making friends and building relationships with our clients. It is a business of trust for both sides. My job is to develop a vision for the projects we do, articulate it to the client and then make it happen. Our efforts are in partnership with our clients, most often working with them and their team in the trenches all the way through.

While we have a definite and clear overall vision of the finished product, much of what we do is done to a visual standard, making sure things look right and work well when we are done. Some of the original ideas and dimensions may have looked great on paper but in the real world still require a little more thought, planning and adjustment. While plans are drawn before we start, we do not refer to them very often but instead much of the project is modified and planned in detail as we go. During each day we have brief planning meetings onsite. We are looking at traffic flow, sight lines, guest access and a hundred other things. We toss ideas back and forth constantly, looking for the best solution. The tool of choice during these meetings is a spray bomb. We can be seen pacing things out, marking lines and squiggles in the dirt. In the process new ideas and plans are formed, and sometimes radical changes are made. Retaining walls are moved, hills and slopes planned, pools shrink or grow, walkways narrow or widen, locations of signs and attractions are modified as necessary and a hundred other changes made - all in the interest of a better product when we are done. It's a process that is vital when something like a theme park is underway. It is exciting and requires that everyone check their egos, be open to new ideas and simply work together.

The Cultus Lake Adventure Golf is a project that very much is like what I describe above. The daily meetings onsite and the many small modifications along the way are making the project the very best it can possibly be. Working with Chris and his team is pure creative fun. Last Friday I captured this picture of Chris in one of our impromptu design sessions where we were locating the pool edges and a pumphouse for the waterfall.

The creative fun is really just beginning. Today I flew with Chris to Orlando, Florida to the world's largest trade show for the amusement and theme park industry. We'll be spending a couple of days on the trade show floor gathering even more ideas and information in the interest of making the project even better. It's going to be great fun!

-grampa dan