Coaster Conversations (Ep.5) Scott O'Neil - Merlin Entertainments CEO
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- čas přidán 8. 07. 2024
- I sit down with Merlin Entertainments CEO Scott O'Neil to discuss his takeover as the head of the company in addition to Merlin portfolio here in the UK and abroad.
I want to thank Scott and the team at Merlin for putting this together and giving us the opportunity to bring this interview to fruition.
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I want to express a huge thank you to Merlin and Scott for making this happen! I hope you guys enjoy this latest Coaster Conversations!
You should do on from the director Alton towers if you haven’t already done that yet
@@henryhackett After Shawn's chat with her it's safe to say I'd never get a fully open and honest convo about the state of the park this season. It seemed very PR answer as opposed to honesty and transparency. I'd love to chat to her but definitely in a more laid back / honest environment without marketing strings controlling the outcome of the interview. Thanks for watching Henry!
I literally just watched the John Wardley one and am greeted by this. What a pleasant surprise 😊
Enjoy! :)
What a scoop, Sean! I've wanted to hear from Scott since he first took the post. Great interview mate, covered everything I could ask for. He seems sharp and forward thinking. Fingers crossed that reflects in the parks over the next few years. 👍
I have absolutely no doubt that we're in for an exciting future with Scott at the helm
Scott seems like a genuinly nice guy who cares about the industry and the direction Merlin is going. Fingers crossed he gets to bring some of those big ideas to the parks sooner rather than later =)
Agreed!
Imagine merlin collaborating with sony to make a horror film about emily alton
Would be amazing 😊
What a nice guy! There's certain other UK based CEOs that could/should take a leaf out of his book. Actually makes me excited for what's to come for Merlin. The future's looking bright.
Agreed, hopefully this transitional period brings a nice smooth upswing across all Merlin portfolio moving forward
Not sure how I’ve only just seen this but this is great. More content like this would be great but I bet you get loads of people too nervous to take on the interview. Great questions and he answered them really well too imo.
Thank you man and yeah we get a few hesitant guests but at the same time I want the right people so that’ll be taken into consideration moving forward, very honoured that Scott took the time to chat despite not doing many other interviews
Love Scotts message at the end.
Me too man, got such a passion for the company and all of its attractions. It's definitely in good hands once Varney's projects are all signed off
@LiftHillsandThrills sounds to me he wants to see more thrills at some parks
Great energy 🎉
Agreed!
I can't believe you managed to talk to Scott. Seems like he has a great perspective on how Merlin needs to operate. I like his approach and I hope he is actually listening to feedback because there is a lot Merlin could be doing much better when it comes to food & drink, theming, closed season cleaning & refreshing.
The food isn't good enough. It's too expensive and too basic. Premium prices for budget food are the biggest volume of complaints I see and surely Scott must be aware of it. Either bring it back in house and do a better job or contract it out to well established brands / franchises.
As much as IP is great for fans of particular entertainment brands, I'm glad he recognises that there is something very special about their own unique IP and themes that MMM are extremely good at when they are allowed the freedom of creativity. Very exciting and something I never considered was his idea of Merlin entering the entertainment space following the likes of Disney using their own IP as well.
It's a good sign that they are finally investing in better rides, coasters and refurbishing the great investments they already have which are kind of let to rot after opening. Colossus for example, everyone wants the new style Vekoma trains which are much better designed and just clean it up. There's a massive oil stain on the lift hill and it sounds horrendous.
Just take care of the details, repaint, jetwash, replace signage. All the stuff other parks do continuously.
As diverse as Merlin is, I hope Scott also takes the time to look at how other parks operate. Europa Park for example is presented immaculately and has very impressive, beautifully maintained theming. Energy Landia for example offers extremely good value for money with the waterpark included on entry and quality affordable food options. Both those parks have great entertainment at the start and end of the day welcoming and saying goodbye to guests. Something you don't really get in the UK. You can't aim to be the best if you don't even match the high standards other parks have already set.
Appreciate you watching! We’ll be over in Europa very soon we’ve been invited out for an exciting meeting 😬 😃 🎉
@@LiftHillsandThrills That sounds awesome, the Mack family are legends! Michael is all about Media and great content, Thomas is about the best food & drink and Roland is just an all round hero. On par with John Wardley. It always amazes me how fast they bounce back from disasters like the fires they've had recently. But they are building the park back better and (hopefully more fireproof) than the original.
Great video!! He seems a great guy. Hope we start seeing improvements over the years. Would have liked more answers to some of those questions but there is only so much he can say really 😂
Haha you and me both, but he handled them wonderfully, like a true politician aha but as you say there’s only so much he could say regarding some of the questions
Seems like he will bring massive changes
🤞
A truly top guy 🇺🇸
Agreed! Thanks for watching
14:55 that’s cool that he’s working frontline. I think I’d be scared though if I was working with him incase I got sacked 😂
haha I'd be sacked first day!
What a great guy
Hell yeah 😊
Hello There, a great interview and it's great to hear his thoughts as well as his plans investment throughout, it sounds like an exciting future. Cheers Peter :)
Thanks for checking it out Peter
@@LiftHillsandThrills no worries.
Oooooo very interesting 😊
Thanks for watching 😊
is he american
Yes 😅