If you’re looking for a job, Legoland Florida Resort wants to be your introduction to the theme park industry.
The family vacation destination is looking to fill more than 350 part-time and full-time positions ahead of the summer tourism season, park president Rex Jackson said. That’s about half of the overall positions that were needed when the company started aggressively recruiting last month.
Legoland is just one of several Polk employers trying to bulk up on employees. The labor shortage continues to be a problem for local businesses, though some job seekers say despite the plethora of help wanted signs, they can’t land a job.
The need to bring new employees to Legoland – more than 600 in total – is a reflection of the tourism upswing the Central Florida market is feeling after almost a year of economic turmoil brought on by COVID-19 lockdowns and health concerns. From capacity restrictions to mask mandates, theme parks had to make major adjustments to survive after they were allowed to initially reopen last summer.
Following a recent announcement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declaring vaccinated individuals do not need to wear masks or socially distance at outdoor or indoor locations, several theme parks adjusted their rules. At Legoland, being fully vaccinated clears you from having to wear a face covering, though adherence to the policy is based on the honor system. The park is also operating at full capacity, Jackson said.
Legoland has seen an influx of tourists in 2021, with the “tipping point” being spring break.
“We saw a lot of demand, a lot of pent-up demand and a lot of families that were extremely excited to come back out,” Jackson said. “The fact that we are talking about a recovery that is looking at attendance levels and hotel bookings that are going to be on par with or above 2019 is significant because it certainly exceeds the expectations in terms of how quick people would come back to theme parks and to tourism.”
While it may be a good sign for the tourism and hospitality industries and their economic recovery, it does present a new challenge: staffing.
While theme parks are usually in need of extra hands on deck for the summer season, Jackson said they needed even more people this year because they were starting from a lower employee base. Since Legoland had previously been operating at a lower capacity than normal, the park needed fewer employees leading up to this moment. But now, it’s all hands on deck, especially as the resort needs to staff all three of its on-site hotels.
And Legoland is offering brand new incentives. For one, the park has raised its base pay from $9 an hour to $10.50, which Jackson said happened after the company reviewed its compensation rates against other Polk employers.
And you can rake in even more dough if you decide to apply with any of the company’s open food and beverage positions, which is where Legoland is seeing the most “critical need.”
“For food and beverage positions both in the park and in our hotels, we are offering a $500 signing bonus that is payable at the conclusion of 90 days of employment,” Jackson said. “We are seeing a significant increase in tourism and that’s caused us to have to reopen a lot of restaurants that previously we didn’t have due to lower attendance than we’ve had historically.”
Jackson said Legoland needs to “close the gap” in employee numbers created by the pandemic. Though positions are needed to staff the park for the summer, Legoland does not typically hire on a seasonal basis and Jackson said the employees will continue to be needed for planned fall and winter events.