Small Lake City

S1, E44: Lagoon Amusement Park - Julie Freed

• Erik Nilsson • Season 1 • Episode 44

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What emotional legacy does an amusement park ride carry? Join us on a captivating journey through the generational leadership at Lagoon Amusement Park with our special guest, Julie Freed. As a third-generation member of the family that owns and operates Lagoon, Julie shares her unique experiences from starting work at the park at the tender age of nine to rising to her current influential role. You'll gain insights into the park's meticulous winter maintenance routines, the heartfelt significance of her father's final project, Primordial, and the sense of community that binds the "Lagoon family," including long-time employees and loyal visitors.

Discover the history and evolution of Lagoon Amusement Park, from its roots as a bathing resort in 1886 to becoming a beloved amusement destination, thanks to the Freed family's unwavering dedication. Julie opens up about the challenges and triumphs of running a family business, the importance of teamwork and safety, and the innovative planning that ensures the park's future growth. Listen in as she recounts personal anecdotes, the emotional connection visitors have with the park, and the unique career opportunities it offers, all while emphasizing the importance of preserving its rich history.

Get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Lagoon's roller coaster design and construction process, and hear about the fascinating story behind Primordial's creation. Julie shares the park's ambitious five-year and ten-year plans, the significance of preserving historic rides, and the vibrant community spirit that Lagoon fosters. With insights into market research, budget considerations, and innovative ideas, this episode promises a riveting exploration of the legacy, passion, and future ambitions that drive Lagoon Amusement Park. Tune in for a heartfelt and inspiring conversation that highlights the dedication and creativity of those who bring joy to countless families.



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Julie Freed:

So I started working here when I was nine Because growing up I worked here but I didn't know if I would end up here, because I thought what am I going to do? And my job for four years was to learn and observe. During the winter and this is fascinating for people who don't know every single ride on this park gets taken down, so every single nut and bolt on every vehicle of every ride gets tested. Many exciting things. We've always got something up our sleeve Primordial, oh man. It has a very, very special place in my heart and everyone else here, because it was my father's last passion. Honestly, the direction we're going in is very, very exciting. It's so hard for me to not say what we're thinking.

Erik Nilsson:

What is up everybody and welcome back to the Small Lake City Podcast. I'm your host, eric Nilsen. Now imagine you just got back from World War II. You have a little bit of money in your pockets and you're trying to figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life. How much would you consider buying an amusement park and running it?

Erik Nilsson:

Now, this might sound a little foreign to all of us, but this is the story of Peter Freed, who ended up buying Lagoon Amusement Park and running it, and is still in his family today. Now today we have Julie Freed, who is the third generation of Freeds to work and run Lagoon Parks. Now we talked to her about her starting to work at Lag lagoon at the ripe old age of nine, all the way through going to college, coming back and learning how the park is run and now having a huge part in running all of it, from fright mares in the fall to designing new rides. Uh, we talked to her and get a lot of insights into the park and how things are run and how some of our favorite rides today have been developed. So great conversation between me and Julie. It was also fun, in case you aren't on YouTube that we record in the Lagoon offices, which have some really fun artwork, a lot of really fun features and stuff. So if you're not on YouTube, go check it out over there. But besides that, julie is an amazing person who's been able to accomplish a lot, and excited to see what she does with the rest of the park as she slowly transitions into more, uh, the leadership role and having more of an impact there. So, uh, definitely a great conversation with us and hope you all enjoy.

Erik Nilsson:

It's for so many people, for so many reasons, and you're like I, you have no idea, yeah, um, but like one of the ones is, I mean that ride, because there's so many rides. I had to wait to get tall enough to ride, but that was even still almost. When I go to the park, that's usually the first place I go to is the swings. Well, good thing I did not go to the park the other day.

Erik Nilsson:

It also would have been sad because I had family in town from Oregon and they I mean they grew up, I mean coming here all the time, so they always come, they have kids now and bring them. But cause I'm always like, oh, you guys want to go to Lagoon, like okay, like we can't, like don't get me wrong, but um, I didn't go cause I had some other stuff going on that I had to do, I think actually to record an episode, but it's it's so funny how, even when I go back, the nostalgia is all still there. Everything is it's been it's and I feel like with lagoon it's nice because well, wait a minute, save it for this you're right.

Erik Nilsson:

Well, I mean, we're technically nice on here. Oh, I mean, we're always, I don't need to see myself anymore.

Julie Freed:

Perfect, it'll turn off in a sec.

Erik Nilsson:

I don't care either way cool but cool so, so it's so fun. So this is actually a funny Cause. I actually didn't tell you any of this yet, but do you remember meeting me? And I don't expect you did and I okay. So Edison house new year's Eve.

Julie Freed:

Oh, I was so pregnant.

Erik Nilsson:

I don't remember that actually.

Julie Freed:

Oh wait, this last year I was not so pregnant.

Erik Nilsson:

Based on what? Based on your son's age? From Instagram, I'm like I don't know how that adds up, but sure you know better than I do. But so, and I can't remember who you were there with. I think it was mary allen, mick, yes, and that whole group. And because, like it's very rare that I meet someone that I don't either like know of or have met, and so they're like, oh, this is julian, julian, like, oh, like hi, nice to meet you.

Erik Nilsson:

And then kind of got caught up in the humdrum of things. Someone posted a story where I'm like, oh, cool, throw her a follow and started following seeing Mossy and all that other stuff and kind of just put it to the back of my head. But then, and like, this is where like peak curiosity started was, and I think even when I followed you, I looked at your Instagram, I was like, oh, lagoon, I'm like, okay, cool, like could mean a billion different things. And then, lo and behold, I have one of my favorite people I've come to find out is good old Micah Christensen on the podcast. Okay, and because at the end of every episode I always ask people if you could have someone on the Smalling City Podcast, who would you want to have, and he was one of the.

Julie Freed:

You were one of the people that came up. Yeah, and if a, how do you know micah?

Erik Nilsson:

just edison house really okay, just edison, because with micah, like he's one of those fascinating people I've met, and so for him to say, because he said two people, he said you, and then, um, jeff hein, who's an artist, and I was like okay, cool, and then ended up coming full circle and coming here.

Julie Freed:

So yeah, yeah, small Lake City, glad, to have you here. Thank you, I'm so glad you well. I'm glad you're here at Lagoon.

Erik Nilsson:

I know it was like cause when you said we're going to record in Lagoon and I don't know why. My imagination just went to like like us going like there's a GoPro in front of us and we're going up the white roller coaster that would make sense. I mean not off the table, but.

Julie Freed:

Not everybody thinks of an office space when they think of Lagoon right.

Erik Nilsson:

Every place needs to have an office space. I've yet to go anywhere and they're like. And then here's the conference room. There's always at least one, right, but I mean, everybody who's from Salt Lake knows of Lagoon. There's always some sort of memory. I always joke and say if your family probably has one of like the pioneer photos somewhere in all of their pictures, exactly Like we have ours, and it's so funny, but as much as Laguna has its places in my life, I mean it has such a big part of your life. And so before we kind of jump into like any of your perspective and kind of what you do now, really want to set the table as far as how it got here. So I know your grandfather, not born as peter freed right, um, him and his brothers came home from world war ii, that's right kind of wanted to understand like what are we gonna do now? War's over, we're home?

Erik Nilsson:

that's right and I mean the park was then. Had it moved yet, or? It had been closed yeah, because it was closed during the war.

Julie Freed:

Oh, it moved to Farmington. Is that where you're acting? It actually only so. Lagoon started in 1886 at the Great Salt Lake.

Erik Nilsson:

It was a bathing resort. Yeah, bathing and dancing.

Julie Freed:

Yes, it only lasted 10 years there because the lake started proceeding, so it actually moved here to Farmington in 1896.

Erik Nilsson:

Okay.

Julie Freed:

So it was a stop on the Bamberger Railroad out here and then closed during World War II. And then, yes, my grandfather and his brothers, after serving in the war, were looking for a project and they thought why don't?

Julie Freed:

we open up Lagoon and see what happens, and my grandfather told this story. I'll never forget it. Father tells told this story. I'll never forget it. He worked here, by the way, until he was 96 years old, until he just couldn't leave the house. That's when he stopped coming to work. So he told me you know he was in his 90s when he told me this story the first day they reopened Lagoon he stood at the front entrance, which was by the white roller coaster it was white at the time and he had his hands behind his back and he started counting the people that came to the park. And they had 15 people and they thought that was just the greatest thing ever. Like families, people really want to come to lagoon. Yes and um, that's how it started, and they leased the park from the bamberger family for quite a while and then eventually bought it it was like what, like 1980 something.

Julie Freed:

It was around there, yeah yes, should have bought it earlier, probably, but but leased it for a while, ended up buying it. And then my father, dave Freed, worked every day with his sister, kristen Freed, my aunt, for many, many years. They would work every single day. The park was open. And now I'm the third generation here at Lagoon and it's myself and my two cousins, madison and Christopher, who are Kristen's kids.

Erik Nilsson:

Okay.

Julie Freed:

And it's great too, because we all just had babies too. We all have one kid. They're all three to six months apart, so they're the next generation. So I'm trying to make it even bigger and better for the next generation. But yeah, so that's the history of my family in Lagoon and it just gets in your blood. The thing is a lot of people talk about around here the Lagoon family.

Julie Freed:

They're not talking about the Freeds, they're talking about all—you just met Andre Mecham, who's I told you, like my brother, everybody who has worked here and the great thing about Lagoon is the managers of almost every single department on this park started here when they were 14, 15, 16 years old. So that is the Lagoon family. It's everyone that makes up the park and it's such an extraordinary place to be. It's my favorite part about working here is the people that I get to work with.

Erik Nilsson:

Totally. I mean I think that's what makes it such a great experience for everyone, because I mean having I mean how many jobs have I had in, like my quote, professional career, like four. And there's times when, like, yeah, the people are great, but there's other times I'm like the people are the worst thing about everything that happens. And it's fun too because, like I mean, even in I mean most jobs people like to say the work they do makes the world a better place, impacts people positively, whatever, but at the end of the day, like that doesn't work for a lot of people. But I can't imagine what an experience it is to I mean bad day, whatever. Be like I'm just gonna walk around the park and go see people smile.

Julie Freed:

Oh, absolutely this is the experience I get, to provide it's so true, if I'm having a hard day, I walk around in kiddy land and that's where all of our smaller rides are for young kids and my day is made. I mean that's what really I had to figure out when I was in college what my can, what my connection is to lagoon, because growing up I worked here but I didn't know if I would end up here because I thought what am I gonna do? I mean it's kind of a random thing in amusement park. I'm like what am I gonna do? But for I mean it's kind of a random thing in an amusement park. I'm like what am I going to do?

Julie Freed:

But for me my purpose that I found is Lagoon is all about connection. It's all about families coming together to have an experience and creating memories that they're going to have forever. I remember riding the baby boats. When I was a kid. I put my son on the baby boats. You know I mean that's a really special thing about Laguna our carousel that's over 100 years old. You know. I tell kids all the time your grandmother could have ridden that same carousel animal. That's really special, totally. So that's another thing that I just love about being here.

Erik Nilsson:

It's the people that I work with and what we're doing for our guests yeah, and it's like because, again like to that generational part where I mean I remember getting on puff the magic dragon yes and the cars, yeah, and like the, just like.

Erik Nilsson:

There's like so many memories that come back and even as, like things have opened, I'll be able to remember when the rocket opened. I remember when I opened, I remember when, and so it's so funny to have these experiences that can last I mean multiple generations, whether you spend almost every waking minute of the summer or day here, or if it's that once, twice, three times a year. For one of the families that grew up in Farmington that had a season pass every year, it's such an interesting area and I always remember in high school and college being like it's so stupid, let's go to Six Flags, yeah. But then, as I've kind of made Salt Lake my home and seen, I'm like what a great thing to have, because so many places don't have this, thank you, and it's not a great experience other places, but it really is so special and then also having it be I read this right but like the only or the largest family-owned, privately-owned amusement park in the country.

Julie Freed:

Yes, it's the largest family-owned park left in the country and we're a family park for families. So Lagoon has the I still believe it's the largest kiddie land area of any park in the nation. We have over 27 rides, actually I think no, it's 27 rides that children two years and under can ride. I mean that's a great thing and it's because we're in Utah and we want rides and things for kids of all ages to be able to do.

Erik Nilsson:

And it's like also like the thing I read about where I can't remember if it was your grandpa or your dad wanted to prioritize. I mean having a picnic area and people being able to come and join Absolutely. I mean having a picnic area and people being able to come and join Absolutely, and I mean that's why coolers and outside food is allowed yes, which I also came to find out that you can have a cooler full of beer and walk around in that, right Like we had a work off site here.

Erik Nilsson:

So I mean there's a bunch of people in their 30s and 40s, yes, and someone's like let's go to Lagoon. And half of the people are like, yeah, I want to go to Lagoon. And the other people are like I don't want to. And someone's like, actually fun fact, we can bring a cooler and if you don't want to ride, you can just sit around and have a beer, yeah. And that changed a lot of things for me.

Julie Freed:

Yes, I'm sure it did.

Erik Nilsson:

But that's another interesting one. But yeah, I mean to your point of like the boats and like having your parents put you on the rides and now having that, I mean at what point did you start becoming a part of it working? Really like see this vision.

Julie Freed:

Yes. So when it's your family business, the labor laws don't apply. So I started working here when I was nine. I was really young. I started working in. Let's see, I did games. I worked plop plop. It's still my favorite game and I was so little and I was pretty shy, but it was a great way to get out of my shell. And I will never forget this old man. He was certainly a grandfather. He came up to me once and he said I think you're too young to be working here. And I said you're probably right. You know my little little voice.

Erik Nilsson:

Yeah.

Julie Freed:

And I worked in Frightmares I was a creepy little girl in a doll room in a haunted house, which was awesome Group foods. I've worked, you know, the auto gate. I've done a few different things out here. I mean, we all have, we all wear a lot of hats out here. You know 2020, 2021, when we didn't have enough employees, every single salaried full-time person was running a ride. Wow, Because we couldn't hire anybody, even though once we finally got the park open, we couldn't hire anybody. So our philosophy here finally got the park open, we couldn't hire anybody. So our philosophy here, I mean, it's really whatever it takes. So I'm so glad that I got that experience when I was younger because it helps me now and I'm like, oh yeah, I remember what it's like to run a ride or to be at the auto gate or whatever.

Erik Nilsson:

Yeah, all those things that people get to see is so much more a part of your childhood and that foundation, because I mean, if you started at nine and let's say, you went away to college at 18, and that's nine years of experience and it was off and on.

Julie Freed:

I mean, I you know, my dad always wanted me to come to lagoon and sometimes it's like, dad, I think I'm gonna be a hostess at a restaurant. He he was like, fine, you want to learn? Yeah, but the great thing is he didn't really pressure me too much. You know, I think it's how I feel now about my son. I really understand it now I'm 35. When I know that when my son is older he's going to want to be here, and it just takes a little bit of maturity to realize how lucky we are to have such a great place to work.

Julie Freed:

And there are so many different departments entertainment, foods, landscaping I learned about landscaping a couple of years ago, which was awesome, but there are so many different things that you could do here. I remember Dori Clark. She works in marketing, she's incredible. And I remember my first year back I was so nervous and I told her I said I just don't know where I fit in. And she said where wouldn't you fit in? But that's not just for me, that's for everybody. There really is a place for everybody here, and that's what makes it so fun as we do. There is a lot of opportunity to be creative.

Erik Nilsson:

I know and it's like and I imagine, because again your dad wants to have you around, he's like whatever you want to do, I can. There's a chair at the table for you, yes. But then I mean obviously going through that time of life. There's probably the part, just like most coaches, like I don't want to be doing the only thing. Yeah, my parents right, yeah, it's free, or whatever. And then I know that, um, I mean went away to school, went down to ASU, and I mean at that point, did you know that roads were going to come back to Laguna? More about figuring out what to do there?

Julie Freed:

or I did not okay and it was so good for me to move away because I, you know, got my degree in health. I'm very passionate about health, but it's really now. It just pertains to my personal life. But I really I didn't realize until it was my last year of college, really like my last semester. All my friends were getting ready to search for jobs and I thought, oh, click, hello, I have this amazing thing back at home. Why wouldn't I go take that opportunity? So it's funny because I moved back home, moved back in with my parents, and then I had a tiny chair in the corner of my dad's office.

Julie Freed:

My dad and I were very close, but we were together all the time and my job for four years was to learn and observe and try to fill in where I could. But my dad, Dave, absolute genius, knew how every ride worked on this park. I mean, his memory was just incredible and there was. I was just trying to be a sponge and soak it all up. It still is taking time. I mean, even now, today, I'm learning new things about the park all the time. But as soon as I was back from college, I was hooked. I knew this was where I was supposed to be.

Erik Nilsson:

Yeah, I mean, especially if you have, like that great relationship with your dad.

Julie Freed:

There's so much history and again like it's a great place to I know it's much history and again, like it's a great place to. I know it's fun. We're literally selling fun. Yeah, like I can't get much better than that no, no, no.

Erik Nilsson:

I mean and I mean so when you came back from school, because I mean it's a very different role to be like, oh, hey, go work in the games, kind of fill in wherever you can, to being like hey, like watch and learn. Yes, you are gonna have to fill in a important role at some point. I mean, during that period, I mean, what started to make more sense or what were some of your learnings that ended up solidifying it?

Julie Freed:

I started with fright mirrors, designing a haunted house in fright mirrors, and I did it with somebody else yeah, naturally, I don't know. I think it started because I went through some of the haunted houses and I thought you know, there's something missing. We need to try a different type of haunted house. And so when I came back that was fresh on my mind I thought maybe I could start there.

Julie Freed:

And Frightmares is really cool, just the Frightmares as a whole, because every single department is involved in Fr primaries, because we build each haunt or children's attraction from the ground up every year. It's only for about 20 days of operation too. It takes three months. We work on a year round. But that was a great introduction to working with the carpenters, the mechanics, electrical, we have to set up fire suppression and costumes, makeup, entertainment, engineering department. I mean there are so many different departments involved in Frightmares that that was a great step in for me. And then I mentored under Jimmy Sunlight, our director of operations, who at the time was the director of Frightmares and he taught me a lot about Frightmares. At the time was the director of Fright Mirrors and he taught me a lot about Fright Mirrors. And now I'm the director of Fright Mirrors and it's such a privilege to be able to work with every department in the park.

Julie Freed:

I mean, I'm so lucky because, we all work together in different ways, but Fright Mirrors, everybody really comes together as a whole Foods, games, I mean, everyone has a part of framers. So that was my main thing that I started, and then I also started. I was a spokesperson, uh, pretty pretty soon after I came back from college. We have two adam leishman, um and myself. At the time it was adam and dick andrew, who is a legend here too. Adam worked here when he was 15 years old 14, I'm sure and he's also like my brother like I call him my brother and he taught me a lot about what it's like to speak in front of the camera, and you know it's a great. Becoming a spokesperson is a great thing too, because it was a good way for me to learn about everything. You never know what someone's going to ask you about the park, so you need to, you need to know, so I did that as well.

Erik Nilsson:

I mean it's so interesting to have like those two experiences, Cause, like I can imagine with Frightmares, cause it's one to be like hey, it's time to put together a haunted house, but then not understanding like, oh, if we want to do this, here are the other 50 things that have to.

Erik Nilsson:

I had no idea, no idea in putting that all together, but then also of I mean media, media training in general and being that person like I feel like that's something I mean, I'm used to. I mean having a mic in my face, having my face like and I can, I mean I could talk about anything with anyone for any amount of time, and that like, and that's fine, yeah, but for the other, like 99% of people, the thought of cameras on you.

Julie Freed:

Right, don't mess up your one shot. If it's live, yeah, it is, it is. But again, I mean it's at the park really sells itself, you know. I mean it's like the cameras on and it's a beautiful place to be and it's usually, you know, we're open for the season or check out this new ride. I mean that's an easy job you know to say look, how amazing this thing is, Come check it out. Totally.

Erik Nilsson:

Yeah, I mean, I guess in going through the years of I mean decades now that you've had at the park, I mean, what are some of the things that either are more difficult than meets the eye with a lot of people or on the other side of something that, like, is easier than you would think, that people might think is more complicated as part of the process?

Julie Freed:

Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is winter. Everybody asks what do you guys do in the winter? Do you just go to Hawaii? And I think people think that part is easy to answer your question. During the winter and this is fascinating for people who don't know every single ride on this park gets taken down. We do ndt testing in our shop every um non-destructive testing. So every single nut and bolt on every vehicle of every ride gets tested. I mean, this place is a zoo.

Julie Freed:

It is busier for the maintenance department as a whole so carpenters, electricians, mechanics. It is busier in the off-season we don't even call it the off-season anymore because it's just like go time the other season than it is in the summertime, because that's when we do all of our testing, because safety is and must remain our number one priority. Then it's fun, but it's safety first. So the wintertime is a very, very busy time on the park. That's also when we are bringing in and preparing for our new rides and attractions, which is super exciting, but also there is so much going on. So we have about 300 full-time, year-round employees, most of which are maintenance. Another thing that I think people think is easy is getting rides open for the day.

Julie Freed:

Our mechanics come in at four in the morning to start checking our rides, and there are numerous different sets of eyes on each and every ride, from maintenance. For example. Let's talk about the roller coaster. It used to be the white roller coaster. There are two guys that's their ride that have been here for a long time, that walk that track every day. It's over a mile long and they walk it side by side along the track and they're kind of looking sideways and if you've ever seen it, it kind of looks like they're looking at each other. But that's how they can see the nuts and bolts under the track. And so that's just an example of something that happens every single day.

Julie Freed:

Cannibal, I'm not sure now, but I know for sure when we first installed that ride it took eight hours of checks before anybody even got in that car, because we checked the entire track. Then there's the vehicle, there's the restraints, I mean there's, you know, the electrical system. There's so many different things that go into it, and so you know, people used to say we used to open the park at 11. Now we open at 10, which is better, and everyone's like why aren't you opening at eight o'clock. It's a hundred degrees outside, don't you just go and turn on the power.

Julie Freed:

Exactly, yeah, and that's because our, you know, our mechanics would have to come in at midnight to open the park for the day. So we have different sets of eyes, you know, starting from the mechanics all the way down to the ride operator, and it goes through several different avenues first, before anyone even sits in the ride for the day. So I think that wintertime and what it takes to get the park up and running just for the day, and then also we have a midnight grounds crew. They hose down the entire park every night.

Erik Nilsson:

Wow.

Julie Freed:

So there is someone here 24 hours a day, 365. So, if you're ever driving past and the lights are on. That's why I was doing something.

Erik Nilsson:

Yes, because again, like with the safety checks, like I would assume, like 90 of the time, probably higher than that, everything's fine, nothing's wrong, but that one vigilant, that 10, that is the most important I mean it's absolutely like my brain goes to. I mean like backcountry skiing, where you could be safe every single time and be like, oh, we're going to be lazy and then avalanche something bad happens.

Julie Freed:

Right, impactful Right.

Erik Nilsson:

And so I think it is helpful that people understand be like well, I want to be here earlier.

Julie Freed:

Yeah, and that's why safety first, and it for us, but it's a moral obligation because our kids are on those rides, our neighbor's kids, your kids are on. You know what I mean. So it's again that family dynamic really comes into play and we don't do anything on the park, whether it's fright mares, entertainment, doesn't matter what department or avenue it is, without safety being the number one factor.

Erik Nilsson:

Yeah.

Julie Freed:

That's the first thing that we consider.

Erik Nilsson:

Good to know Because, like I'm not, I don't think I've ever gone on a roller coaster and I mean there's always that like that fleeting thought, but I've never been like I'm like this something's bad, yeah, yeah, Like I've been with people who are that anxious, oh yeah.

Julie Freed:

Yeah.

Erik Nilsson:

I think we're like I trust them right, like it's not like they were just throwing their fingers crossed.

Julie Freed:

Trust but verify. Yes, that's what my dad always used to say Trust but verify. Wise man.

Erik Nilsson:

Very so, yeah. So that's some of the harder things, but I guess, kind of going back to this kind of college being post-college moment, so you're learning I mean literally sitting in the corner of your dad's office learning about how to run a park in its entirety, I mean and how did that shape where you wanted to fit into the business, Because I know that you had worked out before and then continued to I mean was it more just like doubling down on that, or were you like actually?

Erik Nilsson:

here's some other places I want to explore.

Julie Freed:

That's funny. I used to always think I would never want my dad's job because there are so many things to think about and so many different parts of his job that are hard, and I always just thought, man, he is so stressed out. I mean, there's just so many, you know, we're really like a city, we have our own water treatment facility, and there are just so many parts of the job that to me I remember thinking I don't ever want to do that. I mean that's so hard. And now my dad passed away a year and a half ago. Um, I and I admire him so, so much, and now I think I'm not. I don't know who, if anyone, will ever fill his shoes. Um, but what an honor to have, um, to be the president.

Julie Freed:

And now it's my, my Aunt, kristen, who's the only female president of an amusement park, for sure in the nation, maybe even in the world Interesting, which is awesome, absolutely. And we are almost completely female-owned, with the exception of my cousin Christopher. But anyway, I used to just be so intimidated, like there's just so much to learn. But you know the experience my dad worked here. Like I said, every day the experience comes and we're so lucky because it really takes every single person doing their part, showing up and doing their job and the park, then the park really runs itself, and the park, then the park really runs itself. But it takes every single person giving their 100%, like I said, vigilance, and now I'm like man, we're just so lucky to be here Totally.

Erik Nilsson:

Yeah, no, very jealous of that sentiment Because, like I don't know, I feel like there's a general sentiment going around the world right now. Well, I guess it's like mostly as I talk to my, to my friends about I mean kind of work where they're at, and it's like I wish there's not like aligned with values, or I don't know how I got here, I really don't love my job. Or yeah, you kind of caught in this like nothing essentially, just like obeying so much of what's been told that they need to do, or just if you check these boxes, everything will be fine yeah, only to get Only to get there and be like wait.

Erik Nilsson:

Actually this isn't fulfilling Exactly, and so that's so great that, like there's so many things that come together to make this so fulfilling of working with family, having something that your family can enjoy for generations to come, working with your dad and learning that and having this whole I mean very ambiguous park and scene yeah, Begins announcing like, yeah, I more or less understand how it works.

Julie Freed:

I'm starting to understand the engineering department. I mean, they're just incredible. Still don't understand. I mean, designing a roller coaster, you base it off of gravity. It's just crazy. But we're lucky to have such amazing people who really understand it.

Erik Nilsson:

Yeah, my roller coaster, tycoon park didn't end up very well, so I also would not be the engineering side. Yep, I played that game too, don't? Tycoon park didn't end up very well, so I would.

Julie Freed:

I also would not be the the engineering side?

Erik Nilsson:

yep, I played that game too yeah, you're like look, I created the park, dad. Yeah here it is yeah, um, but yes, I mean, I guess, as far as so you go, you learn from your dad. You have this great experience kind of working under his wing for a little bit um, I guess, to where that translates today. I mean, you mentioned fright mares and some other things, but what else falls within your purview and things that you tend to be very hands-on with?

Julie Freed:

Oh, let's see Bringing in new rides and attractions. It's so fun planning for the future and now that we're here, so walk me through this process from like.

Erik Nilsson:

I'm sure there's some sort of like market research, of like what do people want? What do we want to do? What do we have the budget for? What do we have the space for? What's trending right now? Yes, all of that, and making that all come to life.

Julie Freed:

Yes, it's a very cutting edge industry. Things are always changing and everything is going a little more technology based now, which is why we decided to do Primordial. But there are so many factors. We have a five-year plan and a 10-year plan and we are landlocked. We're sitting on 150 acres, we're using 100 right now, 100 acres and we are planning for. I mean, there's so many different ways to use the space. So we're making big plans for the future and, of course, we always have a much way more exciting ideas than we have money. So it's like, okay, when are we going to do this part? How about this? How about that? And also, one thing that makes Lagoon unique is we keep a lot of the old rides. We have three rides on the national historic registry. Interesting, do you want to guess them? Let's guess the roller coaster. Yep for sure. Carousel yes, the third one always throws people.

Erik Nilsson:

Well, I want to say one, but I don't know if it is. I want to say Colossus.

Julie Freed:

Nope, I'll give you one more guess. Okay, one more guess.

Erik Nilsson:

I'm trying to think of things that have been there the longest that I can think of.

Julie Freed:

It's not like a giant ride.

Erik Nilsson:

Is it something in Pioneer Village?

Julie Freed:

No.

Erik Nilsson:

Okay.

Julie Freed:

I will tell you it's Flying Aces, really. Yes, flying Aces Like the Uh-huh. It's Flying Aces, really, yes, flying Aces Like the Uh-huh, where you can, yeah, and it was the first of its kind where you could actually steer and determine where the vehicle goes. Fun fact about Flying Aces it was Janis Joplin's favorite ride when she came to the park and played. It was her favorite ride. I love that fun fact, yeah, yeah and played.

Erik Nilsson:

It was her favorite ride. I love that fun fact.

Julie Freed:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, she had her brand new roller skates on her brand new key and was just just like let's go, yep interesting, yeah, yeah I would not have guessed. I know, I know man.

Erik Nilsson:

So I mean, as I mean as far as like I mean you said you have a long-term plan, like five years to ten, ten-year plan, but like, when can we expect the next?

Julie Freed:

I mean new ride, obviously primordials we're working on many exciting things, but I'll never tell. We've always got something up our sleeve. But we we like to surprise our guests. You know it's. It's a big challenge, like when we were working on cannibal, which took seven years to build prim Eight years. It was a real challenge to keep it a secret. I mean, I don't know if we, to some people I think it was a secret and other people they were like, oh, it's on YouTube what I think it's going to be, and I was like maybe yes, maybe no, but we like to surprise.

Erik Nilsson:

I guess. Well, because I always like when you're driving past the park and you're like hold on.

Julie Freed:

Something's going on, that's right.

Erik Nilsson:

Especially with I mean Cannibal. That's like ginormous.

Julie Freed:

Yes, it's hard Like what is that giant brown tower? What's happening? What are they doing over there at Lagoon? I don't have questions, it's something else.

Erik Nilsson:

Yeah, you don't want to know. Yeah for sure. But I mean, as part of that process, I mean are you looking at, like, what other parks are doing?

Julie Freed:

and yes thing, because I imagine, yes, I imagine there's a lot of google alerts of the major ones. And yes, we love going to other parks and we go to iapa every fall, which is in florida. That's the amusement park convention, um, and we go to universal. While we're there, um, sometimes we go to disney. There's there, sometimes we go to Disney. There's a lot of comparable parks too, like Silverwood is around the same size as Lagoon. So we're always going and looking at different parks and we love visiting other parks.

Julie Freed:

And you know, my dad said something that's always stuck with me because there is always that comparison to Disney. You know, people like to say, well, you're not Disney, you're not Six Flags. You mean, why are you charging so much? But we like to think that parks complement one another instead of compete with one another, and what we have here is very, very unique. But we're also a traditional amusement park, which means we don't have any themed areas. I mean I guess we have Pioneer Village, but it's not a theme. All of those buildings are authentic.

Julie Freed:

So we also really like to set ourselves apart. I mean Cannibal and Primordial and Bombora it started with Bombora the kiddie coaster those are all rides that we built and designed in-house and amusement parks don't do that. Usually the norm is you buy a ride off of the shelf, typically from Germany or somewhere in Europe Italy and my dad, dave. He wanted to set us apart and so it started with Bombora. We wanted to see if we could do it. We wanted to see if we could design and build in Utah a coaster that people liked and I think it is most kids' favorite ride. Around eight years old kids love Bombora. So then when we figured out, okay, we can do that, we decided to do Cannibal and Just go yeah, get this, sky's the limit, we can do that.

Julie Freed:

We decided to do Cannibal and just go yeah, Sky's the limit, exactly, and we wanted to break records, which we did. It's the world's steepest beyond vertical drop. So not steepest dropped, but beyond vertical drop. We have the lagoon roll that nobody else has, which is like a corkscrew where the ride's going like this and then it goes back that way it goes over the waterfall and we're very proud of that ride. I mean we used 75% maybe even more local vendors and suppliers for that ride, same thing for Primordial and the thing about Cannibal. That's really cool that I like to share.

Julie Freed:

So the track was built in Springville, utah, and when you have a track that you can send down the freeway instead of shipping right and you can send bigger sections of track. Bigger sections of track means fewer connection points on the track, which makes for a smoother ride. That's why Cannibal is so smooth. It's because there's fewer connection points on the track, which makes for a smoother ride. That's why Cannibal is so smooth. It's because there's fewer connection points. It's 2,000, almost 2,500 feet of track and it's fewer connection points, which is what makes it smooth.

Erik Nilsson:

Yeah, I mean, it makes complete sense. Again, it's just going up I-15 from Springville, which is also nice. Like, hey, we're sending it back, we got it. Comparing Springville, which is also nice, like, hey, we're sending it back, we got everything. Comparing Springville to Germany as far as logistics oh yes, very, very different. Yes, but then also it's like such a great way to again like make yourself such like a unique place, because it's not like, oh cool, we have this off the shelf roller coaster that you go to Texas, florida, wherever, and that experience and come here, have the same, but really creating that unique experience. But also I can't imagine being the person to be like, all right, well, we need a new roller coaster. Here's like general parameters. What are you thinking? I'd be like let me fire up roller coaster tycoon again.

Julie Freed:

Yes, and it's a team effort. I mean we really decide everything as a committee, but Cannibal was a very big big deal. I mean we had never done anything that big. Cannibal was a very big big deal. I mean we had never done anything that big, it was scary. While we were building it we thought, man, I hope people like this, I hope it's going to work out. You know it's a small investment.

Julie Freed:

Yeah, exactly, and I'll never forget the first day we put riders on Cannibal. I don't know if you know this story, but the first riders were all of the guys that built the ride.

Julie Freed:

Of course that makes my heart happy, of course, right. And Andre, whom you met earlier, he and I were in the station and we've got all these maintenance guys that are in their maintenance shirts and in the ride and I mean everybody was just like freaking out. I mean it was exciting, but it was so nervous and my heart was just boom, boom, boom. And Adam, who I spoke about earlier, he was down below ready to take a picture. They didn't know their picture was going to be taken, but it's like one of my favorite photos ever. But they go up the lift and you hear this like excited and then this is all grown men and they're screaming off of that first drop and it was so great.

Julie Freed:

And one of our guys, mike Kaepner, who's incredible, he's got this giant beard and in the photo his beard went like every which way, which inspired a commercial. Our commercial it was a Black Friday commercial that year was all these big dudes with giant beards riding, cannibal thinking they were all tough and they're all raw, freaking out and scared. So that's just a funny story that we like to share. And Mike was on a billboard and it was really funny. But yeah, that was really, really exciting.

Erik Nilsson:

And then Primordial just upped the ante even more yeah, I mean it's so fun to have those because, again, like you're, I mean seven years in the making you, I mean you think everything's gonna go well.

Julie Freed:

Yeah, the first of its kind. But everything on that ride was, I mean, state of the art, all the safety equipment, all the control system, and it's a very complicated ride. It's an elevator lift system that brings it up through the tower. So I mean it's just, it's a very, very special ride and the name changed over seven years. The theme changed. I mean we had a bunch of different ideas and then you know, seven years, a lot can change. We had a bunch of different ideas and then you know, seven years, a lot can change. Um, but I love the name cannibal and I love that ride.

Erik Nilsson:

Yeah, I mean, it's gonna be flat like there's a the founder of um netflix, last name's rudolph I can't think of his name okay one advice he gets is um, strong opinions, loosely held, meaning like it's okay to be like oh, the name needs to be cannibal, this has to happen, this has to. It's okay to be like oh, the name needs to be canceled, this needs to happen, this has to do it. But again they're like hey, listen, like we think it's better to go with this because of these reasons. Be like okay, that makes sense. Like loosely, like we do need to be flexible.

Julie Freed:

I've had to learn that since working here. I would get attached. And my said tell me, don't get attached though. Exactly.

Erik Nilsson:

I never get too attached yeah um, but what other fun? I mean, what other fun park accolade I mean accolades, facts, features you think people should know or would want to know we should talk about primordial.

Julie Freed:

Primordial is a very special right. Have you been on it?

Erik Nilsson:

I have not yet okay, so primordial.

Julie Freed:

Oh man, it has a very, very special place in my heart and everyone else here, because it was my father's last passion project and he never got to ride it before he died. But he and I went on a father-daughter trip. We went to Toronto and then we went to Canada's Wonderland and my dad had some business to do. This is actually a funny story. I'm going to tell the full story. This is a really funny story. Oh, dad, he's shaking his head, I know it, but I've got to tell it's so funny. Okay, my dad purchased an antique at an auction right, it was coming from Europe and it's this beautiful platter and it has ivory in the platter and in customs you can't bring ivory into, even even though it was antique, still couldn't bring it in.

Julie Freed:

So my father was paying for months of uh, this you know storage container that wasn't working and he said okay, because it was in Canada. He said maybe I can bring it or have. How did he get it there, I don't even remember. Have it picked up and taken to Canada's Wonderland and they'll hold on to it for us until we can get there. So my dad said, julie, do you want to go on a father-daughter trip? I was like no, not really, dad. I mean, I don't know what you're thinking. No-transcript to canada's wonderland to get this antique flatter and while we were there.

Julie Freed:

They have an awesome ride uh, guardians mountain, I believe, is what it's called, and similar to primordial primordial. They had a giant building. It wasn't even a ride at first. Then they decided to put a ride in it 3d glasses, you're interacting with screens and he and I wrote it and we were like, man, maybe we should do this. And it was really mostly my dad that, of course, you know. He's probably mentally like we can do anything.

Erik Nilsson:

Yeah, right, right.

Julie Freed:

Right. So it was a huge undertaking, because let's just talk about the mountain, okay. So first we built this mountain and we had to stop during COVID, so it looked like a giant, like steel, just crazy thing for a long time because we had to stop during COVID, but there's over 10,000 pieces of steel in that mountain, so it's an 80,000 square foot mountain. So just to give a little bit of perspective, both Jetstar and the merry-go-round could fit inside the mountain and still have room for other rides. So it's a very large mountain, so giant steel structure.

Julie Freed:

Then we designed our own roller coaster and we wanted it to be smooth, because cannibal is such a thrill ride. It's smooth too. But we wanted it to be family friendly. We didn't want it to be too dynamic to where little kids couldn't ride it. So we designed a coaster to go inside the mountain and then there's 5,000 square feet of screens and then we teamed up with triotech who's leading, you know, the industry with like their rides at legoland, and they did all of the visual. It's an original storyline that we worked on together, um, which is a whole nother piece of things whole nother piece of things that's so exciting.

Julie Freed:

And one cool fact that I like to share is, with a lot of rides you go on and I don't know because I'm not a gamer, but I think with a lot of video games you're really trying to shoot the bad guy, right? We, as a family park, didn't want that, so we had said from the beginning we want the end to be you're freeing the good guy, so yeah. So we, triotech, developed this storyline and we went back and forth on. You know, so fun. It was such a fun process for years. How are we going to make this work?

Julie Freed:

And so it's an original storyline and there's two main characters. There's the dragon, who brings the day, and the owl, who brings the night. In this, you know this land and they're captured and the goal on the ride is to go through the ride. You do blast some of the bad guys, but you free either the dragon or the owl. But we also wanted multiple different endings because we you know season pass holders some people come every day so we wanted it to be different every time. We wanted surprise elements throughout, and so there's eight different possible endings to the ride, did I?

Erik Nilsson:

know that.

Julie Freed:

Which makes it unique and it was so fun. And so there's so many different bits and pieces to this ride. And then there's designing the vehicle, and what do we want the blasters to look like, and who's going to narrate the story. It was just, it was such a cool project, and then so we built this mountain and then around the screen are scenes. I mean, it's a theatrical company who comes in and builds the screen, so you really feel immersed. And the last thing we put in there was the 3D part, because over eight years, technology, of course, has changed. So we're like 3D.

Julie Freed:

That needs to be like the very last piece because we want the most up-to-date technology and my dad came up with the name Primordial. We had a list of like so many great names and I don't remember what I wanted. It was like Emerald Mountain. I was like dad, this is again where he's like, don't get attached. And then also we thought, you know, do we change the name last minute too, because the name primordial got out there internally. We called it night train andre and I called it bacon quest, because we didn't want people to know what we were talking about, because we're trying to keep it a secret exactly.

Julie Freed:

We call it bacon quest. That was my favorite name, um, but yeah, it took eight years through covid. I mean, so many different things happened while we were building this ride and it's a great ride. It's a great ride, I think, um, one of my co-workers uh, my colleague Jessica, felt her son was the first kiddo to ride it. He's three. He loved it. He loved it. But it's man. I'm so proud of that ride and I know my dad is so proud.

Julie Freed:

And the first day we all went up to ride it it was a very emotional day because he wasn't there. But I know he's there, but I've like wanted to see his face. You know, I wanted to see his reaction and I was just like sobbing up there, like it was. It was a hard day but I knew he was there with us. So primordial means so much to all of us because of my dad's involvement I mean he was the one that was pushing because it's Because of my dad's involvement. I mean he was the one that was pushing Because it's now, it is for sure, the biggest project that we've ever done. And I don't even I mean, who knows, I don't, maybe it's the biggest ever, I don't really know. And it's funny because when people amusement park enthusiasts, when they come to Lagoon and they ride Primordial, they say, you know, they're always like no offense, but like that ride doesn't belong here, that belongs at Disney, and we're like no, it does belong here.

Julie Freed:

You just wait. You know we're just going to keep going. But yeah, so Primordial, very, very special ride and a lot of people still haven't ridden it and I can't wait for you to ride it.

Erik Nilsson:

Oh no, I'm excited. Yeah, I know, I was supposed to go earlier this summer, but I had some other things come up, come back during Frightmares. It's the best time that actually I don't think I've been to Frightmares since like high school.

Julie Freed:

Oh.

Erik Nilsson:

So I was actually because so my niece and nephew. So, going back to this time, I was supposed to go to Lagoon this year. Oh, family from oregon was in town, they love lagoon. They went. I was like, hey, I have some other stuff I gotta do, and it was for a choice because so my sister.

Erik Nilsson:

So my sister has two kids, a daughter and a son, eight and nine, and so to meet them here, my nephew was playing in a baseball game. It was like um, championship game can't leave and it's going long, because baseball games you never know how it's gonna last, oh yeah. And so she's like okay, I'm just gonna take my daughter and go like a baby daddy, you stay here with him oh yeah.

Erik Nilsson:

So he finishes the game. He's like where'd they go? Like they went to lagoon. He's like sorry, thanks, yeah, I had a blast. But then after that I was like, hey, like we do need to make this right as, yes, yes, devastated if my mom took right my sister to lagoon without me yes and I never got to go.

Erik Nilsson:

So that's when I mentally was like Friday, marriage is the time to go because I haven't been there. It is. But the thing I love about Primordial especially like hearing you talked about it, knowing the story of Lagoon and like the priorities that your grandpa and your dad instilled in this place is it's a family place. We want people to have kids here. We want to have like these memories and experiences we do kids here we want to have like these memories and experiences. We do want to continually have the best experiences. We want to learn from what's going on and create that. And so, even again to your point of having eight years to create this and I mean because it was this year open, or last year, this year it opened last year in the fall, yeah so I mean even going from I mean 27 2015 to 2023, and just think about how my life has changed technologically and being like and trying to keep the ball rolling.

Erik Nilsson:

Here's the goal we have, right again huge project. Yeah, right, because things did change yeah and so I think it's honestly like the way you talk about it. It sounds like the perfect cherry on top of your dad's legacy in the park and absolutely and making that everything, that that it has become.

Erik Nilsson:

Yes, so I that that you got to be, but not only that that happened, but you got to be an integral part of it. I mean a seat at the table and have that experience with everyone. I know that's great, and then only knowing that there's more to come and I don't believe that that's going to be the biggest project you guys have ever done.

Julie Freed:

I don't really think it is either. At one point I thought it would be. And now Kristen's incredible. I mean she's just like wow, she's blown me away. I mean she did everything with my dad, right, she was the vice president, he was the president, but they did everything together, um and but my dad would always talk and she was the quiet one, right, and she, you know, would be in meetings and she'd be like Davey say this and you know she'd be whispering to him.

Erik Nilsson:

But man, she's done some great things with the park already and it's just going to keep going. How do you see her and your dad differ as far as I mean leadership, vision, approach.

Julie Freed:

Oh man, I think there's. There are two totally different people. I think my dad probably was a little more of a micromanager than Kristen Um not in a bad way, um and he was certainly a lot bolder. A lot of people were afraid of my dad. You know, when I came here as a kid, I remember people were like, oh, you're Dave's daughter, is it so scary? And I'm like no, it like, oh, you're Dave's daughter, is it so scary? And I'm like no, it's my dad. But I also got a different version of him than everybody else. I mean, he would sing to me. We were always joking around. This is his ring that I wear.

Julie Freed:

Yeah, I didn't even realize I was grabbing it. But, and, kristen, I think she's a little more. You know, let's, let's see, let's see, let's give people an opportunity to try something and if it doesn't work then we'll correct. But um, yeah, they're just very different people but compliment one another and, um, they're great, they're both great great leaders no, I love that.

Erik Nilsson:

Yeah, good, good family, good leadership in the helm yeah, nothing, nothing but good things in the future. But I mean outside of, I mean top secret rides in in the in the top secret. Yes, I mean of course it would have to be, because everybody knows.

Erik Nilsson:

Then it's like cool yeah right and like half of it is like the unveiling, the surprise, the seeing, the look on people's faces. It's so fun. Anything that takes that away like yeah, come on right, you know um, outside of, like all the top secret rides, parks, everything I mean. What are you most excited about for the future of Lagoon and your part in it? Oh, what am I most?

Julie Freed:

excited. Oh man, I don't know how to pick one thing. Honestly, the direction we're going in is very, very exciting. We have big plans in a multitude of ways. I mean, it's so hard for me to not say what we're thinking, but we've got some really exciting plans. And you know, my dad told me I think I said this earlier. I asked him once years ago. I said what is your goal for Lagoon? I said what is your goal for Lagoon? Like, clearly, you know, it's grown exponentially since Poppy my grandfather Peter was. You know, they started it. What's your goal? And he told me we're having breakfast and he said the goal is to be greater than the previous generation. And he would always talk about the third generation. He said, you know, he would read the Wall Street Journal was his Bible. He would read it every day, plus the Tribune. I mean, he'd read multiple papers a day. He was so, so smart, always taking in information. And he said you always hear about the third generation is the problem. So I'm counting on you.

Julie Freed:

And at the time I was like oh, dad, come on, please, on, please really you know, but now that I have my son, whose first name is David, after my dad, um, but we call him Leo, that's his middle name, leo, um, I want to build it for my son. You know, I I'm so excited for him. I mean, just watching him on the rides has changed how I feel about this place completely. I already loved my job. I didn't think I could love it anymore, but having kids changes literally everything about your life and it has changed my passion for Lagoon and my desire to make it even greater. And that doesn't necessarily mean giant rides, although we do have some giant plans but it doesn't necessarily mean that it's just in every way.

Julie Freed:

I want to create a beautiful, welcoming, inviting experience for everybody, you know, for him and his friends to come, for my friends to come, and I'm just, I'm so proud to be here, I'm so proud of what, you know, my family's accomplished so far. The Lagoon family has accomplished, I mean, and I want it for our employees too. You know I mean man we have, we are so lucky, we have the most dedicated employees you can imagine that you know primordial, cannibal, even new restrooms, it doesn't matter, they will work around the clock to get things done and I'm, you know, with every opening of a new season I feel so proud that we made it through the winter and we got there. And what we're gonna do is even better and it's it's like a reward for everybody when we make it to a new season and we've done something new and exciting, and it's like let's bring our families and they can come see what we've been working on, you know.

Julie Freed:

And fright mares is like a small part of that, you know, because we always do something new for fright mares. So it's always I always tell my friends that's when they should come, come during fright mares, come check it out. But I feel like this third generation, it's going to be greater than we're going to keep going. It's Madison, christopher, me and everybody else and we're all a team.

Erik Nilsson:

We're just going to keep going. I love that and it's so interesting because I'll probably always compare back to Disneyland because it's like the best. Yeah, of course, yeah, but I mean there's been so many things, I mean especially there, where, again, I mean partially because they are, I mean also landlocked. Yes, they can do, but it's like you have things like I mean, tower of terror comes down so they can put guardians of galaxy. They like there's just this constant, like let's call it gentrification of the park, and like they have things that they keep for a lot of other reasons. But I think that's one thing that's so great about lagoon like even going back to my family that visited, it's like they're like, okay, we're going straight to colossus and then we go to the white roller, like, and it's just like this checklist of memories that again gets passed on to this next generation and seeing this third generation and probably fourth, I mean that's right.

Erik Nilsson:

Fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, yeah so I mean, because it's one thing to have it be like, I mean like, like, quote the family business, like I'm here because I mean heavy handedness from my father, but then growing into the passion for it, yeah, but then also instill that magic of it to everybody else Because, again, like your experience of sharing what you do on a daily basis build your family has this legacy of building is one thing, but also having them be like, hey, here's what daddy gets to do at work, here's what dad gets to do like, here's this experience, yeah, like if I were to have children and bring them into my job, they'd be like get me out of here as fast as possible. I do not care about spreadsheets and cashboards, you're absolutely right there is nothing nearly as fun.

Erik Nilsson:

So I'm glad that you get to have that experience, not just for, I mean, what's built everything from here in your life, but then also get to have this brand new experience with your son and be like come full circle, be like I remember when I was on this ride I mean, there's probably side-by-side pictures of both of them.

Julie Freed:

There are, there are. I have a couple and it's so funny, it's so neat to see.

Erik Nilsson:

I'm jealous of that experience. I'm so glad that it gets to be not just a job but family life integrated with it all. And there's a lot of people who would say I would never want my job to be that integrated, but it's this.

Julie Freed:

Right, and you know, family business can be hard. Obviously it can be hard, but our family is so close.

Julie Freed:

I mean my Dave and Kristen, my dad and my aunt, the closest siblings I've ever known in my life, like they worked together every day, forever and they were the best of friends. And so it's really I mean she's missing him so much, we all are missing him so much, but it's also the greatest thing ever. I mean my cousin Madison, well, and Christopher, but Madison and I work together all the time. She works in this building. Her dog, my dog's here he's on the floor, but her dog is Mossy's sister.

Julie Freed:

We got dogs from the same litter, so they come to the office together. Our kids are being nannied together at home by Janina, who's part of our family, who's amazing, and so it's so cool. I mean, who else, who else of our family? Who's amazing, and so it's so cool.

Erik Nilsson:

I mean who else? Who else would you want to do business with in your family? I'm so so lucky. No, that's like I love my family. But there's a reason like because I went to the? U my I mean parents live. We talked about this like in yelkast area. They always said, like if you need, like, you can always stay here for free during college, and I was like I will pay my own oh wow.

Julie Freed:

I was like okay, I'll stay home and I did my first year yeah, like and it was not like.

Erik Nilsson:

But I mean things are a lot better now, but like the thought of I know it wasn't even not that they were bad, it's just boundaries and yeah, it's hard.

Erik Nilsson:

It's all the thought of everything revolving around this, showing a work toward together, family, together, everything like it takes a certain type of person it does like I have, I mean a good amount of friends that do work in like their own family business, like so you're saying you have family dinner with your dad. You go home, go to bed, wake up, you show up at the office, leave the office like and I lived at home for quite a while while I was in his office.

Julie Freed:

We were together all the time and my dad was the type of person that if he calls your cell phone and you didn't answer, he would call like 10 times and he'd leave 10 voicemails and so we were always together. But it was the greatest time of my life. I mean, I always used to say to my dad you better live forever. You know, and he never planned on retiring. I thought he would be here also until he was 96. You know he's still here.

Erik Nilsson:

I mean he's in everything.

Julie Freed:

I can't look anywhere on this park without seeing him.

Erik Nilsson:

His DNA is probably everywhere.

Julie Freed:

Oh, it is everywhere, so he's still here, but yeah, we're very fortunate to be together.

Erik Nilsson:

Totally no. I love that experience and that it only just keeps going forward.

Julie Freed:

I feel like we've covered a lot of ground. I mean this has been very fun for me. It's so easy to talk about Lagoon Like I love it so much that you know it's just like it's so fun to talk about my job because it's it's fun and exciting and I have great co-workers and we love our guests and it's great.

Erik Nilsson:

so I feel like we've probably covered everything yeah, well, wrap up with the two questions I always end every episode with. First, if you could have someone on the small lake city podcast and hear more about, kind of their story, what they're up to. Who would you want to hear from?

Julie Freed:

um my best friend dustin matinka, for sure I love dustin.

Julie Freed:

Oh, you know dustin. Okay, of course, small lake city who owns jar of modern, um, small business, he would be a lot of fun to have on here. Dustin is a friend to anybody, of course. You're friends with him, he makes friends with. Like after two seconds he's like oh yeah, I'm hanging out with so-and-so and I'm like didn't you just meet, like last week? Yeah, but we've hung out three times since then. I mean that's Dustin, so for sure, dustin, dora Modern deal, do that.

Erik Nilsson:

And then, secondly, if people want to find out more about, I mean, the park, about you, about what's going on, I mean what's the best places they should Instagram.

Julie Freed:

Lagoon Park is our Instagram. That's also our website, lagoonparkcom. I'm juliefreedom on Instagram because Julie Freed was taken Rude, I dare they.

Erik Nilsson:

Yeah, I said Julie Freed. There's someone else who wants the title.

Julie Freed:

Yeah, for sure, but lagoonparkcom Cool.

Erik Nilsson:

Yeah, julie, thank you so much. It's been so fun to learn more about the amusement park of utah. The heart and soul brings everybody together in the summer thank you.

Julie Freed:

Oh, that's nice, thank you looking forward to fright mares.

Erik Nilsson:

Yes, I will be going I only swear.

Julie Freed:

I can't wait. No, thank you for having me on your podcast. Thank you absolutely, it's great.

People on this episode

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Erik Nilsson

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