The Wave Maker: Story Of Theme Park Pioneer George Millay And The Creation Of Seaworld, Magic Mountain, And Wet 'n Wild

by O'Brien, Tim

• ISBN13: 9781893951082
• ISBN10: 1893951081
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-09-30
• Publisher: Ripley Entertainment Inc

Table of Contents

Prologue - Why a Book on George Millay?	8	(2)
Introduction - Why You Need to Know George Millay	10	(2)
Foreword - Writing the Book on George Millay	12	(3)
The Early Years	15	(8)
George Becomes a Bruin & Gets His First Job	23	(12)
George's First Really Big Pay Day	35	(1)
The SeaWorld Idea Gets Roots	36	(9)
SeaWorld Takes Shape	45	(12)
The Lovely Sea Maids	57	(8)
SeaWorld Opens & The Fine Tuning Begins	65	(2)
SeaWorld Receives a Name & Other Early Happenings	67	(6)
The Arrival of Shamu	73	(6)
Fine Dining, Whales on Wheels & Mrs. Millay	79	(10)
Short Hair: Keep Cutting	89	(10)
Creating Unique Entertainment	99	(9)
Avoiding Adversities	108	(5)
On to the Buckeye State	113	(7)
Ohio's Success Had its Price	120	(5)
Water Skiing Comes to SeaWorld	125	(2)
The Making of a Magical Mountain	127	(7)
The Fiasco at Magic Mountain	134	(5)
George Thrilled to Meet Ray Kroc	139	(2)
Move Over Mickey, Shamu is on Her Way	141	(10)
George is Doomed	151	(6)
The Post-Millay SeaWorld	157	(5)
George Falls for a Zsa Zsa Line	162	(2)
Once a Restauranteur, Always a Restauranteur	164	(4)
The Sociable Boss	168	(6)
Wet and Wild Thoughts	174	(4)
Sailing the Seven Seas	178	(9)
Visualizing a Waterpark	187	(7)
What's a Waterpark?	194	(8)
Wet and Wild Become Wet'n Wild	202	(3)
George the Ride Builder	205	(14)
Surviving Cancer, Three Times	219	(8)
Big Time Success in the Big Arena	227	(6)
Building Wet'n Wild in Texas	233	(8)
George Builds a Family Entertainment Center	241	(3)
Selling Texas for Big Bucks	244	(2)
The Las Vegas Experience	246	(5)
George Deals Happily With the Japanese	251	(4)
Expanding South of the Border	255	(11)
Searching for Sites: Santee & Nashville	266	(3)
Back to San Diego, Finally	269	(4)
The Last Good Waterpark Site in the U.S.	273	(1)
The Sale to Universal	274	(6)
A Few Final Words on Wet'n Wild	280	(3)
The George Stories	283	(13)
The Absent Minded Genius	296	(2)
George as Husband, Father & Grandfather	298	(11)
George Turns 70 & Searches for His Next Big Idea	309	(5)
Trade Associations, Kudos & Awards	314	(4)
Epilogue, or Living Happily Ever After	318	(5)
Section Two: George's Personal Tributes & Accolades
Mother & Wife: The Dominant Forces	323	(1)
The Top 3 Most Influential People in My Life	324	(2)
The SeaWorld Pioneering All-Stars	326	(9)
The Wet'n Wild Pioneering All-Stars	335	(6)
The Secretarial All-Stars	341	(2)
Index	343