Great Escape’s new prez, 35, is home-grown

By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor

Newly named Great Escape President Andrew Berggraf, 35, started his career at the park 20 years ago as a Lake George High School 10th grader. “I started as a sweeper, keeping the midways clean,” he tells The Chronicle.

He took the job so he could buy his dad’s Jeep. “I thought, I gotta find something fun, and I lived right around the corner from Great Escape. I rode my bike to work for the whole summer, and earned the cash to pay for my dad’s Jeep. The following year at least I had a car to drive to work.”

Cut to the present. Enchanted Parks took ownership in April of The Great Escape and five other parks across the U.S. as part of a $315 million portfolio investment by parent company EPR Properties. (The park will continue to operate under the Six Flags name through this year.)

Right away, Enchanted reinstated the role of park president last held at the Great Escape by Rebecca Wood, whose roots also ran deep at The Great Escape.

Six Flags eliminated park presidents last year, shifting to a regional leadership system. Mr. Berggraf was the liaison to the regional leader and decision maker.

“The structure that’s being brought back now…I think it’s going to make a drastic impact. We can make decisions locally. We know our guests, right? …Having that connection to the community is going to be really important, and having that revitalization in the community is going to be vital to our future success.

As Park president, he says, “Every day is a little different. I’m responsible for the financials of the theme park and the business of the theme park.

“We have a great team of directors and managers, supervisors, line level leadership. My job is really to support them in being successful.

“My prize responsibility is to ensure that our guests are safe, our guests are having an experience that they’ll never forget, and that our team is executing on all levels and growing and developing…Enchanted Parks has been great at asking us locally what’s important to our park, to our guests, and allowing us the opportunity to go ahead and tackle those things.”

“Six Flags is a great company. I owe my career to them, but Enchanted is definitely allowing the focus back onto the community and onto the property itself.”

There are “no new rides” this year, but “we’re investing a lot into rehab,” Mr. Berggraf says.

“Our Raging River, which is in its 40th anniversary, just got a whole new turntable. The Desperado Plunge is getting fiberglass work done. Our Carousel is going through some rehab right now.

“It’s cleaning things up, it’s bringing things back that were important to guests back in the Charley Wood days.”

He mentions Sassy Sally, a puppet that once greeted guests at the park entrance. Now, there’s Hooty the Owl, a “more modern character,” in keeping with the Adirondack feel of the park and its Timber Town “gang of characters.”

“Hooty the Owl is their scholar,” Mr. Berggraf says. “He welcomes you to the park, does a little show, gives a little bit of history and gets you into the park.”

“Our commitment is to take these cherished rides and experiences and really make sure…they can continue for decades to come,” he says.

As for future plans, “The sky’s the limit,” Mr. Berggraf says. “There’s always opportunities to grow and expand.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we start to see some things coming back, some shows, other offerings, that have maybe gone away in years past. We’re interested in hearing this year what our guests have to say, what’s important to them and taking that to heart as a leadership team and coming up with a plan to execute.”

Mr. Berggraf says his own favorite ride is the Swan boats. “I know that’s going to sound silly. I’m not a thrill guy.

“Listen, The Comet is by far the best coaster, but the Swan boats is unique to me. It’s fun riding it and people-watching. As an operator, you’re part of the experience. You get to talk to guests, to tell them the stories and the history.

“Our team really is passionate about what they do. They love this property. You see it in the years of service.

“We have full-time ride mechanics that have been here for decades. Dean Hyatt, our facilities manager, has been here since the Charley Wood days at the inception of the park. He tells us all the Charley Wood stories.”

After Covid Mr. Berggraf worked briefly at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. “They’re a massive operation.” He said they were shocked he went back to The Great Escape. “They’re like, ‘You’re going to that small park up in upstate New York?’ I’d say, You have no idea, the park is beautiful. The team there is so passionate. It truly is inspiring to be part of it.”

“Our market is families. We’re not going to be a Six Flags New England, right? We’re not going to have the Supermans and the Batmans, but we have a Bobcat, The Comet. On a hot day we have the water park. We have those thrill-seeking rides, but then we also cater to families, with our Timber Town area, the Storytown train, shows and entertainment…Our expectation is that anybody that comes, we’re going to be able to cater to you

“We pride ourselves on being a family park that’s run by a very close family internally. We consider ourselves a family unit, and we’re going to provide for your families.”

“It’s definitely an ever-changing business,” he says. “Theme parks from when I started to even now, a lot has changed. What’s nice about this local structure is we can pivot quick.

“What our guests tell us we take to heart — the good, the bad and the ugly. I promise you, we sit down and come up with long-range plans to do better, and move this property forward.

“It can be difficult business, but I will argue it is the funnest business to be part of. As much as changes in this world and at this park, there’s always a constant in that it is about the guest experience. It’s about people smiling. It’s about safety and memories.

“My daughter, she’s now nine and watching her come to this park, the pride she has walking the property and taking rides, and her saying her dad works here is everything.”

“When I was a ride operator, the president at the time, Eric Gilbert, had come over to give me a bathroom break.

“I remember thinking, how is it the park president is giving me, this 17-year-old kid, a bathroom break? Looking back at it now, that 15 years later I would be sitting in his role?

“This industry has a way of pulling you in. Anybody that’s worked in it, they fall in love. It’s very easy to follow your passion, and the opportunities are endless.

“It’s a small industry. We all know each other. At the end of the day the goal is safety, and to provide an experience. We may be competitors but our goals and missions outweigh that, so we to talk and help each other.

“It’s a job, sure, but the memories that you will make here are going to last forever. My first kiss, my first car, graduating high school and college, my daughter, all of these milestones are tied to this property and experienced with my family here. Have fun, enjoy what you do, and don’t waste a minute. Be out there, make a difference, be impactful.”

Andrew Berggraf’s step by step Great Escape progression

Chronicle Managing Editor Cathy DeDe writes: “Listen, it’s hard work, but rewarding,” Andrew Berggraf says of his first job pushing a broom at The Great Escape. “I’m the kind of person I like to see my results of my work. It’s nice having an impact. I love talking to people.

“So it was fun to be able to walk the park, see smiling faces, get to meet people. I would say it’s challenging in that it’s a lot of walking, but it’s super fun.

“You have, like a little dustpan and a little corn broom, and you would just sweep the midway of debris or trash you saw. If you saw a trash can overflowing, you’d go and grab this little cart and change the trash. They used to say, ‘You are the expert in cleanliness. You are the one making the Midways clean.’ That was your responsibility.”

From sweeping, “I moved over to ride operations. Then I needed to keep making money, so I went to the Great Escape Lodge for the winter and became a lifeguard” in the indoor water park.

“I really just did a lot of entry level jobs.”

“In 2009, just graduating high school,” he became a supervisor.

“I really liked what I was doing, and I liked managing people. I decided I wanted to stay working at the park, so I went to SUNY Adirondack, got my degree in Tourism,” while still working at the park.

“In 2014 I was fortunate enough that a full-time role came around, so I became the Operations Manager. It was perfect timing, because I had just graduated from Paul Smith’s College with my bachelor’s degree in hospitality and tourism management” — through a branch program at SUNY Adirondack, he adds.

“In operations, I oversaw anything that touches the guest experience. The rides, park services with the sweepers, entertainment, aquatics and lifeguarding, all the characters you see out in the park, any of the shows we do.

“I am not an office guy. Anybody will tell you I struggle when I’m sitting in here. It was nice to be out in the park. That’s where I live and breathe. I was able to roam and experience all these different things.”

Mr. Berggraf married, had a daughter, and an opportunity arose in 2020 — “right before Covid,” — at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. “I took a short leave, helped reopen them from Covid.”

Then, “Rebecca Wood, Park President at the time, called to say ‘come home,’” to be Director of Operations.

“I was a very shy kid, Never did I think that this would be a career path until I started working in leadership. I owe a lot to the supervisors and managers I worked with. Rebecca Wood, she taught me quite a bit. It’s inspiring to watch someone like her rally the team, and I’m like, man, I could see myself doing that.

“It wasn’t something that I originally thought was a career path. It kind of just fell into my lap and became a real passion. Looking back now, I honestly don’t know if I could have seen myself doing anything different.”

“A lot of our full-time leadership worked their way through the channels. Starting with the broom and working your way up benefits the operation. When the park is 90 degrees, and the team is out there doing their thing — I remember how it feels…I will never ask this team to do anything that I have not done myself or will do, even as the park president.

“I’m not above carrying a broom and butler and sweeping in the park. Leaders who grow through the industry from the bottom up are the most successful.

“I will say Great Escape has bred some amazing leaders in the industry, now running parks throughout the country, That’s why this industry is so small. There are directors who were here now overseas opening parks, executives at other parks, There’s opportunities at this park to grow and develop, and you can go anywhere. The opportunities truly are endless.”

Copyright © 2026 Lone Oak Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserve