Busch Gardens Tampa General Manager Tapped For Top Spot at Worlds of Discovery Dubai

Busch Gardens Tampa General Manager Tapped For Top Spot at Worlds of Discovery
Dubai
Donnie Mills to Transition Into Role of Executive Vice President and Managing
Director of Joint Busch Entertainment/Nakheel Project

ORLANDO, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Donnie Mills, Executive Vice President
and General Manager of Busch Gardens and Adventure Island in Tampa, Fla. has
been named to the key leadership position for Worlds of Discovery Dubai.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080905/AQF523)
In his new role as Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Mills
will be responsible for all aspects of the staging and operation of Worlds of
Discovery Dubai -- SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Discovery Cove and Aquatica
-- parks developed in partnership with Nakheel PJSC, a Dubai World company
and one of the world's largest and most innovative real estate developers.
In making the announcement, Busch Entertainment Corporation President and
Chief Operating Officer Jim Atchison said, "Donnie Mills has proved himself
repeatedly in management roles across our system in a career that spans three
decades. His knowledge of our park brands, his leadership abilities and the
breadth of his management expertise make him the ideal candidate to lead the
Dubai project."
Mills, 50, will maintain all his current responsibilities at Busch Gardens
and Adventure Island into 2009 and will transition fully into the new role in
2010. Current timelines call for groundbreaking on the Dubai project by the
end of this year. SeaWorld Dubai, Discovery Cove and Aquatica are scheduled
to open in December 2012. Plans calls for Busch Gardens to open in 2015.
Mills has worked at five of the 10 Worlds of Discovery parks over a 34-
year BEC career. He started at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay as a seasonal employee
in 1974 while still in high school. After earning a marketing degree from the
University of South Florida, he went on to serve in numerous executive
positions throughout the BEC system.
"Returning to the park where I started my career to lead the Tampa team
during this exciting time of growth and change has been a great honor," Mills
said. "Then to have the opportunity to take my experience and apply it to the
leadership of the next generation of parks in Dubai is a tremendous
privilege."
Prior to returning to Tampa, Mills was Executive Vice President and
General Manager of Busch Gardens and Water Country USA in Williamsburg, Va.
He also has served as Park Operations Vice President at Busch Gardens Europe,
SeaWorld in San Diego and Busch Gardens in Tampa.
According to Atchison, Mills' success as a BEC manager is rooted in
communications skill, respect for employees, work ethic and an obsession with
quality.
"If you need to find Donnie on most days, you don't have to look far. He
is out in the park -- often with a broom and dustpan in his hand -- helping
our team members in any way he can and assuring that we create the best
possible experience for our guests," Atchison said.
Worlds of Discovery Dubai will be developed on Palm Jebel Ali, the second
of Nakheel's three Palm man-made island developments. Worlds of Discovery
Dubai will occupy a section of Palm Jebel Ali known as the "Crown," which will
resemble a giant killer whale when reclamation work is complete.
SOURCE Busch Entertainment Corporation

Fred Jacobs, BEC Communications Vice President, +1-407-226-5210,
Fred.Jacobs@WorldsofDiscovery.com; or Gemma Mitchell, Communications Executive
of Nakheel PR, 971.4.368.6946, Gemma.Mitchell@nakheel.com