Why do seasonal workers keep returning to Worlds of Fun year after year, despite the demanding conditions?
The answer is almost entirely one person: Cole Lindberg. Multiple employees at Worlds of Fun's games department — including Claire, in her third year at just 18 years old, and Sam, in his third consecutive summer — named Lindberg explicitly as the reason they come back season after season. Beyond their manager, a roster of in-season events — Rally Days, Deathmatch, Sweet Sixteen, and Toss the Boss — transforms a repetitive summer job into something workers actually look forward to.
Claire highlighted those competitions and events as the things that keep the job exciting across the long summer stretch, when the grind of managing games, putting out prizes, and hitting financial targets could otherwise feel relentless. Sam's assessment of Lindberg went further: he described him as someone who "was made to do this," noting that even gestures that could seem awkward — like singing at morning meetings — feel completely natural and right coming from him. That kind of authentic leadership is rare, and workers notice.
What makes Lindberg's influence so striking is the context it operates in. Running the games department at Worlds of Fun means supervising over 100 young seasonal employees across 32 games, working 60 to 70 hour weeks throughout the summer, and managing supply budgets and revenue targets — all while projecting the energy of someone who still genuinely loves being there. The full episode on Listenly captures exactly how that combination of structured fun and real human investment turns a seasonal gig into a place people choose to return to.
"This opportunity is probably only going to come along once in a lifetime."
— Cole Lindberg, Games Department Manager, Worlds of FunAbout Cole Lindberg
Cole Lindberg's story at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri is an unusual one: he showed up for a job interview at age 14 wearing a suit, got hired as a seasonal games attendant, and never really left. Eleven years later, he manages the park's entire games operation — 32 games, a team of more than 100 young seasonal employees, and the full financial accountability that comes with it. He works 60 to 70 hours a week every summer without losing the enthusiasm that got him hired in the first place.
In his senior year at the University of Kansas at Lawrence, Lindberg made the decision to drop out and accept the full-time games manager position, describing it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that simply couldn't wait for a diploma. That instinct has been validated: his immediate supervisor Matt regards him as one of the strongest games managers across all 11 amusement parks in the Cedar Fair portfolio — which spans properties many times larger and better-resourced than Worlds of Fun. It is that combination of deep institutional knowledge, genuine passion for the park, and uncommon leadership ability that makes Lindberg credible when seasonal workers cite him as the reason they return.
See also
Cedar Fair is a company that owns 11 amusement parks and six water parks, with Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri being one of its properties. Cole Lindberg manages the games department at Worlds of Fun, one of the smaller parks in the Cedar Fair network.
Cole Lindberg introduced a fluorescent-colored lemur stuffed animal as a prize in the dart game, and the game doubled its business as a result. He also invented new game mechanics to drive revenue across the department.
At Worlds of Fun, the guessing game costs $5 to play while the prizes cost less than $5, meaning the department makes a profit even if every single guess is wrong and every player walks away with a prize.