Michael Smith of Dingles was historic rides consultant for Margate's Dreamland, and the place has a wealth of information and vintage rides – the dodgems, which date from 1932, being one of the most popular.
That, plus their sheer size, helped the top-tier consultants ride out the storm.
Steve Ohlms, former owner of Hampton Amusement Rides, now a consultant for the company in Portage DeSioux, Mo., says New Jersey will remain a valued customer.
Ross wisely hired Chris McCarron, the astute Hall of Fame jockey, to do some of the riding and be his consultant.
Today's big strategy consultants rode to their current fame on the back of three forces.
A stream of bicyclists rode in the lanes, including Kalyn Fink, a consultant from Chelsea, who was riding a Citi Bike.
Theme-park rides have provided him with the ideal outlet for this particular combination of interests, and he now works as a consultant on new rides at Alton Towers and Thorpe Park.
"On the train, you've got power outlets and Wi-Fi, you can talk on the phone — it's usable time," said George Hamlin, an aviation writer and airline consultant who frequently rides Amtrak between Washington and New York.
It is not clear how long Mr. Heywood lived in Dalian, where he met his wife or when he moved on to Beijing, where he joined the horde of expatriate business consultants working to ride the Chinese economic wave by using their local contacts to smooth the way for foreign businesses.
But building a legacy beyond his hometown could be an uphill trolley ride, said Donna Mitroff, a children's media consultant, educator and author who has worked more than 40 years in the field, including three years with Mr. Rogers at WQED.
On the ride back I sat next to a terrorism consultant from Romania and made small talk.
