A GOOD park attendant story...Happy Thanx
Heights are in place from a combination of manufacturers recommendations, state inspectors, the operations department, and the insurance company that pritects the park. There shall be no gray area in this. You may as well have had that girl stufff toilet paper in her shoes. Last time we had a coaster 'incident', non fatal mind everyone, the first thing out of the state inspectors mouth was something about a height measurement on the child. He was tall enough, but if he wasn't, well the results can break the bank on a small park. No exceptions should be made. My opinion.
Bukweet check this out:
To see if she truly did a good job as you say she did, maybe you should have gone to guest relations and filled out a form saying how good of a job she did. Under comments, you could write "She let my daughter ride Dueling Dragons even though she was a half inch too short. And she had a great smile. My daughter was so happy! Thank you so much Dueling Dragon Ride op!" Now Full time management looks at that and scratches their head. Did this girl honestly do a good job? IMO, absolutely not. You wouldn't have said anything about this particular ride op if she hadn't broke the rule, so I say she did a bad job.
About speeding, lol, on my way to work I had the same thought. Would I like it if I got a ticket for going 5 mph over in a 55mph zone? No, but I couldn't really say anything, could I? I mean I did break the speed limit. The reason people DON'T get pulled over though, is because it's almost impossible to do the set speed limit all the time. What if you're going down a hill and don't realize it? And you go 1 to 2 mph over? That's a COMPLETELY different story than half an inch too short. Safety is so much more of a factor with the height of your daughter when she is riding than me going 1 or 2 mph over the limit down a hill. Do you see what I'm saying?
On a last note, I would try everything in my power to have the girl hit the required height limit. Stretch her neck, deep breath in, everything. Hell, I've even tried different height sticks on some children just to see if they make it (in case one is a little off). But the absolute bottom line is, if their head is not at the 54" mark, they do not ride under any circumstances.
To reiterate what Jeff and Co. have said numerous times, "Safety is no accident." Learn it, live it, love it.
(Bout time we have some interesting discussions on here! ;))
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"Legen 氀漀漀欀猀 琀漀漀 椀渀琀攀渀猀攀 昀漀爀 洀攀⸀∀
To see if she truly did a good job as you say she did, maybe you should have gone to guest relations and filled out a form saying how good of a job she did. Under comments, you could write "She let my daughter ride Dueling Dragons even though she was a half inch too short. And she had a great smile. My daughter was so happy! Thank you so much Dueling Dragon Ride op!" Now Full time management looks at that and scratches their head. Did this girl honestly do a good job? IMO, absolutely not. You wouldn't have said anything about this particular ride op if she hadn't broke the rule, so I say she did a bad job.
About speeding, lol, on my way to work I had the same thought. Would I like it if I got a ticket for going 5 mph over in a 55mph zone? No, but I couldn't really say anything, could I? I mean I did break the speed limit. The reason people DON'T get pulled over though, is because it's almost impossible to do the set speed limit all the time. What if you're going down a hill and don't realize it? And you go 1 to 2 mph over? That's a COMPLETELY different story than half an inch too short. Safety is so much more of a factor with the height of your daughter when she is riding than me going 1 or 2 mph over the limit down a hill. Do you see what I'm saying?
On a last note, I would try everything in my power to have the girl hit the required height limit. Stretch her neck, deep breath in, everything. Hell, I've even tried different height sticks on some children just to see if they make it (in case one is a little off). But the absolute bottom line is, if their head is not at the 54" mark, they do not ride under any circumstances.
To reiterate what Jeff and Co. have said numerous times, "Safety is no accident." Learn it, live it, love it.
(Bout time we have some interesting discussions on here! ;))
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"Legen 氀漀漀欀猀 琀漀漀 椀渀琀攀渀猀攀 昀漀爀 洀攀⸀∀
I always hold fast to the height requirement. If any of you were ever at the Serial Thriller during the early part of the season at SFO you would have seen the guy in the Maroon shirt either patroling the line with that Red Stick or spinning those too short away from the ride. I guess I was one of the only ones to believe in safety.
I get very worried when I see young children JUST making the height requirements for a ride. Especially a B&M. Have you ever seen a 54 inch kid strap into a B&M invert, you can't even see the poor child's head. If the train was to stall in an inversion, the result could be catastrophic. OTSRs should fit snuggly, but most don't. Lap bars don't worry me too much, as long as their is a snug seat belt. Maybe B&M should make a row for children as well as larger gusests.
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Coasters- a little slice of heaven
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Coasters- a little slice of heaven
As a veteran of the insurance industry and the decendant of a long line of bean-counters, I can certainly understand the concerns that might be raised over the abuse of established rules by the attendants of the park. If you want the park you attend to stay open, follow the rules, lawsuits can cost a fortune for the park.
*** This post was edited by yitzhak1995 on 11/26/2000. ***
What this all comes down to is stupid people doing stupid things a sueing a park. ex. unsupervised child climbing on the seat of Roger Rabbits Cartoon Spin at Disneyland and falling out. People need to take more responsibility for themselves and their children. If Bukweet thought his child to be safe on the ride, then he should be held responsible. Unfortunately people have to pass the buck on their own stupidity and it hurts the rest of us. My first coaster ride was when I had just turned 3. It was on GASM at SFOG which at the time was the tallest wooden in the world. Back then there was only the hand bar. Not even a lap bar. My parents obviously thought I would be ok, and was. Its too bad a judge will award a family millions because their family member climbed over three fences to fetch a hat they lost on an inverted and ended up dead. Or some idiot decides he wants to ride the stand up on the outside of the restraints and sues and wins. Unfortunatly Bukweet, we have to suffer by exaggerating all the rules . And all of you who obey ALL safety laws, give me a break. Can't tell me you never speed up for a yellow light or roll through a stop sign. Which to me is much more of a stretch than half an inch.
Thanks for the bandwidth
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Say no, to lap bar nazis!
Thanks for the bandwidth
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Say no, to lap bar nazis!
I am reminded of the tragic incident of a large group of airheaded teenage thrill seekers who visited WaterWorld USA in California and got it into their tiny heads to knock the op out and all go on a one person water ride all at once. When about a third of them died when the ride collapsed, the parents were awarded millions for being bad children raisers.
Alright, here's my ride height restriction story. I was at SFGA (of course) summer of 99. I am handicapped, thus was waiting in the exit for a ride on the famous, infamous, completely under-rated best hyper of all Ragning bullwinkle. :)
A lady with 2 young girls was already up there blocking the exit practically yelling at the attendants. It seems her 2 girls are indentical tiwns, and they let 1 on, and not the other one. Don't get me wrong, with my at most 2 - 3 trips to a park a year, I really felt sorry for the twin who did was not let on. But I would've done the same thing if I was an attendant. You see... the twin they let on the ride had a shoe soul larger than the other, believe it or not, that made the difference. Though they are both the same height, the shoes made one high enough, and the other not. the reason I would not back down fron the attendant's desicion is because, despite all the rules and regulations, there still is quite a large grey area there. You have to draw the line somewhere, and that attendant's orders were to allow people that measured high enough on the ride, and those who did not, not.... shoes and all mind you.
My point being, sometimes it's great to make exceptions, but we have to realize those attendants face situations everyday where some little girl, who melts their heart when she cries, is just half an inch below the minimum.
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www.angelfire.com/in3/rct
A lady with 2 young girls was already up there blocking the exit practically yelling at the attendants. It seems her 2 girls are indentical tiwns, and they let 1 on, and not the other one. Don't get me wrong, with my at most 2 - 3 trips to a park a year, I really felt sorry for the twin who did was not let on. But I would've done the same thing if I was an attendant. You see... the twin they let on the ride had a shoe soul larger than the other, believe it or not, that made the difference. Though they are both the same height, the shoes made one high enough, and the other not. the reason I would not back down fron the attendant's desicion is because, despite all the rules and regulations, there still is quite a large grey area there. You have to draw the line somewhere, and that attendant's orders were to allow people that measured high enough on the ride, and those who did not, not.... shoes and all mind you.
My point being, sometimes it's great to make exceptions, but we have to realize those attendants face situations everyday where some little girl, who melts their heart when she cries, is just half an inch below the minimum.
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www.angelfire.com/in3/rct
Ha, I think I actually remember that SFGAManic! Perfect example for this thread, I'm glad you brought it up. Trust me, the crew wants everyone to ride the ride, it's not like we're out to kick all these little kids off the ride. We don't get jollies out of that. But if the kid isn't at the height requirement, they don't ride.
Oh, and GhostRiderCCI. You wrote: If Bukweet thought his child to be safe on the ride, then he should be held responsible.
Sorry, bud, but it doesn't work like that. If it did, we'd have 42" kids trying to ride on Raging Bull (yes, parents have tried it!) It is up to the ride op to make sure each guest meets all requirements, not the parents.
I completely agree with you 100% about people needing to take responsiblities for their actions, but more and more, exactly the opposite is happening. Sad, but true.
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"Legend 1 looks too intense for me."
Oh, and GhostRiderCCI. You wrote: If Bukweet thought his child to be safe on the ride, then he should be held responsible.
Sorry, bud, but it doesn't work like that. If it did, we'd have 42" kids trying to ride on Raging Bull (yes, parents have tried it!) It is up to the ride op to make sure each guest meets all requirements, not the parents.
I completely agree with you 100% about people needing to take responsiblities for their actions, but more and more, exactly the opposite is happening. Sad, but true.
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"Legend 1 looks too intense for me."
And we wonder why some attendants seem to be so surly at the end of the day. If I had to deal with half of what they have to deal with every day, I'd be surly to. The rules are the rules. but some are more flexible than others.
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Everybody calm down, the coasters do not open for another fifteen minutes.
I've been goaded on by some parents before who if it wasn't my job at stake, I would say some choice words about, not too unlike the "moron park attendants" jab.
For example, a kid is about a half-inch too short, and me being militant, stiff, whatever you'd like to call me, I don't let him/her/it on. The kid's mother looks at me and starts arguing. And then the kid starts crying. And then the mother encourages this, and says that he/she/it can't ride because "this mean lady (yes, I've actually been called that once) won't let you." Try to understand the situation that ensues when a kid who really wants to ride is not tall enough. We have to turn the kid away but we have to be polite about it. Usually I tend to smile at the kid and say something like "if you eat your vegetables maybe you'll be tall enough next year" or something like that, because I *remember* what it was like to be too short to ride and it sucked, but oh well. The rides have restrictions for safety reasons, you can't equate a ride-op with the antichrist because he or she chooses to enforce the rules.
So many problems happen over height requirements, if there wasn't a reason for them parks wouldn't have them, you know? So I figure I will enforce the rules consistently, at least then my managers and supervisors know I can do my job right.
And we've already covered the lawbreaking analogy - it isn't my job to *enforce* those rules, and if someone tries to enforce the rules if I break them, I would not argue. Just as if someone tries to take a kid on the ride who is not tall enough, and I catch them and enforce the rule, that person should not argue. See, good analogy, good parallel. Thank you.
-Natalie
CP Ride Operations '99-'00
For example, a kid is about a half-inch too short, and me being militant, stiff, whatever you'd like to call me, I don't let him/her/it on. The kid's mother looks at me and starts arguing. And then the kid starts crying. And then the mother encourages this, and says that he/she/it can't ride because "this mean lady (yes, I've actually been called that once) won't let you." Try to understand the situation that ensues when a kid who really wants to ride is not tall enough. We have to turn the kid away but we have to be polite about it. Usually I tend to smile at the kid and say something like "if you eat your vegetables maybe you'll be tall enough next year" or something like that, because I *remember* what it was like to be too short to ride and it sucked, but oh well. The rides have restrictions for safety reasons, you can't equate a ride-op with the antichrist because he or she chooses to enforce the rules.
So many problems happen over height requirements, if there wasn't a reason for them parks wouldn't have them, you know? So I figure I will enforce the rules consistently, at least then my managers and supervisors know I can do my job right.
And we've already covered the lawbreaking analogy - it isn't my job to *enforce* those rules, and if someone tries to enforce the rules if I break them, I would not argue. Just as if someone tries to take a kid on the ride who is not tall enough, and I catch them and enforce the rule, that person should not argue. See, good analogy, good parallel. Thank you.
-Natalie
CP Ride Operations '99-'00
Unfortunately the rides do not have restrictions for safety reasons. They have restrictions to save them from being sued by stupid people. And Legendary, dont sorry bud me. I can tell you have the mentality of a Six Flags Employee. I simply stated that we as individuals SHOULD be taking responsibility for our actions and the actions of our children. You are correct in saying that is not how it is. I do realize that as stated in my post. We should be taking a lesson from European parks, or Schlitterbahn for that matter. They have signs that state "Observe the ride, if you feel you can ride, then do so AT YOUR OWN RISK." You get hurt on a ride in England, they say, too bad. You should have held on tighter.
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Say no, to lap bar nazis!
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Say no, to lap bar nazis!
GhostriderCCI wrote: Unfortunately the rides do not have restrictions for safety reasons.
They most certainly do.
They have restrictions to save them from being sued by stupid people.
And for safety reasons. Yay, we're getting somewhere!
And Legendary, dont sorry bud me. I can tell you have the mentality of a Six Flags Employee.
Sorry, bud, thanks for the compliment! The park I work at has many, many intelligent, wonderful, charismatic people in the park operations department. I'm glad you took note of our determination to be the best. That makes it all worthwhile, bud. Again, many thanks!
I simply stated that we as individuals SHOULD be taking responsibility for our actions and the actions of our children.
And I agreed. So explain to me why your panties are in a bunch?
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"Legend 1 looks too intense for me."
They most certainly do.
They have restrictions to save them from being sued by stupid people.
And for safety reasons. Yay, we're getting somewhere!
And Legendary, dont sorry bud me. I can tell you have the mentality of a Six Flags Employee.
Sorry, bud, thanks for the compliment! The park I work at has many, many intelligent, wonderful, charismatic people in the park operations department. I'm glad you took note of our determination to be the best. That makes it all worthwhile, bud. Again, many thanks!
I simply stated that we as individuals SHOULD be taking responsibility for our actions and the actions of our children.
And I agreed. So explain to me why your panties are in a bunch?
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"Legend 1 looks too intense for me."
I'm all for spirited discussion, but can we do without the personal attacks. We don't need crap like "I can tell you're a Six Flags employee." (At least not at SFGAm, one of the SF parks that stands out.)
Of course there are restrictions for safety reasons. I wouldn't want three year-old on a B&M inverter; the restraints aren't designed for it. If it were up to some parent, they'd let their kid ride.
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
Of course there are restrictions for safety reasons. I wouldn't want three year-old on a B&M inverter; the restraints aren't designed for it. If it were up to some parent, they'd let their kid ride.
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
Hey, I need to jump in here and "join" this conversation from BOTH sides...I was a ride op ...(CP 1980-84) and I am a PARENT with 2 children.
I have "measured" children who were close to the 48" mark...some made it others were too short...there was not and should never be a "gray area" as has been mentioned in other posts. Either you make the height requirement or wait till you do...
Is it heartbreaking to a child to not be able to ride? That depends upon what the child has been told/promised before they go to the park or try to enter the line. If the child is measured at "home" and just makes/misses the height it should be explained to the child they may not make the "official" height requirement.
I spent the first part of this summer going into Park Operations at CP and having my daughter "officially measured" becasue she was just 48" tall. Had she not made the height, she would have just waited until later in the summer.
My five year old LOVES Raptor, yet has to grow another 10 inches before he meets the "official" height...should the ride ops let him ride? This would make my son's summer...but IT WON'T HAPPEN...the rules are there for a reason...
SAFETY IS NO ACCIDENT...
The next time you see a ride op measure someone...applaud the ride op for turning away someone too small even if they are "close"...This ride op is showing you a concern for the job they are doing and thus your safety also.
*** This post was edited by The One The Only Coaster God on 11/27/2000. ***
I have "measured" children who were close to the 48" mark...some made it others were too short...there was not and should never be a "gray area" as has been mentioned in other posts. Either you make the height requirement or wait till you do...
Is it heartbreaking to a child to not be able to ride? That depends upon what the child has been told/promised before they go to the park or try to enter the line. If the child is measured at "home" and just makes/misses the height it should be explained to the child they may not make the "official" height requirement.
I spent the first part of this summer going into Park Operations at CP and having my daughter "officially measured" becasue she was just 48" tall. Had she not made the height, she would have just waited until later in the summer.
My five year old LOVES Raptor, yet has to grow another 10 inches before he meets the "official" height...should the ride ops let him ride? This would make my son's summer...but IT WON'T HAPPEN...the rules are there for a reason...
SAFETY IS NO ACCIDENT...
The next time you see a ride op measure someone...applaud the ride op for turning away someone too small even if they are "close"...This ride op is showing you a concern for the job they are doing and thus your safety also.
*** This post was edited by The One The Only Coaster God on 11/27/2000. ***
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