Ride Op Stress

Believe it or not, being a ride op can be stressful. Most people are great, but there are those that think just because they paid money they can push ride ops around.

Case and point: the other day I got off of work early and decided to walk in the park. I came across a situation at the entrance of Raptor where a man had a daughter that was easily 6" too short. He was screaming at the op to let her on. He finally ended his tirade with a shove.

Has anyone else seen things like this happen?

I was waiting in line for V2 at SFGAm last thur. at the end of the day. it was going to be our last ride of the night when a worker came around and told us that a storm was going to be there in ten minutes and that sf couldn't guarantee us a ride. lots of people left and some stayed. in any case a worker cleaning up garbage in the line told the whole line to start booing the ride ops 'cause it would piss them off. most of the line did it too!

-------------
this park is not copless so please don't go topless

If any guest would physically abuse me (i.e. push, shove, hit) I would have security on them so fast they wouldn't believe it. I've never had any guest even get mad at me. I always just try to be nice if someone doesn't meet the height requirements. "I'm sorry, but he [or she] is too short. But he can go on [insert ride which is comparable to the one they're trying to get on]". I find that giving the guest an option calms them down and makes them feel better.

wow is this the begining of ride rage?

I'm a ride op at Carowinds, and at times it can be a stressful job, especially when you get people who give you guff just because you are a ride op. I had a incident where on Hurler, a person tried to take a vid. camera on and park policy is no cameras, well, he was screaming at us to let him take it on, so we finally said forget it, and I let someone else deal with it

-------------
------------------------
Mindbender...Can you hear the Riddler chuckling?

I want to be a ride op.To me it seems like fun. *** This post was edited by # 1 coaster fan on 6/18/2001. ***

speaking of vid cams, I was thinking of sneaking one on. anybody got any suggustions on where to hide it. I got a couple pairs of cargo pants, but the camera is too big to fit in the pockets. I was thinking of getting a fanny pack, but I always bring a back pack.

-------------
this park is not copless so please don't go topless

Personaly, I thoroughly enjoy my job. Although at times can be a bit frustrating- especially when I politely ask a guest over and over to simply follow the rules, and they fefuse. Often, parents get angry when we maesure their children and they are too short to ride, especially if they are close to the height requirement. I dislike having to tell the child and his/her parents that he/she can't ride as much as he/she wants to and the parents want their children to ride, but safety is the priority, and nothing else. The worst experience I've had with a guest is being spit on. As for the best, there is nothing specific, but when they sincerely thank me for something, appreciate something, or even just do something as simple as placing trash in the grabge cans vs. throwing it on the ground are VERY much appreciated and always boosts my mood. But once again, I really think I have a great job, and almost always enjoy it.

And in response to the post above: Why would you do something like that? Just follow the rules! They are very simple. Ride Stops/Downtimes occour due to people like you who simply can't follow the directions, and conspire ways around them. *** This post was edited by Long Live The SKY WHIRL on 6/19/2001. ***

I imagine being a ride op is very stressful. Imagine all day your dealing with: ride closings, kids not tall enough and their grumpy parents, vomit, line jumpers, not to mention the heat. It also doesn't pay a lot and it's very repetitive. I try to say hi to the ride ops at the various rides and sometimes joke around with them at SFA because they're human and I'm there every week! I've also worked in customer service and I know what it's like on the other side of the counter so to speak. I've thought about becoming a ride op to get some extra money, but for now I'll stick to the other side of the station:)

Where to hide a video camera? In a locker. Or in your car.

-------------
MALENEM FORSE!!!111 IT ROXOR YUR WORLD!!1!
A bad day at Cedar Point is better than a good day at work.

Why do people keep thinking that a park is public property anyway? I've seen a lot of adults take their visit for granted. If you ever operated at a Six Flags park, how do you manage with the repetitive speeches?(ex: corny launch phrases)?

-------------
What's a world without upstops?!

hey guys, chill. I said I was thinking about sneaking on a cam. I probably don't have the guts to do it. the only time I took a camera on a ride was Raging Bull at it was just a disposable. it that fell it wouldn't hurt people and it wouldn't cost much. a vid cam is much heavier and cost much more. I don't want to hurt people and be out a couple hundred bucks, I just want to share videos on the internet.

-------------
this park is not copless so please don't go topless

If it is small enough put it in a fanny pack. Had some good times. I'll tell the story... My uncle and my bros were at cedar point and we had it on mean streak. In the on ride photo my uncle was just sitting there smiling with the vid camera right in his hand, i still have it too. Anyway, he thought it looked hilarious so he tried to buy it. the lady like didn't know what to do, so she started prossesing it and she was like calling a bunch of people on the walkie talkie. When we got it we kind of ran, because there was like a bunch of people around (workers). It was hilarious. There isn't anything wrong with that, i think. But then again taking an open seat is also a big immoral crime. right?

-------------
Neil, "Boy Genius, Hope of Mankind"
http://kmlaser81.tripod.com/RockinCoasterSite/ *** This post was edited by Neil H. on 6/19/2001. ***

Being a ride op was very stressful not only dealing with the guest, but at Dorney (and i would imagine everywhere) dealing with other employees and higher management was even more stressful. First of all they had me working from 9:30 in the morning till 10:30 or 11:00 at night with only two half hour brakes at 11am and 5 pm that began the second you left your ride. Never having clean water to drink. I know this one girl (my fiance was her assistant) she washed her hands in the water cooler that everyone was suppose to drink out of. But over all my bad experiences was when i was operating the enterprise this 30 some year old man comes on with his 5 year old daughter who doesnt meet the height requierment by 5 inches. I was all by myself trying to explain as nicely as possible that the sign right next to the entrance says clearly she has to be a certain height, and he goes off on me cursing at me calling me names, and finally when my area supervisor came up he started yelling at her and stormed off the ride platform. I could barely handle myself i was soo soooo mad and embaressed I cryed, that was indeed the most stressful time i had.

Geez oh geez don't get me started! I could write a book! *** This post was edited by Dutchman on 6/20/2001. ***

I'm only 13 and thinking of being a ride op at SFMW. Is it all bad or is it sometimes fun? Do you recommend being one?

-------------
AKA V2 at CCN! AKA SFMWManiac at SFMWOnline!

Being a ride op is a great experience, so long as you remember that it is like any other job in the respect that it has good and bad days. Yes, you have guests yell and scream at you about how they should be able to cut in line, get out of line then back in, have their too-short kid ride, take this-that-or the other thing on the ride, etc., you have to clean up vomit, work long hours, hear people complain about the ride/park even when you're working really hard, the weather can be nasty, and you hear the same stupid "am I tall enough" jokes so many times you want to start telling people no and not letting them ride (a hint -- they don't tend to like that response!). But you also get to see the absolute joy on the kids' faces when this is their *first* coaster ride, you see a lot smiles, hear the cheers for a good ride, meet a lot of happy people having a great time, and work a job that will have lots of people asking you "wow, what's that like?!" I highly recommend it! :)

You can also check out working coasters and working at amusement parks in general at my site below, if you want specifics about what it's like to work on a coaster crew.

-------------
Po!nt of View: A different look at Roller Coasters.
http://www.crosswinds.net/~justmayntz/thrills/index.html

I dont know about you guys but being a ride op in Las Vegas is a lil bit more hazardous shall I say. I work at the Adventuredome as well as on call at MGM Grand's theme park and Ive seen it all. At Adventuredome right now we are on summer schedule meaning we are working some strenuous hours as the park is open 9am - midnight and it is very common for an O - C (thankfully next weekend is my last one there).

Next the indoor park is not all that big (5 acres), but we pack in an amazing 19 rides and attractions. This means as soon as is gets hot out side it gets hot inside combine that with air conditioning that sucks, thousands of guests, and lots of standing water means you got some heat!

Then you got the guests. UGH! They get angry casue thier kids arent tall enough when we have signs at every ride and ticket booth. They yell scream and when you ignore them they get even worse. The most interesting Ive seen was at the water ride this guy has blocks of foam taped to the bottom of his shoes. UM, BUT REALLY SEE NO! He made a huge argument with a area coordinator and didnt wanna leave until security got there. Needless to say he was removed!Then you got those who come to the park without money and beg to get on rides for free. Since the park is free admission people think they can scam by taking other peoples wristbands and using tape, staples, glue, and string to get on rides. Naturally we are supposed to take these which casues people trauma. Some say "thats stealing", not really! Others say "okay well i paid for it so im keeping it", um, uhh uh!

Then you got the operation of the rides. While in theory it isn't hard, but in reality it is. Becasue people are dumb and slow (guests and employees) you sometimes have to rush people which they dont like. On the roller coaster we have 20 second load times. Now if you are at controls and something goes wrong you get the blame. Now you tell your employees to hurry up and they act like you arent my daddy and slow down. WHAT THE F***? Then you got slow guests who dont understand that if they dont get out the ride will break down!

Next you got the people who are too big to ride. They get mad at you when you cant control the rides dimensions

Finally, theres the cleaning aspect. At MGM we dont clean at all as there is a department that does that for us. Not at the "big pink nipple". We will sometimes be at a ride for an hour after the park closes cleaning. I dont get it, how can a small park get soooooo nasty? This is the point when you start to think your schedule is merely an estimation as you often work longer.

In all working at a park has its ups and downs. I found that the people make it better. At MGM we have really cool leads (casue i'm one) and sups as well as other ride ops. At Adventuredome its different as management is always on us and they arent really friendly and ride ops dont share the commeradery that MGM had.

It all depends on the park but just remember the prestige of the position fades once you see what goes into it.

-------------
"ok everyone go ahead and pull down on your shoulder restraint so you feel nice and stuck!"

Sometimes parents just don't seem to relise that safety restrictions are there for the safety for all guests, including their children! They will argue that their child is safe to ride, and they will take "responsibilty", even though he or she is well below the height, and is often crying and screaming that they don't want to go on. I just can't understand parents that try to force there small children to go on rides they are freaked out about especiially when they don't meet the restrictions! I have seen parents physically drag
their child kicking and screaming onto a ride (which they hust meet safety restrictions) most adults are freaked out by. When the child returns, they are so upset, I often think that the expierence could emotionally scare.
That can be very stressful having to deal with situations such as these.

But the most stressful are when you have to "guest relate" at the front of the major attractions when they are closed, all, or most of the day. Guests will abuse you no end. Even after explaining that we can not operate the ride safely at this time and our maitenance crews are working hard to open the ride as quickly as possible. When a park opens 363 days a year, there is going to be days when we are going to conduct annual or unplanned maitenace on the rides.
-------------
Home Park: Wonderland Sydney with the Australian Wildlife Park - Sydney Australia

I'm hearing a lot of people saying that they hate telling a person that they can't ride. If this occurs, then I think that family should recieve a Get in Front of the Line Pass if it was a long wait for something of the such. Its really stinks seeing a little kid start to cry when they can't ride.
-------------
HaVe YoU hUgGeD yOuR rOlLeR cOaStEr ToDaY?
OoOoOo...Rolley Coaster!
Favorite Coaster: Alpengeist!