An observation of attitudes

I am not going to name names, however I did talk with the person who did this (the incident Tim mentioned). This person was very distraught that they were being dragged through the mud over a gross misunderstanding. This person was chatting with another person after the ride, joking about other people who said a ride sucked earlier in the day and said it in a quiet tone. This person did say that Tim was on the ride behind them. This person meant no disrespect to the park and was merely joking about something else comletely different. Their comments were taken completely out of context.

I guess my comment is that if you have an issue with someone on this board, please take that issue in person with that person before airing out the issue in an online forum like this one. Tim, I know you are a good guy. The few times I have met you, you seemed like a reasonable guy. This person has also sent you an email discussing their actions. I would hope that maybe you might be able to see their side of the story as well on this.

While I agree fully that we shouldnt take ANYTHING that a park gives us for granted and we should always remain grateful, I also think that it is our responsibility as responsible enthusiasts to confront these individuals if we think that they may be acting out of line and confront them with tact. In this case, it was a misunderstanding, and a little chat about it at the time of the incident may have cleared it up there.

I know I wasnt at the event (there was a death in the family and couldnt attend), however I do know the individual in question and fully trust that individual when they tell me it was a misunderstanding. This person is afraid to confront the group with this for fear of being flamed royally and accused of being a liar. This person is also very distraught that they might not be allowed to attend events anymore because of this. This person is thoroughly grateful for everything that the park offered and never had a single ill feeling towards the park.

As for Paula's comments of earlier, I stated this same thing in a private letter to the park, I will state it here as well. Holiday World has consistantly impressed me with the way they are handling the situation. In this day of big dollar lawsuits and protect your butt policies, the park is willing to be up front with the public in one of their darkest hours. My thoughts go out to the entire Holiday World family. You guys are truly the greatest.

EDIT: Crap, one last comment I want to make. Gator brought up a good point about thanking the people who have to put in extra time at these parks to make the ERT happen. Just an example here, but at CBCon, I made sure I thanked every ride op on Superman I came in contact with for their extra time. I also made it a point to thank Susie Story for making the event a reality and I told her what a great addition Superman was for the park. I could tell she appreciated it to. I also thanked Stephanie as well for running the event that day. It is a tough job. Unfortunately I didnt get to thank Jeff but I would have done it if he was there. That was a great event. A little thanks goes a long way in the park's perceptions of enthusiats.
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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore
*** This post was edited by Kick The Sky 6/11/2003 1:56:18 PM ***
*** This post was edited by Kick The Sky 6/11/2003 2:03:29 PM ***

And, I will say this: I know of no company (Six Flags, Disney, Cedar Fair included) would would post all related materials regarding the accident to their website. You can say, "oh, they did this because they were vindicated" but they put this information on the site and spoke to the press thoroughout this entire process...and well before the park was cleared.

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Jeff said:
Many of you bring up the point about people who feel the parks owe us something. I think that is the single most disturbing thing I see. I don't know if it's on the rise or just appears to be as the enthusiast community grows, but I certainly don't like it.

As I mentioned, PKI kept four crews late for us at BeastBuzz. No component of admission went toward that. CP put on an event with several hours of ERT and lunch, essentially free for passholders and at a cost below normal admission for everyone else. All the costs for that event are 100% expense for the marketing department, who arguably doesn't need enthusiasts and can't quantify and return on investment for the event.

Most disturbing is that it's not just general enthusiasts, but even reps for some clubs. I've heard interesting stories about them demanding certain things from parks. Not a very good example to set.

My hope is that enthusiasts pull their collective heads out of their asses and realize that at all times, we are guests of the parks. If you're in this scene for the perks, you're in it for the wrong reason.

Amen to that!

Thank you Jeff. I think you said it best! It only takes a few spoiled idiots to ruin it for those who actually respect the parks and who are ACTUALLY in it for the fun.

-Tina

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Feel The DragsterGasm....
www.intenserides.com

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*** This post was edited by coasterqueenTRN 6/11/2003 2:41:58 PM ***

i appreciate your candor, Bob....i too respect you. however, i had no idea who the person was that made the comment, i merely "heard" them say it. i wasnt sure who made it. and to be honest, most of the attendees at Beastbuzz, i didnt know who they were. and if you read mypost, i mentioned NO names, and i did that so that no fingers could be pointed. i intend on emailing this person back, but i still do not feel wrong in what i said. if i had mentioned a name, then i would be at fault.

two more things in my defense...i heard the comment made in the station, at the end of the 2nd ERT ride on Beast, right as the lap bars were unlocking.....and second, i believe it was loud enough to be heard by others...sometimes what we think is quiet, really might not be all that quiet

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"Happiness is the City of Hudson!!"

Michigan r0x0rs! :)
*** This post was edited by vacoasterfreak 6/11/2003 5:43:27 PM ***
*** This post was edited by vacoasterfreak 6/11/2003 5:49:17 PM ***

Yes, I heard those rumors about people wanting their money back and ashame indeed it is. Paula, you have been wonderful and strong through this whole ordeal and you deserve much thanks and encouragement. We have to stick together as enthusiats through the best and worst of times and weed out the "trolls."

Best, Rachel

I was on the last train of ERT on the Beast sitting near the front. If this is when that comment was made, I did not hear it. I assumed that everyone on that train was happy with everything the park provided, including our two rides on The Beast.

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
http://www.webtechnik.com/ebony/CPLady.htm

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GregLeg said:
I'm not sure what's worse -- the people at SRM asking for a refund, or the ones who said "So close Raven and let us ride Legend".

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--Greg, aka Oat Boy

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You're serious? Someone actually said that?

That's the first I've heard of that - what a bunch of complete tools.

Seriously... I'm at a loss for words - people make me sick sometimes.

-Josh

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We can't buy more time, cause time won't accept our money. -Bad Religion

One of the problems with TTD is that most of the maintenance work takes place in the motor room - completely out of sight of the public. This makes it look like nothing is hapenning at all = frustration.

When the cable broke, there were groups of people watching the progress and chatting with the mechanics - which was actually quite enjoyable.

I reckon a window or two in the motor room would serve two purposes - 1) people could actually see that work is in progress; 2) we could watch the motor in action (or at least be able to comment on how impressively large it is).

It's actually a relief to know that only one person asked for their money back. I, too, was in line only to return my key. But later heard there were "lots of folks" wanting refunds. Guess a few people who didn't rent lockers saw the line at GR and made a snap judgement.

And Tim, misunderstanding or not, get on that box anytime! Some things need to be said. I did hear a lot of whining at CP Friday, from various groups while waiting for rides. I (almost) feel pity for these folk. If they can't have fun at events like these, what true joy do they ever really experience in their lives? Strike me as the type who always complain about something; never being happy...

Rachel P said:
Yes, I heard those rumors about people wanting their money back and ashame indeed it is. Paula, you have been wonderful and strong through this whole ordeal and you deserve much thanks and encouragement. We have to stick together as enthusiats through the best and worst of times and weed out the "trolls"

Agreed. Unfortunatley these "trolls" tend to gravitate away from the message boards from time to time and attend these events just to make trouble/rear their ugly whining heads.

The only thing they do is make themselves look like the asses they really are. If these "trolls" are so unhappy with what is going on why do they even bother to attend these events? More so...why do they bother to join these clubs?

The world may never know..................lol.

I still upsets me that somebody actually wanted a refund at SRM. Paula, Pat, and the crew are awesome people and put on an excellent SRM. I truly consider them family. They are the nicest, most caring people I have ever encountered and they do not deserve to be ridiculed by these trolls who have no life other than complain about NOT getting their ERT.

Brian and Janice and the CP gang put on an excellent Coastermania and I MORE than enjoyed myself ...Dragster or no Dragster. The "front of the line" passes were totally unexpected, and that just goes to show that these parks contiune to go out of their way to make these events fun. They DO NOT owe us anything.

I am glad this thread started......looks like we have a lot to say about this issue and it's cool that Jeff has letting us vent a little. :-)

-Tina

DON'T FEED THE TROLLS!

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Feel The DragsterGasm....
www.intenserides.com
*** This post was edited by coasterqueenTRN 6/12/2003 9:02:00 AM ***

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Raven-Phile said:

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GregLeg said:
I'm not sure what's worse -- the people at SRM asking for a refund, or the ones who said "So close Raven and let us ride Legend".

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--Greg, aka Oat Boy

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You're serious? Someone actually said that?

That's the first I've heard of that - what a bunch of complete tools.

Seriously... I'm at a loss for words - people make me sick sometimes.

-Josh

That is so freakin sad. These idiots should of been stomped to the ground just like any good troll should.

<------shakes head in disgust.

-Tina

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Feel The DragsterGasm....
www.intenserides.com

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*** This post was edited by coasterqueenTRN 6/12/2003 9:14:10 AM ***