Bad Daddy

bjames said:

I wouldnt let her ride alone though dude, what was your thought process there? Shes 6, if it was my daughter I wouldnt let her out of my sight.

I disagree. I think doing a first solo ride with Dad waiting in the station could be very empowering for a 6 year old and give a self esteem boost. Especially after the issues with the ride ops earlier in the day.

OhioStater said:

3. Anaconda (Kings Dominion)

Bad daddy? Based on letting your daughter rank Anaconda as her 3# coaster is proof enough for me. You obviously have not taught her very well.

Ohio - - - > I love the photo of your daughter coming off the ride (solo) at the end of the first part. BRAVO! You will have another riding buddy for life.

I find the word choice of "torture" bizarre. And what responses are acceptable that will convince them the child is OK, since in both cases the ride host didn't believe her?

Considering your history with taking psych classes to CP, if you have any connections there it might be worthwhile sharing your story. If nothing else, maybe it'll get them to pick a better word than "torture" for their policy manual.

That was my thought as well. Why even ask the question if the only response that could conceivably convince the ride op to let her ride is still not good enough?

No, I don't think you're a bad dad. Having three boys seemed easy to me for first rides in my opinion. Even if they were pretty anxious about going on.

The use of the word 'torture' is interesting. I wonder if that's a cultural/generational thing these days because I doubt the parks are encouraging the use of the word 'torture.'

Glad she was brave enough to actually ride and enjoy it enough to ride by herself later. When my youngest son wasn't tall enough to ride, it was convenient for the boys to go on some the rides on their own while sitting out with the youngest. Even if that makes me a dude...

bjames said:
a child crying in public is a little alarming these days for a lot of reasons. Don't take it personally

On what planet is a crying child in public alarming? I'm almost certain it's not Earth.

I wouldnt let her ride alone though dude, what was your thought process there? Shes 6, if it was my daughter I wouldnt let her out of my sight.

...the hell?

Bjames has a daughter? (Cause if not he has no idea WHAT he’s do as a parent).

I seriously think you should at least contact corporate. They have no right to say a parent is torturing their child. They have no training to make that call. Period.

I worked with Social Services for seven years and was a mandatory reporter for longer due to jobs I had. If the company is acting this way then someone needs to inform them that it’s a very bad policy.

Children crying in public is alarming? People must be quietly freaking out at Magic Kingdom.

What a great story. I love a happy ending!

At Universal, I worked at P-Flyers in 2001. A little boy, about three years old, was crying before dispatch. We let him go anyway, but I kept my eye on him as the car went up the lift. He somehow managed to get himself out from under the seat belt, stand up, turn around and reach fro his mother riding in the seat behind him.

(A quick note about the restraints and seating arrangement.. The seat belt goes (or went at the time) around one leg of the child. The child sat in a suspended seat in front and the adult sat in the suspended seat in the back. The adult did not have a seat belt. Both seats had a lap bar that was more something to hold on to and not something that imobilised the rider. ...If I recall correctly.)

I shouted at my coworker at controls to hit the e-stop. A few of us ran up the lift and grabbed the boy. We let the mom ride, as it was the safest thing to do. She was back in a jiffy, and was crying harder than her boy when she reunited with him at the station.

So there is a good reason for Cedar Fair's policy, like you said. Sometimes, though, these young, inexperienced ride operators get a big head because they are given a huge responsibility. There has to be a better way to train them to spot potential problems like this.

And the word torture is so strong. I can't say it would be easy to stay calm in that situation.

The generational thing being mentioned I think is interesting. I think younger peoples' idea of the definition of "torture" may be a bit different from older people. I think sometimes what they consider torture we think of as building character. I had a student once tell me I was abusing my kids by making them wear hand me downs.

Wow... This thread is fascinating to me. As the father of a short kid, we never had this problem because by the time he was finally tall enough, he was begging to ride.

1) Now that i read these stories, I see new angles to how ride ops might be trained. I've heard "If you're happy and you know it" countless times in ride stations, but never knew that there might be a hidden reason for it. I agree that the word "torture" is too strong. Perhaps the point is to shock the careless parent with strong language, but it's certainly not appropriate in all situations, such as yours.

2) Have you considered buying her a T-shirt of an extreme ride she's already ridden and loves, such as Twisted Timbers, to wear on new rides if you think this may happen again? As sort of a "Proof of purchase?"

3) That second picture, of her getting off the Corkscrew, is amazing. While it's certainly a proud moment for your family, what sells it for me it the girl to the right jumping over her friend with a huge smile. That would make a great framed photo if you keep a portrait wall, but leave the other girl in the photo too.

4) Just because people like Heavy Metal, doesn't mean that they're not good people.

^ "Just because people like Heavy Metal, doesn't mean that they're not good people."

PREACH! \m/ \m/

Right, they just have horrible taste in music. Nobody's perfect.

(winky or whatever)

Tommytheduck said:

3) That second picture, of her getting off the Corkscrew, is amazing. While it's certainly a proud moment for your family, what sells it for me it the girl to the right jumping over her friend with a huge smile. That would make a great framed photo if you keep a portrait wall, but leave the other girl in the photo too.

I notice that girl too right away (funny how I did not realize her at all as I was taking the picture). My phone has a pretty crappy camera, so I was happy it turned out as well as it did.

And bjames, my thought process was pretty simple; she asked to ride it all by herself. That was a pretty kick-ass moment for her, and I feel lucky that I was able to be a part of it. If you ever reproduce, you'll understand.

So, yea...I agree that I should probably at least have a conversation with someone about this. The generational thing is curious, but to get more specific....the original worker at Cedar Point was pretty young (20ish?) and also an international employee. This is more or less the entire reason I had put it out of my mind. Had we actually been removed from the ride it would probably be a different story, but since it all played out the way it did my brain categorized it as a young, new, over-zealous employee from a different place. We did our thing, Hayden did her thing, and all was OK. My mindset was more or less.."eh, whatever....weird experience, but she'll learn".

I was like...

In fact, I honestly do think the employee learned something from watching Hayden over 4 days. She worked Corkscrew each day we were there, and was in the station as I snapped that solo ride of her on our last day. She was nothing but polite and all smiles with her each time. It was really the experience at Kings Dominion that made me...well...

The employee at Kings Dominion was about 30ish, and we're now in mid-July. There are no more excuses for it being early in the season, and perhaps I am out of line here, but I would actually expect a park to assign their very best employees to the new signature ride. Isn't that how it works? Full disclosure, having never worked at a park I honestly don't know what it's like to be in the shoes of a ride op, but I'm also guessing there is some sort of pecking order to who gets to work the new roller coaster...

I'll reach out to someone. Anyone have any ideas? I know some folks at Cedar Point; maybe that's a good place to start? I'll just copy and paste a link to our little thread, here.

In the meantime...

In the picture of your daughter the first thing I noticed was the guy in line behind her with his cell phone out. I wonder if they let him take it on the ride, he doesnt appear to be wearing cargo shorts.

OhioStater said:
I'll reach out to someone. Anyone have any ideas? I know some folks at Cedar Point; maybe that's a good place to start?

That's where the mother ship is, so that probably makes sense. You know the same people I do. I imagine they can put you in touch with the right people.