Cell phone - in lines and on coasters? C'mon!!

Naaa, I am not leaving my cell phone in my car in the heat. ;-)

There are some of us who ARE responsible and polite with our cell phone usage within a park. They come in very handy for the reasons I mentioned above.

The same thing applies to cameras.......use them but don't abuse the policies/rules. Theme parks could very well ban cell phones as well as cameras altogether. They would not wish to inconvenient their guests but it only takes a few to ruin it for everyone else.

Considering the disrespect that has been shown to parks as well as other guests in the past, it's no wonder the parks have been forced to crack down on these things.

Isn't there somewhat new laws in some states that ban cell phone usage while driving?

-Tina

I use my cell while travelling/out of town. Other than that I CAN live without it.

*** Edited 5/16/2004 11:35:12 PM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***

coasterqueen, even though I don't live in NY, while visiting a friend out there I discovered that it is in fact illegal to drive while having a cell phone in your hand. You can however have an ear piece.

Ok, now back onto the subject... ;) *** Edited 5/17/2004 12:04:12 AM UTC by Blink3020***

The only time I would use my cell phone on a coaster isn't to talk only to take pictures! Yes, I am a geek when it comes to gadgets and I personally bought a camera phone so when I go on ACE Events I take pictures and then e-mail them back home to my dad. But talking while on a coaster....how could you hear?

For those who don't like cell phones, ya'll just mad because nobody wants to call you anyway :) Just kidding :)

Seriously though, I thought the whole cell phone thing was just a fad. Back in the mid nineties it was so cool to have one because AT& charged a firstborn child to own and operate one. However it is now something that 40% of Americans have (or feel they need). I was at an intersection in downtown SF and counted 16 people walking on the street on cell phones. My point is, even though it is annoying, it is just something us "old bats" will have to get used to.

Well, I admit to using my phone on rides before, and my camera. On Top Gun (PKI) Last october, My phone rang on the lift. Once I got it out of my pocket and answered it, I ended up yelling at my mom through the ride, until we hit brakes and i told her i would call back later.

While I agree the monthly fee for the cell phone is high, I think I would highly miss it if I didn't have one. For one thing, many people (mostly employers, I'm a freelancer) prefer calling my cell phone rather than the home line. Even though I have an answering machine with my own box, they seem to like the answering service on the cell phone better. In a way, I kind of agree, because the phone will beep at me indicating that I have a message. That way, I can get back to the person much quicker, than if I had waited all day to come home and check my messages.

If I get lost (which I'm prone to do at times), I can call the person and tell them where I am, without losing time to pull over and make a payphone call, which could be long distance depending on where I'm calling from. On the cell phone, I don't have to worry about long distance charges. I think my phone has only roamed once, and that's when we were somewhere near PKI.

I was at Kennywood last year when I realized that I didn't have my credit card. I was able to call the credit union and cancel the card, while continuing the have a fun day. With a 3 1/2 hour drive back to Baltimore, I wouldn't have been able to have called until the next day without a calling card, or a ton of quarters. It was a good thing I did cancel the card, as I was like one of those people in those Citi-Bank commercials. Someone racked up $400 worth of charges in the time the card went missing.

My last example of using your cell phone wisely, was this year at PKD. I knew I wanted to meet up with Sam Marks and friends, but I knew we would be arriving much later. Since it's such a large park, we were able to arrange a meeting space by cell phone once we arrived at the park.

I can't understand how the few of you that are so closed minded to say that cell phones shouldn't be in amusement parks think. I agree they shouldn't be on rides and should be secured in pants and what not, but what about the few of us the have the luxery to visit an amusement park during our workday to catch a few laps on a coaster. Should we give up going to the amusement park on a lunch break because some idiot can't stand it that other people have cell phones and that for some people, those cell phones are a form of business communication?

And if you think it's bad here, japan is crazy with cell phones...they make them for kids around 8 years old...lol.

OK, I'm going to get nailed for this story, but bear with me... I always brought my cell phone with me to parks, largely because I needed to be in contact with my work and return calls quickly. A fellow employee and I were at SFMM and were going to meet some others there (we were all down for a conference). I really wrestled with the idea... do I keep this thing with me in line? What about on the rides? What if someone calls me? Sure enough... our friend called while we were on the lift hill for Collosus.

"Hello, This is Escher, I can't talk as I'm on a ROLLER COASTER right now!!!"

"Uh, ok I'll call back"

And yes, I returned the phone - now turned OFF - to my inside velcro secured coat pocket.

It was funny at the time, but I've never taken one on a coaster since - it's too much of a risk.

-Escher

Now the thing I don't get is...

For all those who have responded (and there have been a few) where your phone rings ON a ride. Where do you have the audacity to answer the phone while the ride is in motion? Have you ever heard of voice-mail? I'm pretty sure that the call can wait 2 minutes & 30 seconds until you get off the ride... check who called... and if important, either:
a) They'll call back.
b) There's caller ID, so you can call them back.
c) They left a voice message.

It just boggles my mind how someone can be so much into the cel-phone craze to answer it in the most inappropriate situations.
It's not like the president or Osama or the pope is calling.

I believe it all depends on how they are used. It is irritating as hell to see someone with a cell phone stuck to the side of their head talking constantly. Very few people are THAT important. These folks are annoying anywhere however, not just at parks.

However, the answer is not to BAN them from parks. For instance, my wife carries her cell phone with us when we go just about everywhere... but very seldom uses it. It's almost like an emergency link to the outside world. If we are on cacation, she will sometimes use it while at parks to check in on things back at home if am standing in line and she is waiting (she isn't good on coasters... equilibrium) for me. She and I also carry walkie talkies. Again, there is often cases where I will be not be in the exact same location, and we use these in case we have to get in touch with each other to say "meet me at X spot in Y minutes."

Why are people so annoyed or irritated at cell phone users? I myself hate using my cell phone, but I am confused as to why others get annoyed at people on them? Are the people who are annoyed at cell phone users equally annoyed when 2 people are conversing together? Or is it just that you get annoyed when you can't see the other person they are talking to? And why do the people care so much about a stranger's lives to get annoyed or irritated?

As for the phone on the ride, mine stays buckled or zipped in a pocket and I have gotten pretty good at shutting off the ringer from outside the pocket.

Just this past weekend, I had my first encounter with someone talking on a cell on a ride.....but I admit, that I didn't have a problem in this particular circumstance. I was in line for Roller Soaker and the ride had just broke down, but no word on the problem. After about a five minute delay, someone sitting in the brake run pulled out his cell phone. Who he talked to, and what he said...I have no idea. But maybe he was late meeting up with someone and he wasn't sure what was going on with the ride.

I will agree that using one while riding is completely unacceptable and against every parks rules.

But I firmly believe that cell phones should be allowed in parks.

Reason 1- I always have my phone on my person (except during actual rides when I leave it in my pack) because I tell all my friends/family that if they need to reach me or my wife for an emergency, I will have my phone with me. And yes there are emergencies where you can't wait a few hours until you leave the park or what not. For example, some people have family members with bad health situations where they may need to be contacted at any given moment.

Reason 2- Some people are required by their employer to be on-call 24-7.

Yes, humanity survived before the invention of cell phones...but humanity survived before the invention of the wheel as well. Does that mean that I should walk to the park?!?!

I must admit that many that use them in the park, use them in a manner that annoys me. One example is the girls behind my in line who kept downloading songs and playing them on their cell phones. Not only were the songs bad, but they sounded like elevator music on their phones.

Sean

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WILLDOG said:
That thing about the girl getting hit in the face at sfne has convinced me too wear a zipper pocket for my cell phone or any other loose object. quote]

I plan on wearing a football helmet on all amusement rides in the future.

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I think that people should be able to have their cell phones at the parks and in line. Some people need them for personal reasons or to contact other family members at the park but, however I don't believe that they should be talking so loudly on them that people 5 feet away can clearly hear their conversation and, they defintally should not be allowed an a coaster under any circumstances. C'mon people lets use common sense here ... small objects on a coaster going really fast over hills, don't tell me there's no chance there not going to fly out of your hands or pockets. Give them to the ride ops, it's not likely there going to be stolen and if you can't trust people to not take them than don't even bring them into the park.

I personally don't have a problem with people in line talking on their cell phones as long as they get secured while on the ride.

There has only been one time that I wished they were illegal. I was in line for X-Flight about a year ago and this girl was on the phone with her boyfriend. Lemme tell you, that was an XXX rated phone call. It wasn't just a quick XXX call it, was around a 45 minute long XXX phone call. Thankfully I was way ahead of her in line and only heard the talking when we passed when the line was moving and believe me that was enough. If I had been closer or had any children with me I would have got out of line and found police to turn her in. The things she was describing in Great detail during that call would have gotten her arrested if she attempted such things in public.

For those who think that talking at a normal level in line is okay, I submit this: There is a difference when the person next to you is talking to another person in line versus talking to someone on a phone.

When you overhead the normal din of a conversation, there is a natural back and forth between the participants. Whether or not we are actually listening to the conversation, it seems normal and or brains tune it out.

However, our brains are not wired to easily ignore a one-person conversation. It is not part of our normal experience and we are natually wired to pay attention to things that are our of the ordinary.

Given this, we can't help but to tune in to phone conversations. That is why, no matter how loud or quiet the person is, it still grabs your attention. It is very difficult to tune it out. I think that is why it seems annoying to most of us--we can't tune them out. That's why it seems more like an intrusion than a normal conversation.

That is why cell phone users should take their conversations to a private place.

So *I* should change my habits because *your* brain cant figure things out?!? Nah, I dont think so.

I'm not a big fan of cell phones in general, though I've had one for about 8 years (I still have my 1st motorola 'flip' sitting on my dresser). While it really annoys me that most of the time when someone driving does something I consider stupid they are on a cell phone, I have no truck with people walking and talking. If someone wants to use a cell in line, go right ahead. When actually *on* the ride, I agree with Dawg. I mean really, you're strapped into a coaster, what really can you do even if there *is* an emergency?

As for a phone flying out of a pocket, that is a 'loose article' complaint, not confined to cell phones. Wallets, keys, gameboys, i-pods, and pet rocks are equally dangerous. Get a zippered pocket for it!

lata, jeremy

Blah Blah Blah!

'We' are making cell phone usage look like the next big thing Satan is using to take over the world. It is 2004. Many people have cell phones for many different reasons. Some need security; others use it to see what Vicki's best friend's dad's secretary's brother-in-law said about someone else. Everyone needs to quit pretending like these little devices are the end of the world.

My [like anyone really cares ;-)] Bottom Line: Cell phones should NEVER be used on any sort of ride. This goes back to the tiring camera conversations... "but I have a strap... it'll never fall!" This is a safety issue. You could lose that camera just as easily as other items prohibited on some coasters.

If someone has an issue with cell phone usage in a queue, then they should get earplugs. What if someone was talking to themselves? Would 'you' ask them to stop? ;-) <-- 2nd obligatory smiley to indicate that I am not really trying to be a jerk

Cell Phones in line are not as big of an annoyance as when people find it necessary to pull out their cellphones and begin conversations while they board the coaster trains. That is annoying. The one gentleman, who really had no business with a cell phone because who would really want to talk to him- was in for a rude awakening when he disobeyed the rules of me the ride op. All I am saying is that People talk on your cell phones all you want, but once the gates open and you begin to ride a coaster, put it away and secure it. Injuries can be prevented that way. Trust me I know... I worked the Villain at Six Flags when the phone hit the woman, i worked Worlds of Fun where the mulletman refused to get off his phone........... trust me I know from experience.

Dollywoodrideop