Enthusiasts on Notice
That being said, I think that if you are wearing your seat belt, even a little loose, and your lap bar is down, even if not all the way to your legs, that you are not going to fly out of the coaster car. It's just those who take their seatbelts off, stand up, or do other dumb things like that who are really endangering themselves and others. They are the ones who are the real problem here, not anybody who isn't completely stapled.
Like I said before, the closest I've come to flying out of a ride was on one where following the "rules" of riding still led to that happening. I agree some people go too far, but getting a little extra "airtime" isn't "going to far" in my opinion.
Take care and God bless! :)
You can't always control the actions of others but I think it would go a long way for people to take the time to thank the people involved in setting up the event. Everybody from the ride operators to the PR people to managers. Let them know that you appreciate the park going out of it's way to show a good time.
If the park sees a group of indifferent people with a couple of jerks scattered among they will be left with a negative impression. If enough people take the time to show their appreciation then the parks will be left with a positive impression.
I was lucky enough to get on the last train of the night on Raven this past weekend and the whole train begged for a bonus ride when it returned to the station. We got the ride and everybody thanked the ride op. He's probably likely to do it again because everyone let him know how much they appreciated it.
Positive comments are sometimes more important than negative ones. :)
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Ripple Rock Amusement Park
Flying Scooter coming soon!
But I agree that something needed to be said about enthusiasts not following rules... Even as a measure to check ourselves and evaluate our own actions at a park.
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Missing the Fallen:
King Cobra 1984-2001
The Bat 1981-1983
Michael Darling said:This attitude isn't limited to just roller coaster enthusiasts- it's found all over our society today. It's an attitude that is slowly running our society into the ground.
Yup. But I differ in that I don't think this is anything new. Not by a long shot.
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"I go out at 3 o' clock for a quart of milk and come home to my son treating his body like an amusement park!" - Estelle Costanza
Thus, I don't see this having ANY effect on future incidents. It WILL happen again. It comes down to personal intelligence and the perceived risk/reward scenario.
If stupidity was illegal the prisons would be full.
wpkt said:
If stupidity was illegal the prisons would be full.
In fact, this kind of stupidity IS illegal here in Ohio. It's a state law to follow the instructions of the ride operator. Every time I get on a ride here, the instructions include instructions to fasten the seat belt, etc.
Enthusiasts join clubs in part to gain extra privileges, even if only recognition and a sense of comraderie. Each member represents the group to the rest of the world (the park operators included). If you are part of a group, you will be held accountable, at least in part, for the actions of that group. Thus it is incumbent upon every member of an enthusiast group to try to make sure that the group, all members of it, don't do things for which the individual member wouldn't want to be held accountable.
I hope that if I ever see somebody doing something unsafe, I'd say something...for my own sake, if not theirs. Ditto, if I saw asinine behavior from a member of my group, like hassling a ride attendant because they didn't want to let them jump over a safety barrier to get a good camera angle.
Now if I can just learn to speak up about those a**hole kids who line jump with impunity.....
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"Patent Lawyers are *****in' cool! - Plato 353 B.C.
“The evil that men do lives on, the good is oft interred with their bones, so let it be with Caesar”
Its basic human nature is that people remember the bad over the good and it’s the same way between enthusiasts and parks. Parks are going to remember the idiot who stood up on a coaster or the people who disregarded the parks wishes and let speculation run wild. Those things are going to stand out in their memory when thinking about enthusiasts over the hundreds of times that enthusiasts have thanked them, rode safely and acted like proper guests at their park! “The good is oft interred with their bones” no truer words were ever spoken!
As enthusiasts we owe everything to amusement parks instead of the other way around. Remember if the parks weren’t there we’d have no hobby! If parks weren’t building coasters I’m certain that we wouldn’t have the friendships and community that we all now benefit from today.
Someone said “What’s in it for me”, well if you act like a responsible park guest maybe the parks will be nice back to the enthusiast community. Remember it’s not a law that parks have to give us events, conventions, discounts or ERT sessions. Parks are doing that out of friendship to us!
Well even if I’m a good upstanding enthusiast why should I police the park? Here’s a simple reason to, if you want more coasters built parks need to be profitable. Parks can’t be profitable if people (enthusiast or not – remember we’re all GP) do stupid things on rides that result in economic damages to the park or even worse litigation! You can’t build a coaster if you’re in the red due to litigation!
I police parks whenever and wherever I go. Several times I’ve seen people doing stupid and unsafe things on rides. I don’t let them get away with potentially getting hurt and then suing and blaming the park for things that they willingly did! My standard operating procedure is to yell “SIT DOWN” and if that doesn’t work then I immediately notify the ride operators so they can deal with the situation. Remember, if we set the example others will follow!
In addition to thinking about your behavior at parks you need to think about what you say, especially on forums like Coasterbuzz because it affects the whole enthusiast community! Case in point was right after Ms Fellner’s death. Being the local enthusiast I was asked by the media that came into town to cover the story for the enthusiast’s point of view on what happened. Not one reporter failed to ask me about what at that time was being posted here on Coasterbuzz! “No the park does not let enthusiasts ride without seat belts”, “No it not regular for people to ride with one clicks on their lap bars”, “I have never seen anyone doing what you said was posted on Coasterbuzz and if I did I would stop that person from doing so” and on and on! I tried my best to put the coaster enthusiast community in a positive light but your comments were digging us in a deeper and deeper hole and destroying relationships with parks that have been slowly building over years!
As coaster enthusiasts we know even more so the result of doing stupid things on rides. There should be nothing to discuss, we follow the park, rides and manufactures rules 100%! Because of our knowledge of what can happen have to be the example. If you want to break rules and get your kicks that way go somewhere else because in my opinion you’re not welcome in the coaster enthusiast community!
Jeff, thank you very much for posting your editorial.
Have Fun!
Paul Drabek
*** This post was edited by Paul Drabek 9/3/2003 2:27:48 PM ***
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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore
Strijder -- I agree with the idea that you presented but how will clubs know if some schmo is telling the truth when they are reporting someone?
If a park was to report someone to, for example, ACE that's one thing, but how would ACE determine if you were telling the truth or just going after someone because of a personal grudge? They couldn't...
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--George H
Currency Tracking Experiment...Where's George.com
My New Blog...Check it out
*** This post was edited by redman822 9/3/2003 2:45:27 PM ***
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--Greg, aka Oat Boy
My page
"What do you want, you moon-faced assassin of joy?" -- Londo Mollari, Babylon 5
Enthusiasts... BAH!! The parks need us like dogs need rollerbaldes. Enthusiasts represent an incredibly small cross section of the coaster riding public, like less than 1%. Why would any business bend over backwards for the vocal minority like that?
Besides, look at my $pending habbits as an enthusiast... I renew my pass once a year, at renewal it is the largest amount of money at any time I will give to a park. Whenever I go, I either bring food with me or leave the park and eat at a nearby fast food joint. Having been an enthusiast for quite some time now, I feel almost no need to buy souvuneers at gift shops. At my local Six Flags, I have already been on all the rides, and refuse to buy the FastLane coupons. Even if I'm at a non-local Six Flags park, my pass gets me in for free and I engineer my day by attempting to ride as many coasters as possible while spending the least amount of money as possible. I would GUESS that most of us follow similar patterns.
Why on God's Green Earth would a park feel the need treat me special? I represent the anti-guest, because I don't put money down on the high-profit items they are selling. Add the fact of the few bad apples who really feel like they need special treatment, and you end up with a losing proposition all around for the park.
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SCREAM with me... in 2003!
Firstly - Kudos to Jeff for dealing with the situation in an upfront and open manner, and hosting a forum for discussion on same. Speaking for only me, I agree with the editorial.
Secondly - Is it really that hard? I mean all Jeff is asking is that when you go to a park expect the same treatment as anybody else, no more, but also no less.
Go to the park of your choice, go to the ride of your choice, stand through the queue line, and follow all written and verbal directions. Use the safety devices provided as instructed. In general it is best to use all safety devices provided, unless specifically instructed otherwise.
In other words, act just like the average park guest. That's what its all about.
Ride Safe, and stay alive to ride some more!
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David Bowers
Mayor, Coasterville
Saying parks need enthusiasts is like saying the US government needs a poet laureate. The poet laureate (or the enthusiast) may be caught up in delusions of self-importance, but when push comes to shove, they don't matter to anyone but themselves.
Anyway, am I the only one that wouldn't care either way if enthusiasts events were to be put to a stop? Quite honestly, I like to approach parks and rides as a wide-eyed layman, not some half-assed self appointed expert. I like waiting in lines, chatting with friends. I like the park experience, as experienced by everyone else, not as someone that has others cater to their whims. Riding nonstop would seem to take away an important part of the experience that I enjoy; thus, I have never considered attending an event. At a park, I like to ride at the weird hanging coaster with four seats, or the tall coaster that gives you the whoop-de-doo feeling, not a B&M inverter or an Intamin hyper. To bring a pleasure down to the level of obsession or science defeats the purpose for me.
In any case, I'm glad to say I'm not an enthusiast. I'm someone that likes to ride coasters. Within the bounds of excess time and the bounds of the park's rules, that is.
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Mike Anderson
Soggy said:
...Enthusiasts represent an incredibly small cross section of the coaster riding public, like less than 1%. ...
I sincerely doubt if we anywhere close to that percent. Maybe .1%
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Mac Forever.
Strijder: Parks have reported in appropriate behaviour to their clubs. It happens more than you think. The problem is that apparently nothing ever becomes of it.
So let me go on record and say this (seeing as how CoasterBuzz Club has no officers or committees): If a park contacts me about a CBC member doing anything that violates their rules, you're out. Banned for life. No refunds. I've not seen anything even remotely like that at our events, as our attendees have very much fostered a culture of respect, but as the club continues to grow, I just thought I'd put that out there.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?
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Missing the Fallen:
King Cobra 1984-2001
The Bat 1981-1983
Not only does it ruin the reputation of the club itself, it does serious damage to the reputation of a park, when someone is seriously injured. Some of my non-enthusiast friends still refuse to go on certain rides, due to the "urban legends" that we sometimes make fun of on the boards. How much worse do you think it is, when an incident is plastered all over the news??
And even more disturbing, im sure there will be some out there who think "gee, she didn't know how to do it correctly, I will never get hurt, since I know the right way to ride, she left herself an inch too much space". I hope it never comes to that, though!
Add me to the list of those, who agree 100% with the editorial, and those who feel it is right to make more of an effort to police others who are doing the wrong thing. I for one, think that us enthusiasts have it pretty damn good, and I hope things don't get any worse.
We recieve so much respect from so many parks, it is time to start returning the favor.
*** This post was edited by CoasterFan4Life 9/3/2003 4:35:19 PM ***
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