Enthusiasts on Notice

As a former foreman, some of the most repugnant experiences with guests were "enthusiassts." I'm not too surprised to see that other ride ops have had the same experience as well.

The worst was some dude who came dowjn to GASM with a Q-bot. At this ride, part of the thrid car is reserved solely for Q-bot riders. An attendent directed him to that reserved space, and he promptly walked up to the front of the train, where I was at the panel. He was insensed about something.

The guy demanded that I tell people in line to wait so he could ride in the front. I told him (politely) that it is park policy at this ride that guests with Q-bots be seated in the reserved seats, and I would not allow him to ride in the front. He could, however, ride in any seat of his choosing by re-entering the "normal" line and not using the Q-bot.

This set him off. He got in my face, yelling "I AM A MEMBER OF ACE AND I DEMAND TO RIDE IN THE FRONT!" He walked right behind the panel and stammered on. "I KNOW HOW TO DO YOUR JOB TOO, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PUSH THAT BUTTON AND LET ME ON NOW."

At that point I didn't lose my cool, but I realized he was just being a jerk and could easily present a danger behind the panel. I instructed him "firmly" to take his seat, or wait for a supervisor to arrive, or wait for security if he didn't do one of the other two. He stomped off without even riding.

Of course, most enthusiasts aren't bad at all, and no CBuzzer I know of was ever a moron to me at a ride. But ONE jerk is all it takes for a park to make up their mind about the group. Like someone else said, if you mention the word "ACEr" or "enthusiast," the parks frown.
*** This post was edited by General Public 9/4/2003 2:59:34 AM ***

I hate to waste bandwidth but I agree 100% with Sean. My reason for visiting parks is not for ERT but to spend time with friends. ERT is a perk with club membership, not a right.

mOOSH

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2004 Coaster Calendar now available. Order in advance and save. NOW ACCEPTING PAYPAL! See S&D Greetings for details.

RideMan, i still cant see it. i did everything the page said t do....

i'll just have to guess as to what it is.

and WHAT is theis "Alvey incident" that has been referenced here? or is there a gag order on talking about it?? ;)

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mela en coiamin Legolas...
it aint the size of the arrow, its what you do with the bow

Just a note on seat belts: there are no sensors. The only way for an op to know if a seat belt has been unbuckled is if he sees it with his own eyes, or on a camera. Maybe its a different case on Intamins, or B&M's, but I seriously doubt it. If anybody wants to have full blown discussion about it, maybe someone could create another thread, as this one doesn't really need to get off track. ;)

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I'm also curious as to what the Alvey incident is...

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Missing the Fallen:
King Cobra 1984-2001
The Bat 1981-1983

Shooting video on Dragster and getting caught. Draw your own conclusions.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

And I though Alvey always got permission... ;)

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Do the Moo Shoo!

thanks Jeff...

how stupid. probably the main reason this whole thing is hapening, too....

sad. stupid and sad.

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mela en coiamin Legolas...
it aint the size of the arrow, its what you do with the bow

Rideman - That Flyers footage is great.

It is more than a "Few" bad apples and in my experience it seems like long time ACE members can be the worst. The fact that ACE had to post "Guards" during the walk back tour of the Raven during that Coastercon speaks volumes.

As an ex ride op I always put myself in their shoes when riding. I had to put up with about every kind of behavior when I worked the coasters. I never want to be one of those people to the point of being anal. (Just ask my wife)

All it takes is common sense, be polite, think before you act and put yourself in the ride-ops place. Just try to make the ride-ops job a little bit easier. All that means is following the rules and their direction.

Mike

I feel bad now about the whole Alvey incident now. I emailed CP asking them a few things and mentioned his name. When they responded, they said thanks for letting them know, they are in contact with him....

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Welcome back riders, how was your ride?

TTM, don't sweat it....CF knew about it LONG before you said anything at all....

Weird how SF had *so little* to say about the unauthorized footage taken at their park(s)...I find it VERY hard to believe they were unaware...well, then again....;)

Thanks Gator. I asked them to take onride footage, and they said you could face jail time for it. Cancelled my plans. What scares me, is I told CP he is selling the footage for money. Hope he is ok.

Edit: When I say cancel plans, I mean as in taking the camera on the ride. Lol.

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Welcome back riders, how was your ride?
*** This post was edited by TopThrillMagnum 9/4/2003 1:32:46 PM ***

I think shooting video on the ride falls under unsafe riding and violating the rules. I don't think it needed to be explicitly said.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

Yes, it does violate rules. But I was asking for a totally different reason. I was just taking a shot at it.

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Welcome back riders, how was your ride?

Which brings up an interesting situation in light of the events of 2003; How many are willing to not order and/or watch future videos produced outside the park's rules and policies?

Until people stop requesting POV videos amature producers will continue to violate park rules and sneak cameras for on-ride footage. But, people respond favorably to producers who utilize POV, thus feeding the bad behavior that the parks object to.

Look at the stink the ACE video contest rules have brought up due to the banning of POV from the entries. A very vocal contingent says that POV should be allowed even though most parks ban the practice of allowing guests to film on-ride footage.

People may say they want to "play by the rules" in the parks, but in reality they enjoy and patronize producers who knowingly violate the rules to get what their audience wants. This rewards the bad behavior while saying "not me" when looking at violations of the code of conduct.

Isn't this just as bad as the fellow who screams about getting "stapled" because as an enthusiast he should have "1-click" rides?

There are good coastervideos out there that were done 100% within the rules. People should be fine with them, I would think.

Remember, the issue isn't just taking video.....there's $$ changing hands....

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- "I used to be in the audio/visual club, but I was kicked out because of my views on Vietnam........and I was stealing projectors" - Homer Simpson

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Until people stop requesting POV videos amature producers will continue to violate park rules and sneak cameras for on-ride footage. But, people respond favorably to producers who utilize POV, thus feeding the bad behavior that the parks object to.

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I get probably 10 e-mails a week asking why my videos have no POV. To be honest, more so that breaking the rules, I find it boring. If I'm going to watch the ride rather than ride it, I'd rather see it as if I were on the midway.

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Remember, the issue isn't just taking video.....there's $$ changing hands....

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Indeed. I've always wondered how so many people have gotten away with selling photos, videos etc. I get requests all the time, but unfortunately I don't have the right to sell 99% of my photos. It often amazes me at how little understanding some enthusaists have of property rights.

To sum it up - combine quote "A" with quote "B" and you have people blatantly breaking laws, filming it and then selling the footage (also without permission).

Hell, it'd probably be safer to be a drug dealer ;)

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www.coasterimage.com
Dorney Park Visits in 2003: 16

Which is precisely why every park involved in our calendar had final approval on the photos we used. If we had a photo we felt was obtained while violating park rules we didn't use it.

mOOSH

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2004 Coaster Calendar now available. Order in advance and save. NOW ACCEPTING PAYPAL! See S&D Greetings for details.

I've followed the thread with interest and have to say that I staple myself ever since one ride on the Grand National at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 1979 or so. At that time the coaster had buzz bars (this was my first coaster at age 7 years when it had no restraints whatsoever and I loved it - air everywhere).

Anyhow, age 13, on Canal Turn (I'm sure) I flew from the seat and if it weren't for quick reflexes, I was out of there. From that point on I have pretty much stapled myself as I think of family and others who might have to deal with my not coming back to the station.

I feel that maybe I'm a bit out of it here, having not been to the US yet (nor ridden a coaster for 5+ years due to an injury) but I will be there in 2004. A big reason for that was CoasterCon at CP/SFWoA. Truth be told though, I am more looking forward to having *normal* days at parks with my mates and less looking forward to the events I was excited about in the first place.

No offence to anyone, but I'd just rather have fun and stay safe than feel the need to show off or *tempt fate*. Stay safe.

Jim
*** This post was edited by Invy 9/4/2003 6:04:28 PM ***