Question for Ride Ops that check height req.

One other reason why parks should use a height requirement as opposed to a more ride specific test that is determined by seeing how well the child fits in the seat, is predictability. A family can measure a child before they go and see how tall the kid is. This way, there is less disappointment when the family arrives at the park. If it was determined by some other basis, people would not know ahead of time if the child could ride.

Ok, i haven;t read this thread ina few days, so here we go........ At SFOG, our height sticks are L shpaed measuring sticks. we have the people stand flat on their feet, without flip flops if it is an inverted coaster, and with their back to the stick. Then we swivel the stik a bit. If the horizontal L part doesn;t make contact with thei head, they can ride. PERIOD END OF DISCUSSION. We arne;t talking, oh it brushed her hair it;s ok. NO. If your head doesn;t hit that stick, you DON'T get on. EVEN IF YOU HAVE A WRISTBAND FROM GUEST RELATIONS THAT SAYS YOU'RE 54 INCHES TALL, IF YOUR HEAD DOESN;T HIT THAT STICK, HAVE A NICE DAY, GET OFF MY RIDE DOCK................ Some people try to pile their kids hair up ina bun to make them taller, but like i said, if we see someone whose HEAD isn;t all the way up between the shoulder pads, we check them with the height stick. If their HEAD, not hair, doesn;t hit that stick, goodbye............. The wristbands help on kids that are maybe an inch taller, so we can see that wehn they sit down, their head fits. But people think that just because they have that wrist band that we HAVE to let them get on. ( I have had guests tell me this before!!!!) But the whole point is, if someone head fits inbetween the shoulde rpads on an inverted coaster, or their feet are on the floor of any other coaster, we have no reason to check them because they " fit, sit, and ocupy the seat safely."

Well, the previous post doesn't make me all warm and fuzzy about Six Flags.

The whole point of going to get an "official" measurement at Park Ops is to avoid the very thing you describe. Park Ops should be the final answer, and I'll tell you why: I have seen height sticks that take some brutal wear and tear. If they are wood the weather can effect them are the bottoms can be worn. When you say "stick" I assume you are talking about wood.

Second is the attitude. "EVEN IF YOU HAVE A WRISTBAND FROM GUEST RELATIONS THAT SAYS YOU'RE 54 INCHES TALL, IF YOUR HEAD DOESN;T HIT THAT STICK, HAVE A NICE DAY, GET OFF MY RIDE DOCK." Nothings says thanks for spending your money at our park now f-off like that statement.

Parks could do this better. With the technologies out there you would think they could use laser measurements or some other method to ensure everyone is given equal opportunity. But, in lieu of that I think the Park Ops measurement should be the final word.

As a ride operator of three years, here is how I would handle the situation. If a child who is wearing noticably large shoes and that adds a significant amount of height to the child, I will ask them to take off their shoes for measurement. If the child isn't tall enough then, they will not be permitted to ride. If the parent protests then I will instruct them to go to Guest Services for what I usually call an "offical" measurement. The good people there are much better at handling your situation then I am.

Don't try and make your child wear shoes that increase their height significantly. Our hours maybe long and the days get tiring but we aren't stupid. You may not care about your child's safety but we do. We don't take tests, retests, and safety courses just so we know the "jists" about a ride.

Coasterman Mike - 2 years ride operations at Kennywood and 1 year ride operations at Cedar Point

Hey Cedar Point! If you are Coasterman Mike's supervisor he needs a promotion next year. Mike, let me know who your are and I'll put in a good word for you.

There, in a nutshell, is the difference between Six Flags and Cedar Point.

Dude, you took my post way too seriosuly about Six Flags policies. Our height sticks are metal and they have inch markings on them going from 0-64". There is a peice that sticks out a the apporpriate height for that ride. It is the Foreman's responsibility to check them for acuracy at least twice a day. There is actually a spot on our safety checklist that we have to sign for the condition and accuracy of our height sticks. If we sign that spot, and a stick is found to be in bad condition, but it is still being used, we can be written up for a safety violation. Our safety checklists are legally binding documents. (trust me, i've been grilled by corporate attoerneys plenty of times about various incindents that tried to use the checklist as evidnece..........) And as Foreman, I of course, would NOT handle the situation as simply as saying " Have a nice day, now goodbye." I have received many guest COMPLIMENTS because alot of the people that work for SF parks DO JUST THAT. But i always offer alternatives, such as nearby rides that a child IS tall enough for, and I always do so with genuine smile on my face and a sincere appology. As for the height stick rule, the reason that we rely so much on the siticks is beause if you'r head doesn;t touch the top of that stick, you WON'T fit inside the restrainsts. I have experienced many times where parents have somehow gotten a hold of a wristband, usually because we have a railroad crossing attendant who also hands out wristbands while the train is not crossing, but people will wait for this person to get disracted by the train or by another guest, and then will take wristbands from behind their back. Or, people will buy shoes with big soles and then stuff them, and GuestRelations doesn;t always notice. Whatever the reason, when you come to one of my rides, if you don;t hit that stick, you won;t fit in the restraints, and you won;t be riding. So, now you have something to look forward to riding the next season........ ; ) *** Edited 2/23/2004 9:58:03 PM UTC by johnclark1102*** *** Edited 2/23/2004 10:02:34 PM UTC by johnclark1102*** *** Edited 2/23/2004 10:04:01 PM UTC by johnclark1102***

Yeah, johnclark1102 was just saying what I think all of us ops have wanted to say from time to time (on those bad days where it seems like nothing else could go worse ;)), not what we actually say;). I've never seen at SF employee actually act like that. Oh wait, nevermind. Well, nobody's ever done that at my ride at least. SFoG should also be getting some of the "Ride-No Ride" signs like SFKK has soon, as well as other SF parks. These are the signs at the front of the ride that have the green area if you are tall enough, and the red if you aren't. This should help cut down on people waiting not knowing what exactly 42" inches or whatnot is. This should help on the days where having a height checker at the front of the ride just isn't possible. *** Edited 2/23/2004 10:23:10 PM UTC by Chris the Coaster Freak***

---

wahoo skipper said:

Park Ops should be the final answer, and I'll tell you why: I have seen height sticks that take some brutal wear and tear.

---

I would disagree with that statement because there are the few people that try to get by the system. My park doesn't do a wristband system, but I could imagine people try to get by and sneak another band on their child. For that reason, I would give the ride operator final say as to who they would let on. The operator is responsible for what happens on that ride and it is in their best interest to make sure that one that doesn't obviously appear tall enough be double checked and denied access if necessary.

I've dealt with many height requirement issues. It is always the toughest when the child is straddling the magic number and gets accepted by some and turned down by others. Height checking isn't always perfect and it is frustrating for the guests as well as the employees. Ride ops don't like making kids cry and they don't deny access to be mean, they just have safety drilled in their heads. I always give the guest the positive note that in a couple months they will be away from the critical zone and make the requirement easily. *** Edited 2/23/2004 11:03:15 PM UTC by J.***

The SFGAm handstamp policy at Guest Relations is cut and dry. You go in, ask to have your child measured, they measure the child, and they give the appropriate stamp for the height the child is.

Why have this system if rideops are going to question it? I for one have my daughters arm stamped everytime we went in 2003. When a rideop was ready to measure her, she showed the stamp and they said o.k.

What is so hard about this? The idea behind this system is peace of mind for the parents and to save the rideops time by measuring kids. *** Edited 2/23/2004 11:31:22 PM UTC by Chitown***

If the kid is the right height, then why should it matter if they get re-checked? The problem with the stamp is, believe it or not, that people will try to copy it to get their kids on. I say if they are tall enough, then it shouldn't matter. It's not like we get great fun out of telling kids they cant ride. Most ops are as fair as they can be.

EDIT: Also, at SFoG, Guest Relations is kinda hidden at the front of the park, so most people wont go back once they've entered the park to get it. I agree, if everyone on the way in got the correct stamp and it was made very exclusive that it could only be gotten there, that would work. Like johnclark1102 said. Our wristbands are also at the railroad crossing. While the chains and arms are being put into place so that the train can come though the crossing, people will reach over and grab a taller band. Because of this indecisiveness, our park has decided to basically make the bands useless, even though we still give them out. *** Edited 2/23/2004 11:54:43 PM UTC by Chris the Coaster Freak***

At CP, we're still supposed to check the children with wristbands. Believe it or not, there are people that do all sorts of stuff to get by the system. Stuff the shoes to get the wristband, use someone else's wristband, etc. You name it, someone has done it.

What the wristband does do is keep the operators at the rides from splitting hairs. If the child is extremely close (like within a millimeter or two) and has a wristband, we're instructed to honor the wristband. But if the child is obviously too short, we're not supposed to let them ride - wristband or not. Again - it's just a safety and liability thing - the same reason we have a person checking heights at turnstiles - for those people who line jump to get by the person at the entrance checking heights.

We're instructed to send close cases to Park Ops, Town Hall, or the Resort Gate for an official measurement. Although the wristband does not eliminate the need for measurements, it does eliminate the need to scrutinize and eliminates some rides saying yes, others saying no, etc.

All of this just reinforces my belief that the way CP measures people at the entrance to major rides is the right way to do it. It's a lot better to catch stuff there than to let people wait an hour in line and then tell them they are not allowed to ride.

---

Chris the Coaster Freak said:
If the kid is the right height, then why should it matter if they get re-checked?

---

Why should I bother getting my daughter's arm stamped if a rideop is going to measure her? Why have the system in the first place if rideops are going to contradict it anyway?

You see where I am getting at here? Like I said before, no rideop at SFGAm has questioned my daughter's height when she has the stamp. They obviously trust Guest Relations.

Like i;ve said in almost every one of my posts on this thread, it really depends upon how well your shild fits in the seat. If I see a child tht i think is oo short, but they haveva stamp, or a wristband, i'll wait to check their height until i see how they fit in the seat. And the system is in place because it is supposed to work. BUT, not everyone is as honest as you are Chitown, or anyone else that has posted on this thread. Unlike us, there are ALOT of people out there who try and cheat the system, thus making it useless for everyone else. but trust me, i have found many kids that were 4-6 inches TOO short, but stil managed to get a wristband.

---

Chitown said:

---

Chris the Coaster Freak said:
If the kid is the right height, then why should it matter if they get re-checked?

---

Why should I bother getting my daughter's arm stamped if a rideop is going to measure her? Why have the system in the first place if rideops are going to contradict it anyway?

You see where I am getting at here? Like I said before, no rideop at SFGAm has questioned my daughter's height when she has the stamp. They obviously trust Guest Relations.

---

I completely agree. Lets get rid of the stamps and wristbands all together. All I am saying is I am instructed to recheck any child that I think may be borderline. At GASM, if a child's head was anywhere close to the same height as the bullpen rails (which are 42" roughly), I would remeasure them. I have always wondered why there are wristbands if we are instructed to always recheck and never to question the height stick unless it has obvious defects.

---

Chitown said:
The SFGAm handstamp policy at Guest Relations is cut and dry. You go in, ask to have your child measured, they measure the child, and they give the appropriate stamp for the height the child is.

Why have this system if rideops are going to question it? I for one have my daughters arm stamped everytime we went in 2003. When a rideop was ready to measure her, she showed the stamp and they said o.k.

What is so hard about this? The idea behind this system is peace of mind for the parents and to save the rideops time by measuring kids. *** Edited 2/23/2004 11:31:22 PM UTC by Chitown***

---

I also have my kids stamped there every time and without fail on Gaint drop they always remeasured both kids. Also on the drop at SFKK and Drop zone at PKI. Maybe just those types of ride but it never fails that they recheck them. They still get on and love them.

---

flogbert said:

What if one knows they're not quite tall enough, but wishes an attempt, anyway? Are you going to force a wristband auto-measurement indicator upon all visitors? How is disappointment up front different from disappointment at an individual attraction?

Regarding admissions based on height: what parks do you visit? An all but exhaustive search of the Six Flags, Cedar Fair, and Paramount Parks web pages turned up two parks with purely age-decided ticket ranges -- Knott's and Paramount's Great America. Knott's price structure is most probably to achieve some sort of parity with the Mouse. And their junior age range (set two years higher than Disney's, by the way) leads to quite a deal, considering a majority of parks sets the bar for their "adult" prices at 48 inches.

---

This way, they don't have to wait, say, 2 hours for, let's say, TTD, then get shot down when they could have been riding, let's say, wildcat all day long. Also, in a rare case, the party might decide that it isn't worth it to even attend the park based on the kid's height (a huge rarity), and then the price will be based around the height.

Let's say that a kid is over the children price age (the kid is about 14, yet they don't make the height), they pay full price and can't get the full benefits of the park) (these measurments and ages are purely hypothetical)

makes perfect sense to me

[do all parks check height at guest relations?

---

Turbo said:

This way, they don't have to wait, say, 2 hours for, let's say, TTD, then get shot down when they could have been riding, let's say, wildcat all day long.

---

Of course this is exactly why CP measures kids at the entrance to major rides to avoid this exact situation. If you're too small, no need to wait in line (we don't even allow small children in the lines).

---

Turbo said:

This way, they don't have to wait, say, 2 hours for, let's say, TTD, then get shot down when they could have been riding, let's say, wildcat all day long. Also, in a rare case, the party might decide that it isn't worth it to even attend the park based on the kid's height (a huge rarity), and then the price will be based around the height.

Let's say that a kid is over the children price age (the kid is about 14, yet they don't make the height), they pay full price and can't get the full benefits of the park) (these measurments and ages are purely hypothetical)

makes perfect sense to me

---

You make no sense. What does any of that have to do with my assertion that most parks price for height?

My main question is regarding the seemingly perfect solution to height checks. The solution requires two things: accurate measurements and labeling of all visitors. While maintaining a proper system for accurate measuring is theoretically simple, a great deal of due dilligence is necessary regarding the labeling.

At SFoG they have eliminated the wristbands and will have height sticks at the ride with a green area and red area. Green they can ride, red they can't ride.

Asst. Foreman at the Mindbender and Batman

X Marks The Spizzot