SFoG, 8/3-84...oh, the HORROR!
Associated parks:
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Jeff, in all honesty, the park prez doesn't come down there for normal breakdowns... I'm sure he had a lot more to worry about than an impolite guest. I think just about anyone would have reacted the way he did in the circumstances. But I guess we'll never know for sure.
I have to say that basing your opinion on one trip report is pretty strange. I mean, what if I read a bad TR about HW? Or CP? I wouldn't rule any park out because of ONE TR. You have to take a more open view than that. I'm sure many parks are much, much worse.
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the member formerly known as MisterX
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Doesn't it seem as though morons always have the caps lock on?
*** This post was edited by Mark W. Baruth on 8/6/2002. ***
I do see Mark's point...what if there were a fire (not that the station is a fire hazard)? Would the employees just abandon the train and leave them there to slowly burn to death? Yes, there may have been some more urgent business to be taken care of, but it still shouldn't have taken that long. I'd rather be stuck on top of Acrophobia for over an hour than stuck on S:UF for 20 minutes. The restraints are fine during the ride, and much simpler than Vekoma's version, but the fact that it is so uncomfortable sitting on the brake run makes me wonder what would happen in a severe malfunction (the trains MUST be in the station to raise/lower).
Jeff, would you be willing to miss out on a great collection of rides due to one TR? I really don't care if you come down here or not, but I remember Sean Flaherty's SFOG TR from a few months ago was one of the best park experiences I've ever read about (http://club.coasterbuzz.com/forums/thread.asp?ForumID=13&TopicID=20120). Bad experiences occasionally happen, especially on crowded days.
Mark, be sure to write a letter to SFOG management and SF Inc. These problems will not be solved if customers don't respond to them.
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My two favorite coasters are named Superman.
Nitro, Gemini, Laser, Ice, Thunder...The American Gladiators!
*** This post was edited by astrosgp on 8/6/2002. ***
*** This post was edited by astrosgp on 8/6/2002. ***
*** This post was edited by astrosgp on 8/6/2002. ***
You would have been released in a very quick manner (that is reserved for extreme emergencies) if there was a fire. Generally parks don't give details about their emergency policies, which is why he didn't answer your question.
And yes it much have sucked, but I think he handled it about as well as he could have. What more could he have told you? And speaking with experience at that ride, when that happens guests do get irate and there's not much we can reasonably do. I don't know why it took so long to get you out, but I'm sure there was a reason for it. It's unfortunate that you were shrugged off, but in breakdown situations there is a lot going on and only so many people to handle it.
To understand SUF is to know breakdowns. Even though it's a B+M it's pretty unreliable because it's too complex. And sometimes it takes forever to get everything in a safe position even to manually unload, which is a big mess in itself. We don't just ignore guests. No park does that. But sometimes there are problems which cause more problems and we deal with them the best we can, and we sincerely need guest cooperation as much as possible. I aopologize for your experience, and I hope if you ever return it will be better.
I think you see things in a whole different light once you work at a park. I can't explain it, you just do.
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the member formerly known as MisterX
General Public said:
, which is why he didn't answer your question.
Really?...So why didnt he just tell Mark..."The ride is experiencing technical difficulties and we are doing are best to reconcile the situation" Why didn't he just say that to him and the rest of the people on train. I would feel alot at ease if someone would tell me what was going on. Regardless of how insignificant the info is. Im sure that is all Mark wanted to hear......
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Dayuum, Your HOT!
General Public said:I have to say that basing your opinion on one trip report is pretty strange. I mean, what if I read a bad TR about HW? Or CP? I wouldn't rule any park out because of ONE TR. You have to take a more open view than that. I'm sure many parks are much, much worse.
I'm sure there are worse parks, and I've gone to many parks despite poor TR's (SFA and PKD come to mind). However, when the guy who gets the six figures is going to be an ass to people who clearly are not in good shape (people crying) and they can do something about it (a ride op just posted that they could), that's a real problem. I don't read that in other TR's. Maybe I'll go a year from now, maybe never, but I won't spend my money when things are like that starting from the top.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"Let's stop saying 'don't quote me,' because if no one quotes you, you probably haven't said a thing worth saying." - Dogma, KMFDM
Because it is park policy not to divulge technical information in the event of breakdowns, even for the president. Plus, even if we did, chances are no one would understand it (e.g. "radio comm is not picking up input from poximity limit on channel D").
Attendents are instructed to talk to guests in the line and on each train in a breakdown situation. I don't know if they did or not, but it's pretty clear regardless that they were having technical difficulties... I really don't know anything I or Odum could have told guests to make the situation better.
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the member formerly known as MisterX
I disagree a little bit with you Jeff. I agree with the fact that I would have never known anything about HW without the coaster community.. actually without CB even. However, if you factor in that he visited (sadly his only choice of time) probably the worst possible time imaginable and had the most nightmarish scenarios, although incredibly rare, play out.. I'd think it sucked too. But, if you CAN choose a better time to go, i.e. mid-week, then you'd be rating a different animal entirely.
Come or don't come. But be rational and factor in everything before missing a great park that unfortunately had a rotten day. They can't all be HW, but this is one of the better SF parks.
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Why do we fear Mack trucks, but not Mack Wild Mouse coasters?
Why don't you guys just let Jeff have his own opinion. He doesn't want to go to the park and thats fine. Stop trying to change his mind. He can judge whether or not he wants to go to a park on his own.
I read TR's to get an impression of what a park is like. Though its not the only way I determine which parks I go to. But if someone posts a TR of a horrible time at the particular park it may factor in when I make my trip plans.
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Steel: 1)MF, 2)Goliath, 3)Magnum
Wood: 1)Villain, 2)Beast, 3)Roar(SFMW)
*** This post was edited by hunter11 on 8/6/2002. ***
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the member formerly known as MisterX
Because nobody is allowed to have their own opinion here without having it trashed by everyone else. ;)
Mark, being upset isn't impolite in anyone's book, I don't think, but displaying it by taking the GM's time when he had other matters to tend to is. I probably would have done the same as you had I been on the ride, but I would have regretted it later. As others have mentioned, he likely had a lot on his plate at the time and the response you got simply reflected that he was under some stress. I don't think that excuses him from being the jerk he was, but I see why he would have responded like that.
Jeff, given the same situation I bet a lot of GM's would have responded similarly. To take one instance of a guy's behavior, especially under those circumstances, and attempt to use that to portray him as some kind of cruel, heartless snob is just silly. But hey, if that's one way you decide what parks to go to and what parks to avoid, more power to you.
In closing, I don't think Odum's behavior was very exemplary but I think plenty of other GM's and probably most people would react like that if in a similar tight spot. In Odum's defense, everyone has their bad times.
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PLEASE READ: This post wasn't meant to offend or anger anyone; I apologize in advance if it does. So please don't post a reply just to rant about it. :)
LMAO, if I decided which parks to go to based on coaster board TR's, I would never go to any park.
I'll reiterate the one rule to live by, according to Robert Ulrich, when speaking of this southern dandy of a park...
"DON'T GO ON A SATURDAY."
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It tastes like burning.
*** This post was edited by Legendary on 8/7/2002. ***
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TOGO!
Here are my 2 cents.
Don't go on a Summer Saturday (Common Sence... DUH)
Don't complain about Parking. (In case you have not noticed, All Six Flags Parks are charging at least $9.00 this year. If you'll pay that somewhere else, why not here?)
Also, guest no longer can complain about lines. Why? Because now we have Lo-Q and Q-bots. Just rent one of those if you have a problem with lines.
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"The fish are eating the guest, sir
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My two favorite coasters are named Superman.
Nitro, Gemini, Laser, Ice, Thunder...The American Gladiators!
Mark W. Baruth said:
So, one of the ride supervisors comes over and says, "come with me. " We walk into a corner of the station, and he writes out an exit pass for Deja Vu. Very cool. I thanked him profusely, and after getting Lori back on her feet, we exited the station.
We all keep ragging on this GM for the inconsiderate responses to Mark's concerns(which I agree were pretty rude), however nobody seems to mention this ride supervisor who went against company rules and tried to compensate. This shows that everyone that works at a park is human and some do care. I applaud this employee for what he did. It may not be much but Mark probably got the only exit pass for Deja-Vu(excluding handicapped).
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Ric Flair was hitting on the female host, he told her - "Space Mountain may be the oldest ride in the park, but it has the longest line." WOOOOO!
SFoG has its good days and bad days, I've been to the park three times this year, and have not had a real problem. The only close to a problem was when I rode S:UF and the ride op didn't check my harness and it was not locked, he was talking to somebody else, and I had to yell at him to help me get a click.
Please, all parks give deflated basketballs as prizes!
Dukeis#1 said:
(Common Sence... DUH)
And there you have the ironic statement of the day.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"Let's stop saying 'don't quote me,' because if no one quotes you, you probably haven't said a thing worth saying." - Dogma, KMFDM
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