Not saying this is the case, but could be a scenario.
A day at the park is what you make it!
Michael Darling said:
Here's my take.Praise to the person on controls who stopped the ride.
Boo to the person on load who didn't measure the kid.
Don't lump the whole crew together on this one, IMO.
IMO, the whole crew does get lumped together, due to the fact that, everyone on the station at this particular time is responsible, and the panel operator is the person that does the last and final check to make sure everything is ok... and that doesn't mean on the way out of the station... they have to visually verify before dispatch.
JMO, of course.
Vortex does not have a greeter position so the check "should" of been done in the station. On most coasters at PKI when you are in the booth you also take account for numbers of riders so that last check is there too.
Theres no excuse for them missing someone that was blatently short. Vortex does have a measurement stick there. The crew should be retrained on identifying guests under 48 inches. Theres always something you can go by.
When in doubt check again.
Hi.....whats your name again?
coastertigger said:
My question is what parent sees that their child is 3-4 inches too short for a ride and takes them on anyway? An inch too short, maybe, but 3-4??? That sounds irresponsible to me. The height restrictions are there for a reason.
you would be suprised... i have been working within the rides department for 10 years now.. and it amazes me some of the things parents will do to get their kids on the ride..
I agree with you. I worked in the industry for 7 years and the things parents will do to get their kids on is brilliant. What was really bad was working at a water park where the measurement was taken in bare-feet. Sometimes kids were tall enough with shoes on (to ride the coasters) but could not go down the water slides. It is really amazing how parents will sacrifice the safety of their kids. *** Edited 4/11/2005 9:57:10 PM UTC by Trick Track***
As a former ride op, I know I would have been in a lot of trouble if this incident occurred on my crew. I agree with those who say that this is no reason to applaud the crew, but ask why this wasn't corrected before the ride started.
No excuse is reasonable, IMO. If they checked this girl's restraint, they should have seen that her height was far too short. Any ride op worth his or her salt can spot check such a thing, particularly if the person in question is off by that large of a margin.
Seriously though, if you just hang around these and other boards, you'll see how many enthusiasses feel they know how rides should be operated better than the actual employees. It would not suprise me in the least if some random guest thought he *knew* what was "safe" for his kid despite not being trained to operate the ride.
lata, jeremy
zacharyt.shutterfly.com
PlaceHolder for Castor & Pollux
From my experiences on Saturday, this is something isolated to the Vortex crew. They've really stepped up the seriousness of their restrictions, and I for one am glad. I don't take any extra chances with my children on height restrictions, and I was glad to see PKI didn't the other day either.
My example is on Runaway Reptar, my daughter wanted to ride, and is still too short due to PKI's tweeked restrictions for '05, (meaning the up and down arrows with the height listed inside the arrow. Exp. - If the arrow says 44", she now has to be 45" to ride.) I know why they made the changes, and as a parent, I like it.
I, for one, can't wait for the Italian Job to open...looks awesome to me!
A common problem I had on the Chaos at SFA was parents who would tell me that they must have changed the height limit from the year before, because I wouldn't let their children ride who had ridden before. It was either that, or the ride op wasn't checking enough (or at all). The height limit is also clearly labled on the control panel that Chance set for the ride. I had one parent who was so pushy, that when I let her through to exit the ride, she still proceeded towards the seats with her kid.
As for the incident in question, just think about what happened to the Double Loop crew at Geauga Lake last year.
SFKKThunderRun said:
My question is how in the world did they know the girl was too short just by looking at her while in her seat on the lift? They would have had to have known somehow before hand that she was too short and if that is the case, there should be no praise at all, rather shame in neglecting to prevent a major error in roller coaster operation.
On Mr Freeze at SFOT, they do height checks as they're checking your lapbar. If they think you might be too short to ride (while they're checking your lapbar in the seated position), they unlock that car's restraints and measure you. I have also seen someone height checked after sitting down on other rides at SFOT. I'd imagine that when you're working there every day for a while, you realize what someone that is the appropriate height looks like and you can never be too safe (some people they've checked after sitting down ended up being 3+ inches clear of the limit).
They were running three trains that day, and stacking pretty badly as it was. If they had an entrance person, the ride could have been operated much more smoothly.
The whole idea of the little 'kiddy corrals' is nice, but it lets people that aren't tall enough to ride through to the station. If a child gets past the entrance, they might be able to slip into the train without getting caught. I say check height at the entrance. The extra cost of the extra person at each ride it worth it, as it would prevent these types of incidents.
-Sam
--George H
It works as such: One parent gets in line, the other can go elsewhere with the child (probably better anyway). When the riding parent gets off the ride, the other can come up the exit and ride, as the parent who got the first ride stays with the child.
While there have been dissapointments about not allowing the child in line, I think this incident goes to show that the policy isn't quite as inane as it may seem.
I know Cedar Point has a similar "parent swap" but how do they handle it if there is only one adult?
--George H
Houston Thrills said:On Mr Freeze at SFOT, they do height checks as they're checking your lapbar. If they think you might be too short to ride (while they're checking your lapbar in the seated position), they unlock that car's restraints and measure you. I have also seen someone height checked after sitting down on other rides at SFOT. I'd imagine that when you're working there every day for a while, you realize what someone that is the appropriate height looks like and you can never be too safe (some people they've checked after sitting down ended up being 3+ inches clear of the limit).
Well, I understand that because I've done that before myself. But how can you tell if the train is already on the lift?? I mean, not all guests sit up the same way, so someone slouching down a bit could appear to be "too short" to ride. What if the vortex crew e-stopped the ride, and brought down the girl only to find out she was tall enough to ride?
KW_Phantom said:
i knew this coaster wasn't very big or anything so i just let it go. They were already locked in and i didn't feel like tellin the ops to unlock all the seats to let them out.
SHAME ON YOU! You are the reason that some people get hurt on rides. The public can be nieve to the reason those height requirements are set. It is your job to enforce them for the safety of that rider as well as ALL riders. To say that you did not feel like doing your job is horrible. I am outraged at your post! Who cares how big, mild, or whatever said coaster is the height requirement is there for a reason! I hope that you NEVER work in the industry again as you are an unsafe ride operator. What if that person got hurt? How would you feel? *** Edited 4/15/2005 7:15:47 PM UTC by Trick Track***
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