Coming from Jersey and want to work at the Point

Hey everyone,

I live in Jersey right now but after working at SFGadv for 3 summers I decided I wanted to try something new this summer and what better than the best amusement park in the world. I have a few questions however.. I'm 17 but I graduate from Highschool in June and I turn 18 in July..Will I be able to get housing at the park? Also when's the best time to apply and if I apply for rides in July when I turn 18, will i still be able to get a coaster. I have experience on the 13 coasters over here ;) Thanks.

-Jhon

Hey Jhon. It's good to see somebody who is from a Six Flags park and is willing to try out Cedar Point. I think your experience on 13 coasters at Six Flags will help you get a ride you want. From my understanding, if you want housing, you won't be able to get it until you actually turn 18. I also think that goes for operating a coaster too. My advise to you is apply NOW, but let them know you won't be turning 18 until July, and I think they will put your hire date after your birthday. During the interview, let them know that you are interested in a coaster (throw a name of one you would like to work out there). I hope somebody else can come on here and confirm this, but I'm almost positive. Good luck!

TwistedWicker is correct. You must be 18 but for some reason I heard there were some 17 yr olds living in Commons but I cannot gueerenteed this. You must also be 18 to operate any type of ride. Sadly this includes all roller coasters, flat rides and kiddie rides. Best thing to do is to write about this in your application. Either you can come when you become 18 or you can work as something else before. Most Sweeps become a ride hosts when a crew is down a member. Best luck to you!

Thanks Guys. I read in another thread that you could stay in housing if you graduated highschool and were 17 but I guess I'll contact the park to find out the truth. As for working, I was thinking going into Games or something until July then switching into Rides. Is that possible? And if so, what are my chances of getting a coaster?

I'm not exactly sure how the minor laws work, but I have heard of 17 year olds living in housing. Not sure if that would still make them a green tag or a red tag though. Your best bet is to call HR, they'll probably have a better answer for you then us.

I don't think they would allow you to switch from Games to Park Op (rides), just because they are two completely separate departments, but i could be wrong. Your best bet would probably be being a sweep until you turn 18 and then transferring to a ride.

Ive contacted HR at the park. I'm just waiting for a response. THat sounds like a good idea Millennium. Whats the age to be a Sweep and what exactly do they do? Is it easier transferring from Sweep to Rides?

You can work in the park as a sweep at the age of 14. Sweeps, well... sweep the midways. It's not as bad as it sounds, especially if you like a lot of guest interaction. This will be able to help you out a little bit, it's from CP's website:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yclFK_fdyvg

Sweeps are part of Ride Operations, so I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have that hard of a time moving to a ride, especially closer to the end of the season when people start leaving.

Yes sweeps are part of Park Ops. Sweeps walk around their area making sure all midways are clear, making sure no cobwebs, making sure the trash doesnt over flow, cleaning tables, seats. You do help out all rides though, if you see a qeue that is over flowing you get to go in the line and open another qeue. This helps out ride hosts very very much! Really a sweep may seem really boring at first then you get to know you can get to talk to guests more and almost all the sweeps I knew were awesome!

I guess I have no choice if I want to go into rides when I turn 18. And it honestly doesn't sound that bad of a job. Anything is better than working The Dark Knight at Great Adventure. :P

Jhon2085 said:
I guess I have no choice if I want to go into rides when I turn 18. And it honestly doesn't sound that bad of a job. Anything is better than working The Dark Knight at Great Adventure. :P

... Or doing the six flags visual checks :P

VISUAL SCAN! *raises hand to cover sun from eyes and look left to right under a covered platform* lol Love those vids, especially this guy haha...And sunglasses in covered controls *sigh* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ009fJimRE

Lol they weren't needed at TDK. The ride basically runs itself. "Visual Scans" were added as an extra safety check back in 2010. They just made us employees look like pirates though...

You know I am all for making things safer, but where do you reach the point of diminishing returns. Where does the extra safety items create enough of a hassle or cost so much that it no longer becomes practical, or even safe, to do them?

Just be sure when you do get on rides that CP does take safty to the extreme and if one little buckle isnt on right or if is wraped around a lap bar you will get a step.

Yup...

My problem with the visual scan is half of the time I realize they're just looking around at nothing. Plus for some rides looking around really does nothing, especially if you're on a position on the middle of the platform. Lastly it delays dispatch interval times, thus adding a bit to the line (a few seconds here and there over the whole day adds up).

I have to say I hope that this never is something CP ever sees. But I am pretty sure it won't because safety to us is a huge deal. Lol all I need to say is me+cameras...Everyone I worked with knows my policy with em hahahah

Sgarver said:
Just be sure when you do get on rides that CP does take safty to the extreme and if one little buckle isnt on right or if is wraped around a lap bar you will get a step.

I don't really think that's taking safety "to the extreme." That's just called common sense. If a buckle isn't on right, then it's clearly not doing its function. I'm pretty sure that Six Flags would have similar policies regarding safety... or rather, I'd hope so.

I don't have a problem with visual scanning, because it you should always be engaged in your eye-cycle. That being said, I don't think people have to take it so far to show that they're visually scanning (Six Flags check). That's like in 2010 when the ride hosts were supposed to say "check" every time they check a seat, it does nothing more then to give the ride hosts one more thing to think about.

You know I am all for making things safer, but where do you reach the point of diminishing returns. Where does the extra safety items create enough of a hassle or cost so much that it no longer becomes practical, or even safe, to do them?

With housing, as long as you have graduated from high school you can live in housing. However, this does not make you a red tag. You will still be a green tag until you turn 18. My sister had a 17 year-old roommate her first year there.

Trust me safety is a major concern at Great Adventure. Our last ride related accident was back in 77 I believe. It's something I personally take VERY seriously as well as dispatch times and operations. I love the amusement industry.

Thanks Erin! I just applied and I'm looking forward to working and staying at the Point! (hopefully) =)

First off with the buckle thing. The buckle could be defective, the ride op might not have checked it, or (and this happens) they unbuckle it at dispatch. In most cases with buckles, it's not checked or in correctly and checked correctly. This is the reason why I like redundant restraints like on Timberliner trains & whatnot. Less time securing restraints and checking them increases ridership, lowers dispatch time, and reduces safety risks.

The problem is not completely with the policies, it's moreover in employee training and who is hired. The policies very strictly adhere to ASTM standards and manufacturer standards (which are in compliance with these standards).

The problem is morover with training and hires. For instance I can use KI as a reference. Down there they hire minors. I've noticed that their maturity and relaxation really leads to a downfall in alot of things. This is why some rides are majors only (adults 18+). Rides like Firehawk with a heavy minor crew really burden an already poor interval stricken ride. This is also why they had 29 operationals in one day. After spending time at KI and some SF parks with minors really irks me seeing minors work. On Rolling Thunder at SFGA this woman behind me started yelling that her seat belt wasn't buckled all the way, the train dispatched and low and behold, we weren't stopped. I came back and asked if they noticed her yelling and then me looking at the ride op saying hold the train, and they said "yeah, you're fine though." That was an instant shock for me just seeing the lack of safety and care that they had. Stuff like this doesn't happen at CP. There are times when a seatbelt isn't fastened properly but we notice it, and we take care of it and make sure safety is taken care of.

Plus with our training we really pay attention to everything. I mean you know your rides you work so well it's not even funny. I can tell you when each brake releases and closes on my ride, when the chain goes to a full jog up the lift, to where each sensor is, ect. Safety is just drilled into you when you work your ride. Our manuals even went over what causes and how to fix and deal with every situation you can imagine. Lol it even covered if we dispatch a train with someone sitting on the harness, pedal down, seatbelt unbuckled, ect. Basically long story short, well selected and mature employees given very extensive and great training and a perfect understanding on why to adhere to the training provides immediate results that will benefit the company, employee, and guest, hands down.

Even on Wicked Twister, we had our visual scan during the ride's cycle down to a T! It is hard to catch small things at first while the train is flying in and out of the station at 72mph, but there have been times where we have had to call for a hold because somebody unbuckled just as the train was dispatched.

Pretty much every position has a scanning job. Load 1 scans down the platform gate rows, on the platform itself, and the load side of the train for unbuckled harnesses and POV recordings. Load 2 (dispatch) scans the entire platform/down the platform gate rows since that position is responsible for enabling the ride and has a quick stop. Unload 1 is responsible for scanning the entire platform since that position has a clear view of the entire ride, and for POV recordings. High Clear is responsible for scanning the back half of the platform, the back low zone, all while keeping an eye on the train when it enters the back tower for anything out of the ordinary and POV recordings. Controls is responsible to make sure all clears are up and that the platform is 100% clear on the unload side before even thinking about starting the 3,2,1 countdown. Also, controls is responsible to watch the train/low zones from the station to the front tower, while scanning the platform while the train is up the back tower (because at that time, the person at high clear is scanning the train). Granted, if you're at Load 1 or Unload 1 and catch something on the back half of the station, you can still call for a hold of course. Sorry I got a little carried away with explaining the scanning process.