"First Day" Stories

my first day of 2001 I learned to drive boats and tell corny jokes. My second day I was certified and one of my boats was audited and I got my first and only cornerstone pin!

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ONE freeway stamp a day... ONE

My first day wasn't too evenful, being as it was in mid-April, but it was very strange seeing themidway completely empty during the day. There was something sort of Zen-like about this.
Other than that the only other event was meeting my roommate's girlfriend...and then meeting his girlfriend.
I loved thoes setup weeks, 9-5s and weekends off :) There was a lot of fun to be had during those weekends. I'm not sure what dept. I'm going to this year, but I hope I get to do setup.

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??? 2003
Games 2002

i remember my first day season "00", i was looking for wardrobe and i had asked this guy brent who worked at power tower where it was and he pointed near that dumb watertower, i still walked past it about 3 more times and he laughed at me

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no you cannot put me in your pocket

park admissions "00"
park admissions "01"
park admissions-ATL of Marina Gate- "02"

Hey Genevieve, don't feel bad, I couldn't find Wardrobe for the life of me my first year, either! I ended up walking in the back door where all the uniforms are stored, and one of the ladies came running up to me and asked what I was doing back there...then told me to go back out and go around to the front. Yeah, I felt real bright :)

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Park Services '01-'03

"Am I still in Cedar Point?"

My first day was back in 1997. I had never been east of Kansas City before then, and I rode the bus out there. I got to the Point and was amazed and frightened. I hadn't been to an amusement park since I was 7, and at that time Worlds of Fun was pretty lame. I got processed in and met my roommate for the next 2 seasons standing out front of Human Resources. After getting settled in our room we went in the park and I rode some rides. Being terribly terrified of heights I was even frightened on Mine Ride. It was a white knuckler for me. Then my roommate, who wa a funny guy, thought it would be fun to take me on the Magnum. Oh yeah. that was a blast. I thought I had let a poopy in my pants on the drop (but i didnt). But since that heroing day, I have loved rollercoasters and Cedar Point and everything about Sandusky. Hell I did meet my wife there.

I got more stories but I will save those for later.
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Dave
Cedar Point Employee 1997 - 2000
Kansas Wesleyan University Sports Information Director
It's CP for life

First day 2002...Well I happened to be the "fresh out of high school. I was to start on May 20th. I graduated on May 19th. Therefore the day I graduated I packed up and moved to Sandusky. It was my first time in Sandusky and Ohio for that matter. We got there about 6pm on that monday after been driving for 16 hours. I finally got processed in and got moved into my room. which of course had to be on the 3rd floor. I had a great roommate so that was good. Long day, short night....like most at CP. SO to sum it all up... no sleep, scared half to death, excited but yet so nervous and it was all in good fun! :) The first week was hell but in the end you learn to love it. After all I am returning this summer also!

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Teenie Weenie the Giggle Queenie!
Wicked Twister Crew 2002
It has been announced! I'm on Millennium Force Crew for the 2003 season!

I remember walking down the midway on my way to my ride location (Camp Snoopy although not my original location it sure beat the crap out of Ocean Motion) I finally get there and think that it was so cool because of how it looked well the team leader walks up to me and says "Hi my name is Rob Atkinson stay off my "S" hit list." I was thinking ok this guy is going to be a Schmuck thankfully a week later our ATL chewed him out and he was cool for the rest of the summer.

btw Teenie Weenie I hope you got those pics. I sent sorry it took so long to get the mto you please E-mail me and let me know what you think.

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One Man, One Mission, One Plot To Save The World.

I arrived later in the day and to my horror, the housing office had closed. I hadn't been assigned a room nor had I gotten a chance to remove my baggage from the back of the housing van. I was already upset because I had just gotten off the Greyhound after a nauseating 24 hour ride and it took me an hour and a half to walk from wardrobe to the housing office (I got lost along the way and made 50 laps through Frontier Town). My lack of accomodations was taken care of when I was given a luxury bottom bunk in Bayside, land of spiders and stained carpeting. My new roommates cheered me up by taking me to Louies where I proceeded to drink with vigor. I got so drunk that I didn't realize my roommates were still in the bar and left without them. I didn't seen the footbridge over the Causeway and proceeded to scale the fence instead. Bloodied and a bit defeated, I crawled into bed and got up to go jogging the next morning. :)

Eeyore looks like Alf. Alf eats cats. Alf's not a vegetarian. I hate ALF!-actual quote by yours truly after a night of Karaoke!
*** This post was edited by Charissa 2/3/2003 12:20:47 AM ***

My first day I arrived at about 8:30 in the morning. I had been awake for approximately 31 hours and after an 8 hour drive wasn't in the best of moods. Due to the long drive I wore my pj's so I would be comfortable. I wrongfully assumed that I would be able to clean up and take a shower before doing anything of importance. Then the lady at HR told me that I would have to take my ID pic in my pj's and meet my boss for the first time. No one let me live down the ID pic for the whole summer. It was a huge joke for cash control. Then I went to my room in the 1300 building. I almost started crying and wanted to leave due to the strong resemblence of a jail cell. The first day was the worst, but it turned out to be the best summer of my life. Hence why I am going back one more time.

My first day, I was so scared! The rides looked so much bigger when you where standing next to them! I flew into NYC two days before, and my sleep patterns where all off due to the time difference! (Sandusky is about 5 hours behind Scotland). I worked out I had about 4 hours sleep in 3 days by the time I got to CP! I managed to look presentable for the ID picture, then met my supervisors. The park looked so wierd. Then I had to find commons (I couldnt understand the directions I'd been given), and I too walked past wardrobe about 3 times before finding it. I remember being quite homesick, but settled in the next day as soon as I started work! I now cant wait til the 9th June to start again!!!

Louise Horgan

2002 - Guest Services

2003 - Rides

I hope everyone has fun this summer! Brings back memories to read all of this!

I processed in and was told i wasn't able to be on raptor and was given the choice of working Power Tower, Magnum, or Gemini. I chose the best one. ;)

First day on the job at Magnum did my lift and tunnel walk. Got attacked by killer seagulls learning how to transfer the train on. Half way through the day the power in zone 3 went out and we did a walk down from the lift on magnum, lift and C brakes on Gemini. Not bad for my first 2 days. :)

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John

Magnum Crew 1999 (BEST CREW MAGNUM HAS EVER HAD :) )
Raptor Crew 2000
Millennium Force 2001
Turnpike Cars/Calypso TL 2002
Demon Drop TL 2003
*** This post was edited by RaptorboyJohn 4/19/2003 9:20:02 PM ***

Well I won't lie, my first day I didn't know anything about the park, didn't know any of my co-workers, and didn't have a clue what the heck I was doing. So for all you first timers out there, if your first day isn't spectacular, don't sweat it. After all, I'm heading back for year number 4, so things obviously got a whole lot better! Just hang in there and you'll be having a blast in no time. You'll make mistakes, just like we all did when we first started. Learn from them, but don't stress out about them, and if you're feeling like you don't belong, then talk to somebody, your TLs, sups, managers, some person in the break area - anyone. Don't quit just because you get off to a rough start, trust me it will get better. Right, I'm getting off my soapbox and heading to the bar...see y'all in a few weeks!

ps: Lee - you started this thread, how's about sharing your first day?

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Jon

Park Op 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
"He's gonna rue the day he came up against The Extreme baby!
Bill I'm talking imminent rueage, imminent rueage..."

Okay, folks, since it's been requested -- and I'm looking for something to do to alleviate my boredom -- here it is: "storytime with Lee." **melting into a flashback**

The day I processed in (the last week of April) went well enough. I had been to Cedar Point many times before as a guest so for the most part I knew what the park was like. My parents drove me down since I didn't have a car, and I got to wait in a nice long line at HR. Next, we drove around to the back of the park to Wardrobe, and I was very surprised when I saw the bright pink and green of the Park Admissions uniform I was going to have to wear all summer. That, combined with a bright white belt, made me feel like I was in some strange 80s TV show. The only consoling thought was that pretty much everyone in Admissions had to wear that outfit, so I wouldn't be alone. ^_^

Next I had to walk to Park Op to meet my manager. He seemed like a really nice guy; he even introduced himself to my parents which I thought was a really nice gesture. I was asked to watch a video; it was one of those "introduction for a first-time employee" types of videos where you're told the basic expectations of a new job (I'd seen several of the same variety at McDonald's during high school). While the message of the video was good, the acting was really, really cheesy, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing at some of the lines in front of my new boss. I left the park feeling pretty good about working at Cedar Point.

Next, I checked into Housing. I think I got apartment 1208 in Commons. When I introduced myself to my roommates, I discovered that two of them went to the same college that I did! I felt really comfortable talking with everyone and decided that living with 14 other people wasn't going to be so insane, after all.

The next day I woke up early, super-excited to begin my first day of work at Cedar Point. I had been told I wouldn't need to be anywhere until noon, so I took my time getting ready and further arranging my things in the apartment. Finally, I left the house, took my very first ride on "Blue Thunder," and walked over to Park Op. I could see people from my group beginning to arrive so I walked over to introduce myself.

The first thing I was asked was, "Where were you?" I was shocked. Apparently, the group had met earlier in the morning as well and had just returned from break, but I hadn't been given that information the previous day so now I was late. The TLs and ATLs were really understanding, though, and assured me that I wasn't going to be in trouble. I am a freak about first impressions, though, and for the rest of the day -- which we spent cleaning the front gate -- I worked my butt off, hoping to show everyone that I really wasn't some kind of slacker. I was so embarrassed! I must have asked the TLs about three or four times when and where we were meeting the next day just to ensure that I had the right information. Luckily, everyone on my crew was really friendly so as we worked I became more comfortable and my initial embarassment wore off.

Well, two summers later, that's been the only day so far that I've been late to work, and I've never been absent once *crosses fingers*. Because of my experience on my first day, I've always been really determined to give new folks correct information, and make sure that they write it down, too, so they don't have to go through the same thing.

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~Lee~

Group Sales ATL '01
Group Sales TL '02
Park Admissions Zone 5 Supervisor '03
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"The greatest leaders don't take credit for their actions; they don't have to."