How is your ride location determined?

I was going to get a job this summer at Cedar Point as a ride operator, but I was promoted to a lead at my home Six Flags park so I decided not to. I was wondering, how is your ride location determined? Is it by random? Do you get to choose? Does management decide? I would probably quit if I got a ride like Frog Hopper or something.

Thanks in advance.

I do not work in Rides, so I am not positive, but I think when they call for your phone interview you can tell them which kind of ride you would prefer to work, and they will make every attempt possible to get you on your ride of choice as long as there are still openings.

Hey, don't be hatin' on the Frog Hopper! Although I think that even if you got assigned to a ride you didn't particulary care for, you could always try to transfer to a different one during the season.

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It's all about the broccory...

In my interview, I was just asked about what kind of environment I liked. I said I liked something fast paced and I ended up getting Antique Cars, which requires a lot of running. I was hoping for Raptor or Gemini. I ended up transferring to Thunder Canyon about a month and a half into the season, and that's not really fast paced unless you're running a lot of rafts, or you have an e-stop.

That was last season. When I put in my application for this season, I never got an interview. They just sent another employment contract, which assigned me to TC again. I worked that for a month and got transferred to Demon Drop/Midway Carrousel, which are pretty slow paced.

In both cases of the transfers, I didn't request to be transferred to a specific ride. I just said I wanted to change rides. If I had my choice, I'd be working Raptor.

I have another question: How many hours are you trained at a major ride? (TTD, MF, Raptor, etc.) I know at SFMM, we train for 12 hours at rides with a main control panel, 8-10 hours at rides with an auxillary (remote) panel, and 3 hours a flat/minor ride.

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-Chris
Opening Crew for Scream!

Well, the first year they pretty much just put you where they need you. I was good my first year and got to transfer though after a brief stint of working Troika/Chaos. The key to transferring where you want is to make friends at those rides, and try to work them when they need people. It requires working a little extra hours and learning a different ride, but it becomes worth it in the end when their TL and ATL go to management and request that you be transferred to their ride. :o)

Every other year I've been able to choose where I went, with the exception of when I worked weekends last year and Woz was like "Well, how about we just put you back at MF." Not that I had a real problem with that. :o)

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Natalie
Mine Ride '99
Thunder Canyon '00
Millennium Force '01

They have a giant dart board with everyones name on it, on the end of each dart is the name of a ride and a position TL,ATL or Red Tag. They throw it on the dart board and whatever name the dart lands on thats what ride and position they get...j/k sorry had to do a wise acre post.

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Crow: Mike can I have a car like that?
Mike: You can't drive.
Crow: I can drive, I'm an excellent driver; I'm not wearing my underwear.

Camp Snoopy 2000-2002
Mean Streak 2003

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XTXScream2003 said:
I have another question: How many hours are you trained at a major ride? (TTD, MF, Raptor, etc.) I know at SFMM, we train for 12 hours at rides with a main control panel, 8-10 hours at rides with an auxillary (remote) panel, and 3 hours a flat/minor ride.

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-Chris
Opening Crew for Scream!

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It really depends when your contract starts. If you come during training week (The week before Longaburger day) then you train all day, all week just practicing your ride. I assume if you start in the middle of the season, you get the same training as if you just trasferred to that ride. In that training, you have to come to the ride early (I think 8 or 9 AM, depending on the ride) and get training. If your ride has a lift, you have to do a lift walk and the person training you (Usually the TL or ATL) will show you where various things are on the lift. If you don't do the lift walk, then you can't work on the platform. You can only do Entrance, crowd control, and Freeway Merge Point (If you're on a ride that has Freeway).

The major rides require a visual board test to be allowed to do controls. But just because it has a control panel doesn't mean it requires a visual board test. Snake River Falls and Demon Drop both have blocking systems, but don't have a visual board test, but do require lift walks. Corkscrew has a visual board test, as does Thunder Canyon, but TC doesn't have a blocking system, and if things are working correctly, you don't even have to press anything while working controls except when opening and closing the ride. I'm puzzled why TC has a visual board test and Snake River Falls and Demon Drop don't.

The visual board test for Thunder Canyon consisted of questions mostly reguarding policies of the ride. Corkscrew's visual board test had a lot of questions checking your knowledge of the block locations, at least it did last season. I don't know if its changed.

So really, you can work a ride with less than 2 hours of training, but you won't necessarily be doing controls. Sometimes your training is under 30 minutes if you're just going to be at the location for a few hours. But that's ride-specific training. There is also Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).

Yeah but watch out Visual Board tests have a tendency to have trick questions.

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The Beatings Will Continue Untill Morale Improves.

Camp Snoopy 2000-2002
Mean Streak 2003

Visual board tests are easy.

The visual board test for Thunder Canyon is because really it's a ride where you *REALLY* have to know what to do in the event of an emergency, moreso than some of the other rides. There are questions on there about the e-stop and what to do if a guest falls in, IIRC.

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Natalie
Mine Ride '99
Thunder Canyon '00
Millennium Force '01

Hey Natalie!! Long time no hear! Glad to see you're still around!!! :)

As for me, in 2000 when I recieved my contract I was supposed to be on SRF. I had enough connections at the park by the time I started there (Halloweekends) that I was assigned to Raptor. In 2001, my contract stated Raptor, but thanks to conflicting horse shows I couldn't work there that season. Last season I made a phone call, did the online app, 5 days later recieved my contract which again said Raptor. As for this Halloweekends, if Quarter Horse Congress doesn't slaughter my weekends, guess where you can find me!! ;)

Jo
2000/2002 Raptor Crew
2003 Crew??
Lifetime Raptor flights: 761 :) (goin for 1k in '03!)
Who got to hear her name over Talon's loudspeaker! :)
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It's all about getting around the barrels, or over the fences, right leads, no faults, fastest time and looking pretty when done. What's so hard about that? :)

Hey Jo..yeah I've been busy doing other stuff lately, haven't even made it to the park this season.

I'm going August 10th, with a group of INTERNET PEOPLE (not coaster people though), and I'm thinking about working there the week after that, and for some weekends...if they'd need me. Summer classes, blah.

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Natalie
Mine Ride '99
Thunder Canyon '00
Millennium Force '01