New Employee FAQ

Hello everyone. I thought it would be beneficial for everyone if there was a Frequently Asked Questions topic for new employees to help everyone out. If anyone sees anything that should be added, let me know.

Also, I've worked in Ride Operations for the last four years, and I really don't know much about other departments, so if anyone from other departments would like to chime in, and give me answers relevant to their department, feel free to do so!

MY APPLICATION HAS BEEN VIEWED! BUT NO ONE HAS CALLED YET, WHAT SHOULD I DO?!
• Give the managers some time! They're very busy, and they have to hire thousands of employees for the upcoming season! If you haven't heard anything by March, then I would suggest reaching out by email to a manager. But until then? Hakuna Matata!

HOW LONG IS THE AVERAGE WORK DAY/WEEK?
• Typically in working in Ride Operations you can work anywhere from an 8 hour to 16 hour shift, depending on staffing, and anywhere from 5-7 days per week. The most hours that I had worked in a week was about 75, and the least was about 55. It really depends on your ride location, and the staffing levels.

HOW DO SHIFTS WORK?
• The hours and shifts that you work, will vary greatly on the department that you are contracted to, and even the ride that you're contracted to. For example, a ride host working on an early entry ride, such as Gatekeeper and Raptor will get more hours than someone working in a non-early entry location such as Sky Ride, Blue Streak, or Skyhawk. Within ride operations, the basic shifts that you will work are as follows:

OC - Open to Close. Generally you'll have to be in approximately an hour before park opening, and will be there about an hour after closing. Could be 14 hours to 18 hour shifts, depending on park closing time.
O8 - Also known as a "Cutback" shift. Essentially when you're scheduled this shift, you come in an hour before opening, and then when breaks are done you get to go home, it'll sometimes be before 8pm, and sometimes after.
O6 - You come in about an hour before opening, and you leave when the split shifts return at 6PM.
SPL - Or "split" shifts. You work open until 1:30, are off from 1:30-6, and then you come back to work 6 to close.
1130C - You come in at 11:30 to send people on break, or to pick up new positions, and then work until close.
130C - You come in at 1:30 to send the splits on their split, and then stay until close.

Early entry rides generally will need to come in at 8:25, and regular entry rides generally will have to be in around 9:25. Although, the times will vary, depending on if waterdummys, sandbags, or an ERT is involved.

There are also opportunities to pick up more hours, especially if you're crosstrained, depending on need.

HOW DO BREAKS WORK?
Essentially for every two hours you work in the park, you get a fifteen minute break. For example, on an O6 shift, you get a 45 minute lunch break, and a 15 minute break.

45 minute breaks, and 30 minute breaks are unpaid. 15 minute breaks are paid. While you are required to take a 45, you are not required to take a 30, and you can substitute a 15 minute break instead, and not be required to clock out.

WHAT'S AN AVERAGE PAYCHECK LIKE?
• An average paycheck will vary from anywhere from $500-750. By the end of the summer, I usually have accumulated approximately $9,000 before taxes.

HOW MUCH MONEY SHOULD I BRING WITH ME?
• If you're living in housing (which I'll assume everyone is) you are required to pay a $100 deposit for housing. Beyond that, you can go up to 21 days without getting paid, depending on when you process in. Budget accordingly! I would suggest $200-300 extra dollars, for food and going out.

HOW DOES HOUSING WORK? WHICH IS THE BEST?
• You are responsible for finding your own roommate, if you do not want to play roommate lottery. I personally suggest finding someone within the same department as you, so that you will have similar hours.
• Each housing building has its own benefits. I personally prefer the dorms, because it's extremely nice to come home to air conditioning after being out in the hot sun all day. Here's the details on each of the different facilities:

On-Point Housing:
CEDARS
Gender: Male
Air-Conditioning: No
Occupancy per room: 2-3
Located: By the Cedar Point Marina, behind Human Resources

Off-Point Housing:
COMMON DORMS
Gender: 1300 - Female, 1400 - Male, 1500 - CoEd
Air-Conditioning: Yes
Occupancy per room: 3-4
Located: By Dairy Queen, in the "Commons" Complex.

COMMON APARTMENTS
Gender: Varies by apartment
Air-Conditioning: In living area, only.
Occupancy per room: 3-4
Occupancy per apartment: 15-20
Located: By Dairy Queen, in the "Commons" Complex.

BAYSIDE APARTMENTS
Gender: Varies by apartment
Air-Conditioning: In living area, only.
Occupancy per room: 2-4
Occupancy per apartment: 8-15
Located: Across the street from Commons.

HOW DOES TRAINING WORK?
• First year employees will have to go through at least two different training classes for Company training: Cornerstone, Policy and if you're living in housing, you'll have to do Housing as well.
• You will then have training for your department, and then at your specific location. It varies from department to department.

WHAT ABOUT TIME OFF?
• If you need more time off then what you originally thought, have no fear. You can fill out a multi-day request off form with your department, which will then be approved by your manager.
• You can also ask your Team Leader/Ride Supervisor for specific days off during the week, as they write your schedules
they have some control, although this is not guaranteed.

UGH! I GOT A KIDS RIDE! HELP?!
Hey! Don't knock the ride, until you've tried it. You may think you will hate working in a children's area, or a smaller ride, but in reality, it's the crew that will make your summer amazing, not your ride. If you are hesitant about it, at least give it a few weeks, and then talk to your supervisor about transferring to another location, or cross-training.

Thanks for this!!

Alright Ashley, tell em how it is !! lol

You're welcome! Just trying to help :)

MillenniumSpork said:

HOW DOES HOUSING WORK? WHICH IS THE BEST?
• You are responsible for finding your own roommate, if you do not want to play roommate lottery. I personally suggest finding someone within the same department as you, so that you will have similar hours.

If you do know someone who works there, how exactly do you request to dorm together? Can you request to dorm together if you are working in a different department? The reason I ask is because a buddy of mine is going to be in entertainment and I'm not.

Since when has bayside had air conditioning in the living area? Sure, theres a window fan but that is NOT ac.....you can opt to have an ac in the living area but I believe they charge you...also..good luck running anything else as the electrical systems in bayside (again unless improved since the year or so I've NOT been in housing) are bus fuses..which are antiquated by best. Even with all that being said though...Bayside I feel is the best of the living situations quite honestly.

Since she gave a little info about rides, I guess I can give a little bit about foods since I haven't really seen anything yet.

Working in food service may seem like an easy way to go, but if you get tired easily or are on the lazier side (don't lie) I wouldn't recommend that. I worked in Area 1 foods last season (Toft's, Pinks, Midway Market etc.) & it was always extremely busy. Sometimes your schedule will say you work 8-5 but most of the time they will ask you to come in early/stay late and you may end up working open to close. It has happened to me more than a few times and it does get tiring. Foods will always be understaffed and that's where the loads of hours come in. This probably isn't true for every position in foods, but from my experience this is what happened.
The other issue with foods is that you will not stay in one particular location just because that is where your primary job is. More than a few times I was at Pinks busing tables and washing dishes (horrible) but it had to be done. Pinks is always busy so if you work in Area 1 foods, just expect to be busing tables at pinks. I also spent a significant amount of time spinning cotton candy, which may not sound bad right now, but I promise you it gets beyond annoying and you get covered in the stuff.
If you don't mind doing new things and working long hours (really good money though) then, i say go for it. Go in with an open mind, if your co workers are fun to work with, you'll have no problems with all this jazz. My co-workers got me through the season and I survived, you can too.

Anyone ever work in housekeeping? What is it like? Whats the uniform? Is it long sleeve? Also what housing is open in April? Thank you.