Phones at ride op consoles

This may be a stupid question, but I've never been an employee. Very frequently when standing obediently behind the yellow line on a coaster platform, I see the ride ops pick up the telephone (when it rings, of course). Sometimes, the call is obvious, as on the Gemini when one op is talking to the other.

But this seems to happen frequently (at least when I'm there). What sort of calls does one get at the operator's console? From where? I assume employees can't call each other while at work (i.e. "Hi, Rachel at Mantis. This is Terry at Mean Streak."), but maybe they can.

Just curious.

I'm not sure, but I think that bad thing come from the phone...calling in that the ride needs to be shut down because of weather, etc.

So I think of the phone as the Red phone of Death...:)

Yes, calling for weather can be one reason the phone rings. Others may be: watch out for this person who line jumped (coming from the Entrance op's phone), or the Entrance Op may be asking to be rotated or have the team leader come down to deal with a rude guest. Park Operations may call to see if a ride is back up and running (if they were setup and forgot to call back), or see if the paperwork is done or if the new schedule is complete. If the phone rings at the Entrance, it may be to open/close the entrance, stop letting some particular item (large prizes, basketballs, etc.) through the line, or "How are you doing, do you want to be rotated?" It isn't always bad news!

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PO!NT OF VIEW - A Different Look at Roller Coasters
http://www.crosswinds.net/~justmayntz/thrills/

There was one day back in '99 I was standing outside the Magnum entrance waiting for Mom who was coming from the Corkscrew. The phone rings and the ride op goes over and picks up the phone. She has a confused look on her face and goes "its for you."

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daniel j. haverlock
'01 magnum: 500
"All I see is water"

Same thing happened to me except at a different ride. A few days ago I was on WildCat in the train at Dispatch and the phone rings. The operator turns and hands me the phone and says it's for you. I knew who it was. I know almost the entire crew. I say what? He says I have the press release for the new ride. I say yeah, yeah, yeah, it's called VertiGo. I know I read it online at many different sites. Next thing I know he hung up. After I got off he said, "Why do you know everything before us?"

Ah, the power of the internet :)

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2000 MF LAPS: 117
2001 MF LAPS: 125
Gemini 100: 100

I've had the phone ring and handed to me on several occasions.. hehehe

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- Big Pimp -
MF 2000 - 269 laps
MF 2001 - 107 laps as of (7/26/01)
June 11th, 2001 - Gemini 100

I have had the same thing happen to me on Wildcat a number of times last season. Though, I would be a bit baffled if I picked up the phone at work, and it was for Dan...

I know this is an old post, but this would always happen to me at wave swinger when it became a 2 person operation in 2012

It's a phone, we use it to call people..

Answers above are typical. We use it to call other rides to start rotations, call park op for status / updates, etc. Check time (there's an official park time), etc.

The ride usually also has an intercom phone system, that works with phones just at the ride location. Anytime any are picked up, they immediately ring at controls, this is good for things like turning keys at the same time for startup procedures, advising of train movement (transfer, etc.). All that stuff

About 20 years ago (only 4 years before the original post in this thread...wow) I was a teenager staying at Breakers and tried to call a friend who was staying in a different room. I transposed some of the numbers and ended up calling the Jr. Gemini.