Please ban BASKETBALLS!

Fastball84 said:This is the ultimate playing enthusiast. Complaining about what the park gives out as prizes for games?

This isn't an issue of complaining about prizes, this is a SAFETY issue. Sorry for yelling, but these things are dangerous.

When I worked at Geauga Lake in 2004, I had the ride I was operating valley due to one of these basketballs! When I told a guest that he could not ride my ride with his basketball, or leave it on the platform, he proceeded to throw it into the queue, where it bounced into a low zone.

While the ride was in operation, a member if this guest's party jumped into the low zone (which could have gotten him killed) to retrieve the basketball. Once he did that, I hit E-Stop*, which caused the ride to valley!

Inflated basketballs in an amusement park environment are NOT SAFE. I believe in personal responsibility, but in the case of basketballs at parks, the safety of the guests should come first!

If you personally experienced how unsafe these things can be (when combined with immature children who lack adequate parental supervision), like I did in 2004, maybe you would understand why people that have worked at parks complain about basketballs!

-Sam

Please spare me the safety crap. Your calling a basketball dangerous? I could throw a stuffed animal into a zone where it shouldn't be and cause the op to have to e-stop. This is not a safety issue. This is an issue of irresponsible kids doing dumb stuff. And instead of employees getting on these kids, we just come to the conclusion that we should just get rid of the basketballs. Has it occured to you that it's not the basketball's fault the kid jumped into the low zone, but its the dumb kids.

And someone explain this to me, why won't employees hold stuff at the entrance? Seriously, give them a ticket to identify their stuff, and then stick the number on whatever the item is. When they are done riding they come back, give you the number, and get their ball or stuffed animal, or whatever it is back.

Finally, to end this little rant, I've noticed employees complaining quite a bit about confrontations with guests, and doing whatever they can to avoid these. Honestly, your working in an atmosphere where people pay lots of money to have fun. You tell some kid he can't go on a ride because he's carrying a basketball he payed $15 to win, and then on top of it tell him he has to go get a locker and pay another doller, I'd be a little pissed too. Your working at a job where there is going to be confrontations, get used to it. Don't think the park is going to lose money, and make special rules, just so you don't have to tell Johnny he can't take his basketball on the ride.

End of the Rant

Free lockers, such as those on several of Universal's rides, would alleviate a lot of people getting pissed also. I'm sorry, but you shouldn't have to waste a dollar just to store your stuff while you ride certain rides.

Some rides can't use lockers because of seprate load and unload stations, disaster transport, MF, TTD all instanly come to mind. Also some rides it would just slow down operation too much, like on demon drop. What they should do is instead of giving basketballs, they should give away those giant like 6 foot in diameter balls that we used to have in gym when I was a kid..... can't dribble that very easily on a midway... and try putting that up your shirt to hide it!

See, what I'm saying is they should make the TTD lockers free. If you get in line for the ride, you should have the right to use the lockers for no cost.

Fastball84,

I actually agree with you that it is the kid's fault, and not the fault of an inanimate object. Unfortunately, far too many kids these days have zero sense of responsibility. When a kid is going to risk his life for a stupid basketball, and the parents won't do anything about it, then the park needs to do something to prevent a lawsuit due to the kid getting killed or injured due to his own stupidity!

With this particular ride, I think it is also an issue of the fence being way too low, a mistake made by Premier Parks/Six Flags Inc.

-Sam

Fastball84 said:
Please spare me the safety crap. Your calling a basketball dangerous? I could throw a stuffed animal into a zone where it shouldn't be and cause the op to have to e-stop. This is not a safety issue. This is an issue of irresponsible kids doing dumb stuff. And instead of employees getting on these kids, we just come to the conclusion that we should just get rid of the basketballs. Has it occured to you that it's not the basketball's fault the kid jumped into the low zone, but its the dumb kids.

You hit the nail on the head with the bolded part of your comment. The fact of the matter is, basketballs attract those type of people moreso than stuffed animals and such. I'm pretty confident that a 15 year old boy isn't going to put his life in danger for a teddy bear. Not that it makes much more sense (to a rational adult, that is) to do so for a little ball.

And someone explain this to me, why won't employees hold stuff at the entrance? Seriously, give them a ticket to identify their stuff, and then stick the number on whatever the item is. When they are done riding they come back, give you the number, and get their ball or stuffed animal, or whatever it is back.

Yeah, because that would make the lines move so much faster. Why should other guests be inconvenienced just so some people can: (A) be too lazy to walk to their car with their prize/souvenier, or (B) be too cheap to rent a locker?

If you want to play a game, great! Have fun! But, remember that you now have to deal with an item that may prevent you from getting on attractions for the rest of your day, provided you're too lazy/cheap to abide by A or B above. Besides, CP makes their policies very well known regarding carrying loose articles.

...You tell some kid he can't go on a ride because he's carrying a basketball he payed $15 to win, and then on top of it tell him he has to go get a locker and pay another doller, I'd be a little pissed too. Your working at a job where there is going to be confrontations, get used to it. Don't think the park is going to lose money, and make special rules, just so you don't have to tell Johnny he can't take his basketball on the ride.

End of the Rant

Wow. The loose article policy is both obvious and made well-known by the park. It is NOT their responsibility to provide motivation for lazy people in order to get them to walk to their vehicle/resort. It is also not their responsibility to provide free lockers for everyone. The park is in business to make money, and lockers are a great convenience, hence they cost money.

Fastball84 said:
I'm gonna be honest, this is one of the most ridiculous threads I have read on here for a long time. Some kids basketball hit me as I was walking!!!111!!! Im gonna have to sue CP!!!! Im never goin back again!!!!!!!!!!

Well, a few years ago I watched as an elderly lady was run down by kids playing with their basketballs. Fell right on her hip, and she couldn't get up or walk after that, probably broke her hip. The park's ambulance took her away, the kids ran away.

I bet she would see no humor in your comment Fastball. Basketballs can be and are dangerous to other guests in the park. I wish they would ban basketballs just like they have banned roller skates and scooters. Basketballs are just as hazardous.

Agreed, Pete.

MrScott

Fastball84 DOB: 3/9/91

Not to discriminate, but I think that may help explain the difference of opinion.

Your right on. I'm sure thats why we see different on this issue. I see it completely different than you do. I see the number of kids my age, who can handle the basketball responsibly and think why should a few morons ruin it for everyone. If you ban them, the kids will find other ways to be morons and get into trouble and possible cause harm. And Pete, while what happened to that lady is very sad, morons at parks will find ways to harm others. While I was at PKI a few years ago, I saw a man trying to light a cigarette on the midway. He looked drunk by the way he was walking, and was hardly paying attention to where he was walking. He tripped, the lighter went flying, and caught a kids shirt on fire I'm sure burning him. Now should one moron ruin it for every smoker in the world, and not be able to smoke or drink in the park? No. There are many who can handle this responsibly and not act like complete idiots. Just like teenagers, you don't realize how many can be responsible, you see the ones who aren't.

Fastball84 said:
And someone explain this to me, why won't employees hold stuff at the entrance? Seriously, give them a ticket to identify their stuff, and then stick the number on whatever the item is. When they are done riding they come back, give you the number, and get their ball or stuffed animal, or whatever it is back.

Wonderfull, the ride ops will be running their own "coat-check" so to speak? The ride operator is there to answer questions someone might have about the ride and check heights, not to watch over your souvineers. And it wouldn't even be one day before a ride op loses something while he/she is watching over these items, and that would definitely lead to some confrontations. Heck, people complain now when they themselves lose things at the park.

The ops at entrance have enough crap to deal with other than taking care of people's stuff. Add to that the fact that if a park made an employee responsible for keeping track of people's stuff, that would make the park and employee liable for anything lost or stolen, which I'm sure is something that's not worth the headache.

As far as I'm concerned with the basketballs, there are plenty of responsible people who win them. Those are the people who will leave them in a locker or their car. So since the responsible people aren't playing with the balls and making a hazard anyway, what difference does it make if they're given away un-inflated? You're on a midway that is (usually) jam packed with people. That is not the proper place to be showing off your mad skillz.

Fastball84, are you really trying to tell us that a lighter "went flying", kept it's flame the whole time and a kids shirt combusted as the result?

Where do you buy these magic lighters?

I could see a zippo doing it, but the speed at which it would have hit the kids shirt would have snuffed out the flame. Unless of course the kid had on a nylon jacket.

Or he just happened to be walking around covered in gas. Or mass amounts of hairspray.

Or a shirt made in a third world country.

Sorry, but I would be afraid to light a match with all the BS in the air.

I didn't know that BS was flammable. ;)

~Rob Willi

No, but the fumes generated by its creation and decomposition are extremely flammable.

Fastball84 said:

And someone explain this to me, why won't employees hold stuff at the entrance? Seriously, give them a ticket to identify their stuff, and then stick the number on whatever the item is. When they are done riding they come back, give you the number, and get their ball or stuffed animal, or whatever it is back.

You realize that at Millennium Force we get 15,000+ people come through our line every DAY? The very suggestion that one person can be in charge of the belongings of THAT many people is laughable. Not to mention we become responsible if it's lost or stolen just by touching said stuff. That and the fact that handing out parent swaps, signing special access forms, checking to make sure children aren't too short, and watching the test seat are just SOME of our duties at entrance, and now you expect us to keep track of all of your stuff too? We have lockers. Use them. You try working entrance for one day and see how many people with basketballs I have to turn away and the resulting fuss I have to deal with and THEN tell me you think the park would be better off not banning them.
*** Edited 6/28/2006 8:42:32 PM UTC by SRFMatt05***
*** Edited 6/28/2006 8:44:06 PM UTC by SRFMatt05***