Questions for past/current employees

So I just turned 18 in July, and plan to apply to work at CP in the summer of 2018. Do you have the option to choose a department, or is it the employer's decision? I am somewhat of a shy girl, can handle talking to customers but probably couldn't handle being a games or ride host, as they appear very outgoing with great people skills. However, I would hate to turn those jobs down if they were my only options. I would prefer a job outdoors, but again I'm not sure if that's my choice. Any answers &/or advice? Especially from those who are/were also somewhat shy?

Hey man,

You can choose a department, however be aware that your application will be reviewed by many numerous departments. I remember apartments I never even applied for picked up my app to look at for awhile. If they do request an interview for a position you don't want you can decline as well, or decline the job offer after an interview. Usually though if you say "hey I want XYZ" and they think you're a viable candidate, they'll keep you for that.

Read through the employee lounge area, there's a TON of threads re: this, especially before the yearly app gets uploaded, alot of the same questions get asked ;)

Almost any job outdoors at the park will have a LOT of guest interaction. Don't let that scare you away though, it is possible to be placed at a ride location where you interact on a closer level with guests than others. I'm nearing completion of my 3rd season in rides, and after working a good variety of rides, I've found I prefer working locations where you directly talk to the guests, such as Frontier Fling (still hard for me to call it that), Slingshot, and Thunder Canyon.

As thedevariouseffect said, definitely read through more threads in the Employee Lounge section, you'll find a lot of useful info there. Here are a few good threads to take a look at:

Working at Cedar Point

A few questions now that I have my job

Working any job at CP will give you a great opportunity to break through any shyness. It will be great experience for you long term. Life is about dealing with all kinds of people. I started working & living at CP 2 days after I graduated high school. Go for it and enjoy it!!!

I would really like to work in Ride Operations for next season, and I have a few questions:

1) My family typically takes a week long vacation every June. Would this affect the chances of me being hired or affect what ride I’d be placed on?

2) I worked for Halloweekends this past year, and, granted we were understaffed, they offered me a position in the outdoor scare zones and allowed me to choose any zone I wanted to work in. Let’s assume I got hired as a ride op, would they: A) give me a list of rides to choose from to work at? B) Just assign whatever ride they feel like to me? C) Or do veterans get first picks and the newbies pick off of what’s left.

3) I understand hours are ridiculous when working, but how do they determine who works certain days? Do you list that in the application process? And do the days that you work affect what ride you’re hired to work? (Hypothetical Example: I can work every day of the week, but not Saturdays and Sundays)

4) Working Halloweekends was an amazing experience. A fun job and it was easy to make great friends and family. Can you say the same for working Ride Ops?

Thank you for your responses!

1. Define long vacation? That's still right before prime season / blackout periods, so you may be fine, but dpeending on the length that may be an issue (like 2 weeks, etc.) It's best to discuss with a hiring manager before a contract is sent

2. Fist year ride ops generally do not get to pick locations, you may request one but a request is exactly that. Plus you may be interviewed by an area manager that only covers a specific area of rides so your request may not be able to be accommodated. The biggest thing to consider is what & where you would like to work. So if you want to work with kids v. adults, they do take that into consideration. Like me for example, I freaking hate kids, so putting me in Planet Snoopy would have been a disastrous idea haha. Rest assured though, they will find a good placement for you. I wanted a job that's fast paced & challenging...so I got Corkscrew, it's one of the most manual rides in the area I was to be hired in.

3. I actually think a ride op experience is the best part of the park. It's kinda rude to say it, but in the tier of jobs at the park, to me it's the most rewarding. People come to the park for the rides, so you get to be a part of that experience everyday, and your job performance directly impacts their day. It's pretty sweet. It's long hard hours in any weather condition or type of day, but the reward is seeing a DOR (tally of how many rides per hour for the day), and pressing that E-Stop button at the end of the day & pulling the keys. Nothing is better than leaving a quiet park in the evening with music and seeing it all close down just to repeat the exact same thing for new guests the next day. Just keep positive, and you'll have a positive experience. There will be days that just SUCK, but you have to make the best of it.

As another tip, browse through this forum, a lot of points get repeated year over year, and alot of FAQ are answered as well, there's a plethora of knowledge to be gained here.

Thank you, your response was very helpful. I’m sure more discussion will be brought up once they start hiring, so I’ll continue to post when the time comes.

To add to what thedevariouseffect said:
1. A one week vacation won't effect your chances of getting into rides. Just make sure you communicate it to your manager as soon as possible to make sure you get the appropriate amount of time off.

2. Typically first year ride hosts only input is fast or slow paced and children or adults. However, since you've worked for the park in a different department it may be a little different. My girlfriend was a sweep her first year, and a ride host her second year. When she got her hiring call she was told to pick a water ride. So that may or may not be the case.

3. Location leadership writes the schedule for your ride. Some leadership just assign a day off to everyone, others try to accommodate what day everyone wants. If you have certain days you want off each week, just communicate that with them. I can't tell you how many times my crew members would come to me on a Tuesday saying something like "Sam I need Thursday off instead of Friday"

4. Yes! Working in rides is an amazing experience. I just finished my 3rd season working in rides, and I'm already waiting for season 4 (lifer year) to be here.

That sounds great! I’m definitely going to apply and I guess we’ll just see what happens from there. Thanks for your responses!

1. It has been a while since my last post, but I think I can handle some rides. Windseeker would absolutely be my #1 choice. It is one of my favorite rides and I love the location. However, with how often it is closed, it makes me wonder, what do the employees do? If Windseeker is closed (especially when it's all day), are you sent to another location? Say I work a second year as a ride op and choose Windseeker, would I need to choose more than one?

2. What is considered a fast/slow paced ride?

3. If I work in the food department, can I choose a restaurant to work in?

If a ride is down short term, the crew is expected to clean. If it will be down longer, you would be sent to other locations that need help, or home on rare occasion. You don't really get much say in where you get sent to help. It could be Planet, it could be Gatekeeper. Wherever you are trained.

Rides that have fast interval are fast paced. Sky Ride is the fastest paced ride in the park as in never stops moving. Close contenders are Valravn, Magnum, and Gatekeeper. Slower paced rides are ones where you have to wait for the ride to be ready to send. Dragster is a good example of this. Many of the flats you can kinda run at your own pace but we always want to minimize idle time as a general goal.

I have no idea how foods assigns people.

So then ride operators are trained for multiple rides? That's pretty cool, does that mean there are rotations or do you typically work one ride all season and only elsewhere if your main is closed a long time?

For fast/slow pace: that makes sense. Thedevariouseffect said Corkscrew is fast-paced and challenging, and I would never have expected that, lol. I suppose I don't ride it enough to know, but I always pictured Corkscrew as having a pretty empty queue as it can't be that popular?

You are assigned a single ride/location (some rides are grouped together as crews) that you will work a majority of the season and then will be trained elsewhere as needed. Getting cross-trained on other rides sometimes is up to pure situational luck, but also can be determined at how receptive one is at learning different locations. Some of us thrive by learning multiple locations while others enjoy staying at their home ride.

What can make Corkscrew challenging is the fact that an operator locks and unlocks each car manually. For my ride Gemini, learning controls can be challenging as it is the only coaster left with complete manual parking, but after some time it becomes one of the favorite positions in the park.

Lines don't always affect the pace of the ride as well. For example Maverick many times will have 1-2 hour waits, but it is one of the slowest coasters to work in the park due to the dispatch interval. I'd say proudly take whatever ride you're assigned and wait to try it before worrying if you like it. I was at first disappointed that I was assigned Gemini, but ended up loving it and coming back as the ride's Team Leader my second season.

When do they usually start accepting applications?

It looks like they are trying a new format this year. Applications are currently open for internship positions. There are some base positions that have been posted as well. I expect we will see more positions posted in the coming weeks.

Hey ValravnCP!
Basically everyone has covered your questions but I'll put in my two cents.
I've been a sweep and ride host. Sweeping was great in 2014. I got to talk to guests but also did not have to worry about peoples safety as much. My second season when I got my call for rides, my manager asked me to choose between the three (at the time) water rides. So glad because being at a water ride gave me the opportunity to be sent to many other rides during the season to help out. It was fun being on other crews but man did it feel good to be back at my home ride. Last year I was at Antique Cars/ Wave Swinger and I actually liked it more than I thought I would. It's slower paced but on Saturdays, you're running back and forth. It was good for the close interactions but being the outgoing person I am, I missed being able to spiel to many people on a coaster.
As I always say: "it's what you make it!" Have a good attitude and you'll have a good summer. Hope to see ya around and no matter what ride you get you will most likely end up loving it! :P

Do you have to print out your W-2 or is that just for your pleasure if you want to?

You need to submit a copy each with your Federal 1040 and State returns. So yes, print your W2

Thank you for all your responses, I submitted my application for rides last week!

MillenniumForceLover said:

Last year I was at Antique Cars/ Wave Swinger and I actually liked it more than I thought I would. It's slower paced but on Saturdays, you're running back and forth.

I sometimes felt bad for the Antique Car ride ops because at times it seemed like the exhaust fumes from the cars were almost overpowering. I don't know. Maybe you get used to them if you are working the ride all day long, but do you ever get loopy in the more enclosed loading/unloading area?