Raptor Crew 2008

Hey everyone it's me Stephen, and I may not be the TL or ATL of Raptor, but I am on the crew. So if there are any other Raptor crew members for this season out there you can IM me. I'm coasterfreaksp.

Hey, I'm on the Raptor crew this year! I don't know how late you are usually up, but with my time schedule, I'm usually on between 5 and 12 at night. My AIM is NightFox818. I look forward to chatting with you and other Raptor crew members!

Congrats on Raptor, guys. Your going to have a very interesting summer. Running that big bad bird is a lot of work, responsibility, a LOT of hours, and tends to have some of the craziest crews out there...You're gonna to have a blast.

Good luck!

Welcome to Cedar Point.

To all on the Raptor Crew. I ask you to please do a better job then last years crew. The crew stacked the trains all the time, and their counts show it. There was almost always some sort of line and the counts were down last year. Please work hard to make Raptor run the way it used to. Good luck. I hope you all have a great season.

Thanks for bashing our crew! ...there was ALOT that went on that people didn't know about that made it a rough season. It doesn't help when the ride was down alot for various reasons, not to mention because of the rain.

Luckily Mr. Mason was there to hold it together! Michael you'll always be my fav atl :)

No kidding, dude. Did you happen to consider that a lot of the people on this year's crew might be returners from last year? There are a lot of changes, both visible and not, that take place over the years. Blaming the crew for operational changes isn't always fair, especially in this type of thread. Bad game.

Well i'm a first year, and Travis is a transfer from GL.

Sorry to bash the crew, I do understand that there are operational changes, but still raptor has had the rain problem for 3 years now. I watch your crew like a hawk only because Raptor is my favorite. Down time happens I get that. But, there was also always a longer then appropriate line all season. But comeon, honsestly you guys should have higher numbers then Magnum, especially since magnum was down a train for a good part of the season. Also, a lot may have gone on that people don't know about, however that should not change the guest experience. Guest don't care about your problems, they care about getting on the rides they paided to go on as many times as possible. So I can understand things to an extent but still I only hope for better changes for the raptor this year.

SoakCity2006 said:
Sorry to bash the crew, I do understand that there are operational changes, but still raptor has had the rain problem for 3 years now. I watch your crew like a hawk only because Raptor is my favorite. Down time happens I get that. But, there was also always a longer then appropriate line all season. But comeon, honsestly you guys should have higher numbers then Magnum, especially since magnum was down a train for a good part of the season. Also, a lot may have gone on that people don't know about, however that should not change the guest experience. Guest don't care about your problems, they care about getting on the rides they paided to go on as many times as possible. So I can understand things to an extent but still I only hope for better changes for the raptor this year.

My question for you is, did you even work in rides? If you didn't, you have no right to criticize a crew for dealing with operational changes. "Rain problems" has no reason to be brought up. Raptor closes in the rain, so do a lot of rides. To be upset because of that is completely irrelevant. Your criticism of the crew is out of line, because, like it's been stated, you don't know what operational changes took place, and it's unfair to blame everything on the crew without knowing the circumstances. Also, I'm glad people generally ride the rides they PAID to go on, I don't know when the last time I "paided" for anything was.

Well, I can't help but think...

If you "paided" to ride the raptor, things might then seem to be a little off for you still.

I'll take a stab at it. Sure, problems on the crew, it happens. Operational changes, Yes. Several. Now not that it's impossible to accept change...I'm particularly one for accepting change well. However, I back what Kayleigh says, have you ever done it before yourself? Managing a crew is great experience and awesome fun. But training is critical, I would think that you particularly considering you have the ability to be analytical about the park, would be one for comprehending the importance of safety...and especially maintain that in the event of a procedural change. When you get the chance to get in position, and repetitively do what you're trained to do for weeks, and then inversely change that one day...let me know how it goes. It's nothing close to impossible...but it can be challenging to sustain everything with change, more so when you finally pin down a procedure, and have it changed more times than you can imagine. That's not a complaint in any way; I find being thrown into that kind of change as an opportunity. However, there are more variables to keep up with than most people are aware of when it comes to doing this, and yes, circumstances that affected more than just Raptor throughout the season. Look around other topics for this year's crews. You'll see numerous discussions regarding the effects weather had on most major rides last season...

However, I appriciate you acknowledging the middle line of my signature and sharing your thoughts..

Perhaps this thread should be titled "Raptor Crew 2007."

Guys I said I completely understand that there is nothing that you can do when there are operational changes made. OK I get that. I understand CP with its saftey policies. My frustration comes when I stand in a line that doesn't seem to be moving, every train has empty seats, I get to the station and the employee at the turnstiles is texting on their phone while no guest are being directed to empty rows, and all the trains are being stacked. That is my problem. I know the rain has nothing to do with anything also, however it was not originally brought up by me either. I also see that some people there work their hardest to keep capacity up. However, it takes the entire crew to work together for everything to run smooth and unfortunately 07 was a bumpy season. My original intensions were not to bash the 07 crew, but to wish luck to the 08 crew and ask them to run the ride the way it has in the past. And sorry that my spelling and grammer is not the best in the middle of the night...it happens.

SoakCity2006 said:
Guys I said I completely understand that there is nothing that you can do when there are operational changes made. OK I get that. I understand CP with its saftey policies. My frustration comes when I stand in a line that doesn't seem to be moving, every train has empty seats, I get to the station and the employee at the turnstiles is texting on their phone while no guest are being directed to empty rows, and all the trains are being stacked. That is my problem. I know the rain has nothing to do with anything also, however it was not originally brought up by me either. I also see that some people there work their hardest to keep capacity up. However, it takes the entire crew to work together for everything to run smooth and unfortunately 07 was a bumpy season. My original intensions were not to bash the 07 crew, but to wish luck to the 08 crew and ask them to run the ride the way it has in the past. And sorry that my spelling and grammer is not the best in the middle of the night...it happens.

You might not have been the first to bring up the rain, but you were the only one to view it in a negative light, as if it were a "problem" that should be corrected. You said Raptor has had the rain problems for about 3 years now, but never backed it up with what you meant. What rain problems are you talking about? The fact that you're disappointed that it goes down in the rain, like many other rides? Also, you pointed out employees texting at the turnstile. Not all employees do that, so, it's unfortunate that one was there who did. However, to blame empty seats on that isn't always the solution. That position can get cut sometimes for staffing...what happens when there's no one there? The same thing will happen, and then you'd bring that up, the lack of a person leading to empty seats.

And, another thing people don't like to bring up that can lead to the stacking of trains occasionally is new employees at the ride. Last season had a high turnover rate of workers at every ride. I realize this is not an excuse for stacking, nor am I trying to make it so. But, you have to realize, it may take a few days for an employee to feel completely comfortable at a ride. 2007 was a bumpy season for most rides, but, to single one out like you have done to the Raptor crew is uncalled for. You might not have meant to bash anyone, but that's exactly what was done. "Asking a crew to run the ride how it has been in the past", while not intentional, is like a slap in the face for the Raptor crew of last year.

I'm not trying to be mean, at all, and I hope I'm not coming off as so...I just think there are two sides to every story, and, while I obviously wasn't at Raptor last year, I can understand a lot of what went on, because it happened at almost every ride last year. No one should be singled out.

Now, let's let the past be in the past, because this thread is for the Raptor crew of 2008.

If you want to complain about Stacked Trains, Come ride Mantis ;)

I'll be happy to discuss with you how hard the crew works for your enjoyment and also talk about how hard it is to get someone to understand the mechanics of standing up straight. You would think that while someone sits in line for several minutes and sees many trains running by overhead, they would understand that you Stand up, On a Stand up rollercoaster...What a Great Idea!

Edit: for smiley, as I realized I almost put down my own ride...

Shimmyshimmyxo.....you're my she-ro...bottom line!!

Thats all I have to say! =D

To sum it up man, dont mess with the ride ops, It's physical labor:)

Yes, your contract is never guaranteed and there is always the possibility of being moved. It all depends on current staffing, and need around the entire park.

Late May is still not terribly late. There is still a good chance you will be assigned to Raptor once you arrive. Either way, you're going to have a great experience this summer! Meeting so many new people and making tons of new friends, all while working the greatest amusement park.

Welcome to the crew!

I'm just going to say it once more, and then I'll let it go, because if I value my job too much to really turn myself loose:

1) There have been MANY changes over the years, some visible and some not, both mechanical and operational, that factor in to many of the perceived reasons for "slower" crews at a lot of rides at the park. Raptor, in particular, is definitely one of those affected. I can promise you that many of the changes are NOT common knowledge, but can, in aggregate, have a large impact.

2) Rose-colored glasses. This is especially applicable if one has worked on a previous crew. It's good to have pride in your memories, but it's a mistake to let your memories from 5 years or more ago influence your judgment of things today. I'm willing to bet that if one was objective, the difference would not be as extreme. People don't just slow down to such a degree as portrayed here. If the "Raptor boys" (and I've met some of them), or anyone for that matter, would "have a stroke" about how things are run today as opposed to 1994, then that says more about them than us. I can promise you that management, supervision, and leadership still ride crews just as hard about interval and capacity, so the crew is well aware of what is desired from it. For right or wrong, the park has apparently placed its priorities elsewhere (safety, guest experience, etc.).

3) And the biggest point: This thread is NOT the place for this sort of discussion. If you want to rag on the crew, operations, the park, whatever... take your complaints to the general forum. I'm sure this thread was created for the crew to meet each other and get pumped for the 2008 season, not so they could take flak from disgruntled guests...before the season even starts ;-). If you're such fans of the ride, then please have more respect for those who have and who will be running it for you.

Or if you would like, you can come and Ride Mantis more often. Where "stacking" is also the new "interval" ;) Im sure there are many people besides myself who would take offense to that statement. Based only on the fact that we work very hard to try and avoid stacking, only to have it happen on a guests behalf. Just because stacking happens does not mean its always the ride operators fault. You have to take into account many other factors, including but not limited to: Loose articles, Switching of Seats, Guests of Exceptional Size who did not try a test seat, Loose fitting shoes and many others, So to say stacking always falls on a crew shoulders is not entirely true.

I can't speak for the Raptor crew but I can speak on the account of being one of those Hardworking Employees (tm), who works very hard to insure that stacking doesn't become standard procedure. Even If I try my hardest to push my crew to the limits of safety and speed, Saftey wins out everytime. I would rather have my ride run safe then to worry about interval....And I know I semi-contradicted myself by saying I work hard to make sure stacking doesn't happen, which leads me to my point... Once the crew is comfortable with the ride and they arent worried about missing that seatbelt or screwing up, the speed will come and so will the "hitting of Intervals" and its hard to say that during halloweekends that the crews are comfortable given the many staffing issues.