The funniest thing you have ever seen as an employee? Worst thing?

I did threaten security, but she then said if I called security, she would tell them that I attacked her. Looking back, I should have called after she hit me, but I wasn't about to let her get the attention she wanted.

I have never worked Skyhawk (though I have ridden it- I pride myself in saying I've ridden every single ride at CP), so I can't say for sure why you can't pull down your own lap bar.

It’s for convenience and safety.
I’ve never worked it either, naturally, but I’ve ridden that one and others like it many times. Those restraints close with two separate motions, and I reckon it’s better (and maybe necessary) to first lower bar then push it against the rider. It makes for a proper, therefore safer fit, so the op needs to be in charge. It has to be quicker to just ask riders to keep their hands off altogether than try to instruct them how to do it properly, right?

My casual observance is that most riders haven’t paid attention and try to move the thing once they’re seated anyway. I imagine that it can be a constant source of annoyance for the ops and they get weary of having to talk about it all the time.

I don't work at CP, but have ridden Skyhawk zillions of times. Some people get seated and immediately pull down the bar either before hearing the spiel or not listening to the spiel or ignoring the spiel. I am thankful that the Ride OP pushes them down securely as I am usually with my son who is approx. 65lbs. or so. Skyhawk is a ride that if you flail your arms & legs at the peak of the arc it feels like it is possible to fall out. I love it!

I think it is the one ride that gets the most reaction from guests, particularly first time riders that don't quite know what they are getting into. I've seen it not even faze a little kid, yet make a grown man scream.

"Let's ride again!" "I'm never riding that again!"

I have not yet been able to ride Skyhawk without having an anxiety attack. Totally cool with every coaster but every time I've gotten on that thing I could feel myself losing it. In theory since I love swings I should love Skyhawk but I've given up on trying.

Thanks for the explanation RCMAC. I admit, I'm guilty of pushing down my own lap bar. Paisley, have you ridden the other flat rides? Skyhawk probably the scariest because compared to the other coasters and flats, you're far more open and exposed. As for me, well, judging by my username It's my favorite ride

^^ I haven't gone as far as having an anxiety attack, but I know what you mean, Paisley. I will take on (and likely love) any coaster on the planet, but I am scared of many of the 'extreme flats'. I have ridden Skyhawk and MaxAir each ONE time - and only after being coaxed/shamed into them by my kids. (The ironic part there is that Thing 1 loves MaxAir but is scared to death of Skyhawk and will not ride it; Thing 2 is scared to death of MaxAir and vows to never ride it, and has only done Skyhawk that one time with me, but wants to go again).

I've still not been on Wind Seeker - the only currently existing/non-kiddie/non-premium-pay ride at CP that I've never been on.

Hey Rusty & Paisley, try this on Skyhawk and MaxAir also for that matter. I know, because I had been nervous at times also. When the rides are not yet at full speed of the cycle it is no big deal to have eyes wide open & arms up. But when it is at full speed try closing your eyes for part of each pendulum swing. You get the swing sensation & airtime without the terror of actually seeing the gravity defying aspect. After a few rides it becomes easier to keep your eyes open & arms up.

Scariest part about SkyHawk to me is there is nowhere to hold on...

Shane Denmark said:

Scariest part about SkyHawk to me is there is nowhere to hold on...

I have that problem with Power Tower - there's no where to hold on to, Perhaps it's the fact that they are both are manufactured by S&S Worldwide.

I admit, that's probably the best part of the ride. You're so open and exposed. :D But I guess different strokes for different folks.

The reason as to why Skyhawk ops tell you not to push the blue bar down is because the bar needs to lock in a horizontal position before being pushed down and some guest push the bar too far down before the lap bar can lock in a horizontal position because their waist is in the way and the only way to fix this is to unlock the 10 seats in that row and start over.

Yes having to unlock a row of 10 seats constantly to properly lock the restraints can get tiresome pretty fast!

I'd say my strange/funny moment was when two guys came up Fast Lane and were denied entry by the ride host as they didn't have Fast Lane wristbands. They then threatened to arrest her, showed her badges of some sort and told her they were camp security (camp snoopy does not have its own security department lol). She then told them they could arrest her, but they still couldn't ride lol. I then witnessed them trying to cut through the regular line and had them exit the line.

I've also been thrown up on, not the most pleasant experience as one could imagine lol.

DCC, Why don't they have a sign out in front of Skyhawk specifically telling guests not to push down their own lap bar? I think that would save a lot of the employees some headaches.

Thedevariouseffect, those are perfect. XD. Even though I'm only a guest, I'll share my worst story. Last year, I went to Cedar Point in the rain, and the only ride that was open was corkscrew. In March, I had gotten my cartilage pierced for my 16th birthday, and I had the horseshoe rings in that had the balls on both ends(these piercings take 6 months to heal). I go to ride, and when we get into the corkscrews, my healing piercings bang hard against the harness. I had my lobe earrings in, and the back post poked me in the jaw, which sucked. When I get off, my ears were feeling tender and very swollen. I pretty much needed an ice pack right away, but of course I had to go home.

How often do guests actually read signs?

Well, if it's right in front of the entrance, I guess they have no choice. Serious question: how the hell do you insert images into this thread?

Ha! The most asked question in the history of Pointbuzz. Some people can magically do it. I can’t figure out for the life of me how, whether I’m on mobile, iPad, or MacPro. The best way to do it (if you took the photo) is to post the picture to a different site such as imgur, then copy and paste the link here.

One time I was doing a track walk at Millennium Force and one of the camels got out of its pen somehow and chased me. I've never been so scared for my life before

So is a track walk when you guys walk below the track looking for dropped items? And how often do the animals get loose i heard someone else say one of the emus got loose one time too.

In response to why there isn't a sign at Skyhawk instructing to not push down your lap bars: At Cedar Point the use of sign's is encouraged to be limited so that guest's aren't overwhelmed with information and that there is more emphasis on the safety signs (these are my thoughts and observations collected from experiences, not a written policy). I think it also encourages us as employees to have more guest interaction.

And yes a track walk is done to look for loose articles as well as the make sure everything is normal with the ride area. Track walks are at a minimum done pre-opening and post-closing every day. At Gemini last year we often did multiple throughout the day to pick up trash and loose articles that were in safe areas to collect.

It seems as at least once a year some animal becomes loose from the barnyard. At our leadership meeting we actually took bets on what animal our manager would have to catch this year XD

Wait, Steve-O, you got chased by a camel? How often do the animals get loose?

Honestly, if I were a ride host on Skyhawk, I would be going on and on about not pushing down your own lap bar.