Toughtest Ride To Run (coaster / flat / skyride)

Guys & Gals,

I'm thinking about applying to the Point next summer. I'm a person that loves tough jobs. So what rides would be the toughest / most challenging ride other then the Stream Trains. (not interested in the Challenge park area)

During the Winter Months I'm a Skilift Operator / trainer. That's always fun.

What is the Skyride like? I'm curious about it. Would like to know detailed info on it

For those that are wondering, I run Leitner-Poma lifts. Ranging from 1967 to 2008 installs.

I love coasters and skilifts..

Thanks

Well you said you were not interested in Challenge Park but Rip Cord would truly be what I would consider the toughest ride to work. And I am saying that with more than 30 rides operated under my belt. So take that for what its worth.

If you like Ski-lifts, then I would say Sky Ride. Its probably not much different from what your use to. Its physical but pretty boring from what I hear (that's coming from 6 people that have worked Sky Ride that I know).

For the most part, all the rides (coasters and flats) are easy. Most rides run themselves. Everybody has long hours, the annoying guests, the heat, etc, etc, etc. So it comes down to which ride is actually the most draining both physically and mentally. And for that I would say Rip Cord....and maybe Frog Hopper at a close 2nd:)

Ripcord is toughest in what sense? In the sense that it takes the longest to learn, and it requires competent individuals, yes. In the sense that it is physically demanding, I would argue not.

Hardest ride I ever worked was a manually operated Eyerly Spider ride. It required both constant planning to keep it balanced, physical strength to lift the tubs and doors, and to pull the levers to rotate it, and above all an extremely responsible operator. There was no computer or other employee to double check your work. It was very easy to screw up.

I don't know how Cedar Point's Monster operates, but if it's anything like the spider I operated, watch out.

Jesmcsel said:and above all an extremely responsible operator

All rides should have this.

In the sense that it is physically demanding, I would argue not.

Have you ever had to manually slow down 700 pounds of swinging guests?....in the rain;)

Lets face it, Liftops is not going to get a good answer out of anyone who has worked one or two rides before because those people are going to say that their ride IS the hardest to work. The Rides kids at CP really like to argue this. It was very comical to sit in the cafeteria and listen to them argue back and forth about who’s ride was harder. They are all easy for the most part! If they were not, they wouldn’t hire just anybody to run them.

Out of all the parks I have worked for and the amount of rides I have ran or overseen, I can honestly say that a Sky Coaster takes the cake for toughest. More mentally then physically but there is still a huge amount of physical work to do. I mean come on, when a 300 pound man falls on top of you because he can’t keep his balance, you have to be able to push him off of you:)

As a former site controller, yes I know exactly what it's like to use the manual landing pole- however we were pretty vigilant about not operating in the rain ;). You are correct about one thing though, every ride op thinks his job is the toughest.

I just have to plug my wonderful Stairmaster From Hell, aka Matterhorn. ;)

I will say that having many friends who work(ed) in Challenge Park, I believe that Rip Cord and Race Park are rather tough attractions.

99er.. I hate to say this.. but I think Jesmcsel has you on this..

I know you both.. and I know both rides.. He has you..

But would you say our Monster is as bad as the model he is referring to, Rob? Because I had a few friends that worked on Monster/Witches Wheel and they made both rides sound like a walk in the park. Not to mention our Monster is staffed with 2 and sometimes 3 people during peak season. But that is one ride I have never actually gotten the chance to work (wanted to). I was only going off of what an old roommate would tell me about the ride. So he could be right, Rob (although I would love for you to come work Rip Cord someday;)..GLs does not count)

And BlueStreak brought up a good one, which I completely forgot about; Race Park! That is a ride (sort of) from hell to work on a summer day. Not to tough on the brain but physically it just sucks. Picking up a go-kart every few minutes because of a wreck or having to push stalled karts is a real muscle builder. Those things have to weigh between 375 and 575 depending on the track (plus the weight of the driver). Glad I will never have to do that again.

The monster at CP is a cakewalk compared to an Eyerly and you want me to work RipCord?!?! No problem.. soon as you get rid of the wimpy scissor lift that does all the hard work for you, no problem. :)

Red Garter Rob said:.. soon as you get rid of the wimpy scissor lift that does all the hard work for you, no problem.

Maybe we should since your Division can't seem to keep either of them working. ;)

I know that Sky Coasters are a pain in the you know what. I guess the question is, Which coaster is the hardest to learn? (Rip Cord does not count).

I'm not a noob around coasters. I have ran a few over the years. And always learning about them as much as possible.

Again, there is nothing really tough about operating a coaster, especially the ones at Cedar Point. Other then maybe being tall and having to bend over to check lap bars on, lets say Mean Streak, non of them are going to be physical. I suppose Mantis could be tough because of the Control Panel. I have seen how it works and its a real trick to get it right. I have also seen many people fail at it too.

So all in all, you aren't going to really have a tough coaster because of the way the wonderful Controls Department has things setup on CP rides:) When you have your interview, just tell them you want the hardest ride to work. I'm sure they will accommodate:)

Jesmcsel said:
Ripcord is toughest in what sense? In the sense that it takes the longest to learn, and it requires competent individuals, yes. In the sense that it is physically demanding, I would argue not.

Until you have the triple flight where dad wants to fly with his two small kids, but dad is paralyzed from the waist down. That's not something I wish to experience again. And of course the 300+ pound guy who wants to keep falling over on you that 99er mentioned...

99er said:

Red Garter Rob said:.. soon as you get rid of the wimpy scissor lift that does all the hard work for you, no problem.

Maybe we should since your Division can't seem to keep either of them working. ;)

+10,000 points :)

If Dad was paralyzed from the waist down, I wouldn't have let him ride, considering you need three functioning extremities for Ripcord according to CP's RSG.

If you guys hate tough rides be very happy you don't have a SkyDiver

It's actually just 3 extremities according to the Skycoaster manual. Skycoasters are handicapped/wheelchair accessible, even if the flyers are paraplegic. There's actually a training video somewhere of a triple flight being done where all 3 flyers are paraplegic.

Jesmcsel said:
however we were pretty vigilant about not operating in the rain ;)

Why is that? As long as theres no lightning, Skycoasters are good to go.

Physically, as far as coasters are concerned, wooden coasters are the worst. Especially for someone like me being 6'5" having to bend over 12-14 times per cycle, it kinda wears your back out. Other than that, coasters are a piece of cake, as 99er has already said.

Skycoasters are definitely challenging in a lot of ways, and one that hasn't been mentioned is the customer interaction aspect. On a coaster, you let a train full of people in, check their restraints, maybe assist a few with lapbars or loose articles, and that's it. On a Skycoaster, you are face to face with the flyers from the moment they arrive till the moment they leave (except for the actual flight, of course). So no matter what kind of day you're having, no matter how many morons have ridden (and they are frequent at Skycoasters), you still have to put on that fake smile and act like it's the best day ever when they're around. On a coaster, you can get in your own personal "zone" and not have to worry about that as much. That's impossible at a Skycoaster. And believe me, it's not easy to keep your attitude positive and cheerful 100% of the time no matter what, unless you're on drugs.

Learning the positions and the physical aspect of Skycoasters were never that tough for me, I'm a quick learner and in pretty good shape. But I definitely saw several intelligent people struggle mightily at learning how to do every position at top speed and efficiency in the three years I worked at them. So I would definitely say in my experience, Skycoasters are the toughest.

Once again saying be happy you don't have a SkyDiver at CP.

For Skydiver yes it has a Joystick control but it is all up to you to keep car balanced. When you are running by yourself you have to keep balanced lets say 168<275 between the two riders. You must pry open the cage while keeping them balenced with one hand and you must lower the lock with the other. And it must be fully locked or the car will over turn with the riders. And when you load the cars up you must extened your arm farther than it should go to unlock the cars with only one hand keeping the load balenced often time strching out your skin. Then you must raise the bar up over the guests and if someone is on the bigger sit you have to put all your weight on the cage while keeping it balenced until you get it fully locked. You do get beat up on that one. So you Cedar Point Peeps got it easy on all your rides ;-)

^That sounds so unnecessary haha. Why not just make a ride that can mechanically balance itself while it's not in motion?