Troika

Cedar King said:

99er said:

Cedar King said:
The only possible location for this would for it to lift over/behind the GTT, and then have the first drop near the marina entrance.

Without moving Perimeter Road over it wouldn't fit behind GTT. At one point the building is so close to the road that there is just enough room to walk between the building and road. The holding theater however could be torn down and that land used but even then I don't think any space near the theater will ever be used.

A steep lift hill would do the job. (Skyrush)
A nice Fahrenheit-like coaster would eat up the GP. I could see CP going for the inversion record with this type of model.

Yes. I could see an inversion record. I belive the record is currently nine. I may be wrong.

Since we're all talking about future plans we'd like to see come true...Here are some of mine, which extend through the next couple years:

2014: Planet Snoopy/Kiddieland merged into 1 kids area, plus the addition of a new observation tower.

2015: Cedar Dorms removed, major project for this year which I could see happening in several options. Option 1: Once the dorms are gone, reroute the perimeter road to the left. Remove the Turnpike Cars and add a new midway between the Turnpike Car's entrance and Celebration plaza near the bleachers. Add a wild mouse-like coaster in turnpike car's former location. Then add several new flats and/or family rides along the new midway. Then either this year or the next a new large steel coaster would be added where the Cedar Dorms were. Option 2: A little less expensive since no new midway would be added and the perimeter road wouldn't be altered. However Turnpike Cars and Cedar Dorms would still be removed. And like option 1, either all in this year or spread out to the next, a smaller mild mouse coaster would be added in turnpike car's location and a larger steel one where the dorms were.

2016: Possible large steel coaster if not added in 2015.

2017: Nothing. Time for the park to focus on general improvements and take a break from the recent additions.

2018: Maybe a flat ride or two.

2019: Possibly adding a woodie on Millennium Island. I can see it being a Rocky Mountain, unless by this time some other new company or woodie concept exists.

Here we go.

Guide_Wheel said:
Your explanation implied that nothing should happen to that area because it's a place where staff meets to fill out paperwork. And smoke cigarettes. I added the smoking part, mainly because that's what people do back there.

And progress will happen whether ride operators (who, a lot of times think the world revolves around them) like it or not.

Maybe that's how you took my explanation, but that wasn't what I was implying.

Also, ride operators experience changes in the park all of time, just like everybody else does and we seem to deal with it quite fine.

- Wildcat for example: Some of the crew, TL and ATL was already chosen for the ride before they announced it's removal. Ride ops seemed to adapt to that change pretty well.
- Disaster: Announced halfway through the season that it would be closing. No doubt was it sad after getting to know a ride so well, but ride ops seemed to adapt to the change.
- Space Spiral: Not only did the GWT crew lose 1 ride to operate, but Troika was down for a good while because of the surrounding rides being removed, leaving only Giant Wheel to operate and the crew having to go to different locations because of over staffing. Ride ops seemed to adapt quite well to this too.

Where do you get off saying that ride ops think the world revolves around them? Ride ops make the same amount of money as any other position throughout the park (not including restaurants that tip their waiters). If anything, ride ops adapt to change more than any other department in the park. Thank you.

Ride On_17 said:
Since we're all talking about future plans we'd like to see come true...Here are some of mine, which extend through the next couple years:

2014: Planet Snoopy/Kiddieland merged into 1 kids area, plus the addition of a new observation tower.

2015: Cedar Dorms removed, major project for this year which I could see happening in several options. Option 1: Once the dorms are gone, reroute the perimeter road to the left. Remove the Turnpike Cars and add a new midway between the Turnpike Car's entrance and Celebration plaza near the bleachers. Add a wild mouse-like coaster in turnpike car's former location. Then add several new flats and/or family rides along the new midway. Then either this year or the next a new large steel coaster would be added where the Cedar Dorms were. Option 2: A little less expensive since no new midway would be added and the perimeter road wouldn't be altered. However Turnpike Cars and Cedar Dorms would still be removed. And like option 1, either all in this year or spread out to the next, a smaller mild mouse coaster would be added in turnpike car's location and a larger steel one where the dorms were.

2016: Possible large steel coaster if not added in 2015.

2017: Nothing. Time for the park to focus on general improvements and take a break from the recent additions.

2018: Maybe a flat ride or two.

2019: Possibly adding a woodie on Millennium Island. I can see it being a Rocky Mountain, unless by this time some other new company or woodie concept exists.

Two things.

2013-
I don't really see why that is necessary. Maybe a refurbishment of Kiddy Kingdom, but I don't see why (from a business standpoint) how this would be profitable/marketable/useful.

2014-
Why would CP add a wild-mouse coaster? Unless it's cutting edge and one-of-a-kind. Which hasn't happened as of late. And a "Large" steel coaster utilizing the "small" Cedar Dorms footprint? Something isn't adding up here... :/

And the "new midway" situation. It would have to be a rather small if you'd want to see any-type of ride featured on it.

Here, I (kinda) visualized this Idea.
http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g399/ShippudenMan/plot-3.png

***However this model doesn't include; The Marina Gate, Any locations for food or shops, Que lines or backstage areas***

Grey: New Midway
Black: Perimeter Road
Red: Small Flat ride (Same Size as Troika)
Green: Large Flat ride (same size as Skyhawk)
Blue: Land for Potential Coasters (You can see I used Mantis's second half to show scale)

This plan "could work" if we had more land to deal with, otherwise it really wouldn't blend well. Also, whats the need for this midway? There is already one right next to it that has the EXACT same concept.

^ I personally love your concept visualization idea/ drawing. It's exactly where I pictured the re-routed perimeter road going in the future. They've re-routed this road a few times in the past dating back to the 1960's so it wouldn't be hard to do again. Also the idea of tying together the Luminosity stage area with the Blue Streak plaza that you show (which is an area that needs more attention and foot traffic IMO) is genius. I don't know how many more years they can get out of the Good Time Theatre really, I've seen enough ice Skating shows there for one lifetime really; and the amount of space the old staging area (1/2 of the theatre) is taking up is really a waste. They haven't done anything with that side for a while. It hasn't been the same theater since they took out the IMAX movies. I think they should bulldoze the entire theatre and expand behind the Luminosity stage grandstands and adult Dodgems. There's more prime real estate (overlooking the bay side of the park and expandable room (where the Dorms and parking lot are currently) than you think.

I do love the idea of the re-route of perimeter road also. The section of the road where Wildcat was, seemed like a tight turn. It could definitely be widened out with the kind of sketch you have going on.

TwistedWicker77 said:
Where do you get off saying that ride ops think the world revolves around them? Ride ops make the same amount of money as any other position throughout the park (not including restaurants that tip their waiters). If anything, ride ops adapt to change more than any other department in the park. Thank you.

You're joking, right? It's a summer job. To press buttons, talk to people and overall, have a good time. In several threads, ride ops have acted like somebody died when a ride closed, changed or what-not. While the safety responsibilities are important, the job doesn't require you to perform brain surgery.

Your own words suggest that ride ops are special. You repeatedly used, "ride ops adapted to that change pretty well." This isn't like a family going through a divorce. THAT is adjusting to change pretty well. Employees in foods, games and park services aren't this vocal. And they never complain online when things change.

In other news, Troika is one of the best rides ever made. Full circle!

Ride On 17, I love how your planning out the future but no way is any of that planned or even likely to happen. Only Disney has plans set as far as 2019. However I think a Kiddy Kingdom/Planet Snoopy expansion is the most likely project in 2014. Cedar Point added PS after Maverick and that area will have a lot more traffic. That's the most likely idea I've heard and I think it has the best chance of happening.

Please refrain from future wish list and hijacking particular topics.

Seriously lets get this back on topic or create another separate one besides using this one.

I like this Guide_Wheel person.

^Agreed. I have always thought the same about Ride Operators and my experiences with them even come from the park and not just Pointbuzz.

TwistedWicker77 said:
Maybe that's how you took my explanation, but that wasn't what I was implying.

He wasn't the only one.

Well first off, for someone to make such an ignorant post about ride ops and their job description, makes me laugh every time I see one. Every ride is different and has it's own different procedures, loading routines, spiels, positions, restrictions, rules to follow depending on what area you're working in, downtime, etc.

Almost every red tag gets moved around and trained on at least 3 or 4 different locations. I can name at least 10 people who have come from different departments. 4 from sweeps, 2 from foods, 1 lifeguard, 2 from games, and 1 screamster from the season prior. At least 4 of the 10 bawled their eyes out when DT and SS were announced closed and even told me that they never thought they would cry about a ride closure because it was silly to them. I even asked some of them how they like being an operator compared to working elsewhere, and they will tell you straight up that it's different and takes a lot getting used to getting to know different ride locations.

So since ride ops in other threads act like somebody died when a ride closes, that makes all ride ops think the world revolves around them? That's just as ignorant and biased as saying you hate all African Americans because you had bad experiences with some of them before. Because the people who work in foods don't get drug tested and run through the Commons halls screaming while high on some drug almost every night at 4 in the morning, I could easily say that everybody who works in the foods are the most obnoxious people in the world. However, I know not everybody who works in food is not an obnoxious drug and alcohol user.

I understand that every department throughout the park experiences change as well as following their own procedures, but to suggest that progress is going to happen whether ride ops like it or not, or that all ride ops think the world revolves around them and , is plain stupid. Especially considering one of the crews I was on last year had quite a few outings with people from the foods and games departments because we saw each other every day, became friends, and shared stories with each other.

Now, tell me what other seasonal department performs any serious tasks even remotely close to brain surgery while working at an amusement park. Your examples, such as the divorce, are just plain silly to me and don't even back up facts from your argument because you're not telling me anything I already don't know.

And 99er, it's not my problem that you and 2 other people took my explanation in the wrong way. I seriously don't know how else to explain it to you. What bad experiences have you had with ride ops while working at the park?

Jeff said:
I like this Guide_Wheel person.

+1 on that. If a ride op needs to fill out paper work, I don't see what is so difficult about putting the form on a clipboard and doing the work right at the ride location.

As far as adapting, I bet every ride has a different procedure, but the basics are all the same from what I've seen. Some variations in implementing basic operational rules should not be hard to adapt, and that is probably why management feels comfortable with moving people around to 3 or 4 different locations. Even the ride controls seem pretty simple to me, not much harder than running my washing machine.

Before I comment further, what paper work are you referring to and what ride location are you talking about?

The basics meaning what? As I said, the procedures, loading processes, controls, etc are all different from each ride location.

No no my friend, management moves you to a location that needs proper staffing. You have to get trained before you can start any kind of work on any ride location. But yes, after the first week or 2, everything is like second nature to you.

Also, go work Raptor for a day without training and let me know how fast you get an operational after trying to operate it like your washing machine.

I don't think anyone is suggesting ride operators aren't hard workers or whatever. But rides, by nature, are designed to be virtually foolproof to operate. It's not a skilled trade. A little bit of training is all that's required. Which is also true of working at McDonald's.

I know nobody is saying ride ops aren't hard workers, I'm just arguing the fact that they go through the same amount of work, if not more, than some of the other departments throughout the park. That doesn't make me think I'm more special than, say, somebody who works in accommodations. I actually envy those who work in accommodations because some are actually housed in Breakers.

What I'm saying is that not every ride location is the same, and you have to get trained on every ride you're sent to before you can start work, no matter what! When getting trained on a ride, you have to fill out (a minimum of) 4 checklists with many of the duties that the TL or ATL have to train you on. It's not as simple as one would think.

Also, taking somebody's order wrong at McDonalds isn't as life threatening as working a ride. The guest's lives are in your hands as an operator. One wrong slip up if you aren't paying attention and something could go awry. Controls isn't "break time" for employees. As fun as it can be at times, it's still work and you're required to still scan the platform, train, and monitors.

Talking about how poor someone's attitude is during your park visit is one thing, but being biased and ignorant of the fact that not every ride op acts the same way is absolutely preposterous.

TwistedWicker77 said:
Before I comment further, what paper work are you referring to and what ride location are you talking about?

I was talking about the paper work now done in the break area between Kiddie Kingdom and Planet Snoopy, which was mentioned way back in this thread that it's removal would be a problem because it would remove a place where paper work is done.

Considering that's what was never said, I'm just going to move on...

TwistedWicker77 said:
Also, taking somebody's order wrong at McDonalds isn't as life threatening as working a ride.

That may be true about taking the order, but not necessarily if you are cooking. I wouldn't call giving a customer raw food no big deal.