Virtual Ride Controls

Future ride host might find this interesting. The Nemesis is the best one.

http://www.xtremevelocity.co.uk/cf/index.php?page=alton

Glad it's not that hard to figure out how to control a real ride! ;)

Juat because you know which controls doesn't mean to can properly run a ride. Especially for "special" situations.

Cp_Bound is right, there are many situations that can make or break a good ride host/operator.

Like...?

I mean, how hard can it really be. I think the guy behind the buttons has the easiest job. I can see TTD as an exception, but all they really go is wait for the thumbs up and push the buttons. Yea, some of them have their little spiel and stuff.

I wouldn't know. I'm 15 and I've never operated a roller coaster before.

I think the toughest job is the people checking the restraints. MF must have been a disaster. I'd find it difficult to tell someone they're just too big to ride MF. However, I would laugh (in my head) if I saw I huge 350lb guy try and fit.
*** Edited 2/21/2005 12:29:03 AM UTC by rathofdoom***

I think that the virtual ride controls are cool, and of course there are situations where other things may happen but I think it is still a cool thing to try.

rathofdoom....there are plenty of situations that could make or break a good ride host. I worked on Disaster Transport last year, you try managing 2 different stations, 4 monitor screens, 6 block buttons, 2 stations dispatch buttons, a couple of switches, etc...and tell me its not easy. Yes some are easy, Wicked Twister being an example, but there are still things that you MUST know before u can just jump up and hit "go" as most people think we do.

Sorry if this post sounded a little harsh...for some reason my tone doesn't always come out how i want it to be.

I've seen the operating manuals... it's not that hard. 99% of the time the ride is doing its thing and you push "dispatch." Most rides won't even let you do something stupid like release a train into an occupied block. Heck, Magnum makes you physically go to the brakes to release a train!

There are only three rides at CP that are manually opperated. I know Monster is one, I believe that Scrambler is one of the other ones. I know they aren't coasters, but I remember talking with Bob Wozniac about it one day when Monster was being worked on. He mentioned how all the rides now are run by computers and you just have to push a button. They could even convert all the older flat rides to new operating systems, but that it was costly.

Personally I enjoyed working Monsters controls because each ride was different. You could make the arms 'spin' a little longer or whatever you wanted. All within reason and ride operation guidelines ofcourse. Operating Magnum is fun too, and there is a little more then just pushing the dispatch button. Just a little more. But overall the coasters aren't that difficult to operate.

There was more to do on Magnum before the co-dispatch buttons. No more -thump thump- on the glass.

SCarolina01 said:
I believe that Scrambler is one of the other ones.

I'm pretty sure Scrambler isn't manually operated anymore as of the 2004 season.

Last year when I was in controls I would often thump on the window just for nostagia's sake. I had to explain the reasoning of it to the people on unload 1 (except those who frequent this site ;)) so that they knew to thump back. It's no longer necessary since the addition of the dispatch position, but it's still something fun to do to pass the time.

You have to be the most aware at the controls position and watch for any holds that may be called. On Magnum you have to watch the lift to make sure no one is standing, and be aware of the position of the train traversing the course at all times so that you can give the crew cues so the ride doesn't set up if loading the guests takes too long. While doing all this we also time the trains manually to make sure that the trains are coming in at the optimal speed. You would be surprised the difference a few trains make in the morning. If there happens to be downtime for any reason, we have to notify park operations.

Manually releasing the train into the station can actually be a pain because if a train comes in faster than normal and parks further up in the ready brakes than normal and you release that train when you normally do, it can stop a second time in the ready brakes and cut down on the loading time of the train when you finally bring it into station.--Confusing enough for you?

Actually, I worked on Disaster for about a month in 2001, and I was told by management it was one of the hardest rides to operate. Now granted, it was not rocket science, but you do control both stations separately, so it keeps you on your toes.

I just thought I'd chime in and say that anyone who is a site controller for Ripcord would tell you it is not easy to learn that ride. It looks simple enough, but because basically everything on that ride is manually opertated, the level of training and testing is quite extensive.

rathofdoom said:
Like...?

I mean, how hard can it really be. I think the guy behind the buttons has the easiest job. I can see TTD as an exception, but all they really go is wait for the thumbs up and push the buttons. Yea, some of them have their little spiel and stuff.

I wouldn't know. I'm 15 and I've never operated a roller coaster before.

I think the toughest job is the people checking the restraints. MF must have been a disaster. I'd find it difficult to tell someone they're just too big to ride MF. However, I would laugh (in my head) if I saw I huge 350lb guy try and fit.
*** Edited 2/21/2005 12:29:03 AM UTC by rathofdoom***

I had to say something here. It's a huge pet peeve of mine that 99% of the general public that comes to the park thinks we do one thing all day long. That guy in controls sits there all day and pushes buttons, and that girl at entrance sits there all day with a height stick.

We rotate every half hour, people. Each position on the ride is worked by everyone on the crew with very few exceptions (Leadership of the ride doesn't go out to entrance and such).

I can't tell you how many times I've been sitting at the freeway merge point and had people tell me "Well, you've got it easy, you just sit here all day!" Come 2 months into the season, I just smiled and nodded.

And your pet peeve is unreasonable because there's no way you could expect John Q. Guest to know anything about what you do.

Jeff said:
I've seen the operating manuals... it's not that hard. 99% of the time the ride is doing its thing and you push "dispatch." Most rides won't even let you do something stupid like release a train into an occupied block. Heck, Magnum makes you physically go to the brakes to release a train!

Yeah the operating manuals do look easy but have you ever seen the control booth at Mantis. There is so many different buttons that have to be pushed just to load the train. You have like 8 row buttons and seat release, harness release, and a lock button. Plus even more that are used very time a train is loaded. There is also two dispatch buttons in the station alone that have to be pressed. It doesn't make it a very easy job to work controls. Your fingers get so sore after awhile too.

And as for the pet peeves, I have to agree with gravity. It does get a little annoy to be told that your job is easy from people who don't really understand what all you do in a day.
*** Edited 2/22/2005 5:41:18 PM UTC by MantisSam***

Someone said that there are no coasters operated manually. That is wrong, Gemini is operated manually, there is no computer doing anything. At Gemini you can really screw up at controls if you don't know what you're doing. You are able to send a train into A-block when A-block is occupied causing an A-set. You can send a train to a dead lift and cause it to park in transfer (which then maintenance must come to push it to the lift). You can cause a C-set (very very bad thing on Gemini) if you don't bring in the train from the safeties. You have control of the trims and how much pressure they apply to the train. You monitor the timing of the train and from that adjust the trim brake setting as needed. You also bring the train into the station and manually park it so the seats match up with the chutes. You can bring a train in and not park it well and overshoot the station.
Having said that it still is not "hard" to operate. Almost anyone who has a brain and has been trained could do it.

Working controls isn't very similar to what the link in the first post shows at all.

I wasn't saying your job is easy. I knew that the team rotates and such. I know it can get tiring having to constantly bend over and check all of the restraints. I would find it to be quite a pest to operate Mantis with some of the guests who like to wiggle a lot while loading. Gemini must be difficult. I never knew it was that manual.

I know the job can be difficult. Some are obviously more difficult than others. Entrance is surely easy. I can definitely see pretty much every other position getting on people's nerves at times. But it can't be all that bad. It seems from here that the different teams really get to know each other and become little friend groups.

I respect what the crews have to put up with. I know they get a lot of complaints all the time from people.

This may sound funny, but you guys are my idols. I really want to be on a coaster crew at CP some day during my summers between college. It looks like a blast. Plus, I'm a coaster fanatic and I'm getting worse by the day. I'm thinking about making my own website soon.

Even entrance is not easy. You have to make sure that everyone is tall enough, that no basketballs get though (and for rides with no bins, no loose articles at all), plus a bunch of other things. You don't know how many problem guests that you get who don't want to follow the rules.

I wasn't trying to be mean. I know that most people don't know how hard it is so we like to inform people.

Thanks for telling us that we are your idols too.