Wicked twister's Line Two Week's ago

I was at CP two weeks ago and Wicked Twister's line was somewhat long and the ride op at the station was directing the people where to line up at once they got into the station. Is is normal for them to do that when the line gets backed up or what??? Can anyone expalin better???

Thanks

What Day did you go? Did you also go during the month of July? During July, the lines do get really long especially if you go a couple days after the 4th of July.

It's been normal since the ride began operations to assign rows and to only allow so many people in the station.

I think that is a smart move to do. Why is it only Millennium Force and Wicked Twister do that? I think Magnum should start doing that a little bit because it gets way too crowded in that station that you have trouble figuring out what line you are in for.

It was August 8 that i was there. Every other time i was waiting in line for wicked twister yes they only allowed so many people into the station at a time, which i like, but i have never seen them assign where to sit on the coaster???

You could always wait for front or back. They do that because people will not fill in the empty rows in the middle otherwise.

If Magnum did that, the person at turnstiles would have to be really fast and really alert. There would also be less of a chance of pairing up single riders. You have to realize Magnums interval/ride cycle is what.. 2 minutes shorter than Wicked Twister?

I understand only letting a certain number of people in the station at a time, but lately I've been disappointed in how the ride ops are handling this situation. They have been somewhat rude when they vehemently make people move to different positions on the train. I always ride the last seat or second to last seat, and I have no problem waiting and letting people go in front of me before I get to the turnstile. But I do not like it when I am forcefully told that I cannot do this and that I *have* to go over there and ride.

This is done to optimize the ridership. I know that some people will want to go to the front, to the back, or wherever, as long as they get to sit with their friends and family.

I try to adhere to the rules, while at the same time giving the most flexible seating options as possible while working at Crowd. I, myself, hate assigning specific seats unless it is the only seat left. Having a group or family broken up, or not riding where they want, just to have *exactly* 32 people on the platform is not a good price to pay.

Here's my logic while working Crowd:

First, find out how many in the group at the turnstile about to come on (the new group).

If there's room, they can pick any empty row, or the very front or very back.

If the new group is an odd number, try to place one of them with an already-single rider, and the others can pick any empty row.

If there's room, but not all together, I'll ask those already on the platform if they'd be WILLING to move to allow the new group to ride together.

If they're not willing, I'll ask the new group if THEY'D be willing to break up for the ride. If they're not willing, or if there's not room, I'll bypass them and advance down the line, pulling groups of 2 (or 4, or whatever) until the train is full.

If a group leaves their original place for another row, I won't tell them to go back; I'll keep pulling new groups to fill those rows. There may be extra people on the platform, but the seats will still be filled.

This method takes a bit longer, but it almost always results in a full train, and everyone is happy for the most part with their seats.

People pay almost $50 just to get in, so they should have as much flexibility as possible.

Twisted Wicker, what you do sounds completely reasonable to me when it comes to trying to get a full train. It also seems like you do this in as friendly a way as possible, which is great! I wish all ride ops had that attitude! I have encountered my fair share of rude ride ops at both Twister and Millenium.

There is a couple of rude ride ops on Millennium Force. I was trying to take a station picture of the train, and I was yelled at for it because she thought I was going to take pictures on the ride. Now for Wicked Twister I've taken Blur shots of the train going by really fast and they just tell me to put that away when you board.

Don't get mad at them for enforcing a policy.

That's not exactly enforcing the policy. Taking station pictures isn't against the rules, on ride pictures are. Telling you to put the camera away while you're on the ride is much more understandable.

Enforcing a policy is one thing, but it's another thing to be rude. I've dealt with my fair share of rude Millenium ride hosts as well. I'm a CP veteran and I respect all CP workers because I know that they make my trips possible and usually enjoyable. I don't ever greet them with hostility for enforcing a policy, I usually support the policies. It's when they are openly rude right off the bat that leaves a bad impression on me.

They have that new ride policy where you can take pictures on the Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad and the Paddlewheel Excursions. Those rides I believe are acceptable although I've never taken pictures on those rides. Paddlewheel I would be afraid to because knowing my clumbsy self I would drop it in the lagoon.

Working crowd is one of the toughest positions...ever. Anyone who's worked on Millennium Force or Wicked Twister will know that. In fact, I had been incredibly nice to every single guest all day long, but crowd is when I would get mean. Of course I try to make people happy and give them their best seating option, but enforcing the rules comes next.

If I'd be the only person at crowd, I would sit and count 26 into the station (on a train of 36), and then at 26 I would ask them who the last one in the group was and let them finish coming in. Then I'd stop the next group and tell them to hold on while I checked to make sure everyone was in a row, and for the people waiting for the second, I move them to the next available row that was closest to the front. Sometimes they get would pretty nasty with me, but they would inventually give in and take the next available row. I would assure that all the seats are good seats because of the stadium seating.

Then I would go back to the turnstile, ask them how many they had, and direct them to available rows. If they said they wanted the front or the back, I'd let them in, but when the line is pretty long they usually just go over to the second row. That's when I would tell them to wait back by the front row until the next train came in and until you heard "Please listen carefully to these instructions" on the autospiel, because once "instructions" is said the train has come to a complete stop and the gates can open.

I'd then go back again to the turnstile and do my best to fill the train. Usually by this point there are probably around 8 seats left , and most people would come in groups from 2-4. One thing that I could never stand (and even enraged a me a little) would be when there's two seats left in the train, and the next group would say that they have 2, so I'd let them in and be satisfied that there was a full train. Then the next person would say, "Oh, I'm with them." They lied to me!!! They're excuse is always, "But there's only two seats in the row!" They didn't understand that their party would be split up otherwise.

Now what's really great is when 2 people are working at crowd. One person sits and counts, and the other one walks around the station and makes sure everyone is seated. That takes off half the burden and makes like SOOOOOO much easier! I don't think Wicked Twister has 2 people working at crowd, does it?

Wow it must be really hard to work Millennium Force. Now I know why I never see any ride ops smiling, because they have so much stress going on from the whole day on. I guess the good thing for you is the fact that the park is open until 8 for a couple of weeks. Makes me just want to be there to ride it. I'd love to be a ride operator someday, I think that would give me a thrill. Although I wouldn't want to work my favorite coaster Millennium Force because from your side of things, it gets pretty hectic. I think think If I was hired today, I'd pick Wicked Twister. Because its only one Train and you get a good breeze right across the lake where your at.

To answer your question, I do believe Wicked Twister does use 2 people working the crowd. Because I always see someone sitting in the chair and then there is always someone walking around on the plattform directing people or moving them if they are in a line that already has two riders. I usually just go for the back because I love how there is so much of a twist on the back. I notice it on the front as well, but I think it's more of a Thrill in the back though. *** Edited 8/23/2005 4:56:35 AM UTC by Shawn Meyer***

Shawn Meyer said:I guess the good thing for you is the fact that the park is open until 8 for a couple of weeks.

I left 2 weeks ago ;).

Don't think that my point of view makes working the ride a living hell. I love working MF, and I would love to return to the crew next year. There's just a few times during the day when you just wanna run out screaming (or in my case at a certain time, spiel something you shouldn't be - see my signature). But those times pass and something good happens or something says something funny, or a guest makes a very nice comment to you, and then you realize why you work here in the first place - to make people happy. To "amuse" people, and I really did try my best to make every single guest that I encountered to have a Cedar-fantastic day.

And that's why I want to spend many more summers there. It's a great experience, and I strongly recommend it.