Working at Cedar Point

thedevariouseffect, excellent post! Very good advice.

All of that is perfect advice. Especially the "don't get involved with drama" one.

In terms of housing, I find it better to get an apartment with coworkers (more expensive, but when split between everybody, not by much). Commons is just too much sometimes when you're trying to get some sleep. Especially after OCing a popular early entry ride.

Raptorqueen: Did you requested Sunday's off as a contract day on your application? Or did you tell your supervisor you needed Sunday's off?

I believe I "preferred" Sundays off in my contract (if I remember right, there was a section where you could request certain days off, ie; weddings, graduations, etc). I don't recall going into Park Ops and asking my manager for Sundays off after I processed in at the park.

How does your supervisor decide on who will be in charge of the ride. When the Team Lead and the Supervisor is off or are away?

Basically the supervisor just picks someone that is responsible and they trust can handle things while they're away. Usually there's a set of a few people picked, then it's just a matter of which one of them is "in charge" for the time period, whether it be covering a break, or the rest of the day etc.

Cedar Point employees can't drive to work when there are parking banned days?

That's correct. Everybody must park in the commons lot and take the buses. If you choose to live in Cedars and have a car, it will have to be moved to the commons lot the night before the parking ban. If you are a Sandusky local and drive to work, you will also have to leave your car in commons. You will not be permitted past the toll booths if you have a normal employee pass on your windshield. The only exceptions are if you have a disabled pass or if you can somehow get a manager's permit.

The buses generally run every 15-20 mins. The buses can be slow and causeway traffic can be heavy on these days so it is recommended to catch the bus that leaves an hour or more before your shift starts. They also have limited capacity so you need to be at the bus stop early if you want to get a seat on it.

Why is there parking banned days? When during the operating season do parking banned days occur? Is it once or twice during the season? Is it when the park will be very busy that day?

When I worked at the park in 2005, there was a parking ban on July 4th weekend and IIRC the first 2 weekends of August. And those are typically the parks busy days. I didn't work during Halloweekends, so I couldn't tell you on those days.

^I didn't know you ever worked at the park! from what I remember this season, all Saturdays in July and August as well as the Saturday of Columbus Day Weekend during HalloWeekends were parking ban days. As for why, it's because the park will be so busy they need as many parking spaces for guests as they can get.

IIRC = If I Recall Correctly

RollercoasterLover said:

What does llRC stand for?

Google.

When I visit Cedar Point during the summer. I see employees carrying a backpack through out the park.
Can you put your backpack in controls or do have to put it in the employee breakroom? They probably carry their personal items, rain gear/sweatshirt and etc.
Can you talk to your manager anytime? I know you have to follow the change of command but I was talking about like networking and etc? I knew the past general manager of CP.
Can you drink water while in view of guests when your working the ride like in between trains or when your at the front entrance?

How does IIRC stand for google? I don't get it.

Backpacks are strictly not allowed in controls, if they were allowed in controls, there would barely be enough room for the operator. Each ride has a designated area to store backpacks, a lot have lockers if you feel necessary. Good items to keep in your backpack are rain gear, cold weather layers, extra socks, anything you may need throughout the day.
You can talk to your manager, but know that they are very busy people.
Yes you can drink water.

Campfreak06 this is what Jeff means.

LOL. I'm so glad I created some humor for y'all! That's all I was trying to do. The sad thing is there REALLY ARE people on this site that would actually ask that question and mean it!

I'm not as think you may dumb.

I can picture it now that controls would not be enough room for all those backpacks. Due to controls are small inside.
Yes managers are busy.
That's good that the rides have lockers for the employees to put their stuff in.
Tbere are a certain number of people hired for example Corkscrew then those people are the ones who run the ride all summer rotating positions every 30-45mintues?
Does the split shift employee of your attraction cover your breaks?

Most employees get put at one location at the start of the year, however with people getting sick, quitting, contracts finishing, etc. manning is an issue at some locations, so people get moved to cover at other rides.

For instance I started on Corkscrew, that was my main ride, however I worked at Monster/Witches Wheel for about a month of my time there, and covered spots at Power Tower, Magnum, Mantis, and other areas when manning needed it. Hell I was even unfortunately a sweep for one grueling day.

Some people like to get moved around or give up their day off for some more hours so they pick up shifts that others need or volunteer to work somewhere else than their main duty location. So that's where you see some of us talking about this and that ride, etc. not just hey I work Corkscrew all season like myself.

The crew size hired though depends on the SOP of the ride and how much staffing it needs to enable rotations, breaks, and days off as needed. For instance Power Tower was actually a pretty damn big crew for just that ride only (usually staffing 12 people for the shift, 11 being the minimum) wheras Corkscrew & Super combined only needs 7, with 6 being the minimum there.

The splits get I think two 15 minute breaks. The shift was Open-1330 and then I want to say 1830-Close, I may be wrong on the times, but essentially you're used to open & close the ride and kind of get a day off. I used to take my two 15's together unless I wanted an evening break. It allowed me to just either get done with my morning and have a full ish lunch, and then relax my afternoon before coming back to the ride later that evening to shut it down. The afternoon off is yours to do with what you wanted. I usually went back and slept or if I wanted hours and didn't have anything better to do, traded someone who worked an Open-Close or volunteered to pick up coverage at another location like described above.