Hi gang!
First off, big thumbs up to all of you. I never worked an amusement park, but I did move rides for a carnival for 9 years (S.S.2k rules, ok?), and you all do a tremendous job! You are all true showfolk!
My question is, what is the most interesting/worst/weirdest/funniest experience you've had with guests while on the job?
I'm sure you all have a great many jackpots to cut up!
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Mark O Magnum Crew 2k2
My favorite thing about new employees is that they take everything that they have heard from more experienced workers and spew it out over here like its first hand knowledge. What time is the 10:00 lazer light show? I have worked there for 2 years and have only been asked that once. Anyway, I just thought it was funny. ;)
Back in May my friend and I got in line for the back of Blue Streak. As you all know, there is no last queue for the back. the guy beside us said he was waiting for the back, and I said he was in the line for the middle of the car. He ignored me, and when the train rolled in, my friend started to enter the train. He was cut off by the kid who made a 2 90 degree turns to get into the back. I was like, "What the hell!" So the kids dad got in the face of my friend and started cussing. This guy was like in his 40's and he was convinced that he was right. I told the guy there was a front middle and back to the cars that coincide with the queue set-up. Then I told him to notice the empty seat in the front of the car where he had been waiting in line. He got all pissed at how I was talking to him.
My friend and I laughed our asses off at how stupid someone could be and act. It's not like it was MF where you wait for 2 hours... it was a 2 minute wait! The lesson of the day was you just can't talk to stupid people.
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Annie
Evan H.
Webmaster
GetToThePo!nt
*** This post was edited by crashoverride 6/25/2002 8:30:27 AM ***
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June 28th: LocoBazooka Tour (Sevendust headlining)
July 11th: Korn, Puddle of Mudd, and Deadsy
"Dad, I have to pee."
Well, instead of walking his son through the train or back through the line en route to a restroom, the father instructed his son, who I am guessing was about four, to urinate in the corner of the steps next to the queue for the front seat. Because of the slope of the Gemini station, the urine trickled its way back to about car three. We closed A-side for five minutes so we could scrub a portion of the platform. Indeed, this was a very stupid, perplexing encounter.
After the incident happened, I asked the two people to walk through the train and the father said "oh, he didn't want to ride anyway." My level of exasperation managed to reach a confusing, lofty new plateau.
Sabrina can relate to this second one. A girl, after riding our ride, came back into the station sobbing hysterically. Upon inquiry, we became privy to the fact that she had lost her fake front tooth while riding. She was supposedly a model and had a photo shoot the next day (and judging by her face, this was a likely story.) The tantrums thrown by both her and her mother forced me to send Sabrina out in the dark in five acres of sand to look for...a single damn tooth. As expected, we couldn't find it. The ensuing events were hysterical. The "model girl", downtrodden and not wanting to accept no for an answer, climbed the fence and started rummaging around in the low zones of our ride WHILE WE WERE STILL RUNNING. Before closing, Sabrina walked up the transfer track like a jail warden practically carrying this sobbing mess of a girl and said "guess what I just found under the ride." Funnier yet, two sups--a silver and a double blue--spent FIVE hours under the ride the next morning trying to find A TOOTH.
Cedar Point attracts a nimiety of stupid guests.
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model/talent-- Pro Model Management Inc.
OU Forensics 2000-01
Gemini ATL 2001
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Brent Haley
Gemini Crew '02
Grue said:
Lol, you all have provided some serious laughs. The bottle chucker gets me the most. I've had more than my share of dumb town-marks on my ride.
Why don't you share some of your sories then?
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Wicked Twister Rocks
Get To The Po!nt My Website
Evan H.
Webmaster
GetToThePo!nt
Lets see: I've had guests who've insisted on trying to surf the walls of the Gravitron I ran (surfing consists of trying to stand on the wall of the ride so that your body is parallel to the floor.), and proceeded to fall over and smash their buddies.
Once when the lot was practically dead, a little girl and her mom came up to the ride, and she went in to ride by herself. As I waited for more riders, the ride took off with her at the controls! (I installed a key switch after that one!)
We also had a guest throw himself out of a Hurricane ride, and insist that his lap-bar failed, but another guest videotaping his kids on the same ride, caught him on tape opening his bar and jumping out.
I won't mention in detail the almost full load of lady workers from a local 'Gentlemen's Club' who rode the Gravitron one year. They got a nice long ride, and they 'tipped' well! ;-)
Hope that's a few to hold you over for now....
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Kelly aka Taz
CP@LE RR 2000
White Water Landing 2001
Wicked Twister/Kiddy Kingdom 2002
"Ahh When Is The Rain Going To Stop"
http://communities.msn.com/cedarpointrideoperators
Wicked Twister Rides 20
Can I make a statement about stupid employees too? Working at the park often turns into a free-for-all against those whose extravagant spending habits provide the necessary pecuniary flow into the paychecks. Sometimes, in the spirit of my man Ted Koppel, I think some self-effacing humility is in order. I recall an instance my first summer when one of my coworkers, before quitting in a fit of prissy disgust, caused our ATL to run up the lift to fasten seatbelts for her three times in one day. Never before had I seen ineptitude taken to such mysterious heights. It wasn't so much the fact that she couldn't fasten a seatbelt, nor was it the fact that she sat down on the dockbox between every train even when time was of the essence; rather, it was the fact that she invariably ran her yap on nefariously calculated diatribes about how ignorant and stupid guests were that irked me. I suppose humor is found in incongruity; however, I still pinpoint this person as the single largest annoyance in my tumultuous tenure in Sandusky.
I guess this story doesn't completely fit the thread, but as regards to stupidity, it takes the cake.
MADWAY!
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model/talent-- Pro Model Management Inc.
OU Forensics 2000-01
Gemini ATL 2001
As he was making his way to the entrance to the boat he continued fiming and chatting (I think he was from South America somewhere. I tried to get his attention as he walked up to load but he didn't understand me and walked to the boat.
But, the boat wasn't there! He fell right into the river, camera and all. Of course, we fished him right out but he had to go to First Aid for a tetanus shot and had to go to wardrobe where they laundered his clothes for him.
He did get to see the utilidors which was something for his trouble I guess.
(Oy I can't spell anything tonight I edited this post 5 times.)
"Mediocre At Best."
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Pugsly,The Coaster Jester Of Cedar Point.
*** This post was edited for your enjoyment 7/2/2002 8:28:00 PM ***
*** This post was edited by RaptorTwister because he was bored***
*** This post was edited by RaptorTwister 7/6/2002 4:04:19 PM ***
This went on for about an hour or so, until mom decided they needed a break from spinning, so they left, after many Hi-5's and pleas for more. Soon after, I got a visit from the lot-man who told me I got an outstanding compliment from a fair-goer, and that her kids had never had such a good time at the fair before. That kinda made my day, and has always been one of my favorite guest experiences. (I'm not always a butthead, honest!)
Closed topic.