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Are the days of horrible Six Flags ops over?


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Reading through this discussions about lockers has made me scratch my head. Is there a reason to why they don't have shelves with sliding doors (so that your belongings are "locked away" when you're on the ride) on the platform?

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I think operations should encompass everything operation related. So if having an 8 hour day scheduled with shitty weather at the beginning of the day, but the weather makes a drastic turnaround and gets better, only to close the park with an hour and a half warning four hours early because you're not making money, qualifies as bad operations, than no. The 'Six Flag's Days' are not over.

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Reading through this discussions about fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo has made me scratch my head. Is there a reason to why they don't have shelves with sliding doors (so that your belongings are "locked away" when you're on the ride) on the platform?

For many rides, such as Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster, this simply isn't possible due to the station configuration. For others, like Magnum and Valravn, having loose article bins on the platform slows down operations so much that it's detrimental to capacity. Especially at a park like Cedar Point where capacity is a selling point, the fewer bins, hiccups, and, especially, fewer opportunities for items to get lost or stolen (then blame the park or ride operators), the better.

 

Even though it's convenient to have bins as a guest, from the perspective of someone who's operated a fast paced, popular ride, I'd be fully in favor of removing bins from every ride that has consistent lines at popular parks. It's not that big a deal to drop a bottle off with someone or in a storage unit, or just get the every 15 minute drink plan instead.

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...a woman trying to get on Loch Ness Monster with a souvenir cup half full of soda and then pitching a fit because the ride op told her that she couldn't ride with it because...the ride...ummmm...happens to go upside down a few times. So instead of placing it in the bin, she went off on the ride op and then stormed down the exit ramp.

 

Personally I would have had a hard time not letting her ride it just so she could get a nice, sticky drenching of Coke and then everyone could watch while she ran around the park screaming as hordes of pissed off yellow jackets honed in for the attack.

 

And then the ride ops have to clean up whatever mess is still on the train or the nice guests get angry. And the guest files a complaint against the park/ride op for spilling soda on them. And the yellow jacket swarm is a lawsuit waiting to strike. So as enjoyable as her sticky screams would be, he who seeks revenge should remember to dig two graves.

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For many rides, such as Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster, this simply isn't possible due to the station configuration. For others, like Magnum and Valravn, having loose article bins on the platform slows down operations so much that it's detrimental to capacity. Especially at a park like Cedar Point where capacity is a selling point, the fewer bins, hiccups, and, especially, fewer opportunities for items to get lost or stolen (then blame the park or ride operators), the better.

 

Even though it's convenient to have bins as a guest, from the perspective of someone who's operated a fast paced, popular ride, I'd be fully in favor of removing bins from every ride that has consistent lines at popular parks. It's not that big a deal to drop a bottle off with someone or in a storage unit, or just get the every 15 minute drink plan instead.

 

What we do in the UK, while it takes a few extra staff members is have free bag drops set up, small articles and be left still like cups on some rides but bags just go in, get a band and then collect 10 minutes later. It works so well and is free, quicker than any other system.

 

Also not familiar with Millennium Force's station but don't you get on one side, get off the other?

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I'm going out on a limb here to say that Phil wasn't being serious...

 

 

But yeah, I agree that had she boarded with that soda cup that it would have been a nightmare for the ride op's to clean up. Likely to the point where they would have needed to transfer the train from the main track in order to clean/hose it out.

 

Sometimes it's fun just to fantasize about stupid people having karma bite them in the a$$ in a big-time sort of way.

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I'm not sure why more parks don't implement the Velcro or zipped pouches in the seating area like Disney does. Six flags has solved the souvenir cup problem by putting cup racks in the rides station. Not only is this a convenance for park guests, but it also helps the parks sales as well. I see a LOT more souvenir cups at six flags, than at cedar fair parks. Just little things that make a guests day that much better. Getting nickle and dimed for everything is a bummer after spending $50 to get in, $20 to park, and $15 for a hot dog.

 

In my opinion, the locker situation with souvenir cups is nothing more than a money grab. The exception to this is duel station coasters. Even then, if your guests have to use a locker why not do a timed locker at no cost? Universal does( or did when I was there last) this. They use your fingerpaint.

 

Instead of charging people extra once in the park, why not raise the ticket price by $1, and include lockers? Just a thought.

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I'm not sure why more parks don't implement the Velcro or zipped pouches in the seating area like Disney does. Six flags has solved the souvenir cup problem by putting cup racks in the rides station. Not only is this a convenience for park guests, but it also helps the park's sales as well. I see a LOT more souvenir cups at six flags, than at cedar fair parks. Just little things that make a guest's day that much better. Getting nickel and dimed for everything is a bummer after spending $50 to get in, $20 to park, and $15 for a hot dog.

 

In my opinion, the fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo situation with souvenir cups is nothing more than a money grab. The exception to this is duel station coasters. Even then, if your guests have to use a fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo why not do a timed fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo at no cost? Universal does (or did when I was there last) this. They use your fingerprint.

 

When I've heard stories about stuff nearly coming out or actually coming out of cargo pockets on Lightning Rod's Quad down, I wouldn't trust something like the Disney pocket on El Toro. Disney can do this because in most cases, their rides aren't that intense. Where could such a pocket even go on an S&S 4D free fly?

 

Lockers in general are a cash grab. Though I will agree that the metal detectors at the ride entrance and the no cargo pockets rule to create mandatory paid bunnies...I'll let Jeff Goldblum take this one.05.gif.1deb60372d522ede585e8755ab5fe5f9.gif

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I'm not sure why more parks don't implement the Velcro or zipped pouches in the seating area like Disney does.

 

 

Six Flags Over Texas has zippered pouches on both New Texas Giant and Titan. I have not seen or noticed them on any other rides in the park. Oddly enough you are required to take all of your belongings with you on Judge Roy Scream. The ops will not let you set anything in the station.

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I go to SFMM every year and it was the same slow dispatch times this year with the exception of Colossus. Visited SFGAdv in June and was super impressed with dispatch times. In fact, our party missed a train on Bizarro because the operator open and closed the gates so fast.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was at SFOT 12/01 and the young girl ride op on Giant was talking about her boyfriend to the other young girl ride op as they were checking restraints and dropping f bombs left and right. The girl in the Batman ride didn't even check our restraints. The young all girl group at one of the concessions was being snarky as I walked off. I didn't hear her but my daughter did. It was dead so I kept walking by the front, as I was drinking my drink, and kept giving them a stare down. Lol It made them uncomfortable to the point they wouldn't make eye contact with me when they'd see me. I've found with these crap teenagers you can put them in their place pretty easily.

My daughter said I should make a complaint, but I had more fun fun walking by 5 times giving them stink eye.

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