panda367

Not sure about the chain breaking, but the last time it was there I saw it get stuck right before the first drop several times...this was when it was raining, though, so that might have been the cause.

As a ride op at Seabreeze for a summer, I saw some breakdowns- nothing too serious, but the scariest one was, of course, when I was operating a ride. I was set to run the Spring when the park opened, and when I reported to the ride there were mechanics fixing it because it had apparently broken the day before (when I wasn't working). After waiting an hour for them to fix it, they had me run it 5 times with nobody on it (all without incident) and then let me start loading people in. I run the ride for about a half hour, everything's working fine, and then all of a sudden it gets stuck at the top with no warning at all. Because the Spring isn't that big of a drop tower, there were lots of little kids on the ride who were crying, etc. I called the mechanics to fix it, and thankfully they were able to get the ride lowered down to let everybody out, but the ride was closed the rest of the day. Never asked what the cause was.

My condolences go to Sgt. Hackemer's family...such a tragic loss. I usually try to make it to Darien Lake once or twice every summer if I'm back home because it's only an hour away. Some thoughts: I was a ride op at Seabreeze for the summer of 2008. I only ran 3 rides (the Spring, Teacups, and Flying Scooters) and don't really remember hearing anything specifically about amputees and their limitations. However, when there was a disabled person in the park, they got a special wristband and our bosses would make sure to tell us about them/tell us what rides they would be able to get on. Of course, Seabreeze is a much smaller park than Darien Lake, so their procedures are probably different. At Seabreeze, you had to be 18 to work anything that wasn't a kid's ride and had to have at LEAST a year's experience to run any of the coasters, if not more. (Jackrabbit was the most strict about this due to how difficult the hand-brakes are to move). Honestly, we were always told to call our bosses if we had any questions about whether someone was allowed on- better to be safe than sorry.

They're replacing the Teacups at Seabreeze with a newer version by Zamperla: http://www.seabreeze.com/news.asp

It's an American 90's TV Show: Wiki Link

Every year, my family and I visit Enchanted Forest Water Safari in the Adirondacks. It's mostly a waterpark, with some flat rides. It may not be the most thrilling park in the world, but it's a nice family park. Onto the photos! Serengeti Surf Hill, the water slide where you race down on blue mats. I had a small "wardrobe malfunction" on this slide last year, but, thankfully, my top stayed on this year. The Shadow, one of their big tube slides. More waterslides. My sister, my Dad, and I on Cascade Falls, the family tube slide. Scrambler. Me on the Tilt-a-Whirl The majority of the flat rides. You can see the Ferris Wheel, Scrambler, Rock-o-Planes, Round Up, and Bumper Cars building in this picture. My sister on the rope swing My Mom and I on the lazy river. The balloon ride that goes around the park. My Dad and sister at the shooting gallery. The small wave pool

Looks like a fun trip! I saw a bunch of you guys when I was working at Seabreeze yesterday (I was the ride op at the Spring). It looked like you were having a great time!

I'll be working at Seabreeze (I'm a Ride Op) from 4:30-10 on August 2nd! Looking forward to seeing all of you! I'll probably be on the Spring, Teacups, or Flyers.

The photos aren't working for me- I just see a "Photobucket Bandwidth Exceeded" banner on each of them.

I love the Magic Kingdom! I just feel so good when I'm there. I remember the first time I went there, when I was 10, my family and I went to a character breakfast at Crystal Palace, and everyone was commenting on how happy I looked.

I love waterparks! I've been to a bunch of them, but my favorite is probably Enchanted Forest Water Safari in Old Forge, New York. Technically, it's not exclusively a waterpark, as it has a couple flat rides as well, but the water park is what people go there for. Although it hasn't gotten any new rides in several years (though they're rumored to get one of those bowl-type slides next summer), it has lots of fun waterslides. We go there every summer (in fact, you should be expecting a Photo TR from there in a couple weeks). Anyone else been here?

I haven't been on Great Bear in years, so I can't really comment on it specifically. I think your best bet is to just do it. When I was younger, I was afraid of a lot of roller coasters, but once I went on them I was always fine. Try to find someone you know to go on it with you- I always feel better when I'm not going on the ride alone.

I think in most cases they just underestimate the clearance on these rides. If you work on a ride every day, you probably become desensitized to the noises of the ride. So walking close to the ride probably wouldn't phase him. Probably just went to get the hat, and got too close, not thinking about how far to the side of the track that the car might extend. Still, most parks have procedures for when hats etc. fall off the rides. I'm a ride op at Seabreeze, and when we have a "rover" (hat falling off, etc.), we have to call for our manager to come and get it. Once they come to get the hat, we don't run the ride until they retrieve it.

Oh, Predator's still bad. I was at Darien Lake about a month ago and rode it...I really wish I hadn't. Motocoaster was great, though!

Definitely Predator at Darien Lake. Every time I go on that ride, I think it'll be better than the last time, but it's always incredibly bumpy and rough. Second place- Mean Streak.