teacherkim

Furious, on that back row SV question: my son did 7 back row rides in a row (with very little wait, it was pretty much a walk on each time, as it was last year and he did it while others were running around getting line tickets for everything) before he stopped. And I am not really sure if he stopped because he needed to or finally the line started to back up. Note he was 17 at the time, age is not your friend on these sorts of experiences

So for anyone who is interested I got some details on the turkey leg incident. This was via my personal ride op who got it from a supervisor, so it's been through a few people BUT........apparently, there are only a finite number of turkey legs available each day due to the fact that they have to smoke/roast overnight. So they had told the people in line we only have enough to get through person A but that the other stand still had some and they could go there, which most people did. However, one person started arguing about it since that line was longer and she clearly did not understand what a finite number means That started the argument, that turned into a fight, that turned over the cart, that killed the fly, etc etc. Best part: the "cart" that was turned over were the turkey legs that were getting ready to go into the cooker for the next day so they were fighting over turkey legs that were not even cooked yet. I hope they all got sick.

I don't think "kids today" are any more or less motivated than teens have always been. They are just being given the opportunity to not work way more than before. It is partly because the system encourages helicopter parenting. My last 10 years as a teacher I had to notify parents of every single bad grade a student had, never giving them a chance to problem solve and fix the situation on their own and colleges no longer value what they consider menial work and instead want to see a million clubs and internships on that application. But, agreed, this is off topic and going down an unsolvable rabbit hole. SFSTL is still very understaffed. Joel has been working open to close most days and last week had to work two kid's rides at once. He had a sign to post at one ride stating ride operator would return shortly, would run a couple cycles at the other ride, and then switch. I think the reason food service has been a problem for so long is that it is essentially a job at a fast food restaurant that for most people is way further away from their house than a normal fast food restaurant. The parks have been counting on the benefits of free entry and the novelty of being at the park to have an edge over McDonald's and the like but that just isn't cutting it.

When my son started working at SFSTL just before his 16th birthday, I was actually questioned by another parent as to why I was "making" him work. She couldn't seem to comprehend that while we were of course willing to pay for all his essential needs and hobbies; if he wanted to build his $5000 dream computer he had to earn the money himself. I recently saw an interview with a child psychologist that opined the increase of summer school and internships to pad college resumes over traditional teen summer jobs was detrimental to the young'uns as those jobs provided skills that they cannot get at school. Maybe a contributing factor to why so many teens just cannot handle growing up and mental health issues for them are on the rise?

You are right, my bad, I was thinking July not June. Just a mistake, not a misrepresentation. However, my point was that staffing and slow realignment to normal operations as the pandemic situation improves are just going to be the lay of the land for the foreseeable future and the people that are complaining about it need to chill the hell out. Still better than last year at this point when most parks had not even reopened yet.

Everyone should be happy that they aren't closing entirely those 2 days, geez. An 8 pm close on Sunday and Monday, oh the humanity. SFSTL is only open until 7 right now most nights, 8 on Sat

OMG! I agree. I have done HW and back in one day which is a 6 hour round trip and I have done 12 hour drives. But I don't think I could do 11-12 hours AND a theme park day. And I wouldn't be talking about making it in 5.5 hours with a cop on the boards, that must be petal to the metal and Zach's gonna be watching for you with his radar gun

We rode CC last summer when it's debut was muted by the virus that shall not be named and I had no idea that deluge of water was coming. First time in a very long while that I have had a true surprise on a ride. They do that all the time for local stories on SFSTL, have used some footage showing Superman a few times this year even though it is not every running again.

Oh for f**k's sake. I am so sorry I asked. Guess this is my punishment for being nosy in the first place. How embarrassing. She reminds me of my students who will exchange answers right in front of me and then assure me it isn't cheating because it's not a test.

So all the ride op that lives in my house knew was that there was some sort of fight or incident in the line of the turkey leg stand near Excalibur, close to the end of the day on Memorial Day. And that a ton of security and stuff went rushing over there. Now my curiosity is peaked and I am super dying to know what happened. Yes. I am nosy.

Me too! He was so funny and personable when my son was drilling him about the name for their Boomerang.

How sad; and traumatic for whomever was riding with her since it was most likely family or a friend; as well as for the park personnel. Sounds like the park made all the right decisions in shutting it down for the day after the event, out of respect for her as well as letting the employees go home and decompress, but then making the statement that it was unrelated to ride function and getting it going again the next day. A definite down side to their location, as I believe the closest hospital is somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 minutes away.

Zach, you think handing her off for a night makes for a mixed bag of feelings, wait until you take a vacation without her or she goes off to camp for a week or the track you will make in the floor pacing when she takes the car for the first time, lol. Glad you had a nice visit! Shout out to the park. Yesterday not only did they treat the employees to free (and I am told fresh and "better than normal") burgers, dogs and other traditional Memorial Day food in the catering grove BUT they also gave them an employee ride night on Thunder and Freeze for about an hour and a half after close.

Seriously the entitlement is getting ridiculous. Joel said that some adults actually cursed him out yesterday when he was doing some rides in Bugs because they were over the height limit allowed and he of course could not let them on. WTF?

They will be open through New Year's Day. Just are holding off a bit to see what the hours/events will be based on Pandemic conditions. Although at this point I will say I think it is looking good to return to normal operations. If at all possible they want that for FF, it's their biggest money maker of the year. They will go to weekends only after August 22. Pretty much every school district in the county starts the next day. On another note apparently it was super packed today. I'm guessing partly due to the colder than normal weather forcing the opening of HH to be delayed. Some stupid woman was complaining on FB that her poor son would be disappointed and why o why didn't Six Flags have heated pools like Volcano Bay, and I only got on there in the first place to see if they delayed the opening

And NOT having to drive back and forth across the causeway, which can get backed up. Plus a night time stroll back to the room along the boardwalk is awesome

My son Joel got a ride on Wilderness Run when he was 16. The ride op wasn't thrilled but let him do it, can't remember if it was just slow that day or he was technically still a kid or what. Thankfully for him he is super skinny so no issues getting the click.

I want to say that at the last Coasterstock in 2019 they had in the neighborhood of 500 people. But I am not sure where I got that number, someone else might be able to confirm or tell me if I am way off base. As far as the attendees influencing the FL lines...........many will not get FL because you get to go on every coaster at some point during ert over the two days and many will use the afternoons to leave the park and take a break; on the other hand it will be in July for the first time and I am guessing park attendance will be high along with all the extra Coasterstock people. So the answer to the FL question is the same as any other day. If you want every coaster and re rides and have the money get them it will be worth it. If you have multiple days and are satisfied with whatever you get and/or cannot afford it, don't get them. I really don't think Coasterstock is the influencer on FL.

Weird. First impressions were not helped by the number of houses with Confederate flags flying that you had to pass on the way to the park, but I can hardly blame the park for what people do on their own property.

I guess they are trying to prevent lawsuits, but cannot imagine it would hold up in court anyway if you willingly went to a public place. Other than that I am opting out of this obviously unwinnable discussion

Geez. Didn't meant to start a s***storm. I realize they are not truly stopping anyone and asking. I was just wondering out loud if employees would be at least required to show anything or sign anything, if for no other reason than liability on the part of the park. The answer, as we all probably assumed, is no. Up to employees to be responsible or not, just like guests. I am not worried he is fully vaccinated, as is our whole family. I am however, a little surprised that so many parks dumped the rule for employees right away. I kind of expected them to make employees wear them a while longer. Not a judgement on whether they should or not, just thought they would.

They already have at many of the parks, it's on SFOG facebook. My son just left for a shift at SFSTl so I will know when he gets home if employees are on the honor system like guests or have to show some sort of proof.

Yeah I spend all day with 7th graders. There is no theme park day that is as painful as that, I don't care how long it is.

You young'uns are lightweights, I'm 53 and I can make it all day. Although I do feel it the next day. And you two don't even have to deal with the aggravation and potential physical pain of keeping the "girls" in place on rides; which gets a lot harder as you age and costs a lot more money #sportsbrasareexpensive

Bert I've been debating for Coasterstock too. In the past when it was on a Friday/Saturday in May it wasn't needed, but now that it is in July, I'm thinking about it. We will have to discuss, lol. I can tell you every single coaster will be on ert at some point and they will probably finish the second night with Beast open a half hour later than all the others, like after midnight later which is super insane