wrs28330

When Shapire had the town hall meeting with SFMM employees back in January of 2006, one of the first things he mentioned is that he would get rid of the coke cans because he doesn't want to see a pile of sticky coke cans staking up in our ticket booths. Ofcourse we had them this past year due to past contracts, but as soon as he can get rid of it, he will. It may be this year.

Were you able to get that last picture without going past any baracades, under ropes or chains? Not because I would ridicule you, but because as an employee, I'd want to make sure that guests aren't going into construction areas. I'm sure it was safe, but not ideal. Just curious, honestly...not a personal attack.

^ I agree. Knowing SFMM that is probably the case. But what if it was more along the lines of: Mark Shapiro: Hey, I'm going to give your park more money... ...Impress me.

if by rough, you mean volient shaking...yes...but it add charm.

I got on the last train of the day. Same old ride, but it was nice to get back on. Two trains running, and the crew pleasantly supprised me. They were working at a nice safe speed, and some were even interacting with the guests. Despite the rough technical problems, the crew definatly made up for it with service. (Thought they only had to interact w/ guests from 4 to 7. Nice start X crew. Please keep it up.

They also repainted the cement at the bottom of the light poles in the parking lot as well as the cement block baracades in the lot. Also being repainted is the red accent hand rail on colossus, they are about half way done.

A few more pictures of relativly unimportant, but note-worthy upkeep photos. Enjoy It now sports the ever-popular "soilent green" color. Grand Carousel is still down for refurb. Suzette's Bakery: Taking the FUN out of funnel cake. Both sides can operate depending on number of park guests. (Dosen't mean it will though.) Suzette's is fixed after the water damage. The on ride photo company moved the photo location from Goliath Jr., where people could buy pictures of only their children, over to Canyon Blaster, where they can buy a picture where everyone can ride. Very smart move. Benches at The Carrot Club Theater received much needed TLC. A new sign informing guests what awaits them when leaving Samurai Summit to Rapids Camp Crossing. (Also note that "Katie's Kettle" is spelled incorrectly. Katy's Kettle is the correct spelling. That now makes two sign's with this particular incorrect set

Some photos from 1-28-06, a very empty Sunday. Most signs have been changed to reflect the no longer, Psyclone. (It used to have both Psyclone and Deja Vu. (Didn't check to see if the Flashback signs were changed in Six Flags Plaza.) Goliath still down for maint. again, empty. Tweety's escape is down, however every othere BBW ride was open, and the ride ops were actually presentable, approachable, and not listening to ipods. Very empty, and people ready to take your photo at every turn. They are using the same card swipping system as Disney. Kodak took over the photo locations around the park, not the ride photos however. Suzette's is now being remodled after the water damage.

Well, not all is lost. At least they can keep the Psyclone trains for Colossus backwards for Fright Fest.

I would have been there this weekend, but since I'm MIA because I had my wisdom teeth pulled yesterday, I only have the news itself, no pictures. Cyclone Bay is virtually a ghost town. Ashley's Old Time Photos, Woody's Sign Shop, and Buongusto are all closed in Cyclone Bay. Ashley's was seen emptying out everything from their location last week. The roof of Suzette's Bakery has been taken out completely. It would be great if they could redo both sides of the store. I have a strong opinion about Suzette's. They do have two seperate kitchens on either side of the store right? At the end of most operating days there is usually a long line for funnel cakes. Think of how many people end up not waiting in line for a funnel cake because the line was to long. How many more sales could they have made if there wasn't a long line? If it is a matter of staffing, then when the restaurants at the back of the park close an hour before the park does like Food Etc., and Carousel Grill, send the non-minors to Suzzette's and open up the other side of Suzzette's. IMO, the funnel cakes is one of the only strong, and popular, food offerings in the park. Why not sell as many as you can, even if it is just on the weekends.

^^ Not sure if it means that the systems are outdated. The pipes are not insulated isn't that why the pipes froze over? It was even colder at Disneyland, and they were fine. All of Disney's pipes are insulated aren't they?

Crazy day at the Mountain!!! I mean crazy. So the entire area by the RV overhang parking after the parking booths was a frozen lake. At 9:45 they had a guy go out in front of the park and talk to the guests, similar to the guy and/or gal who would talk on the lifeguard tower. Only instead of talking about the now over 45th anneversary celebration, he was telling guests about all of the frozen rides in the park. Some rides would be opening late because of all the frost from the night before, a frozen transfer track on Viper, a frozen water flume on Log Jammer. He also said that all the walkways were frozen with ice and some people had already slipped. Bugs Bunny World, Scrambler, Swashbuckler, Spin Out, Tidal Wave, and Batman were all open when the park opened. Tatsu opened around 11:30, Scream opened by 11:00, Batman opened by 12:00, Superman was open by 1:00, Revolution opened by 11:00, Gold Rusher was up and down all day. Not sure if Ninja or Deja Vu ever opened. Log Jammer had frozen over, Psyclone wasn't scheduled to open. Goliath and X were down for refurb. Right before they were going to open the park, the alarm at Suzette's bakery went off. (The funnel cake shop at the front of the park.) From the looks of it, a sprinkler system pipe ruptured, and flooded the shop. He was right, there were huge areas of the walkway that were more like ice skating than walking. It seemed like all the supervisors and maintenence workers were in the park running around for the first few hours of operation, talking on radios and going to each theater, restaurant, and ride building responding to pipe leaks. Even fire hydrants were bursting everywhere. Here are some pictures below, a very different day at the Mountain. We heard a water line break, and water started gushing from behing this Waterfront sign. Ice Skating behing Waterfront and Batman Theater. Roped off area at Waterfront. No snow ball fights allowed for you. Daffy was thawing out as well. Within a few minutes maintanence arrived to turn it off. I witnessed at least 4 of the same scenarios throughout the day. Seconds later it burst.... ....literally seconds. A sprinkler dripping quite quickly.

I want to point out that becuase he said "in our ride box" the memo probably only went out to the operations department. ODV presumably didn't get the memo.

Who did they issue this paper to, where did they issue it, and when?

Well, if i observe correctly, he's on itunes

is there anyway to make the video in a different format?

I am actually the guy on the left side of the photo in the gray sweatshirt (the tatsu hoodie). The guy in the black and the girl in the gray are friends of mine from NY. I was taking them around the park. And as final proof, this picture was taken on Thursday 12-28-06. This employee is actually a character escort. I distictly remember this moment in time that you have captured. I actually had been talking with this employee from a distance for a few minutes. He needed to check the time to see how much longer until his characters had to go in. He only had his sidekick out for no more than a few seconds to check the time. I would never defend employee without an understanding of the situation. In this situation I will defend Alex, the employee in question. Here are some more fun pics from today: Commercial shoot and Stealth Shooters This one takes the cake: Laptop and earphones!! According to Chris's point value, I get 1,000,000 points!!! In all fairness, there are many employees that do follow the rules. Go Park Service Attendants! (sweepers) Butt hugging jeans? I wasn't issued any of those from wardrobe. Shirt untucked, non-SFMM jacket... ...and a double whammy no name tag!! Cell Phone ODV by Tidal Wave! The commercial is actually for SF over Georgia The next day for filming is tomorrow, monday and tuesday Filming in the park at main gate

Which brings us to the next element of this "Stealth Shooters" photo game. Employee dress code is also a very large problem at SFMM. Supervisors do read these forums. Some of the Deptartments have been working to correct the cell phone problem...I said some. (Improperly worn uniforms happen to be a pet peeve of mine.) Feel free to post poorly dressed employees as well. Maybe this problem will be fixed as well. Some easy violations to spot for grooming standards, uniform violations, and other rules: No use of cell phones in front of guests No use of any electronics which do not pertain to job function No eating or drinking in front of guests, (water bottles on hot days, can be overlooked) Name tag must be worn on most outer layer of clothing at chest level, perferably on the employees left hand side. Clothing must fit properly, pants at the waist Shirt tucked in, with belt And if you have even more time, try the employee interaction game. Ask an employee a question. They will either answer the question, or if they don't know the answer they are supposed to find the answer, using whatever resources they have. Some questions: Where is Scream? Where are your water rides? When do some shows start? Hey, my brother is in the restroom and is really upset becasue he is only 45 inches tall, is there anything he can ride. See if they stop walking and fully invest in you. See if they make eye contact. Do they answer you question and send you in the right direction? You'd be suprised at how many "Sorry, it's only my first week here.", or "Sorry, I don't know." you'll get. Stealth Shooters Club, Yeah!

Do you actually know this for fact? That seems liek an awfully random thing to do... yes. The opening park ceremony will not be back until Memorial Day Weekend, so park opening was quiet and uneventful. a few pictures from 1-1-06: ...and the secret ingredient of every SFMM Photo TR. I actually had to be sneaky. (This is from the side window of the same "B" rated Lemonade stand.) Fresher's Lemonade building between The Palace Arcade and the Looney Tunes Pavilion Theater by the waterfall. Maps and info at the register of the Six Flags Plaza Popcorn cart. The Disney equivalent to the Info board on Main Street? A closed photo location. The first of the year means a change in the vendor for the front gate photographers. The ride photos are owned by Kodak, the front gate was a different vendor. All the employees who worked main gate either had to interview with Ko

The clean up is because SFMM is giving back the land to Newhall Land and farm. They are apparently goint to build a well.

Quick TR for 12-28-06, no pictures. Crowds were suprisingly a bit on the heavy side. Rides not up:Ninja, Cyclone 500, and X. From what I saw, all the flat rides were open, as were the Bugs Bunny World Rides. My new pet peeve for SFMM. Backstage gates that are left open, for guests to see CO2 tanks, benches, umbrellas, and trash dumpsters. Just not something guests need to see. An old pet peeve for SFMM, and everywhere else for that matter. The Healy wheel shoes that little kids where. I saw three kids fall today going down paths or stairs. Why do parents let there kids where them to an amusement park. The 1st Magic Show at magic moments saw an almost full audience. Check out pictures of the show here: www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31920&sid=12c293cc6260f64c67358b62cdd892b0 I used FlashPasses for the first time with my group today. It is great to bypass large portions of the line, but what is a bit frustrating, is having the employee take the FlashPass, then instructing us to just merge with the people who have been waiting in the regular line. It isn't a big deal, it just creates that akward moment, of "hi, I paid money, so move over please", instead of the employee acting as a mediator between the two said akward parties. As far as crews on the rides, Scream, Goliath, Riddlers, Viper seemed to be running at a fast pace. Superman employees were moving backwards, with dispatch intervals at close to 5 minutes. Terrible. Today was the first time that I have made it to the loading gate and have Tatsu break down. (I saw Jahan, and a few others on side 1 at the same point.) The train on side 1 was brought into the flying position before being dispatched, and thats when you hear "side 1 is 10-7" over the intercom. So, because side 1 was is flying position, they weren't allowed to send the side 2 trains out of the station either. The employee at panel, and the employee on side 2 were bickering over the intercom, as to weather or not they could send the side 2 train because the guests were ready to go, but weren't in the flying position. They had all the guests on side 2 get back into the queue line, while they called for a mechanic. I had FlashPasses at that point, so didn't mind comming back, we were going down the exit ramp as we saw a mechanic going up. The ride was back up probably no more than 15 minutes later. (Jahan probably could take the story over at this point.) I just felt bad for the guests on side one who were waiting in the flying position for quite some time. Park was relativley clean despite the whirlwind of napkins flying around from all the wind. All in all nice day at the park.

here is the 2nd half. If you haven't seen it, it is a great thing to see if you need a break for the rides. Definatly the type of family entertainment MM needs regardless if it stays a SF park or not. the end. magical ray! With magical bike! empty magical cage magical cage really magical rings ...here it isn't! here it is... vanishing toilet paper. Yup, toilet paper in a Six Flags show. magical rope

35 minute magic show. Pretty good show quality. Big illusions, comedy, audience participation. Here are some pictures. It seems to be a bit cliche to appoligize for the blurry pictures, but that is where we find ourselves. Enjoy. (Lets not discuss how the illusions are done, we can just enjoy it for what it is.) complete with dramatic black out. (The lighting in the show really does a great job of enhancing the show.) and ray is on the other side of the theater, duh! on stage, duh! where did she go? ...cage goes up... curtains down... the other magical purple sheet. "i'll just put my assistant in said suspended cage" the "see... just your everyday suspended cage" pose magical cage in the box, duh! wait a second? where did she go? girl on top of box all locked in cuffed and in a box The "completley empty and very secure" pose Magical trunk Where did she come from! Magical Ray Magical purple cloth Magical assistants Before the show

i dont think wind is a big concearn, except on superman maybe. All the shows will still be open though!

New Hires will go through a 4 hour park training learning park history/lore, and general rules of the park. Then Department Training: from 6 to 8.5 hours depending on the department. Then Individualized Training from 4 to 6.5 hours, depending on the department. Then on the job training for a full shift, depeding on the department. So you get between 20 -25 hours of training. Penalties for cell phone use specifically is as follows: 1st offense: Verbal Warning 2nd offense: Verbal Warning, and log the incident on computer file 3rd offense: Written Warning 4th offense: Writtern Warning 5th offense: Possible Termination However, at this point, I can't imagine anyone being fired for cell phone use because of staffing. I don't agree with that though. Guests' saftey is first and foremost. The problem is lack of accountablity, and under motivated employees as mentioned. The last time we had a TR with face's, the proper supervisors were notified, and some sort of action had been taken. When I'm working in the park, if I see an employee doing something wrong, I pull them to an off stage area, ask them to fix the problem, ask them for there full name, Dept., and supervisors' name. I think i'm known as "nazi supervisor" amongst the ODV employees. They are always on their phones, and i always stop them.