No Lost Causes at SFGAm

[mcjaco]

Nice article from the Chicago Trib......although I'm wondering the story behind the prothestic leg...

 

No lost causes at Great America

Drop a phone on Raging Bull? A shoe on Deja Vu? Park's staff won't take your losses lightly

 

By Ana Beatriz Cholo

Tribune staff reporter

Published July 10, 2006

If you disregard the warnings and take keys or cell phones on the rides at Six Flags Great America, chances are good you'll visit lost and found before you go home.

 

There, a bizarre flow of stuff is logged into a carefully kept database, investigated and, one would hope, returned or mailed to its owners.

 

Since the Gurnee amusement park opened for the season, the department has handled reports of lost property ranging from 1,982 cell phones to a set of teeth. It has cataloged found items that include an autographed Cubs hat, a large 1921 silver dollar, a pair of crutches, a plastic baggie containing $300 in coins and bills, and three digital cameras.

 

Recently, a Mundelein man reported losing his top denture while riding the Iron Wolf roller coaster. It has not yet been found.

 

On Thursday, an employee found a pink Hello Kitty shoe, a child's Size 8, and added it to a bin with 19 other mateless shoes.

 

"There are a lot of people walking around with one shoe on," said park employee Christine Otterson as she completed an intake form for the shoe.

 

Mary Bullock, assistant manager of security, has worked at the amusement park since it opened in 1976. She said work has increased since the introduction of cell phones.

 

The department does not take the task lightly, Bullock said. It has a support staff of more than a dozen employees who pitch in with packing items to be returned to their owners.

 

"Even the smallest item can mean a lot to a person, and it's nice to hear from guests when we're able to find and return something they have lost," she said.

 

A few years ago, a woman lost a prosthetic leg on the Batman ride. Luckily, it was found shortly after she got off the ride and told the operator about it.

 

Park employees are usually the ones who turn in items. When they find a cell phone camera, they often have a little fun by taking a self-portrait before turning it in, as a keepsake for the owner, public relations manager Jim Taylor said.

 

Signs around the park remind people to "please secure all loose articles." But many people apparently are over-confident about the security of their pockets.

 

Throughout the day, people stop by lost and found--a building in Hometown Square that also houses the "lost parents" section and first aid--to report their missing items.

 

One afternoon, a man walked up to the window and told his sad story: He lost the keys to his car on the Raging Bull roller coaster. Or maybe it was on Vertical Velocity.

 

Otterson, who was working at the window that day, asked whether someone could drop off a spare key for him at the park while they waited for his set to turn up.

 

Not really, Yoav Stramer, 19, responded. He lives in Iowa City, 245 miles away.

 

Stramer opted to have someone mail a spare key overnight from home and called his brother, who lives in Chicago, to pick him up at the amusement park in the meantime.

 

"It's just a huge hassle," Stramer said.

 

When lost property is found, guests are given the option of pickup, certified mail or package service, Taylor said.

 

The park covers the cost of mailing the items--an average of about 30 packages a day in peak season. It spends about $1.60 in postage mailing each cell phone, for an expected total of about $4,000 this year, Taylor said.

June 29 was a fairly typical day. Park staffers mailed out 29 cell phones, nine sets of keys, seven hats, three wallets, a purse, a pair of prescription glasses and a hardcover book, "Fearless Golf."

 

Sometimes people call later, from home, to inquire about a lost item. A Chicagoan called last week asking whether anyone had turned in a Cubs hat that had been autographed by a player.

Clothing found in good condition is usually donated to the Salvation Army. But this blue cap with the red "C" got some extra attention, Taylor said.

 

Curious employees wondered which player had signed the cap because the signature was not easily recognizable (the number on the hat was 25, so it may have been Derrek Lee). The hat has since been returned to its owner.

 

Park workers sometimes find themselves trying to figure out which belongings are truly lost and which have been left behind on purpose.

 

It has become a tradition for people to toss expired identification cards into a particular area of the Roaring Rapids ride.

 

While waiting in line, park guests can amuse themselves by looking down and checking out the sea of smiling faces in the rippling water.

 

On a recent day, middle school, high school and college ID cards shared space with an expired Lifetime Fitness club card, a Best Buy gift card, Mardi Gras beads and a map of the park.

 

Two years ago, Jay Zipperer, an assistant manager in the security department, was given the job of cleaning out the reservoir area for the water ride. He was amazed when he found about 200 cards.

 

"I don't know where it started, but it must be a rite of passage when kids graduate," he said.

 

It may be a quirky tradition, but it's still litter, Taylor said.

 

"Maybe some people see [the cards] in there and they figure they will follow suit," Taylor said. "I wish they wouldn't do that."

[pvcoasterguy]

It's pretty nice how Six Flags covers the cost of mailing the stuff back to their owners.

 

Pretty nice article...

[Jumboshrmp]

Cool... I guess that Six Flags isn't so bad after all.

[BeemerBoy]

^ Well, SFGAM anyway. Good article. If the woman's leg had hit someone, could they have sued for assault? Kidding, I'm kidding.

[Wes]

I lost my virginity at SFGAM.

[benzo41190]

Has anyone seen the pool for the rapids ride? There is so much crap in there. Cell Phones, Seasons Passes, Glasses, Money (even 20 dollar bills)!

[Jew]

So they do what every other major park does. Wow.

[fmulder21]

It's pretty nice how Six Flags covers the cost of mailing the stuff back to their owners.

 

Pretty nice article...

Wow at SF's Expense. They should make the riders pay after all they warn you! "No loose articles!" If you think it will break/fall out LEAVE IN AT HOME/IN THE CAR!

[tinflowers]

I had no idea parks do that. I knew about the lost and found concept of course, but thats awful nice of them. 30 packages a day. Damn.

[M_Force_4_ever]

Park employees are usually the ones who turn in items. When they find a cell phone camera, they often have a little fun by taking a self-portrait before turning it in, as a keepsake for the owner

now thats a damn good idea

[Calaway Park]

OMG... Six Flags does something RIGHT.

[cannonballer]

I lost a river raft on the river ride and would like it returned asap please!!!

[mcjaco]

So they do what every other major park does. Wow.

 

The uninformed apologize and, beg forgiveness......sheesh.

[Golfie]

^ Well, SFGAM anyway. Good article. If the woman's leg had hit someone, could they have sued for assault? Kidding, I'm kidding.

 

 

I did that to my sister on Batman The Ride (on the zero-g roll)

[BeemerBoy]

^ You did what? Took your prosthetic leg off and hit your sister with it during the zero-g roll on Batman?

[tinflowers]

I'd pay to see that.

[FRD714]

Well this guy lost his cell phone last week on V2. All 37 peices were found and returned immediately.

[benzo41190]

I wonder what would happen if someone pukes, then say they lost there lunch. Then SF would give the person lunch!

[FRD714]

Hmmmm.....I like your thinking.