The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[nagro5]

So pretty much, they just need to build some janky dorms so people can from all over the nation/world can come to and work there! Hell, it seems to work perfectly for CP! Everything you described is equal to or better than the conditions at CP, with the exception of Saturdays being the glorious Macho Nacho Day at the employee cafeteria.

 

Magic Mountain already has a couple people from different countries. When I was there I was sitting down and saw some people that wanted to play the guess your weight game. They walked up to the stand and the japanese girl working the booth started speaking japanese. They just looked at eachother, looked at the girl, and walked away. I don't know about you but I think that it should be a job requirement to speak english.

[Mechanic]

I guess my main point was that I've noticed marked improvement in employee morale and performance at another SF park (SFDK) that, at least in my eyes, had suffered in those areas in the past. I was simply suggesting that some communication between the HR and management staffs of the 2 parks may result in some ideas that could help SFMM as well.

 

By whatever means they can achieve it, I hope that SFMM can continue to improve all aspects of the park. There are many positive changes going on and they're not lost on me by any means. It would just be nice to see employee performance in general keep up with the rest of the improvements.

[PURE]

I was simply suggesting that some communication between the HR and management staffs of the 2 parks may result in some ideas that could help SFMM as well.

 

Wow that's a great idea. Do you happen to know what SFDK did to boost employee morale?

 

It would be interesting to hear how they did it, and how they continue that type of atmosphere for their employees. Because its one thing to get it started, its a whole 'nother ball game to keep it going for the long run.

[U2Rox]

Just wanted to jump in and share my joy and happiness for SFMM with you guys!!!

Tomarow my brother and I will be there reliving our childhood memories and celebrating his 24 Birthday!!! It's been more than 15 years for me!!! And about 8 for my brother.

I'm really pumped and ready to take on X2, Tatsu, Scream, and I will be reunited with Colosus!!!! I'm sure there'll be lots of this and this !! but not this See you guys latr!! Flights taking off!!!

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

^True, but every so often you may run across some people who don't care about the money and do what they love. If the park found some way to praise them and punish the bad seeds, there might be a turnaround in morale yet.

[Rollerman87]

^That is so true. I mean, honestly, if I lived close enough, I'd probably work there. I just would love to be near the coasters and learn a bit more about 'em. And I know I'd get the job

[Mechanic]

Do you happen to know what SFDK did to boost employee morale?

 

I'm sorry, but I don't. Whatever they did, it is working though.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

The demographic may be an issue too. Most of the locals who work there come from the San Fernando Valley. Most people complain about the commute and becomes an issue.

[ajinaz]

While visiting family in Ventura I decided to make a visit to the park on Thursday. This was my first visit since the X2 Campout. My only plans for the day were to use my four fast passes and maybe ride X2.

I arrived at the parking lot at around 10:45 and the first section was about 3/4 full. I noticed that X2 was not running so I got in the line for my fast passes. I don't know why they don't have a dedicated line for extreme pass holders to pick up their passes. The line is always too long because most of the people need to have the system explained to them and this takes way too long. In fact, I don't know why they don't just give them out at the turnstiles.

While I was waiting I heard X2 begin to cycle so I headed up to check the line. The line was already to the back queue but I decided to wait. This was my first time in the actual queue (thanks to the Campout!) and I do think that the industrial feel is a good theme for this ride. There are little touches that do not indicate a lack of theme to me.

I talked in line with a family from Puget Sound who told me:

1. They thought that X and X2 were different rides.

2. They were surprised to hear the park was still here because most people in Washington think the park was torn down and turned into condos.

3. They couldn't wait to ride freefall after this.

4. The mom told me that she was shocked at how clean the park looked. The last time she was here was in 2003 and she was disgusted by the whole place back then.

I did have the pleasure of hearing some guy from New York having issues with getting an apartment emptied out in D.C. which may require the assistance of his friend's girlfriend's dad who is a lawyer. Why can't people understand that nobody cares?

After a 90 minute wait and consistent 3:15 dispatches I made it the infamous gum support.

When I arrived on the loading dock I noticed that there was one employee that was simply not into working today. He was literally hiding under the bridge and staring into space. The girl on the bridge yelled down to him to check restraints and he was just staring into space. Finally the guy in front of me yelled at him and he snapped out of it. I was on the next train and I was in the very back row. Once again the girl up top yelled down and he was once again in another place. She had to hang over the bridge and scream at the top of her lungs before he snapped out of it. It was obvious that he didn't want to be there and sadly this was a recurring theme for the day.

After X2 I headed over to Revolution. The ride did seem smoother but I did take one really good hit in the head. I just don't like to fight my rides. I headed down to the cafe for a sandwich and pop. The guy that took my order was one of the friendliest guys I met all day. The funny thing was he was working with the biggest slackers I saw all day. I ordered my sandwich and asked for it grilled. The other guy simply did not want to grill it. He put it in the grill thing and kept walking away. Not to do anything, he just walked away. The other guy ended up yelling at him to pay attention to my sandwich.

Next up was Tatsu and another employee that looked like he was walking to death row instead of checking restraints. The funniest part was that when he saw my TPR shirt he actually started hustling. I know it's hot up there and honestly I wouldn't want the job but there must be a solution. One thing I thought of was to maybe make working X2 and Tatsu "premium" positions that are paid at a higher rate. Once at the higher rate you would have to continue to perform at a certain level in order to stay in that position.

After Tatsu I headed over to Goliath. Once again, I couldn't get over how clean this park was today! It's really strange when you can't find any trash at all! I did see two or three leaves.

Goliath had the best crew of the day for me. Everyone was hustling and the dispatcher was personable. He did announce that they were losing a longtime employee to Disney today and asked everyone to give him a round of applause.

Next up I went to check out CSI Live mainly to get out of the heat. I know many people here don't care for it but I thought it was really funny One of the audience members was really funny and that might be why I enjoyed it so much.

Next up was Colossus. The crew was not good or bad which I guess can be considered good. I still like this ride a whole lot and I don't find it to be too rough if you know what's coming.

I decided at this point to call it a day and headed out. I stopped in to Thomas Town for a second and I was the ONLY person in there. It's really almost depressing to be in there by yourself.

Overall, I had a really good relaxing day. I had never been to MM alone before and it was kind of nice to just wander around and not be obsessed about riding everything. Magic Mountain is now just as clean as Disneyland in my view and there are many more families there on a weekday than I recall in the past. I saw lots of smiling and excited faces.

The Sinus Buster

Looking all new

From the X2 Queue

Characters were everywhere and it makes the park feel safe and family friendly.

This guy has problems and he needs to share it with everyone!

20 minutes with a pressure washer is all it would take.

Base of the Video pole.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

^Though a good idea, you can't make higher profile rides "premium positions for several reasons. The first of course would be that paying people more to work on rollercoasters would create a lower level of morale in other areas and rides of the park. Then there is the "interchange" factor as I like to call it. Not all ride ops are certified ride ops. If you "attendisize" them (in-park word, I didn't make it up) just to check seats, that makes for more valuable ride ops becasue then they can be sent around to whereever staffing may warrent them. What I think MM should do is how Knott's trains their ride ops. If everyone at the ride is certified for that ride (The park requires it) and rotate positions every hour, then it makes a repetitive job seem not so repetitive. Getting stuck checking seats at unload for eight hours out of a 12 hour shift can be quite discouraging.

[haiderodes]

^ Thats sounds like how we had it at Adventuredome. You have to work your way up to certain positions on a ride such as controls. I hated it with a passion, because like you said, you could end up in a single position for quite a long time.

 

From a worker's standpoint, I'd rather be completely certified on a ride with hourly rotations. We did that at MGM and it meant you were only at a single ride for a day, but you rotated often keeping it fresh. Plus you got to know the ride better, so you could troubleshoot when things went wrong. But then again if you have people who werent certified on that ride, you have no one else to pull in.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

Plus I think the one tink we have all seem to leave out as of yet is that no all folk are coaster folk! I worked at both Knott's and MM, and enjoyed what I did at both parks, but not everyone on the team shared my passion then, and may very well be the case now, as it was before I worked at either. If coaster enthusiasts had a crew for one ride, I promise it would be the most efficient, entertaining, and motivated crew in that park.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

At WCB, Jay said that there was a waiting list for people who wanted to become ride-op's. Sure sounds like it's time to tap that waiting list a tad...

[Guest]

Also having friendly ride ops that are into it are very important to have at kiddie/family rides, the parents are the ones that spend and if you impress them that goes a long way.

 

If coaster enthusiasts had a crew for one ride, I promise it would be the most efficient, entertaining, and motivated crew in that park.

Vu crew 05! (Great America)

[almightyfire]

I still say there is NO excuse for X to load in 3 mins. Hell, all of these computerized trains now are actually self loading. I rode X and Tatsu and both of them is sit down and pull the bar down. Whats the problem? I worked on a coaster in 1976 and we loaded that sucka in 1 min flat. We had lap bars, seatbelts, and belts on the floor that hooked to the bars. Also we had to check to make sure everyone was the proper height, make sure there were 2 people in each seat and the heaviest loaded first. Now the coaster ride was only 1min and 10 secs and we did all of that. Safety was not jeopardized at all. So there is NO excuse for anyone to be slow on a ride that actually people can sit down and close the bars themselves. While the other train is going up the lift, make sure everyone is prepared to loaded expeditiously and once they sit down RUN and check the restraints and get that train out of there. I see ride ops just standing there not paying attention.

[ajinaz]

RUN and check the restraints and get that train out of there. I see ride ops just standing there not paying attention.

 

I think that if I had to sum up what I saw on Thursday it would be a complete lack of urgency. There seems to be a general feeling that it doesn't matter how many people ride. This line will never end so why do I care?

[Guest]

They're probably not allowed to run but theres no reason not to be checking at a good pace.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

I remember when I was at Tatsu, I'd be at the secondary position (dispatch panel) when cars 7 & 8 were held off for flashpass. Since I worked there during the end of the Del Holland era, when staffing was ALWAYS a nightmare, I'd advance trains, open the gates, collect flashpasses, check seats, lock the seats, and double check seats all within about a minute. Of course noone shared my sense of urgency...well maybe like two internationals.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

A sense of urgency is against the employee culture in some places at Magic Mountain. It's kinda like how in high school, if you get good grades & work your butt off, you'll get laughed at for actually working & giving a darn by those who don't care. Many employees who work at Magic Mountain are still in high school, and bring that culture into their jobs right off the campus.

 

There's also a culture in some places of employees who DO care, who DO work hard, and then get a bunch of flack from their leads/supervisors who didn't see how much they were trying & were only focused on trivial nuances that they'll heavily criticize the one trying hard for. If an employee is working hard and gets criticized for it, he's not going to feel like it's worth the effort at all, and will end up being one of those guys looking like they're on death row. This happens at Magic Mountain.

[thrillgeek]

A sense of urgency is against the employee culture in some places at Magic Mountain. It's kinda like how in high school, if you get good grades & work your butt off, you'll get laughed at for actually working & giving a darn by those who don't care. Many employees who work at Magic Mountain are still in high school, and bring that culture into their jobs right off the campus.

 

There's also a culture in some places of employees who DO care, who DO work hard, and then get a bunch of flack from their leads/supervisors who didn't see how much they were trying & were only focused on trivial nuances that they'll heavily criticize the one trying hard for. If an employee is working hard and gets criticized for it, he's not going to feel like it's worth the effort at all, and will end up being one of those guys looking like they're on death row. This happens at Magic Mountain.

 

I absolutely hated that about High School! It does seem that the "some" employees do that more than others. They think it's cool to take there time and just chill instead of doing their job at a decent speed.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

There are some people who do care and every so often you might have a person who picks up a thing or two that no one appreciates. My first ride at MM (they start you off on something small) was Freefall. I actually used the mic to give spiels and talk with the [small amount of] people in line. Most of my co-workers thought it was corny, and so did I but it kept me from getting bored and the people in line somewhat liked it. I found that stuff like that goes a long way.

[ebl]

I took a run out to SFMM late this afternoon and rode: Tatsu, Ninja, Riddler's, Batman, Scream, Goliath, and Viper. All were running well, Tatsu was using two trains and both stations. Two trains on everything else, too. Revolution had some issues and they took it down to one-train operation later on (with only the red, white, and blue train running).

 

The park wasn't that crowded. The midways were very clean. No problems with ops, but I did run into a snag at Katy's Kettle...

 

I don't understand the whole foreign exchange student deal (or whatever), but I had some problems communicating my order to some kid from the Middle East. I asked to see the supervisor because he just couldn't understand "bacon cheeseburger" for some reason. And he tried to give me regular Coke because Diet was out. I just said never mind to the drink, but decided to go back and get one because it was hot. Since Diet Coke was out, I did see that they had Coke Zero, which I can drink, so I asked for a large one. The supervisor gave it to me on the house because of the confusion. (They were in the process of changing the syrup tank for Diet Coke at the time, and the guy didn't know it.)

 

I didn't expect that, and I thought it was a nice gesture.

 

Eric

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

^About the foriegn kids... I was told they are hired by Six Flags for two reasons, one is to broaden relations between whatever country they're from and the US, and two because the park needs the extra staffing during peak season.

[WFChris]

Regarding the foreign employees,

 

The company I worked for employed 20% foreign staff at all times because it was a 'World Heritage Site.' They were by far the most efficient employees in the park. Granted there was a language barrier, but once you got passed that, they were eager to work.

 

My favorite were the Brazillians. Work hard, party hard. haha:)

 

Anyway, I guess the point im making is they may be there to motivate the American employees, among other reasons. Show that its 'ok' to be 19 and a hard worker.

 

Chris.

[Guest]

The international employees are there because they need large amounts of staff....at SFGAm as part of the agreement to have the international visas good through October, they needed to make a cross-cultural experience (hence why faces of South Africa was added to Yukon Teritorry).

 

And I will agree some of the best workers are the international workers, especially South America and South Africa.