The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[PURE]

A sense of urgency is against the employee culture in some places at Magic Mountain.

 

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.

 

You hit the nail right on the head. The worst part about all of this is the leads and supervisors practically CONDONE the "crappy" type of behavior, because they get along with the novice crappy employees and just about ignore the new ones. So the new employees are not willing to look stupid trying to go above and beyond, just to get shut down or yelled at. The supervisor and leads discourage employee urgency, and move just as slow as the crappy employees. They could care less about speeding important things up like food lines, dispatch times, etc.

 

When it comes to international employees at Magic Mountain, I'd say the motivated to unmotivated employee attitudes are about the same as the regular park employees. They quickly pick up on the Magic Mountain employee culture too because they know if they work harder or "run" to check restraints, they're not even going to get recognized for it. Especially because they're only going to be working for a month or so.

 

Its unfortunate there are not "cycle counters" on each coaster so MM higher ups could keep track of how many trains are cycling per hour. That way if a staff hits a optimal number of dispatches an hour, they can get rewarded.

 

Instead of 4-5 minute dispatches for Tatsu. Deja or X2 because they just "don't feel" like working hard.

[almightyfire]

Back n the 70's when I worked at Six Flags, we got in trouble if those turnstile counts didnt add up to what they thought the amt should be. We had to call in the count on the hour every hour. Do they still do that?

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

^They do but nothing is done about it if the numbers are subpar. Here is why.

 

There was one day where we opened up with enough people to have four people checking for both stations with three trains. We were hitting a little 1200 for each hour, which was good because on average with 3 trains the result was about 6-700 or less. So the fact that from 10am to 1 pm we were moving 1200 people through line was met with some bizarre praise. We got the call, "You guys are doing great, where is everyone certified?" and then we dropped down to two checking per side, then to two trains, etc. Higher up supervision but leads and entry level supervision may not necessarily share that same vision.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

^ Yeah, that sounds like Magic Mountain to me. Crew's doing great at actually having the capacity a ride should have, so let's break up the team and take some trains off! Yeah that'll make it even better!

 

Reminds me of one night I was working there at an ODV Churro cart. Having 2 racks in the oven was the norm. When it came time for my 'lunch' my replacement came with my lead who had 2 more racks in her hand, so my replacement would have 4 racks total to work with. When I came back, my lead took the 2 racks out of the oven, dumped all the churros onto the remaining racks creating an insane mess of cooked/semi-cooked/and un-cooked churros, and then berated me for not selling enough churros like my replacement was!! I guess it just didn't occur to her that I would sell more if I had double the rack space like he did... Why didn't I say anything? Because I was 15 and didn't want to talk back to my lead, who no doubt wouldn't have listened to anything I had to say.

 

I didn't have much enthusiasm for my job for the rest of that night. Tried my hardest not to let it show to the guests, but I'm sure it came out at one point or another in a tone of voice or demeanor or something.

 

I had hoped the leads/sup's had changed their tune a little bit since that episode, which was just one among many I encountered. Unfortunately it doesn't look like it's changed all that much...

[Jew]

Well, prior to this summer, in which they are apparently "over staffed", Magic didn't really have a choice but to mix and match their crews/# of trains just to keep the park open. It was either keep more people at ride A, or close rides B/C/D because they didn't have enough bodies. And the trains have to pulled off for rehab after X amount of time, so without the proper budget/staff to rehab them, they needed to conserve as much as possible.

 

Those are the operational choices no park should have to make, but if you were a high up Magic...you had to play the hand you were dealt so to speak and do the best you could.

 

Besides, hourly numbers at magic aren't accurate anyways. There's no cycle counter, and the numbers have to be pulled off the turnstiles manually every hour. So that means there is probably a 5 minute margin of error depending on who was taking the #'s down.

[Guest]

Yeah, that sounds like Magic Mountain to me. Crew's doing great at actually having the capacity a ride should have, so let's break up the team and take some trains off! Yeah that'll make it even better!

 

If people call in to work or the lines arent filled its not like they have a choice. Put yourself in these shoes

 

*Numbers might not be accurate not familiar with Magics policies they're my best guess

 

Tatsu Crew:

Needs 3 with 1 station, 6 with 2

1. Person 1

2. Person 2

3. Person 3

1. Person 4 (Certified for Sky Tower)

2. Person 5 (Certified for Sky Tower)

3. Person 6

Breaker

 

 

Sky Tower Crew:

Needs 3

1. Person 1

2. Person 2 (called in)

3. Person 3 (sent home by first aid due to allergic reaction to something)

Breaker

 

Option 1: Keep Tatsu running both stations and close Sky Tower

Option 2: Tatsu 1 station, keep Sky Tower open

 

I think most would agree keeping Sky Tower open would be more important.

 

People call into work, people get sick or injure themselves and have to go to first aid, and you cant just drop positions or you have to drop units or close the ride.

Its inevietable that people will be moved around cause 99.9% of the time your going to end up with less people than you have on the line schedules.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

^That's pretty on point for ball park numbers.

Concept ideas for discussion.

 

Drop the minors.

Here's some vital issues that MM has to face every day.

 

*Minors can only work for 7 hours a day.

 

*Minors going over meal violations have steeper fines than adults going over

 

*Adults who have bills are slightly more dependable and apt to working than a 16 year old who works for the "extra cash".

 

*If you scheduled those same six people for Tatsu with a breaker and they were all at least 18, you're set for the day. That's how Knott's does it and that practice seems to hit more than it misses.

 

Many other parks that higher their operators at older ages tend to have less problems with staffing. I'm not saying Disney or Knott's has perfect attendance with their employees, but these parks seem to be better staffed.

[NYTrojan]

But these sorts of staffing problems (People calling in sick, etc) belong to every park. Disney, Knotts, Cedar Point, hell even other Six Flags parks... but I've never seen anyplace with the problems Magic Mountain has.

 

That said, I HAVE had excellent service at Magic Mountain. The older fellow seat checking Goliath the last time I was there practically sprinted everywhere. The problem is that these efforts are few and far between.

 

I don't think you can blame it on kids either. It's up to their management to both motivate them AND hold them accountable. Cedar Point is mostly staffed by young folks and not only are they good at keeping the lines moving, they are cheerful and friendly. I HAVE recently started seeing more character from Magic Mountain... "The One Loop Wonder" at revolution, "Hi-yah!" on Ninja, and "Have a Magic Day" are all great starts, but they are often droned out in monotone... and for goodness sake, the people who work with the costumed mascots (The folks in six flags garb, not the mascots themselves) have GOT to be more friendly. You can't have such a killjoy standing around Bugs, you just can't.

 

The bottom line is kids will do what you let them get away with, but they will also be cheerful and fun if you encourage them properly. While cheesy, the kids who work the lines at the gate at the beginning of the day are exactly what I'm talking about. Yeah their act is goofy and dorky, but that's what you need to set the tone for the day and children LOVE it. I don't see why that kind of enthusiasm can't work its way to the rides.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

^You make excellent points, but what I'm saying is that in order to get your crew to feed into a system, they have to be there first. Then they have to want to be there. Some kids that work there do a pretty damn good job, but we all know that even one bad seed can screw it up for everybody. How often do we hear orange tags brag about them "not needing this crappy job" or "not getting paid enough for this". Sure adults do it too, but its not as common. Yes other parks have to deal with issues such as call-ins, early dismissals, and reducing capacity, but the sense of urgency and responsibilty a 22 year old may have is distinctively different from that of a 16 year old. Remember, I'm not saying that this will solve the age old mystery to morale and lack of staffing, but it is a factor to look at and consider.

 

Eric

[Flya Pelican]

On the topic of staff attitude- at the local amusement park in NY 'Adventureland' the ride OP was amazing at Hurricane! We were scared of him at first because obviously he was autistic and we were just about to start the ride and my seatbelt thingy opened up and he did this really weird noise and was like "u sife u sife" (safe) and just closed it back up.

 

Then when we went on again, we noticed he was AWESOME! He may have had some problems obviously, but everytime we got on he would be like "3,2,1 woooo" and then start the ride and as we were about to climb up the lift-hill he gives us all high fives. And sometimes he would give you a high five, fake it, and brush his hair. He was so much fun! Too bad he couldn't talk right, and had some mental problems because he was obviously an awesome guy! We felt so bad for him, but hopefully he knew we thought he was awesome!

 

So yeah, ride OPS could be awesome people! And can add to the fun of the ride, especially if they just try.

[NYTrojan]

^You make excellent points, but what I'm saying is that in order to get your crew to feed into a system, they have to be there first. Then they have to want to be there. Some kids that work there do a pretty damn good job, but we all know that even one bad seed can screw it up for everybody. How often do we hear orange tags brag about them "not needing this crappy job" or "not getting paid enough for this". Sure adults do it too, but its not as common. Yes other parks have to deal with issues such as call-ins, early dismissals, and reducing capacity, but the sense of urgency and responsibilty a 22 year old may have is distinctively different from that of a 16 year old. Remember, I'm not saying that this will solve the age old mystery to morale and lack of staffing, but it is a factor to look at and consider.

 

Eric

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that hiring young won't be a problem if there are significant bonuses for good work and penalties for bad. Kids aren't self motivated but that doesn't mean they can't BE motivated. While the kids deserve blame, those that manage them deserve it more for not holding them accountable.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

^Touchet

[arrowfanman]

Hey guys,

 

It's my turn to be "moderator" Jahan and not "Jahan", Jahan.

 

When this thread was created, we had no idea how popular it would eventually become! If you would have told me that it would grow to become nearly 500 pages long, I would have laughed at you! And as a result, I have to thank everybody for their contributions to this thread over the past few years!

 

I don't know how to 'nicely' say this, so I'm going to be straight-forward. I think that the SFMM Updates thread has lost its purpose and gone off track.

 

I'm not just saying this because it's "my thread". It's not "my thread". I made it "SFMM Updates" and not "Jahan's Updates" for a reason. It's just, there was a day and age where someone would post an update and the topic conversation would center around that update--because it's the "Updates" thread. When all had been said, the thread sort of died until the next person came along and posted an update.

 

People are now posting for the sake of posting. More often than not, people are not talking about ACTUAL things that are going on at the park, but rather getting sidetracked with random conversation.

 

And it's leading to unnecessary arguments, member-problems, and general conflict that could have easily been avoided if we just stuck to what we know and can see going on at the park, rather than rash hypotheticals.

 

I'm ecstatic that people seem to be so relatively enthusiastic and opinionated on ideas for Magic Mountain, the policies in place, the pros, the cons--ANYTHING and everything that one could potentially talk about a single theme park! But our request is simply to keep conversation in this thread centered around the updates and the material discussed in the updates. I'm afraid that moderators will employ the right to pull any posts that are off topic.

 

I hope I am being fair. I want this thread to be welcoming to people who have actual information, that's all. And I hope to see some more SFMM Updates from you folks!

 

 

 

Thank you,

 

-Jahan (arrowfanman@yahoo.com)

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Hey Jahan & folks,

 

Since there are Discussion Threads for various parks on here now, why don't we create a Six Flags Magic Mountain Discussion Thread? Then we could have the updates/update discussion seperated from general discussion about SFMM. Some posts from this thread could probably be moved into the new SFMM General Discussion Thread. What do you all think?

[socalMAN123]

^ I like that idea. All the posts about random crap at the park could be moved to that topic while the posts about improvements or comments on the updates could stay here. Seems like a good way to split up the conversation.

---Brent

[cherrydrink]

I was actually enjoying the conversation about Magic Mountain employment and policies... and not just because I was recently mentioned in someones trip report as one of those surly, lazy, and lethargic employees who are the downfall of Magic Mountain, which I won't even comment on (although I do have a rebuttal).

 

But I did get a kick out of reading it.

[Jew]

You can definitely still discuss SFMM in this thread! I think the point Jahan is trying to make is that all discussions should be based on what is currently going on in the park, and that all posts should actually add something to the conversation.

 

For example, the argument I got into about marketing? Pointless. But our current discussion about the employee situation? Considering its the middle of summer, how the employees are doing are the updates that really count! Everyone wants to know how the turn around is going during the busiest time of the year!

 

But going back to what I think Jahan is trying to say, you should only really be adding to the discussion about employees (or whatever the current topic may be) if you have your own experiences (whether that be a trip report, time as a former/current employees, photos, etc.), rather than just speculating/assuming/saying how you would do it different/etc. without anything to back it up. That's what really causes the thread to get off course, with it usually taking a few pages of posts to get back on track! Again, my debate about the marketing is a perfect example of this!

 

Hope that clears it up. Jahan will probably add more later.

[ajinaz]

I was actually enjoying the conversation about Magic Mountain employment and policies... and not just because I was recently mentioned in someones trip report as one of those surly, lazy, and lethargic employees who are the downfall of Magic Mountain, which I won't even comment on (although I do have a rebuttal).

 

But I did get a kick out of reading it.

 

Why not offer your rebuttal? Or at least tell us what your feelings are about the park? Personally, I would enjoy reading about any inside update information that you have.

How is employee moral?

What has the staff heard about new rides?

[robbalvey]

^ I will weigh in with my thoughts on this...

 

I think what Jahan is getting at is that a lot of what is being talked about as "inside" or "behind the scenes" operations is quite a bit of speculation and rumor, not anything that is actual fact.

 

And what is happening is that so many people are talking about something that something that is not quite accurate all of a sudden becomes "fact."

 

A good example of this is the 14 pages of locker discussion that happened a while back.

 

Bottom line is, it's fine to discuss the park, but want it to be REAL discussion about the park and what is going on. It it strays off into something that more speculation or 14 pages of locker conversations again, please understand if one of the mods or myself have to step in and correct the situation.

 

I hope you guys can understand that.

 

--Robb

[cooksta77]

That's true once someone says something over and over then a convorsation gets started it doesn't matter if that info was a rumor then it does turn into a fact!

[Top Thrill Dragster]

I was at the park today here is what I noticed.

 

The good.

 

X2 crew, WOW...WOW. By FAR the best crew in the park, they were dispatching trains just as another train entered the former unload area. It seemed like they have the operation of this ride down to a science. SFMM management needs to give this crew a raise or bonus.

 

Goliath crew, great as always.

 

Clean park.

 

Sky Tower open.

 

All rides open, except for Thrill Shot.

 

 

 

The Bad.

 

Tatsu running one train for a couple of hours during the middle of the day.

 

Tatsu crew not doing their jobs and leaving the only train running in the block before the station for long periods of time.

 

Scream Crew stacking almost every interval

 

Internet connection at Cyber Cafe VERY slow.

 

Saw a lot of employees on cell phones, one was even texting while walking in the middle of the midway.

 

Thomas Town empty for most of the day.

 

Flash Pass center still very slow.

[robbalvey]

Tatsu crew still managed to stack, while running one train.

Um, how is it possible to stack with only one train?

[socalMAN123]

^^ I didn't even know it was possible to stack with one train! But as for the X2 crew, they really do put people through that ride. It's amazing. And I thought the employees gave up on cell phones? What happened? We lose them, and now they're making a comeback. Boo. Thanks for the info!

---Brent

[Top Thrill Dragster]

The employees were not paying attention and not hitting the secondary dispatch or the main dispatch, to advance the train into the station.

[robbalvey]

^ That's not stacking.