Six Flags New England (SFNE) Discussion Thread

[coasterbill]

^Lol about the Bizarro crew. Were they actually being slow or were guests with large jackets creating issues not fitting on the ride? Yesterday at Toro, we were kicking almost one person off per train because of their larger size combined with wearing heavier jackets. I don't think we did above like 25 dispatches in an hour all night. (Which is bad haha)

 

 

Oh no they were brutal. The guy at the panel wouldn't even open the gates until the train dropped off the lift and was somewhere over by Mind Eraser and then would cause massive delays by yelling at people for leaving loose articles on the platform. Then the train would be ready to dispatch but the seat checkers wouldn't be paying attention and he's have to yell their names and point to their positions like he had just decided hitting interval was a priority.

 

Then at the end of the night he was yelling at this kid to leave (another employee, probably against the child labor law clock as a few ops were talking about that) and as soon as the kid left one of the higher ups came over and stood behind the panel and for the rest of the night this guy was acting like he was a Gatekeeper op or something who was obsessed with capacity. He looked like an NFL quarterback pointing and barking orders at everyone else to hurry up and get in position so they could get the trains out even though all day he couldn't possibly be bothered to even open the damn air gates.

[Generational]

I will be going to SFNE on Saturday from about 5 or 6 until close. Hopefully any crowds will have thinned, and I can get some last good rides on Wicked Cyclone and my last ride on Bizarro.

 

I will try and provide something of a report and see if I can see anything.

[BoulderDash]

You can tell the ops at SFNE always speed up once the park is almost closed. Its pretty funny.

 

The ops are pretty iffy at SFNE, Bizarro is sometimes pumping out trains but most times this year it has been stacking like crazy. Same with Cyclone. It is pretty unfortunate. Boulder Dash at LC has been cranking out trains the second half of the season, my last two visits the trains were ready well before the other hit the brake run. I also heard the ops cheering when they hit a 57 second load time which is pretty good.

 

With Cyclone, they really need to fix the assigned seating thing. I think they should extend the quene for the very front and the very back out a little and allow people to wait there. Then assign people randomly to the other seats. That would be pretty awesome. Or just do what Bizarro does and allow about two trains worth of people to the station and keep adding guests as people board.

 

And they should figure out what is wrong with Cyclone. I shouldn't have my seat vibrating the whole ride. It is funny how SFNE always seems to mess up their coaster trains.

[coasterbill]

I have to say that I've never experienced any vibration on Cyclone. It's one of the smoothest coasters I've ever ridden.

[Nitro1118]

I noticed it on one of the trains back in June. It wasn't painful, but it was extremely noticable and seemed to coorelate with that train giving sluggish rides.

[Paradox]

I noticed it on one of the trains back in June. It wasn't painful, but it was extremely noticable and seemed to coorelate with that train giving sluggish rides.

Same here, but it seemed to die down after a while. I caught it on a great day when it was absolutely hauling and it was amazing.

[RollerManic]

So, your current Director of Operations will be replacing Dave Roemer, SFStL park president in 2016.

 

The end times are apon us!

[Generational]

So, your current Director of Operations will be replacing Dave Roemer, SFStL park president in 2016.

 

The end times are apon us!

 

Say goodbye to your flat rides.

[coasterfreak101]

Having just ridden Wicked Cyclone on Sunday for the first time (only once, such a shame), I can definitely say that I noticed a vibration at the bottom of the first drop and after the overbank. After that, though, it went away...maybe I was just distracted by how freakin' insane the thing is. Seriously - it's awesome.

 

Also, I'm not one to complain about restraints - I love Skyrush and all the 'pain' that comes with it - but man, I can get behind anyone who hates the Bizarro trains. Those lap bars are brutal, in every sense of the word. Unbelievably uncomfortable, and a real downer on one hell of a ride.

[Nitro1118]

Having just ridden Wicked Cyclone on Sunday for the first time (only once, such a shame), I can definitely say that I noticed a vibration at the bottom of the first drop and after the overbank. After that, though, it went away...maybe I was just distracted by how freakin' insane the thing is. Seriously - it's awesome.

 

Also, I'm not one to complain about restraints - I love Skyrush and all the 'pain' that comes with it - but man, I can get behind anyone who hates the Bizarro trains. Those lap bars are brutal, in every sense of the word. Unbelievably uncomfortable, and a real downer on one hell of a ride.

 

How would you compare WC to the other RMC's/top coasters on your list?

[coasterfreak101]

How would you compare WC to the other RMC's/top coasters on your list?

Out of the four I've been on so far (Cyclone and Medusa as makeovers, Goliath and Outlaw Run as originals) I think I would rank it as a very close third, after Outlaw Run and Medusa - but I rode it on a day where it was flurrying when we got to the park and the temperature never broke 45 degrees. I could easily see it beating Medusa on a warmer day, for sure.

[El Toro_Ryan]

^Lol about the Bizarro crew. Were they actually being slow or were guests with large jackets creating issues not fitting on the ride? Yesterday at Toro, we were kicking almost one person off per train because of their larger size combined with wearing heavier jackets. I don't think we did above like 25 dispatches in an hour all night. (Which is bad haha)

 

 

Oh no they were brutal. The guy at the panel wouldn't even open the gates until the train dropped off the lift and was somewhere over by Mind Eraser and then would cause massive delays by yelling at people for leaving loose articles on the platform. Then the train would be ready to dispatch but the seat checkers wouldn't be paying attention and he's have to yell their names and point to their positions like he had just decided hitting interval was a priority.

 

Then at the end of the night he was yelling at this kid to leave (another employee, probably against the child labor law clock as a few ops were talking about that) and as soon as the kid left one of the higher ups came over and stood behind the panel and for the rest of the night this guy was acting like he was a Gatekeeper op or something who was obsessed with capacity. He looked like an NFL quarterback pointing and barking orders at everyone else to hurry up and get in position so they could get the trains out even though all day he couldn't possibly be bothered to even open the damn air gates.

 

Yeah I've noticed Bizarro's crew is either very on point or extremely slow. Earlier this year, I witnessed the crew being very sluggish and you could sense their lack of concern. The ride went down for technical difficulties so they put everyone on the ride back in line. The crew then sent an empty train with a child still standing on the platform. They noticed she was there after they had already dispatched the train. That's like a HUGE safety violation. I almost wanted to say something about it a higher up but didn't feel like ratting out the crew. But on other days, they'll have trains ready to dispatch well before the system allows them to dispatch.

 

And yeah, opening the air gates as soon as the train parks is major towards getting great numbers. That's just one of many things you have to do though, like paying attention lmao.

[Comeagain?]

Yeah I've noticed Bizarro's crew is either very on point or extremely slow. Earlier this year, I witnessed the crew being very sluggish and you could sense their lack of concern. The ride went down for technical difficulties so they put everyone on the ride back in line. The crew then sent an empty train with a child still standing on the platform. They noticed she was there after they had already dispatched the train. That's like a HUGE safety violation. I almost wanted to say something about it a higher up but didn't feel like ratting out the crew.

 

Maybe I'm just anal or something, but like you said, that's a huge safety issue. Something that management should know about. Especially because that means that there are multiple people who aren't doing their jobs correctly. And if they're not doing something simple like looking at their ride area before dispatch, what else isn't being done?

[scottm13]

^Lol about the Bizarro crew. Were they actually being slow or were guests with large jackets creating issues not fitting on the ride? Yesterday at Toro, we were kicking almost one person off per train because of their larger size combined with wearing heavier jackets. I don't think we did above like 25 dispatches in an hour all night. (Which is bad haha)

 

 

Oh no they were brutal. The guy at the panel wouldn't even open the gates until the train dropped off the lift and was somewhere over by Mind Eraser and then would cause massive delays by yelling at people for leaving loose articles on the platform. Then the train would be ready to dispatch but the seat checkers wouldn't be paying attention and he's have to yell their names and point to their positions like he had just decided hitting interval was a priority.

 

Then at the end of the night he was yelling at this kid to leave (another employee, probably against the child labor law clock as a few ops were talking about that) and as soon as the kid left one of the higher ups came over and stood behind the panel and for the rest of the night this guy was acting like he was a Gatekeeper op or something who was obsessed with capacity. He looked like an NFL quarterback pointing and barking orders at everyone else to hurry up and get in position so they could get the trains out even though all day he couldn't possibly be bothered to even open the damn air gates.

 

Yeah I've noticed Bizarro's crew is either very on point or extremely slow. Earlier this year, I witnessed the crew being very sluggish and you could sense their lack of concern. The ride went down for technical difficulties so they put everyone on the ride back in line. The crew then sent an empty train with a child still standing on the platform. They noticed she was there after they had already dispatched the train. That's like a HUGE safety violation. I almost wanted to say something about it a higher up but didn't feel like ratting out the crew. But on other days, they'll have trains ready to dispatch well before the system allows them to dispatch.

 

And yeah, opening the air gates as soon as the train parks is major towards getting great numbers. That's just one of many things you have to do though, like paying attention lmao.

The child was in no danger whatsoever. The crew made a mistake because it was a stressful situation. It shouldn't have happened, but there's no reason to go and speak to someone about it. You go to a theme park to enjoy yourselves, so don't get so worked up about something that has nothing to do with you.

[scottm13]

.

[coasterfreak101]

The child was in no danger whatsoever. The crew made a mistake because it was a stressful situation. It shouldn't have happened, but there's no reason to go and speak to someone about it. You go to a theme park to enjoy yourselves, so don't get so worked up about something that has nothing to do with you.

I'm sorry, but no. Crap operations and long dispatches aren't something I feel inclined to complain to a supervisor about, no matter how obnoxious they are. Somebody on the platform next to a moving train? That's unacceptable. Six Flags operators do one of the most overstated visual scans out there, and somehow all of them missed a child right in front of them? That's a serious lapse in safety protocol.

 

Your 'stressful situation' excuse is, quite frankly, complete bull. Nobody would give them that pass if the kid got an arm pinned between the platform and the train, which is completely possible in this situation. And that speaks right to your point that the child was never in danger - wrong. All the 'stressful situations' people deal with on a daily basis and pull off without a hitch, and some teenagers can't properly push 18 lap bars down and then regain their composure long enough to check for a human in front of them? Come on.

[Blind Idiot God]

 

The park has so many silly rules though...like no reentry after 6? And no cell phones allowed inside the bathroom? Sorry but I gotta entertain myself if I have to go number 2

 

There was a big incident in Korea recently where some-one visited multiple parks and took videos of the women's changing room/toilets while pretending to text and play a game on their phone and then publishing online: http://themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1622144#p1622144

 

I hear as a result they have people patrol the changing rooms and toilets for people with phones, sadly a result of 1 bad person resulting in rules for every-one else.

 

I also suspect that the "no reentry after six" rule is probably to keep people from going out into the parking lot, getting drunk, and then coming back and getting belligerent or violent with scare actors, especially since the park is surrounded by rough cities and tends to have similarly rough clientele.

[scottm13]

The child was in no danger whatsoever. The crew made a mistake because it was a stressful situation. It shouldn't have happened, but there's no reason to go and speak to someone about it. You go to a theme park to enjoy yourselves, so don't get so worked up about something that has nothing to do with you.

I'm sorry, but no. Crap operations and long dispatches aren't something I feel inclined to complain to a supervisor about, no matter how obnoxious they are. Somebody on the platform next to a moving train? That's unacceptable. Six Flags operators do one of the most overstated visual scans out there, and somehow all of them missed a child right in front of them? That's a serious lapse in safety protocol.

 

Your 'stressful situation' excuse is, quite frankly, complete bull. Nobody would give them that pass if the kid got an arm pinned between the platform and the train, which is completely possible in this situation. And that speaks right to your point that the child was never in danger - wrong. All the 'stressful situations' people deal with on a daily basis and pull off without a hitch, and some teenagers can't properly push 18 lap bars down and then regain their composure long enough to check for a human in front of them? Come on.

Have you even been to a subway or train station? That's far more dangerous than standing on a coaster platform. Coaster trains can stop in an instant entering or leaving the station. You do realize that coasters used to not have airgates or exit gates at all, right? That policy only exists because if someone did do something stupid and hurt themselves, there could be a potential lawsuit. The operators realize their mistake, nothing happened to the child, and I doubt any of the GP thought anything of it. Going out of your way to tell someone that it happened isn't going to do anything than get those team members in trouble.

 

When I was at Holiday World this past summer, two seperate trains got sent out with guests on the platform. One time the kid was standing in the exit, holding the gate open. Those employees consisted of supervisors and adults. Did I go and tell someone that it happened? No, because it's really not as serious as you're making it out to be.

 

Poor operations, on the other hand, is something that I do think is worth speaking to someone about. It's something that directly impacts your experience at the park, and is the park's fault, not a few individuals. That is something that can actually be worked on and improved.

[DJeXeL]

The child was in no danger whatsoever. The crew made a mistake because it was a stressful situation. It shouldn't have happened, but there's no reason to go and speak to someone about it. You go to a theme park to enjoy yourselves, so don't get so worked up about something that has nothing to do with you.

 

Sending an empty train during a downtime is a stressful situation? These kids wouldn't last 1 day operating a fast-paced Disney attraction. Also, whether or not the child was in direct danger is completely irrelevant. It's a safety policy violation and trying to justify it is dumb. Period! To be honest, the way you're defending them makes it sound like you work on said crew. I'm sure the park's management reads these boards so they already know probably.

 

Universal and Disney are 2 theme park operators that allow guests on the dock of coasters when trains are in motion as long as they're past the yellow lines. SF and CF do not allow guests on a coaster dock when a train is in motion.

[scottm13]

The child was in no danger whatsoever. The crew made a mistake because it was a stressful situation. It shouldn't have happened, but there's no reason to go and speak to someone about it. You go to a theme park to enjoy yourselves, so don't get so worked up about something that has nothing to do with you.

 

Sending an empty train during a downtime is a stressful situation? These kids wouldn't last 1 day operating a fast-paced Disney attraction. Also, whether or not the child was in direct danger is completely irrelevant. It's a safety policy violation and trying to justify it is dumb. Period! To be honest, the way you're defending them makes it sound like you work on said crew.

 

Universal and Disney are 2 theme park operators that allow guests on the dock of coasters when trains are in motion as long as they're past the yellow lines. SF and CF do not allow guests on a coaster dock when a train is in motion.

I'm not defending what happened. I'm saying there's no reason to go and tell someone about it just to get the crew in trouble. I said it's a stressful situation because it is, for most of the kids that work at Six Flags. They're thinking alot more about just sending an empty train, so they missed something. For an experienced ride operator or someone who works at a Disney park, where operations and training is in a different world than at a Six Flags park, you're right, it would literally mean nothing at all. It may be a safety violation, but it's a minor one at that. Calling it a serious issue and acting like they did something horrible while debating with yourself whether you'll be able to live with yourself is just being dramatic.

[viking86]

That's unacceptable. Six Flags operators do one of the most overstated visual scans out there, and somehow all of them missed a child right in front of them?

 

Do they still do that stupid

at Six Flags parks? To me it seems like something that could possible work against it's intention, as it would be extremely easy for the operators to focus more on the actual movement than actually looking...

[scottm13]

That's unacceptable. Six Flags operators do one of the most overstated visual scans out there, and somehow all of them missed a child right in front of them?

 

Do they still do that stupid

at Six Flags parks? To me it seems like something that could possible work against it's intention, as it would be extremely easy for the operators to focus more on the actual movement than actually looking...

You're exactly right, for the actual operators, it's useless and distracting. The primary purpose of that procedure is actually just to increase the perception of safety by the guests. Same as their new "locked" or "check" procedure at all SF parks. They're trying to get people to vote higher on their visit surveys for ride safety, but it serves virtually no purpose other than that.

[RollerManic]

That's unacceptable. Six Flags operators do one of the most overstated visual scans out there, and somehow all of them missed a child right in front of them?

 

Do they still do that stupid

at Six Flags parks? To me it seems like something that could possible work against it's intention, as it would be extremely easy for the operators to focus more on the actual movement than actually looking...

Reminds me of this, every time:

 

[Blind Idiot God]

The visual scan is probably there for liability purposes more than anything else.

[coneyislandchris]

From the "what a friggin' moron" file:

 

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/10/chicopee_man_accused_of_breaki_1.html

 

Chicopee man accused of breaking into Six Flags lockers, taking photos of credit cards gets 90 days

 

WESTFIELD -- A Chicopee man accused of breaking into storage lockers at Six Flags New England, taking money and snapping photos of visitors' credit cards has been sentenced to 90 days in jail, according to court documents.

 

Moises Santiago, 29, pleaded guilty in Westfield District Court Wednesday to charges of breaking into a depository and larceny over $250. He will serve time at the Hampden County House of Correction in Ludlow.

 

On Sept. 20, Agawam police and Six Flags security officials discovered that a man was caught on video breaking into lockers that day, as well as Sept. 6 and Sept. 12. The suspect, later identified as Santiago, was believed to be responsible for all the break-ins as a distinct tattoo was visible on his left arm in the security footage.

 

After being located at the park that day, Santiago told police he did not steal anything or take any pictures. Agawam officers asked if Santiago could show them the photographs in his phone to prove his innocence, according to reports. Santiago displayed photos from all three cell phones in the family's possession, one of which contained pictures of credit cards and drivers licenses, police said.The photos were taken on Sept. 6.

 

Neither Santiago or his wife could explain how the photos ended up on the phone, police report. Agawam Police Officer John Moccio reviewed video from Sept. 6, 12, and Sunday and confirmed that Santiago opened lockers, removed cash and placed it in his pocket.

 

Reports show four theft victims have been confirmed, with at least $450 in cash taken from their lockers.

 

Also, the wordfilter makes this story even better.