GivenOneChance Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 I'm sure we are full aware that there are many ride operators who bluntly don't take their job seriously. We even have a thread to talk about all the stupid things ride operators do and the bad experiences we have had with them. However, I thought I'd start this thread. I didn't see anything like it. So I just wanted to know what are some funny things, entertaining things you've seen ride ops do that made your experience an enjoyable one? I can't recall what ride I was on, this was a while back (I was at Knotts Berry Farm). The ride op would use the loudspeaker to kinda engage the riders. He'd say things like "don't be scurred (scared)!", step up to the plate." Overall he had a good voice for what he was doing and I guess it helped build up anticipation prior to riding. What are some of your good experiences with ride ops, if at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayberry21 Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Without a doubt, the guys at the bumper cars in Knoebels. I find them hilarious; I'm sure they can't say the same LOL. Anyone who knows what I'm talking about will know that these guys (or guy, never sure if it's the same one...sometimes i swear it is) are hilarious. All's you have to do are two things; either go the wrong way or get out of your car while it's still moving -- they'll flip out LOL. The one time a kid started going the wrong way. I wasn't sure if it was intentional but the ride op got really mad and stopped the cars and yelled, "HEY!!" It was just too funny; I could not stop laughing lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Disneylander Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Without a doubt the guy who ran ERT for Termination Day. He was awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor2011 Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 The Ride Op for Wicked Twister is always hilarious for me. He asks riders if their ride was magically delicious and speaks random phrases like dippin dots before launching them out of the station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperShawn Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 There's 1 or 2 simply amazing cast members at TOT in CA. My favorite being one who pointed out the "ejector" seats in the front row on each end to the kids sitting in them. And then told the kids "this is not the scariest ride in Disneyland, I'll give you hint it takes 15-30 minutes to get through, its a boat ride, and its not pirates or splash mountain" Then sent the elevator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expeditioneverestfan Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Just yesterday at a Fair I went to, the ride op (well not the op, but the guy standing by the entrance) for the Gravitron was really happy and pretty funny. He got all excited when I walked over from the Round-Up and he yelled," Yeah, this ride is better, we got music." Just a very happy, excited man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyuk200523 Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Everytime I ride Stealth with my friend operating, he uses the microphone for the pre launch talk rather than the pre-recorded spiel, really good fun, especially when riding with first time riders and he purposefully launches the train before finishing the speech, good times Apart from that, just any operator that takes their role at a Theme Park seriously and creates a good fun atmosphere, after all, isn't that what going to a Theme Park is all about?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loefet Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Easily the ops we had on Goliath at our last visit to Walibi World. They were unbelievable, great fun to watch Not to forget some parks in Japan, where the ride-ops are insane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHulk Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 The ride ops at Dueling Dragons seem to like having a bit of fun. They sometimes say random things out of nowhere, and I remember the time that DD was stopped because of weather. After some of the lightning and thunder calmed down a bit, this one guy in line said "Why can't we get on the ride now?" So the ride op replied with something like "Well, it's 125 feet tall, made of steel, and there's lightning outside. You can try it if you'd like, I won't tell anyone." Of course, it was a joke, and I had to laugh. Then there's these two ops for Behemoth at Canada's wonderland. One had his arm around the other guy's shoulders, and he was singing to him as the train was leaving the station. Last one I can think of are the ops for Jaws. True, the ride is suppose to be serious, but they always throw in some fun here and there, especially at the end of the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 The guy operating Kentucky Rumbler during our ERT on the Midwest Trip a few years ago. Not the GCI guy, I have a pic of the guy but its not on my laptop. Anyway, he riled up the line and trains with coaster trivia like "Kentucky Rumbler goes 100 mph," and the like. He was really enthusiastic and seemed to fire up the crowd late into the night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike541x Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 I was pretty suprised a few years ago during Fright Fest at SFA. It was late and my friend and I had Mind Eraser all to our selves. The rides Ops weren't being lazy or anything, and they were pretty humerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 I had a great experience on the flyers at KD last year where the guy running the ride was simply awesome - you could tell he really got into his job! Another was the ride crew on El Toro a couple of weeks ago. They were allowing re-rides because there was no line and were also trying to break a record for dispatches. You could see they were having a great time (and they were doing it safely), although I think they were pissed when an overweight guy could not get his restraint to lock and he had to do the walk of shame. Probably cost the crew three cycles! I also agree with Wicked Twister. They always seem to have a great crew working that ride that likes to catch riders off guard at the time of launch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X2coasterfreak Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 The people on Xcelerator are really good. They do different things till launch. One of my favorites is " Spaceballs ready? 1,2,3 Ludicrous speed!!" or " Remember no loose articles can be brought on board, keep your head back hold on and good bye." I like the people on Tatsu also. At WCB They said " Enjoy your ride on Tats-oo-oo" And these people were going oo-oo throughout the whole ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All Clear Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 The guy on the mic when we had ERT on Behemoth was great. Also, when I was at Dollywood, there was a girl MCing Thunderhead that was just perfect. She was very funny with her Tennessee drawl saying things like, "Please fasten your seatbelts cause we don't want anymore people flying out of the train today. Do not try to get out and run along side the train while it's moving. You will not be able to keep up." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RctInfinity Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 The ride op that sends us into the elevator on Tower of Terror in WDW always says something like "WAIT, NO!" as the doors close. I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-RadG Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 I liked the woman operating Steel Force when we were at Dorney- "All clearizzle shizzle enjoy your rizzle!" *creepy Star Wars voice*"May the Steel Force... be with you..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy_Behemoth_Lady_Jess Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 The ride ops on Judge Roy Scream at SFOT when I went in March. They said something like "Enjoy your ride on Judge Roy Scream! Order in the court!" when they dispatched the train. I wonder if I'll ever see ride ops making the whole loading procedure into something simular to a dance routine (but yet still doing everything properly and safely). I guess I'd call this "Flair train loading"? "Freestyle ride operating"? Or just "showmanship"? If anyone ever catches a video of that or something, send it to me so I can enjoy too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJS1981 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I was at SF White Water that is outside of Atlanta last summer, and some of the guys that pushes your raft at the top of the chutes would splash water on the rafts leaving or fling water onto the people waiting in line (if you were waiting on stairs). one would look at the line, yell out "What are you looking at?" and fling water on them. Made for an interesting wait in line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teacups Make Me Sick Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Does the ride ops for The Jungle Cruise at WDW & DL count? They are usually very funny and are the only reason why I would go on the ride. I heard that they have a script, does anybody know if this is true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyuk200523 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 My favourite from Stealth has to be.... Are you ready for you ride on Stealth, 0-80mph in 1.9 seconds??? Put your hands in the air if your having a good day? LAUNCH Never seen so many people scream in all my life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterNERD502 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 My favorite would be from Joker's Jinx at SFA when the op countdowns the launch. He would say 5..4...3 LAUNCH!! And then after the ride launches he would say WHOOPS! Another crew would be from Fahrenheit last time I was at Hershey. They were joking and playing around but getting the job done at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scream162 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Does the ride ops for The Jungle Cruise at WDW & DL count? They are usually very funny and are the only reason why I would go on the ride. I heard that they have a script, does anybody know if this is true? They do, but they are also allowed to make up their own jokes. However, they must be approved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GivenOneChance Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 My favorite would be from Joker's Jinx at SFA when the op countdowns the launch. He would say 5..4...3 LAUNCH!! And then after the ride launches he would say WHOOPS! . Hahah I've heard similar before. I love that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reon Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Can we nominate ourselves? I always make it a point to have as much fun with my job and the customers as I can while remaining safe and serious. Some examples were from today when I got to work the Pepsi Python (our Galaxi-ish credit). I would speil about it being the biggest, fastest, and only steel (and wood) coaster at Coney Island. I also did all kinds of stuff like making people try to reach for the dispatch button as I walked back to the other one (there are 2 in the station), insisting that KI got the idea for Diamondback from the ride, and eventually rallying guests to officially change the ride's name to "Space Walrus." And thats just to name a few small things I did. Aside from myself, I think the best ride op I've seen was the Wicked Twister op who kept doing things like countdown launches (Launch in 3...2*launch*.....1*train goes flying back through station*) and all sorts of other stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revilolee Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I was at Carowinds last week and most of the operators were pretty enthusiastic. It was great when one of the operators on Southern Star (Intamin looping ship) was like "You can pull down your restraints, but only if it's orange" - there are only yellow restraints on the ride lol! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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