Kentucky Kingdom (SFKK, KK) Discussion Thread

[steel]

There should be no difference between SFKK's and Disney's staffs. They are both amusement parks. They both have rides. They both have roller coasters. The only differences are the amount of theming and the size. Disney has young employees as well. So what? SFKK's staff is rude. The op at Rollerskater was actually yelling at a group of kids when I was there. If that's not rude, please tell me what is.

If it's only the task of the rides to give people a good experience, then why does Holiday World constantly win awards? Sure, Voyage and Raven are great, but the park really doesn't have any other standout rides. SFKK has Superman, Thunder Run, Greezed Lightnin', and Chang. All of these are fairly good rides, but the park is still horrible. All of it has to do with maintenance, upkeep, and friendliness. If a park has a crappy atmosphere, people don't want to come back.

You say that they can't just leave and find another job. I'm sorry, but that just is not true. I don't care what part of the country you're in. There are plenty of Targets, Dairy Queens, and Burger Kings to go around.

[Twister II]

Are any of the Towers running again?

 

Drop Zone @ Great America was today (did it use different cables?)

Tower of Doom at Elitch's was running full force on Sunday. On Monday, it was closed, but the ride was still testing.

 

A park rep said that Tower of Doom "will not reopen" until the results of the accident are concluded.

[coasterfan200692]

There should be no difference between SFKK's and Disney's staffs. They are both amusement parks. They both have rides. They both have roller coasters. The only differences are the amount of theming and the size. Disney has young employees as well. So what? SFKK's staff is rude. The op at Rollerskater was actually yelling at a group of kids when I was there. If that's not rude, please tell me what is.

If it's only the task of the rides to give people a good experience, then why does Holiday World constantly win awards? Sure, Voyage and Raven are great, but the park really doesn't have any other standout rides. SFKK has Superman, Thunder Run, Greezed Lightnin', and Chang. All of these are fairly good rides, but the park is still horrible. All of it has to do with maintenance, upkeep, and friendliness. If a park has a crappy atmosphere, people don't want to come back.

You say that they can't just leave and find another job. I'm sorry, but that just is not true. I don't care what part of the country you're in. There are plenty of Targets, Dairy Queens, and Burger Kings to go around.

You are assuming that out of no where this person was yelling, you don't know what was going on before, there was probably something that the kids did that they needed to be called out for. When you don't understand the situation you can't just jump to these type of conclusions. At thunder run, I walked into the station and the ride operator was being yelled at by a whole bunch of flash pass holders who wouldn't listen to his instruction. After they insulted him personally he became mad and raised his voice as well. That is a normal human reaction and in no way does that make him rude or the park dirty. After that someone else came in and started to call him a retard for yelling at the guests, sounds familiar, but they didn't know what happened before hand.

[steel]

In telling me not to jump to conclusions, you yourself are, in fact, jumping to the conclusion that I didn't know why she was yelling. I do actually know exactly what was happening because I was in line when it happened. A little kid was sitting on the railing with his sister and dad behind him. I'm not saying this was okay, but there are way better was to handle a situation like this than yelling, which is exactly what happened.

I'm not saying that guests are always perfect little angels. I know very well how nasty people can be. I am, however, saying that many employees at SFKK do not know how to effectively handle situations involving misbehaving guests without coming off as rude.

[palavos3]

I think they should have closed down the ride at Kentucky Kingdom but not all the other Drop Zones. People are so paranoid!

[spaceace12]

YEah, people are so parnoid, I mean, since it happens to be a company that makes a bunch of these, it could be a design problem that they just discovered, but hey, lets not err on the side of caution and run all others and lets hope nothing else happens. [/end sarcasm]

 

I think this was a smart move on six flags and cf part because it might be a design flaw that needs to be addressed, or just a freak accident.

[waterviper]

There should be no difference between SFKK's and Disney's staffs. They are both amusement parks. They both have rides. They both have roller coasters. The only differences are the amount of theming and the size. Disney has young employees as well. So what? SFKK's staff is rude. The op at Rollerskater was actually yelling at a group of kids when I was there. If that's not rude, please tell me what is.

If it's only the task of the rides to give people a good experience, then why does Holiday World constantly win awards? Sure, Voyage and Raven are great, but the park really doesn't have any other standout rides. SFKK has Superman, Thunder Run, Greezed Lightnin', and Chang. All of these are fairly good rides, but the park is still horrible. All of it has to do with maintenance, upkeep, and friendliness. If a park has a crappy atmosphere, people don't want to come back.

You say that they can't just leave and find another job. I'm sorry, but that just is not true. I don't care what part of the country you're in. There are plenty of Targets, Dairy Queens, and Burger Kings to go around.

You are assuming that out of no where this person was yelling, you don't know what was going on before, there was probably something that the kids did that they needed to be called out for. When you don't understand the situation you can't just jump to these type of conclusions. At thunder run, I walked into the station and the ride operator was being yelled at by a whole bunch of flash pass holders who wouldn't listen to his instruction. After they insulted him personally he became mad and raised his voice as well. That is a normal human reaction and in no way does that make him rude or the park dirty. After that someone else came in and started to call him a retard for yelling at the guests, sounds familiar, but they didn't know what happened before hand.

 

You see when you get paid to work at any amusement park you are not paid to react to people. You are paid to do the best you can unrudely to solve a situation. Their are standards that need to be upheld when you are employed at an amusementpark and being rude or obnoxious to guests is not one of them. I was treated rudely once too at Elitch and I was thinking who the _____ do they hire around here! Needless to say Elitch lost my patronage. Besides Elitch sucks anyways! Now imaging that on a bigger scale. If they keep treating their guests rudely more and more people wont go, so now they loose business. Like I said in my post before Disney knows how to treat their guests and the guests are coming back for more because they had a good experience. This goes for any workplace too.

[disneygurlz2s]

Just a few comments with regard to the posts on the past couple of pages....

 

The family of the girl released a statement (yesterday, I believe) and confirmed that she is Kaitlyn Lasitter of the Louisville area. There is a complete article and photo of her (school yearbook) here:

 

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007706271324&GID=NOWuH0IwQ2NuJ5f33ueCZ03Y/6wYSXeBLk5ArCIiZo0%3D

 

I think the thing I find most shocking is the family's claim that Six Flags has had no contact with them, despite the media's reporting to the contrary. Bottom line, if this is true, this makes Six Flags, both KK and the corporation, really look BAD!! I cannot imagine this would be the case, but???

 

As for the arguement being made about ride ops, employees, etc. I would like to to weigh in if I might. I agree completely with Wes and those whose position it is to say that it SHOULDN'T matter whether the park is Magic Kingdom or Magic Mountain, or Cedar Point or Holiday World, employees should be expected to conduct themselves professionally, politely and with respect for their job and the customers they serve. However, I feel this attitude only comes through at parks where this is expected and demanded of the employee (regardless of age) by the EMPLOYER. Walt Disney and the Disney Company set a standard that is so high, they now offer customer service classes to corporations outside of the theme park industry. (The director of training at my medical practice here in Cincy recently got to go to DL and take the course). Pat and Will Koch are also famous for the rules, regulations and expectations set forth to the Holiday World employees.

 

I think that one of the problems that has existed in certain parts of the industry in recent years has been a lack of this kind of approach. I definitely felt it when Paramount owned KI, and I have seen an improvement in the conduct and attitude of the staff since CF came on board (so far, it's the only improvement, but I digress....). Funny thing is though, a lot of the long time employees are pissed at many of the new rules and regulations because they had it so easy for years when Paramount didn't care!

 

All this aside though, if this accident was a result of a faulty cable or some mechanical malfunction that could not have been detected by maintainence, it would not be the fault of the KK employees regardless of how crappy the park and it's staff might be.

 

Just my two (or maybe three) cents worth....

 

Shari

[steel]

Oh god, she was right in front of me in line for Roadrunner Express. I remember her specifically.

[spaceace12]

emailed SFSTL about the tower not being on thier website and this is the email I got back after the normal automated one

 

Thank you for your interest in Six Flags. We are aware of the incident at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, and we have closed our version of the ride until further notice. This is pending the outcome of the current investigation. The ride is not currently scheduled for removal. The information has been removed from the website to avoid advertising the ride while it is not available. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I would be glad to help.

[bulldogmom]

I was thinking about the thing with the park people trying to see the girl in the hospital- it was a nice gesture, if they did, but if I were her mother, would I want to see them? What would I say to them? (or they to me?) I can't imagine what that conversation would have been like- only that I would not want to be a part of it at all.

[disneygurlz2s]

I was thinking about the thing with the park people trying to see the girl in the hospital- it was a nice gesture, if they did, but if I were her mother, would I want to see them? What would I say to them? (or they to me?) I can't imagine what that conversation would have been like- only that I would not want to be a part of it at all.

 

Five years ago, my 23 year old niece was killed when a 22 year old, off-duty Sheriff's Deputy crashed head on into her Honda Civic. His blood alcohol level was 2x over the legal limit. In the days that followed, his mother, who was also grieving (he died in Air Care enroute to the hospital) made the effort to contact various members of my sister's family who were willing to speak to her so that she could offer her condolences and apologize for her son's poor judgement. My sister refused to talk to her, but at least she could never say that this guy's family failed to acknowledge our family's loss.

 

My point is, it's one thing if Six Flags park or corporate personnel made attempts to talk with or offer assitance to the Lassiter Family and they chose not to speak with them. It is something entirely different if they have not tried to contact the family. Someone here is not telling the truth.

[blacknite2oo7]

Interesting that the Ohio Department of Agriculture would have jurisdiction over ride safety at KI--or is this typical of other states and theme-park rides? Maybe this rose out of having to regulate country fairs?

 

 

In North Carolina its the North Carolina Deptartment of Labor, Elevator and Amusement Device Bureau

 

Elevator and Amusement Device Bureau

 

The Elevator and Amusement Device Bureau checks for the proper installation and safe operation of elevators, escalators, workman's hoists, dumbwaiters, moving walks, aerial passenger tramways, amusement rides and incline railways. The bureau also inspects lifting devices for people with disabilities that operate in public establishments (except federal buildings) and private places of employment.

 

Companies or individuals installing equipment, other than amusement rides, under NCDOL jurisdiction must submit prints and applications for approval before installation begins. Companies or individuals planning to operate amusement devices are required to submit a location notice in writing to the bureau's Raleigh office at least 10 days before the intended date of operation. The bureau will issue an installation permit, which must be posted on the job site. New installations, as well as alterations to existing equipment, are inspected.

 

The bureau also conducts regular, periodic inspections of this equipment in the state and inspects amusement rides before they operate at each location. Employers, institutions such as churches and individuals who desire technical assistance in selecting and installing safe lifting devices for people with disabilities can get help from the bureau. The bureau also offers architects and builders the service of reviewing plans for code compliance on proposed installations of elevators and related equipment.

 

And my guess would be that it is somewhat similar in South Carolina to.

 

 

And I saw Drop Zone running today at Carowinds, the ride was the same new cables or not I didn't feel a difference, but there wasn't too many people over there to ride it.

[CoryPa77]

Does anyone on here remember a really horrific accident on some ride called the Hell Hole (I think) at Coney Island back in the 90's? It was like a Gravitron ride or something and I just remembered someone getting their legs cut off, but I never really remember hearing more about it.

 

I just always thought that was an odd name for a ride to begin with though.

 

Anybody find any links? I tried to look, but only found a few things here and there on it.

[ConleyKE]

So what? SFKK's staff is rude.

 

Steel, this would be jumping to conclusions.

 

And enough flaming. Let's try to stay on topic here.

[coreyml]

rode that ride exactly 24 hours b4 the accident. It was just a detour from the 4th day @ KI for the CON. we laughed on the way up b/c it made a funny noise.

 

In that article a few posts ago, the word describing the accident was "tore off" instead of slicing off which Adam and Jamie just proved that you cannot slice a pig in half using 5/8" cable @ 30K# and whipped around an obstruction. It didnt even cut the pig. I would imagine that cable broke the sound barrier on the show and nothing happened.

 

BUT

when Adam got in the forklift thing, tied the cable around the pig and floored it, the pig was cut relatively easy

I imagine that's what happened. The cable wrapped around, they dropped and the cable stayed just ripping the feet off

OUCH

that poor (rich?) girl

[chaos]

I still can't imagime how it happened. I need to start watching Mythbusters more often.

[calcajun]

I have seen and felt the cables before they were installed on a drop ride.

To most of us they look quite small and harmless when they are on a ride. They appear this way because all parts of the ride are very big and heavy. The cables then seem very small and light. They are not. They are big and extremely heavy.

 

Thats why from what witnesses said, i figured the cable came down hitting her somewhere at her ankles or feet and just ripped them off.

For those who don't think this can happen, all you have to do is search the internet and you will find that people in car accidents and other types of accidents do get dismembered and decapitated.

I could post a link to a video that shows this actually happening to a person but it is not something that we really want to see. If you realy want to see it these videos are easily found all over the internet.

 

I am just saying this cause lots of people here just don't see how this can happen. It does. When the investigations are complete we will hear in great detail what exactly happened. Just a matter of time.

[steel]

So what? SFKK's staff is rude.

 

Steel, this would be jumping to conclusions.

I did explain that in my second post. Either way, I would not consider that jumping to conclusions, since they were rude *in my experience.*

 

We weren't flaming either. I don't recall anyone saying anything about anyone else personally. In fact, none of us ever even raised our intellectual voices, if you will. Obviously, we're not getting anywhere, but I certainly would not think of it as flaming.

 

On topic now.

It would make sense that her feet were "torn off," since witnesses say the cable "whipped around." If this is indeed true, the cable could easily have wrapped around the girls feet and pulled. Something like a lasso.

[Drumline99]

This short movie clip is about a proposed new design on Intamin drop towers using LIM's to get the coaches to the top of the tower instead of cables.

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=266220861213358367&q=intamin+drop+towers&total=12&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=3

 

Not sure if parks that already had cable lifts on their towers would be able to convert to the LIM system but if they could it would be worth it to me. It definantly cut the risk of cable snaps.

 

Sorry if thats not how im supposed to post videos I tried using the video tab thing but I couldnt figure it out. lol

[steel]

That would work a lot better. I wouldn't be surprised if they look into something like that.

[KGA29]

I don't know about the other drop towers, but Drop Zone at GA was open when I went on Wednesday. I had a solid 3 rides on it.

[gk]

Update.

 

 

Teen Injured on Ride Has Foot Reattached

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19361804/

[FeelTheFORCE]

I don't know about the other drop towers, but Drop Zone at GA was open when I went on Wednesday. I had a solid 3 rides on it.

 

The Pitt Fall at Kennywood has never closed for a whole day. It was shut down very briefly to do an inspection, but re-opened right away.

[adc9787]

Yes. I just read that article. It is really sad that only one foot could be reattached. Hopefully todays advanced prosthetics can help in creating the other foot.

 

-Andrew