An example of horrible parenting skills

[themeparkman25]

Deleted by author

Edited January 22, 2011 by themeparkman25

[Skycoastin Steve]

On another note, have any of you ride operators had to deal with people being too tall? I operated two rides this last summer with max height limits, a Huss Top Spin and Intamin Half Pipe. That killed people when I would say they were too tall because they usually affiliate a limit of any sorts with being a kid. So when I say to a 40 year old man he can't ride, but his daughter can, then there are issues.

 

To be completely and entirely honest, I myself have broken height restriction rules by riding rides when I was too tall (I'm 6'5). The ride ops never stopped me, so I just rode. Had they said something, I wouldn't have put up a fight, but they didn't, so go me! I actually have 3 or 4 more credits than I should because I did this.

[themeparkman25]

Deleted by author

Edited January 22, 2011 by themeparkman25

[Skycoastin Steve]

^It's a wonder they don't make it so taller people can sit on the ends of the board where that division wouldn't be a danger to them. Sorta like the double seatbelt seats on some B&M's.

[themeparkman25]

Deleted by author

Edited January 22, 2011 by themeparkman25

[Skycoastin Steve]

^Ahhhh ok. That makes sense. Never ridden one, and probably wouldn't be able to.

[greghill]

On the flip side of this, one time at SFMM, my daughter wanted to ride Gold Rusher, so she walked over to the height limit sign to measure herself. She noticed that she was about a half-inch too short and stepped away, saying "No, I'm too short to ride." And that was that.

 

Parents who do this are a disgrace.

 

Eric

 

oh man, i always used to do that when i was younger. i knew if i couldn't ride it was for a reason!

[redfoot12]

On another note, have any of you ride operators had to deal with people being too tall? I operated two rides this last summer with max height limits, a Huss Top Spin and Intamin Half Pipe. That killed people when I would say they were too tall because they usually affiliate a limit of any sorts with being a kid. So when I say to a 40 year old man he can't ride, but his daughter can, then there are issues.

 

 

All in all, I love the general stupidity some people have. Whether it is shoes, heights, bags or alochol, it will never ever click why some people can't ride.

 

I tried to ride SROS at SFA and couldn't quite get the restraint to lower all the way for a safe dispatch (case of big ol' thighs). I tried to ride again without my shoes on and it gave me the extra room for me to ride.

[carolinacaniac]

While not quite on the "height restrictions" topic, There is a arecent story from life that does have to do with parents and their desire to sue......

 

So one day last week at the school I teach at, a parent comes in and is pissed because her kid had his cell phone taken away since he wasn't supposed to have it out. She threw most of her anger about that at the kid, but then got more angry at our poor secretary because she paid for her kid to go to the school's Valentine's Day Dance shortly after he returned from being suspended.......signing his permission form that stated that kids who had been suspended would not be permitted, and no refunds given.

 

So she starts demanding that she be able to get her money back because "I would really hate to have to call an attorney for seven dollars"........While it was most likely a scare tactic on her part, I would love to be at this meeting that she would have with the attorney if she actually tried, and watch as he/she laughs their ass off at this woman.

 

-Gary T.

[kidcoaster 2]

I had another incident back in 2006 while running the Witches Stew. A mom came up carrying her son who was legless.

 

Now when you ride the Witches Stew the only think holding you in is a single seat belt. And the ride can be a very slow ride or a wild ride (Not much control due to free spinning).

 

So my first reaction was to deny him because I was worried about his safety. The mom than started flipping out over it.

 

But I fell I did right because the PA rules for rides gives ride operators the right to deny someone a ride if the operator feels the rider's safety would be put at risk.

[StealthFan]

I had one woman come to me on Tiny Truckers at Chessington asking if her daughter could use the disabled entrance/exit to get on because she had ASTHMA. Now not only is that not classed as a disability on the parks rules, she had not gone to Guest Services to get a disabled wristband (even thought they would have said no). This woman was having non of it when we explained it to her, she was determined to get her child on, she wouldn't budge until we said we were going to get out Team Leader down and then she walked off in a strop!

 

We have had children on oxygen tanks and with broken legs queue for this ride but her daughter couldn't? Someone please explain that to me.

 

-Craig

[downunder]

It has never made any sense to me that you need a license to drive or wed; have age restrictions on smoking, drinking, gambling, but any dumbass on Earth can have a child!!!!

 

The scary part is all the dumbasses are having children, and lots of them, I don't know where they all sleep in the trailer.

 

As a little kid I conned my way onto rides where maybe I was a little too short. One such time was the Zipper at Luna Park Sydney, I bounced around that compartment like a tennis ball - I didn't ride a zipper again for twenty years.

[PKI Jizzman]

See sometimes I'll play a trick on the guest. If they ask "Can I sit in the front seat?" I'll reply, "If you can tell me what my name is."

 

Ofcourse I wouldn't know the other person, but I have a NAMETAG on with my name! Some people would look at me funny and be like, I don't know you! And some laugh and see my name tag and answer correctly.

 

I bet this parent would have not passed

[Kennyweird]

It has never made any sense to me that you need a license to drive or wed; have age restrictions on smoking, drinking, gambling, but any dumbass on Earth can have a child!!!!

 

The scary part is all the dumbasses are having children, and lots of them, I don't know where they all sleep in the trailer.

 

You bring up an interesting point.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertility_and_intelligence

[SharkTums]

^Have you watched "Idiocracy" by Mike Judge? AMAZING!!!!

[Speeddeamon128]

It's people like this that make my job as a ride op much more difficult than it should be. Why can't people just accept it that their child is too short for a ride and just bring them back later when they are taller. I've been cursed at, physically threatened, and been threatened to be sued by parents before. There are some people who just can't be rational. I understand it when a kid acts that way, but when the parents do it, it's very shameful. Such a great thing to teach your kids too, how to disrespect rules.

 

I feel your pain. When I worked at Clementon I would get into arguments if their child was not tall enough all the time. One time someone wanted to ride a ride in the kiddie area alone & was to big & the Dad cursed me out. I was like really? I said he just needed a child to ride & he had a little sister. His Dad still yelled at me & walked off. At least at my current job the families who visit are understanding & friendly about it most of the time. If any parent did have an argument I would just have to call the manager & walk away.

[Angry_Gumball]

I've actually seen the opposite happen where my niece was just barely making the height requirement for one of those Bayern Curve rides (Berserker at Great America). The first time of riding it, the ride operator never checked/judged if it were safe for her to ride, and let her on. After the ride was over, my niece wanted to ride again so we got back in line. Then, the ride operator noticed she was probably almost an inch too short and got denied. Luckily, not a huge scene was made though my sister (niece's mom) was puzzled why she got to do it before and not a second round from the same operator.

 

I also have seen where one of our neighbors down the street was with us at Discovery Kingdom and just finished riding V2 (was probably 2 inches too short, I'm sure he gave himself a couple inches as the ride operator briskly walked by with his stick. Over to Medusa, he tries the same tactic and fails. I'm sure the parents didn't realize about the additional inches he added during the check and then started to become frustrated with the crew running the ride. I was actually a bit embarrassed and was ready to move on while they wanted to argue with the ride operator as "He was tall enough to ride V2, which had the same height requirement."

 

So sometimes, the kids can be just as guilty as the parents.

[downunder]

^Have you watched "Idiocracy" by Mike Judge? AMAZING!!!!

 

I have, Idiocracy so true it's scary, each generation overall seems more stupid than the one before it.

 

Damn, I'm out of Gatorade, I won't be able to water the garden.

[Dragon Khan]

Well, I went through some of those pages, being a father myself, I see amusement parks differently now. I like it when my 2 kids can enjoy rides SAFELY and will never try to break park rules BUT let me play the devil's advocate. One of my favourite parks is Port Aventura in Spain. But OMG where and how did they decide on the height requirements ? seems they impose them randomly when you compare similar rides at other parks. They have ridiculous requirements for very tame rides, meaning kids don't have access to many rides... but they have to pay nevertheless (and even if the price for them is lower, it's absolutely not justified by the amount of rides they can enjoy) another important point:

Maybe some of you have been in contact with Arrow Dynamix in the past. They used to issue a kind of newsletter called "DIRECTIONS". For those of you who have some left, check and you'll see that EVEN THE RIDE MANUFACTURER explains the case of a child who was too short, and they LET IT RIDE with shoes with "higher soles" (sorry if the word is not correct, French being my mother tongue) So WTF ? if EVEN RIDE MANUFACTURERS "advertise" this kind of behaviour, it's hard to impose discipline on the GP !!!

[ginzo]

^You're going back a few years with that Arrow publication. With today's predatory legal environment, I wonder if you'd see a ride manufacturer make such a suggestion today.

[DOCTOR DOOM!!!]

OMG, one time on T2 at SFKK, a girl was 51 inches when she needed to be 52 inches! The ops checked her height and wouldn't let her ride. The father didn't complain, but some redneck shouted out "aw come on its only an inch" and others followed in degrading the the ride ops! It was a near riot situation! People in Kentucky wonder why the rest of the US thinks we're all retards.

 

Jerry Springer: "You know they're from Kentucky!"

[Rocket Rodder]

 

On another note, have any of you ride operators had to deal with people being too tall? I operated two rides this last summer with max height limits, a Huss Top Spin and Intamin Half Pipe. That killed people when I would say they were too tall because they usually affiliate a limit of any sorts with being a kid. So when I say to a 40 year old man he can't ride, but his daughter can, then there are issues.

 

 

.

 

I get around that by telling a tall person that they might be too tall to ride, and check them anyway. (Of course they don't fit) More often than not the guests gladly leave of their own free will.

[Steelinwood]

Here's another question, have any of you ride ops had to call security to your ride?

[kidcoaster 2]

I did once when some parents started getting violent towards me.

[Pufferfish]

I have called security to come pick up lost articles. One time I got close to having to call security on one seemingly psychotic kid, but I got him to leave before I had to call them. I was working dodgems, Carowinds bumper cars, and he was about 2 inches too short to ride. When I turned him away he went insane. He started screaming wildly, running in circles and kicking and punching the railings and trashcans. He was severly scaring the other guests waiting in line. I went up to the kid and told him, "Either calm down, or I will have to call security here to do it for me." After that he went running crying back to his parents.