What is the most random thing you've encountered at a park?

[screaminkid2005]

^ His name is Alfred! He was one of the many rescued animals that were part of a show that took place on the kidz stage. Sadly the show ended and Alfred is no longer in the park.

[Nrthwnd]

In my home park, Playland, there's this setup during the season

(other than the annual PNE itself) for those kids/teenagers that

don't get enough outdoor exercise at home. And the hoop and

lines are just.....there. Easy to walk by in the park.

 

My only question is: Do they have to bring their own basketball?

Here it is. With our log flume in back there.

[ajfelice]

Back in 2012 I was doing my morning rounds of checking rides for daily inspection paperwork when I found this little guy basking in Scrambler's ride area. Nothing about this area of the park is suitable for an aquatic turtle besides the sun for basking, so I was pretty shocked to find him here (I know it's a male turtle because I have my own pet turtle which is a male). Unfortunately, my morning routine was completely sidetracked taking him around to show all of the managers and maintenance.

We later released him into the pond on our unused Lakefront property.

[Blue Turbo]

One of most random things I've encountered is when I was at Disneyland to perform in the holiday parade. One of the days we were there is was "Bat Day" and there were goths all over the park.

[2012jarrett]

Since this seems to be the "critters at theme parks" thread...

 

The Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Dollywood/Smokey Mountains/Land of 1000 Pancake Houses area has a lot of critters in it, and we got our share of them staying in our cabin out in the middle of nowhere with no cellphone reception as expected, but at the PARK???

 

I'm walking by the fountain and I see these little nuggets and their mom! A bunch of people were pointing them out and I zoomed in and got this shot. Don't worry, I didn't get this close to them, this was done with zoom. They jumped into a planter alongside the path and disappeared into the brush afterwards, but it was really cool!

 

And on our way out there was this giant snapping turtle-looking thing on this stump!

 

And on day 2 when I went back, there was this nice fellow waiting for me when I left the door to leave for the park. If I'm correct, it's a brown recluse, and if I'm still correct, it's the most dangerous spider in North America.

 

And I did just about get hit in the face with a seagull on Blue Streak's turn out of the station earlier this season. It was a good five feet from me but if they had dispatched just a bit earlier I'd have hit it at a slow speed.

 

Critters aside, I was at Kings Island with another TPR member and we got in line for Flight Deck. It started to rain when we got there and the ride ops shut it down, so we all decided to set our stuff down and nap in the Flight Deck station! (They BETTER not replace the station! That was the first coaster station I slept it; IT HAS SENTIMENTAL VALUE!!!!!!) It wasn't a thing but it's still the most random thing I've done at a theme park.

 

And during a 45-minute wait for Raptor in 2011, there was this couple in front of us that did NOT stop kissing the ENTIRE time! Honestly, a full themeless shadeless roller coaster cattlepen might be the LEAST romantic place I can think of!

[djboss302]

And during a 45-minute wait for Raptor in 2011, there was this couple in front of us that did NOT stop kissing the ENTIRE time!

Same thing happened to me when I was waiting in line for Batman at SFGAm, except there were couples in front and in back of me. So that was fun.

[Angry_Gumball]

Wish I had seen it myself but opted not to go down the right queue of Superman Escape from Krypton at SFMM, but during WCB there were apparently raccoons hiding out in the trash can. Playing things safe we headed down the left side instead for our nighttime ERT session.

[DougMJr]

I saw what I would guess is a weave fly off of somebody in the front of the train and past my head in the back of the train on Ride of Steel at Darien Lake.

 

When the train came back into the station I couldn't make out who lost it.

[markysharky17]

2 summers ago when I went to Dorney Park there were to Lesbians going at it in front of me, my uncle and dad. It was on the big chute the shoots ride and it was during the tunnel part. It was an amazing ride!

[Xmeister]

I came across someone handing out those religious pamphlets that people sometimes give trick or treaters at Knotts a few years ago. According to them I'm going to hell........ I've gotta imagine that they were stopped pretty quickly.

[chetCO]

This past summer visiting Lakeside in Denver I had noticed a few guys walking around the park...smoking joints. OK I know marijuana is legal in Colorado but still it was odd to see people smoking pot at an amusement park.

[XYZ]

I was at Fright Fest at SFMM and these teenagers on Orient Express were seemingly getting high on pixie sticks as they were very hyper and almost jammed the door open at the end of the ride.

[Nrthwnd]

People taking photos of us, as we were getting off the bus, at

one of our first parks on the TPR China Tour, Sept.2012. No big

deal at the time. But when we left the park to head back to the

bus, they were swarming us with photo key tags they had made

up while we were in the park! And some were very persistant.

I had one of them, who I assume had "my key tag" on him,

yelling at me through the window of the bus, where I was sitting!

Still trying to get some kind of $ off of me.

 

Very freeky. And a bit un-nerving.

Until we did the boat cruise in Shanghai...

[rctneil]

The Mine Coaster at Sun Park has cats living under it and Pine Forest Flying mouse at Fishermans Wharf has chickens wandering around the coasters footprint!

[Cullvion]

August 2013:

I went to Michigan's Adventure with some of my friends. As we got our tickets we noticed there was a man in the glass reflection and he was WATCHING us. As we went throughout the day we saw him at the exit of every ride.

At lunch we were eating and he walked RIGHT up to us and asked "Would any of you like a treat?" We all said no and then he walked away and we NEVER saw him again. O_O

[Vonni]

^ If I were you, I would have reported him to Security. Thats just too damn creepy!

[larrygator]

The Mine Coaster at Sun Park has cats living under it and Pine Forest Flying mouse at Fishermans Wharf has chickens wandering around the coasters footprint!

 

And don't forgot all the coasters that had people living in shanties underneath them. Complete with an outside cooking arrangement, laundry line and vegetable garden gardens.

[cfc]

^Exactly.

I wonder what the rent is for this place?

Remember this rather bizarre, jury-rigged truck at the dinosaur-themed park?

[Nrthwnd]

Hmmm.

 

Some of CHINA's Parks are the most random thing encountered.

 

[Kafka]

During the Six Flags St Louis nine coasters in nine hours marathon we encountered a skunk. Ive talked to ride ops about this and apparently this isnt an unusual experience, but it was certainly interesting being there late enough to actually see it.

[_IntaMAN_]

Went to Knott's the other day and some guy just offered me a Fast Lane out of no where. I was relieved and gladly took it as it was starting to get insanely packed!

[Comeagain?]

A guy in the queue for Aftershock got hit by a prosthetic leg. Yes, we now make everyone with a prosthetic leg remove it before riding high intensity rides without floors.

 

A kid running around in a purple morph suit.

[cfc]

How about this at Cedar Point?

 

[triggernel]

I saw a couple people wearing those the last time I was at SeaWorld, lol. They were Iron Man and Iron Patriot.

[tarheel1231]

I was at Carowinds and there was a 5 foot man with a 5'4 or 5'5 girlfriend. I like making fun of short people