Ride Operations

[exzantia]

Okay so it wasn't technically a ride, but I worked on Shrek 4D in Universal Studios Hollywood for the summer in 2005. It was (depressingly enough) the best job I ever had. Hell if my college course fails (or if I fail it) I know what I am going to end up doing

 

We didn't have to do much in the way of 'operations', just smile lots, try to be super nice and run the thing as efficiently as possible. Usually meant shoving 450+ people into every show and getting at least four shows an hour.

 

Well I'm sure none of that helps, but I like to reminisce

 

Barry "want's his old job back" Flannery.

[coasterrider1998]

This is what I wanna do also. It seems fun but as some say very repetitive. The only action ops get is when people blow chunks.

 

/Cr98\

[c0sterfreek]

I worked as Top Guns Ride Operator for a little bit and it was loads of fun. Its also difficult at times cause in case of an emergency you have to know what to do with out freaking out. It’s a cool feeling that you are in charge of the ride but its also a BIG responsibility. Advice I give to you is:

-Don’t freak out!

-Be aware of your surroundings.

-Don’t mess around.

-Act professional but have fun at the same time.

-Most of all HAVE FUN!

[rbpia]

Advice I give to you is:

-Don’t freak out!

-Be aware of your surroundings.

-Don’t mess around.

-Act professional but have fun at the same time.

-Most of all HAVE FUN!

 

Added to the list for Six Flags parks is:

-be able to run ride while texting on your cell phone.

[kidcoaster]

I do worry if I see young Ops on Coasters as I think they do not check the belts or OHR + they hardly smile and say Hi, while older people have more manners.

 

I would be happy to see the age put up to 21 years as 17/18 is far to young.

 

I don't think so because most parks would not get the staff the need. Maybe more training and lessons in guest service.

 

I take the job seriously I cheak Restraints twice and make sure everyone enjoys their day.

[rbpia]

^It wouldn't work for the larger parks, but at my home park Adventureland they started hiring more retirees than teenagers a few years back. It has made a huge difference in the atmosphere in the park. The retirees actually care about their job, and therefore the guests experience, and make a day in the park so much more fun than it used to be.

 

ron "Make the minumum age 60" patton

[carolinacaniac]

I know that the ride you operate can have an effect on how repetetive it can be and it may also depend on the park. I worked at Cedar Point two summers as a ride host, and they tend to do their operations in cycles. What I mean is that you go from one position to another every 30 minutes or so. That way you are not doing the same thing each and every time. The minimum age at Cedar Point was 18 so anyone who was a ride host could be certified to operate the controls. Coasters with two or more trains had more specialized training.

[Alpenguy]

I think in most cases, working on an older ride would be a lot better than a totally automated, super user-friendly B&M or whatnot. I just started on the Matterhorn and it's damn awesome- pushing trains around in the station, running the transfer tables, and resetting blocked trains in MCB's with a team of 4 pushing to make it over a hill is a lot more interesting than my PGA days of just saying "clear" and pushing one button to dispatch or waiting for maintainance to show up for the most minor downtime that Disney actually trains the operators to fully handle.

 

It's also a lot more interesting to have a ride that can cascade, but that's kind of obvious.

[Mr.Six]

^ Agreed. I like working on older rides more than the newer ones. While although they might seem a little bit more 'confusing' at first they usually run a lot better and have a smaller amount of downtime. I mean, who doesn't love pushing trains at Revolution!

_six

[Guest]

pgathriller, My best advice to you is to apply .

 

Seriosley though, im going into my fourth year working at SFGAm, third in rides, and second as a rides lead. Its a blast. I think what makes GAm typically the best operated SF park is the fact that everyone in rides management loves their jobs and the amusement industry which makes it very fun. A lot of times at meetings and stuff we'll crack occasional jokes about SFMM or SFA .

 

Is there any place on the internet where you can

download ride manuels?

 

Those are really park sensitive documents and I think if anybody did that they'd get grilled. Theres tons of details and stuff you need to know, but i'm not going to post how to operate or anything like that because thats all made by the park so I cant share those, but typically here are the major rides i've been certed for and typically the things you run into when working them.

 

Déjà Vu

Well, this was my home unit in 2005. I guess the thing that sticks out most about it was the cleaning! . The ride tends to have a lot of downtime, and when maintenence is working on it in the morning we dont touch it so we did a TON of cleaning. We went through literally bottles of spitfire and wax every day buffing up the train, station, and queue. We all agreed it was pretty much the cleanest ride ever.

In terms of running it, its a strange ride so there guests have lots of confusion about things. Its very very important to be clear and concise while spieling otherwise the load time is slow because guests dont know how to load (not that most people listen anyway ).

Also, a lot of guests tend to get angry so being an op there you get yelled at, a lot. Its just something you gotta get used to and handle it in the most proffesional way. Also max height 76", we end up denying more guests for being too tall than too short. Amazingly, guests never really get too angry about this, a lot of them find it really funny when their too tall. Of course i've had a few bad experiences, generally its not as bad as when someones too short and the parent gets after you.

Also another unique thing is the grouping. Its difficult finding guests willing to sit in the B rows because everyone wants to sit next to each other. And working at Vu, you get to know your zones maintenence guys really well .

Spieling here is fun too cause unlike Bull where your sending a train every minute and get tired of spieling, here you stay fresh at operator. "There goes the floor, you're out the backdoor, see ya in a minute 34."

Typically when the ride worked for a whole hour we could pulled 450-500 riders per hour, but it was hard to get the ride working for the full hour .

 

Demon

I love running Demon because the theming aspect. We got that awesome theme song playing in the queue and whenever im at operator I always do the "Here we go, he's gonna getcha" spiel in a whisper, its quite scary . As far as operation, its pretty basic and theres not much to say. I LOVE running Demon with 3 trains, sometimes we can get it consistenetly sending trains when the other one hits the first loop, its exhausting but we all have a good time with it.

 

Viper

The main thing with Viper is stamina. Like all rides gotta be proactive with the height and restraint checks, but the speed at Viper is amplified compared to most coasters. Gotta move at a fast pace in order not to stack, unlike Demon where it never stacks with 2 trains. It can be really fun especially with a good crew.

 

Raging Bull

First thing I noticed about Bull is how well B&M engineers their rides, as it was the first B&M I had gotten certed for. Like Viper, its a very faced paced ride. Most of the time i'm there its running 3 trains and we're not stacking at all. It does get kinda lame up there with 2 trains though, way too slow. Theres really not much to say about it, like all coasters theres a lot to learn from the engineering standpoint, but it basically never has problems and is fun to operate.

 

Giant Drop

This is a really fun ride to operate especially with all the spiel options ("No more will we wait, no more will we stall, this is you're 100% guarenteed Intamin Freefall" ). It is quite odd the way it loads and restraint checks are done and theres a lot to learn from the engineering standpoint. It has its share of problems though of course, it was made by Intamin.

Also, after the ride stops and restraints unlock they relock after 10 seconds, so those slow getting out tend to get stuck. Its easy to get them out but still its kind of frustrating when your grouping the next group of riders and hear someone yelling "OMGHFESHDIFS IM STUCK IM GONNA DIE!!" in the backround .

 

Iron Wolf

With a good crew this is really fun to run. There were times I was up there where we could go for long periods of time without stacking at all, its quite a workout. Like Vu theres lots of guests confused on how to ride, they dont get the whole standing thing . Lots to learn about the engineering etc, its different older technology than rides like Mantis and RRv also. The seats and restraints are controlled differently, and like all B&Ms the train is split into sections, so sometimes at controls you have to hold a lot of different buttons at the same time. Compared to all the other rides i've ran, you have to deny the most amount of rides for body dimension reasons here.

 

You know, I thought it would be, but it isn't that boring. Sure, the operation itself is repetitive, but its the people. The fact that you constantly deal with different people, situations, attitudes, etc. It keeps you on your toes--it makes the job fresh. You dont even think about the operation itself--it becomes second nature. Its the ever-changing sea of faces that you think about....or at least I do.

I agree with that 100%

 

 

In terms of being a rides cast member,at some points you have a lot to deal with and can become stressful. Especially at an exit position, where you not only have to be doing restraint checks, height checks, gum checks, worrying about capacity and sending trains at good intervals, and you also have the mob of guests with disabilites waiting for you at the exit.

 

 

In terms of being a lead, the stress and responsibility can sometimes be very hard. Especially when theres low staff or something, and you have to worry about all thats listed above, and also getting all your rides staffed, getting everyone on break, making sure your unit is clean, keeping an eye on everyone elses restraint checks and your units capacity. Its very stressful when theres a shortage of leads and you are responsible for a whole area of the park, especially getting all the rides up on time. Its a good challenge though and I enjoy it.

 

 

Lots of good memories, most people wouldnt think of it because most of them take place before the park opens or after it closes. Favorite ride to run by far is Terror Twister, which is Chubasco (spinning cups ride) during Fright Fest. Fun stuff. Heres a couple of the goodies ive gotten working in rides: (yes I do realize the pic is of SFOG's DejaVu lol):

[mcjaco]

...not just some schmoe working the tilt-a-whirl in your fifties to pay the rent.

 

What if it's a second job to help pay the rent?

[pgathriller]

Thanks everyone for helping me out. I enjoyed reading your post "papas". Since I have started the thread I have started operating rides at different places. Here's a list.

 

Wisdom Cobra Coaster

Wisdom Mini Himalaya

Wisdom Tornadoe

Hi-Lite Rides Carasaul

ARM Drop Zone

Chance Yo-Yo

 

The last 2 rides I have not actually operated with actual people on them. I really enjoy working with the people. I think that's the best part. Shockingly I have not had 1 person complain or get upset.

[kidcoaster]

Where do you work?

[pgathriller]

I work at the El Paso Zoo where they have the carasaul. They offered me a job at the Oasis Bowling lanes where they have the 3 wisdom rides. I didnt take the job but I was able to operate the rides for 2 weeks for the fun of it. And since I know the owner of Western Playland I was able operate the Yo-Yo and Drop Zone rides.

[GMAN962]

As far as operation, a point-operator opens the gates, and the guests board. I wait for the restraits to lock (visible and audible), check the restraints by pushing down and pulling up (so if you piss me off, I'll staple you).

 

Hey Jahan, when you were working, did you ever get mad at someone and hike their seat really high? My friend once said that a ride op pushed the seat up really high, and it really hurt. I'm not sure if I belive him, but he can get a little bit annoying. You did say that if you get mad at someone, you'll staple them.

 

~Mike